I'm just wild about Harry

I just finished the last book in the Harry Potter series and instead of doing a review of it, I'm going to share my thoughts on the whole series because I just know you all are dying to hear them, so here we go:

• I adore JK Rowling. I think she's the best. She was a penniless single mom when she began the series and now she's a wealthy woman with a legion of fans. I'm not happy she and her publisher sued that dude who wrote that reference book about her series, but there you go, it just shows you she's not perfect.
• I don't think Ms. Rowling is a great writer but I do think she is a great story teller. And honestly, I'd rather read great story rather than a great writer. Great writers are read by pasty faced literary geeks who live to nit pick great story tellers.
• I started reading the Harry Potter series right before the first movie came out. I bought the first book in a trade paperback edition. I got the second and third ones from the library. The fourth one I bought new and the fifth and sixth ones I bought used. I traded all three back to my local used book store for other books. The seventh one was loaned to me by my young friend and some time disc golf companion, Quinn.
• I read the first few books out of sequence. I read the first one, then the third, then the second one. After that I read the rest of them in order. My favorite one is the fourth one Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
• I'm not one of those adults who dressed up like one of the characters and went to the book store parties but if I had a kid who was into doing that then I'd have been all over it.
• One of the reasons why I love the Harry Potter books so much is because I relate to Harry so much. I know what it's like to have my parents die and be sent to a house where I was a second and sometimes third class citizen. I know what it's like to have had my possessions, my opinions, my feelings be discounted by an authority figure. I know how good it felt to go to school where I was away from my crazy aunt, her husband, and their savage children. I know how elated I was when I went to college knowing that I was away from those people and how I did most anything I could to keep from going back "home" on holidays. And like Harry I blossomed while away at school because I could finally be closer to who I really was. I did not have to hide who I was any more out of fear of being beaten up, ostracized, or embarrassed by my cousins and their mother. Another reason why I like the Harry Potter books is because they tell a rollicking good story.
• I think that it's great that so many kids got turned on to reading because of the Harry Potter books. Any adult who bitches about the story, the characters, or JK Rowling's writing is an idiot because these books got so many kids hooked on the printed word. So what if all they read is fantasy right now? They'll branch out later and read other books and that's what's important.
• I laugh like crazy when I hear other writers bitch about the Harry Potter series. To me it's just professional jealousy. I've heard Harold Bloom, he's a snobby academic, and Nick Hornby bitch about adults reading the Harry Potter books, but if they sold a tenth of her books then they'd be happy as pigs in shit. Every kid or adult reading a Harry Potter book is one who is not reading some dry dusty fussy book about Shakespeare that was written by Bloom or a book about what a beautiful game soccer is by Hornby. Get your noses out of the air gentlemen and if you two are lucky then some of those kids who love reading might read one of your books one day.
• I love the Harry Potter movies as well. I get a little choked up watching the first one when Hagrid comes to get Harry to take him to Hogwarts for the first time.
• One of these days I'll get all of the Harry Potter movies on DVD.

Where are my manners?

Honestly, I'm such a bad blogger because my good friend Liberality, the hottest librarian ever, gave me this award a week ago and I'm just now getting around to thanking her for it. It's always an honor to be given an award and this one is especially nice since it was given to me by such a smart and beautiful woman. I'm proud to be your friend Liberality and thanks for not only being a long time reader of this blog, thanks for all the great blogging you do and all the great library work you do as well. Madam, you rock.Now I get to award this to some folks:

• K-Line from Toronto gets one because she's such a great gal and great commenter on this blog.
• Barb the Bad Tempered Zombie gets one because she's not only into Radiohead and other cool bands, she's into books as well.
• Tanya Espanya gets one because in between sending me postcards, late holiday cards, taking care of Alexander, and not cooking, she reads a book or two.
• Wandering Coyote gets one because she's a very cute voracious reader and a great cook.
• And finally Suzy the Quaker Vixen gets one because she's a cold weather lovin' reading monster.
  

Thanks again Liberality for the award and for all the kind things you say about my blog.