Observing the end of an era; Harry Potter “Deathly Hallows”

Firstly, let me say there are no spoilers here, so if you are a fan don’t worry. I am almost 200 pages into the book already so I can’t spoil to much even if I wanted to. This is not a review either, like I said I’m only 200 pages into it.

I’ve been a Harry fan ever since reading the first book, and have anticipated the release of each and every one of them. I was very skeptical when the movies were announced, not sure if they would fill the big boots the books had been wearing. But the movies were good too, short of course, but good none the less.

Last night, at 12:01AM, I was at Borders Books waiting for the copy I had reserved for my family to read and trade amongst ourselves. Until this book I had not joined in any of the “mania” surrounding the books, minus the fact I usually bought a copy within the first couple days. This book, The Deathly Hallows, was more significant though, being the last of the series. So I felt like I need to at least experience the whole thing.

I got there and there were people all over. I have never in my life seen so many people at a bookstore, just to buy one book, never mind multiple books. There were kids, adults and every age in between. I even saw quite a few elderly grandma’s and grandpa’s amongst the crowd, it seemed Harry had broken the barrier when it came to fans of his books and their age. It is called a “kids” book but I have to say there might have been more adults than kids there.

I “checked in” and was given a green bracelet. Why did I need this? Well there had to be some order to the chaos the woman summed up to me. She said after blue I and the others holding the green bracelets would be able to get our copies. I got in line anyway, in hopes that by the time I got to the front my color would be called.

The thing that amazes me about this Harry phenomenon, besides the wide ranges of ages that read them, is the fact people are reading again. I know lots of people out there do read, but this series seemed to bring out alot more people who may not have been big readers before. It got kids away from the TV and inspired imagination. It’s sad to see it end, but I think it will live on longer than we could possibly imagine. JK Rowling is a genius and amazing writer. She should be commended for her efforts.

So, I got to the front of the line. The voice on the PA system said “green can now purchase their books at the counter.” My plan had worked and there I was, first in line for the greens. I got my book and ran to the car. At this point it was already 1:00AM, way past my bedtime. I raced home, thought of breaking open the book to read but sleep crept toward me. At 6AM this morning though I was roped in and now I must sign off and get back to reading. I hope to have the book done by the end of the weekend.