I've been reading LOTS of Harry Potter. I mean, LOTS. I just finished book 3 and have to re-read 4, 5, and 6 before I can begin Deathly Hallows, which of course I want to do RIGHT NOW. My darling husband has been very patient with my late night reading so far, but I could tell last night that he was ready for me to turn out the light when he rolled over and growled at the lamp.
Friday night as I stood in line awaiting the midnight release of Book 7 with Hambone and the Buzz (on the eve of his 36th birthday, no less!) and their friends, I was surrounded by hundreds of other eager HP fans, many in costumes, all buzzing with the anticipation. I had several thoughts in those moments...
Wow. These children are adorable. But some of these older folks are very, very strange.
This event and the product it's promoting are a marketer's DREAM! Complete fan obsession. Rowling has created a world and a set of characters that have entirely enchanted her audience. Her readers all lining up by the hundreds all over the world at midnight to pick up their copies of the story, so they can read it cover to cover before sleeping... Well done!
I hope very much that Brooks has the experience of being a part of a big "moment" for something that he really loves. I thought of me performing on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in 4th grade, witnessing the Auburn/Bama game at Jordan-Hare in 1993, singing with the AU Singers my senior year. And what about me and Eric at the Cubs game 7 in Fall of 2003 (disappointing, but still electrifying!), Mom and Dad at the "Punt, Bama, Punt" game, Eric at Rice's televised win over UT on a rain-drenched Saturday in 1994... There are moments that are forever sealed in our memories, I hope Brooks loves something enough to want to dress up in costume and wait in a long line to experience it!
When will we let Brooks read fantasy fiction? What will we say about these books - dementers and wizards and dragons and hippogrifs and wands and magic books and the Marauders Map? As the first HP books began to make waves, the CBA industry in which I worked began rumbling about millions of children reading about witches and wizards and magic, etc and how we need to fill our children's minds with good things, with Truth. But the fantasy worlds of Lewis and Tolkien had a huge impact on my heart and in some ways those stories brought into focus my young image of God. How can I help Brooks discover God in all the world around him - that the struggle between good and evil within a mythical, magical community can in some ways inform him of the eternal story that we really are a part of - the story of Christ in the Bible? I won't be able to answer this one immediately...
Oh, how I wish Eric loved this as much as I do. We have been married almost four years and we now share lots of hobbies. Playing rec softball, cycling (I look forward to the day when we can take Brooks along), watching Lost, visiting MLB stadiums, traveling around the world. But maybe we can share HP as well one day soon - Eric told me last night that he plans to read all the books soon - Hurray! We've even borrowed copies of HP movies 1-3 from Hambone and I'm hoping we'll get to watch them before we pack up our DVD player. I love that we enjoy many of the same things and I hope for the rest of our lives, we'll continue to discover new hobbies, new passions, and that we invite each other into our worlds... even if they are make-believe.
Okay, so you get the idea. As I walked back and forth to Shel's, I realized that little of this had to do with whether Sirius returns, if Snape is friend or foe, or how Harry Potter triumphs over Voldemort in the end, but I love the stories and I loved the moment. And even though I was somewhat lost in my thoughts, I'm so happy I shared the experience with my friends. Now, I've really got to go start Book 4 while Brooks still naps!
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5 comments:
A couple of things:
1. The Rice victory over UT was not a "rain-drenched Saturday". There was a hurricane in the Gulf and much of Houston was flooded. If the same storm had happened after Katrina, the big H would have been evacuated. And it wasn't on a Saturday - that's the last part of the magic. The game was played on a Sunday b/c it was the ESPN game of the week, which means that the big upset came on national TV where Rice football only makes an appearance once every few years.
2. I said I plan to read the books, but I didn't say "soon". That said, your excitement is contagious.
thanks for loaning me book 7...finished it last night and was pleased. will be fun to discuss when you get done with it. there is an interview on Dateline tonight with Rowling that i am recording. what a brilliant woman, what a brilliant story! and your musings resonate with my own about what we will and will not let our children read. for me, at this point, i think that as long as i have an active hand in what they read, then i will be open to many things at the right ages. it's all about shepherding and guiding them through this life, pointing to Truth, and this can be done seen and done through good literature and movies that aren't necessarily Christian-based. we can swap stories in the years to come, i'm sure.
I don't think I would compare HP to Punt Bama Punt. I won't tell Dad but really....I'm going to have to give you a serious lesson in "What's what and the way things are".
I hope precious angel baby nephew can be a part of something great too. Like beating Alabama 30 years in a row and watching half the state foam at the mouth! Or something like that.
I am finally getting to your thoughts here -- I love reading about what you were thinking that night. Some of your thoughts were mine as well -- will there ever be anything as big as this again, for the children our generation has? It may not be a book series (though it would be marvelous if it is, it's taken over 150 years for a JKR to come along and repeat Dickens's feat), but there will be something.
And with a mom who dreams such lofty things, so passionately, how can Brooks not help but follow suit?
All this aside, I'm glad we were able to share at least a little of this last magic -- though who knows what the final movie will be like? -- together.
I hope that all the Christians who condemned these books as evil will take a good long look at Book 7. JKR has said all along that CS Lewis is her inspiration, and nowhere is this clearer than in the finale of the series, especially chap. 34.
As an indicator, perhaps conservatives who are yet dissatisfied might consider that fans -- who previously have been pleased because of what they considered the low levels of religious imagery and emphasis in the books -- are now shrieking in outrage at what they see as over the top.
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