Monday, November 15, 2010

Do you know what day it is?

We interrupt this blog post for an announcement that will shock the nation, send old men into hiding, and make young children cry (with glee). 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one releases this Friday.  I repeat, this Friday!

Who has their tickets?  Me, me, I do!!  Unfortunately, I don't get to go to the midnight showing *shakes fist at sky* as I have a Super Spawn that must be attended to.  But I will be going Friday night...to the IMAX showing.  HOORAY!!!!!

So, for today's post I want to know:  Which Harry Potter book has influenced you the most, either as a writer or a reader, and how?

For me, it was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  It was, admittedly, the first book I read in the series.  I had seen the movies, and loved them, but never picked the books up.  When I picked this one up, my life was changed forever.  Seriously.  No melodrama intended.  I fell in love all over again with the art of words.  It drew me back to where I had been a few years before, back before a major life catastrophe.  It was like finding a long lost friend.

So much happens in OOTP, and Harry is forced to deal with more than ever before.  There's the betrayal he feels from Dumbledor, Ron and Hermione, there's always drama at Hogwarts, Voldemort is back, and then the unthinkable happens: JKR kills one of her lovelies.

I cried and cried and cried.  I cry every time I read it, and every time I watch the movie.  (It's my favorite movie out of all of them so far, so I watch it a lot.)

I'm not exaggerating at all when I say Harry Potter helped me find myself.  Because he did.  I've read the books over and over and over again through the years, and I'll never stop.  He reminded me of my love for reading, my love for words, and eventually he led me back to writing.

8 comments:

Abby Stevens said...

It's hard to say which book! GoF was the first I ever read, back in 2000, but the 7th book definitely left me with the most emotional punch. I think I cried straight through the last 50 pages and was almost a little bereft when it ended (oh-so-perfectly, in my opinion). I think it really hit me how amazing the books are when I went back to reread the entire series in order, and realized Mundungus Fletcher is mentioned in the first chapter of SS! The woman's a genuis!

Holly Hill said...

Abby, I know, I marvel at her genius daily. I don't know how she managed to plan the books with such detail from the start.

KatOwens: Insect Collector said...

So true, ladies-- she has a real gift for planning. And though I loved the series Lost I kind of hated (in comparison) how it felt they just threw a bunch of "cool" stuff in and never connected it back in a meaningful way.

I think I'm going to plan a re-read for the holidays!

Claire Dawn said...

I am also an OOTP fan. I was living in Connecticut and my host family bought me the first four. Read them in a week. Then had to wait a year for OOTP.

Plus, Sirius is like my fave character. Maybe I should just not like characters. Bad things happen to the ones I like. WAAAAA.

The nearest cinema is 90 km away, so I don't know if I'll get to see it this weekend. Although I will be on a business trip in a big city, so we'll see...

Erinn said...

Book 4 was the best in my opinion. I still geek out whenever I think about the other two schools walking into Hogwarts. That was my biggest complaint about the final book, why introduce two other school if they weren't going to be in the final battle.

LTM said...

I hang my head in shame. I have only read the very first one. But I really, really liked it! And I love the movies... I'll get to them~ :D

Pam Harris said...

I feel like such an outsider! :( I definitely have to start reading HP next summer (that's when I'll have time). I don't think I've heard one person say anything bad about the series.

Susan said...

I loved Half-Blood Prince because I actually CARED about Voldemort. Rowling made me empathize with Tom Riddle, and...that still sticks with me.

When I read that book, I realized the importance of having bad guys who aren't all bad. Bad guys you care about and kinda sorta don't want to fail are way more powerful than 2-D villains.

And it was such a scary ending!!!