#timeless books

The Harry Potter Series 

by J.K. Rowling

I have never posted about the seven-book magical phenomenon because I suppose I assumed that implicit in being a reader is having read Harry Potter and the (insert item here), perhaps even multiple times.   

I just spent the last month rereading the series, finishing, all too appropriately, on July 31st, the birthday of our reluctant hero.  Considering Rowling started writing them in 1990, with The Sorcerer’s Stone published in 1997 and the final installment, The Deathly Hallows, published in 2007, they hold up incredibly well over the past, oh, 20 years.  I read each book as it was released originally, have seen the films dozens of times, and still, rereading them, I was fully immersed in Rowling’s unparalleled world-building, character-crafting and plot twists. 

These books are simply a joy to read. 

And don’t be fooled if you are one of the hold-out adults from the series. The prose has a lot of integrity and is peppered with sage advice without being dogmatic.

And for those of you out there who have only seen the films, bibliophiles may always say this, but the books are still better. As well-cast and excellently-imagined as the films are, they cannot compare with the specificity and magic of the books. There are, indeed, whole plot lines and characters left out of the films - bits of information, I, too, forgot from my initial reads. 

So, if you want a highly satisfying and swift read, incant, “AccioThe Sorcerer’s Stone!” After all, books are the closest to magic muggles like us can hope for.