Potterphiles Unite!

Well, Friday you'll find Daboo, Wren, and me - along with a bunch of other Potter-geeks - partying hard at the Barnes & Noble in Bountiful. I've yet to find my ideal bumpersticker (Dumbledore for President), so I feel comfortable that for once, I won't be the geekiest person around. I finally decided to re-read The Order of the Phoenix, since I made credible progress on The Art of War (mostly due to riding TRAX to the office). I'm two chapters in, but Rowling makes for a much faster read.

It's funny how easy it is for some authors to suck me in. There's a certain something to their writing that makes me feel like I'm a part of the action. I think some might call it Quality. However, L.E. Modesitt has this power over me, so I'm not sure that Quality is really the reason. On the other hand, the large number of Potterphiles out there makes me think that saying Rowling's work is Quality makes sense. I find it very fascinating to see adults on the train surreptiously reading something from the Potter collection.

I first heard about Harry right around the time the third book came out. I was working at a bookstore, and the store manager put up a poster promoting the first and second books (which at the time were only available in hardcover). I thought that was kind of interesting, and bought all three when The Prisoner of Azkaban came out. (At the time, I rarely took home much of a paycheck. I had a nasty habit of buying books without reading them.) I was enchanted.

When word of the fourth installment's release date (in the summer of 2000) arrived, I was planning a trip to Tijuana to visit some friends and would actually leave town that day. So I worked a couple hours early that morning. It was crazy to see all the kids lined up outside the store, waiting for The Goblet of Fire to hit storeshelves (for the brief moment before it landed in their grubby little hands). On my way out, I picked up a copy of the book and the book on tape. I left the book at home for my roommates to read and listened to the book on tape during the twelve hour drive.

I'm sure there are some people in Southern California who still wonder what all the ruckus was about as I screamed and shook my fist at the air while driving 80mph down the freeway.

When the fifth book came out, it took me a whole day and a half to read it. I probably would have been able to accomplish the feat in about half that time, but sleep interfered as it so often does (right, TML?). If I ever meet J.K., I'll be sure to thank her for releasing this next book on a Saturday, so I can spend the whole weekend locked in a room gibbering about muggles, dementors, giants, and half-bloods. Well, in the meantime, I must get back to Hogwarts.