HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, so, my weekend has pretty much been consumed with Harry Potter...ness. On Friday, when the book was released, I worked the midnight shift at Barnes and Noble. I dressed up like Hermione and along with some kids from the Stratford Playhouse, children could line up and take pictures with us...which they did pretty consistently for 4 or so hours. It was fun but afterwards I felt like a Barbie doll, like my face was plastered into a perma-smile. And I broke a little girl's tarantula toy, but she was totally cool about it after I gave her my Hogwarts pin (which I got for free in the breakroom). I didn't get home until 3:30--I was tired, exhausted, and achy--but it was definitely one of the most amazing nights of my life. It was so great to see so many people united OVER A BOOK, even if it is just a fantasy story. So many people dressed up, many of my friends came to see me, my sister was with me all night taking the pictures...everyone just really came together and after a while, even though it hurt my face, I just couldn't help smiling.
I've been working every day since Friday--I have to go to work later today too actually lol I don't mind it--B&N is kind-of like my second home. I managed between all those hours to finish the seventh book (I stayed up until wee hours in the morning to accomplish that and read on every break) and I have to say that I've never been so stirred emotionally by a book. I was crying, I was laughing, I was empathizing as if I was right there fighting Voldemort alongside Ron, Harry, and Hermione. When I finished the book last night, I laid it down with a sigh...there's the end of it. No more Harry Potter. I never really approved of him and Ginny...always thought that was weird lol But I'm glad that in the end, he came out happy--there really was a happy ending after all, even though people died. Everyone loves a happy ending.
The end of these books, however, is somewhat bittersweet to me. It's great in that I have been following this series for almost a decade--I've been raised on Harry Potter. I remember purchasing the first book for $6 at my school bookfair. I didn't even really know what it was--my friend Kim urged me to buy it. The first chapter was dumb and I almost wanted to return it, but as time went on, I finished it within the day--I had never read a book so fast. I forgot about it, though...2 years later, I got the second and third books for Christmas from a family friend. I read them just as quickly...that's when the obsession started kicking in. Harry Potter was phenomenon by now. Every year of my life a new book came out...around the fourth one she slowed down and I grew ahead of him, but not by much...2 years, that's nothing. So really it's like he was following me in age--I was growing up alongside him and the books. This is the series of MY generation and now...they're over. It's almost like I feel like I've stepped out of Neverland...it's time to grow up.
I've been working every day since Friday--I have to go to work later today too actually lol I don't mind it--B&N is kind-of like my second home. I managed between all those hours to finish the seventh book (I stayed up until wee hours in the morning to accomplish that and read on every break) and I have to say that I've never been so stirred emotionally by a book. I was crying, I was laughing, I was empathizing as if I was right there fighting Voldemort alongside Ron, Harry, and Hermione. When I finished the book last night, I laid it down with a sigh...there's the end of it. No more Harry Potter. I never really approved of him and Ginny...always thought that was weird lol But I'm glad that in the end, he came out happy--there really was a happy ending after all, even though people died. Everyone loves a happy ending.
The end of these books, however, is somewhat bittersweet to me. It's great in that I have been following this series for almost a decade--I've been raised on Harry Potter. I remember purchasing the first book for $6 at my school bookfair. I didn't even really know what it was--my friend Kim urged me to buy it. The first chapter was dumb and I almost wanted to return it, but as time went on, I finished it within the day--I had never read a book so fast. I forgot about it, though...2 years later, I got the second and third books for Christmas from a family friend. I read them just as quickly...that's when the obsession started kicking in. Harry Potter was phenomenon by now. Every year of my life a new book came out...around the fourth one she slowed down and I grew ahead of him, but not by much...2 years, that's nothing. So really it's like he was following me in age--I was growing up alongside him and the books. This is the series of MY generation and now...they're over. It's almost like I feel like I've stepped out of Neverland...it's time to grow up.