I know those of you who know me well thinks it is unfair of me to count this book on my 100 book journey because I think this is the fourth time I have read it. So, how did this come about? Why this book? Why now? Actually, quite by accident I chose to read this book again. Sunday night, my husband and I caught the 6th movie (which I own) on HBO and watched the end of it. The week prior, we saw the middle part of the same movie (the Half-Blood Prince) on the big screen on the cruise boat. Since I was waiting for the mail man (who is never in a rush to deliver my Amazon package since it requires her to get out of her truck, off the phone - so my husband says - and put the package on the porch) to bring my next batch of books, I told my husband I thought I wanted to reread the 7th one because I couldn't remember how it all ended. Of course, Harry triumphs and good defeats evil, but I couldn't remember all of the twists and turns in this book. You will all understand soon enough why they are doing the last book in two movies. There is so much packed in the nearly 700 pages, and none of it can be cut out or else the ending doesn't work. So now that my exceptionally long introduction is over, I'll get to it. First, J. K. Rowling is a genius. Those of us who love Harry Potter and love to read know that what she did in these seven books may never be repeated by another author ever again. She has written the greatest series of books of all time. I know what some of you are thinking, "what about Lord of the Rings; Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe; Star Wars"? J. K. Rowling blows them out of the water. Her story goes seven books, thousands of pages, creates a whole world WITHIN our world that we cannot see, inspires every age of reader, and all of the books are interwoven. I once saw an interview of her where she said she wrote the whole story at one time on a train ride. Her original outline had every bit of the seven stories (minus the detail). What a gift, and I'm so thankful she shared it with us. It is funny that often times when I get to the end of a series of books I feel sad because they are finished and I no longer have adventures of the characters to explore and enjoy; but this series keeps me coming back. Even after the movies came out (I actually saw the first movie and then decided to read the book...which was better of course), I still have come back to these books and have discovered new things within their pages. You could not force me to pick a favorite in the series because each one is necessary to complete the overall story.
I cannot wait for the day when my son and I begin this adventure together and I get to share the joy of these books with him. I know we will both look forward to bed time and reading a chapter or two each night. I will enjoy listening to his questions of what will happen next and how will Harry defeat his arch enemy. How wonderful was it during the 2008 presidential campaign to hear President Obama say he had to take a break from the campaign trail to go home and finish the last of the Harry Potter series with his daughter. That is what these books mean to all of us.
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