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I just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And thus, a little piece of me has died. I don’t mean to say that the events in the book made me sad or angry or some sort. I mean a part of my self has died. That a chapter in my life <insert own “Things at an End” cliché> has ended. Or something. I don’t actually know. I’ve read a lot of book series and while I love Harry Potter, it is by no means my favorite. But it is important to me. I first read Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone almost directly after I finished reading Phillip Pullman’s The Golden Compass for the first time. Compass was the first in a trilogy of books entitled His Dark Materials that would become, and remain, my favorite book series ever conceived- for young adults or other wise. Pullman’s Materials where the first books I ever took deep interest in publication dates and actually caring about an author’s themes/inspirations. Harry Potter was just a book my mom read a review on and thought I’d like it and got for me to read during a family trip to Washington DC. I read half of Philosophers during the 13 hour trip to DC and finished the rest within the next day. I got Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and finished it before I even got back to my relatively new home in Hawaii. I waited eagerly for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to be released that summer (1999). I’m proud to say I was ahead of Pottermania if only by a few months. ‘Cause once Azkaban hit the racks, everything went boom. Harry Potter was everywhere. It was awesome. Being a fan of the series, the sudden group of people willing to converse all things Potter via the internet and at school was fun. Now, of course there was (is) also the back lash. My boyfriend Lee hates the series and all subsequent things Potter related. He’s never read the books nor cares too, he was one of the “Potter is a Pot head lololololz” individuals who if you read the books and have ever expressed so publicly may have run into. He remains avid in his anti-Potter ways as do many others. Irregardless, with Harry Potter I found myself in a fandom* situation that has yet to happen to me again; more people where fans of the same thing I was then the number of people who where not. Seriously. Grown ups, acquaintances, peers, strangers- anyone (and what felt like everyone) was a fan. My tastes in entertainment are not that far fetched and I believe the various fandoms I partake actively in are rather large in actuality, but they pale in comparison to the otherwise overwhelming numbers of the Harry Potter camp. The only other fandom I’m acclimated to that might be equal to Potter is Lord of the Rings (which in a way I don't see on the same level entirely as Rings gained a huge following the size of Potters but only after the films while Potter fans where larger then Rings fans before the films- not that it really matters, I just can't help but observe). I first read The Fellowship of the Ring in 8th grade as forced by Mrs. Lanning’s English class and found it dull, but ultimately fascinating, and I soon took off on all things Middle Earth. Now, ignore the fact I can write in Tengwar English mode (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengwar), own a red leather bound gold paged full copy of Lord of the Rings, and saw the first film 7 times in theaters- I’m not that big of a Lord of the Rings fan. I prefer Harry Potter by what could be described as a “long shot”. Hopefully that will give you (potentially scary) insight into my life as a perpetual fan of various things, one of the bigger being the ever so fantastical story of the boy who lived. If Lord of the Rings is below Harry Potter; perhaps the feelings of my finishing the last sentence of Death Hallows can be, if not communicated, given insight into at least. And I am aware the Harry Potter books are just books. But speaking as a girl who felt isolated, awkward, and nerdy- often times even to this day outside of the Stair People- who was finally settling into a new home, Harry Potter has become a little something more to me. I mean; I could argue that it is the Harry Potter books that have created the internet addicted individual that is me, now, 10 years later. My active internet based fandom of anything was lead by my enjoyment of Harry Potter and not The X-Files, comics, or anything else I sqwee about and love more then Potter, interestingly enough. Call me shallow (although I prefer human) for wanting acceptance in something as trivial as entertainment tastes every once in a while; but Harry Potter put a little bit of nerd into a lot of people and I, however incapable to explain or sad I may sound, am thankful for that. ...
On the other hand, Harry Potter is below His Dark Materials in the ranks of my book fandom so indications show that I’m about to have a hernia if the Golden Compass movie pulls a Return of the King. Oh, the hazards of active fanism; carrying way to much about things that logically make no sense to care about.
>:B (* Fandom: A term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and comradeship with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object(s) of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest; this is what differentiates them from those with only a casual interest. When referring to an organized sub-culture, the term "fandom" is most often associated with a particular community of fans of the science fiction and fantasygenres, in any medium.) Onward with the Harry Potter-ness!
Thats all I can think of at the moment. More will pop up throughout the week/month as I think way too much about a fictional world and people. Like with all really good books that engross me I am not a little bit depressed as I will never go to Hogwarts and on top of that yet to ever read anything (cannonly) new about it.
*Le Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*
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