You finish a book or book series that you have lived in for days on end. It's a sad moment. It's a moment that every book lover dreads. It's a moment that caught up to me today as I finished the final Harry Potter book. 24 days ago I started reading the Harry Potter series for the second time. I started reading them one after another rather quickly. Part of it is because I normally read quickly. Part of it is I just love the stories so much that I can't really make myself slow down or even stop to take a break in the middle of them because I just don't want to. I loved every minute that I got to spend re-reading and re-imagining the stories and adventures of Harry, Ron, Hermione. For 24 days I loved getting to live in Britain, exploring Hogwarts and defeating evil for the whole wizarding world. And now, only a short two hours after finishing book 7, I miss that world. Those characters.
One of my favorite things about the series is that the stories grow as the characters do. In the first two books it's definitely a children's story about children going off to a new school. By the end, it's a story of young adults fighting for their lives and the lives of those they love. It starts out as a simple story and transforms into a complex story of life, love, relationships and good overcoming evil. It's literally a story of growing up and readers get a chance to grow up with the characters if they want. It's right there... ready and waiting for them. I love how the story is developed. It's been said before, but JK Rowling is a master writer and did amazing things with words and stories. I honestly believe that her books will be considered classics in 100 years. Books that children and adults will read over and over for years to come.
In thinking about how I now feel a little lost without the world of Hogwarts and that moment every devoted reader dreads, I have been thinking about how much of a blessing it is to me to be able to read and have access to books. And how important it is to me to really appreciate words, stories, lessons and characters that others have taken the time to create and write down. I never want to lose my love for reading. I never want to give up on books. I never want to think that I don't need to read or that there aren't anymore things I can explore and learn. I never want to look at my bookshelves and just decide to give away all of my books because I don't think they hold anymore value. I don't think that will ever happen. But it would be an awful day if it did. I know that I can't take my books with me when I die, but I value them very much and treasure the things that lie between the covers. Reading is a blessing and a privilege that I never want to throw away or discount or give up on. Even that dreaded moment when a wonderful book comes to an end is worth suffering through a bit at a time if it means that one more story has been read, one more world has been explored, one more adventure has been had. Even that dreaded moment is a blessing.
One of my favorite things about the series is that the stories grow as the characters do. In the first two books it's definitely a children's story about children going off to a new school. By the end, it's a story of young adults fighting for their lives and the lives of those they love. It starts out as a simple story and transforms into a complex story of life, love, relationships and good overcoming evil. It's literally a story of growing up and readers get a chance to grow up with the characters if they want. It's right there... ready and waiting for them. I love how the story is developed. It's been said before, but JK Rowling is a master writer and did amazing things with words and stories. I honestly believe that her books will be considered classics in 100 years. Books that children and adults will read over and over for years to come.
In thinking about how I now feel a little lost without the world of Hogwarts and that moment every devoted reader dreads, I have been thinking about how much of a blessing it is to me to be able to read and have access to books. And how important it is to me to really appreciate words, stories, lessons and characters that others have taken the time to create and write down. I never want to lose my love for reading. I never want to give up on books. I never want to think that I don't need to read or that there aren't anymore things I can explore and learn. I never want to look at my bookshelves and just decide to give away all of my books because I don't think they hold anymore value. I don't think that will ever happen. But it would be an awful day if it did. I know that I can't take my books with me when I die, but I value them very much and treasure the things that lie between the covers. Reading is a blessing and a privilege that I never want to throw away or discount or give up on. Even that dreaded moment when a wonderful book comes to an end is worth suffering through a bit at a time if it means that one more story has been read, one more world has been explored, one more adventure has been had. Even that dreaded moment is a blessing.
I enjoyed your thoughts at the end...yes, that terrible moment really is a blessing! Sometimes I look around me and think, "How can all these people just walk around, going on with their normal lives?!" But I find that, after I've finished reading a really good book, I actually see other people much better. I see them as people, with real lives and real concerns. That's what I love about really great books.
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