Potter

Okay, taking a risk writing this. I assume everyone has a guilty pleasure. A little something they love yet would not want to share with anyone for fear of being ostracized. For some it might perhaps be a music group…like secretly jamming to The Backstreet Boys when riding in your car with the windows rolled up. Perhaps it is renting Raise Your Voice on pay-per-view because you fear someone will scoff at your enjoyment of Hillary Duff movies. Or maybe it is a secret comfort…like a teddy-bear hidden deep in the recesses of your closet. THANKFULLY, none of these are my guilty pleasures. However, I do indeed have one. Mine….Harry Potter. I love the movies, I love the books even more. I am wildly addicted to everything Potter.

The truth is, when the books came out I couldn’t stand the thought of reading them. The fact that people were so “obsessed” with Harry Potter disgusted me. When the first movie came out I wanted NOTHING to do with it either, but my children begged and pleaded, so I gave in. We rented The Sorcerer’s Stone and I was HOOKED. Wow.

Alex had actually read the books long before I. He kept insisting that I needed to take the time to read them myself. Fine. I borrowed the first from Jazmin and all was lost. THE GOBLET of FIRE is by far my favorite. I have even decided that no one else in the world will be capable of pulling off a better “Tonks” than I. Watching THE ORDER of the PHOENIX may very well be torture knowing that I was meant to play that part.

A couple Januaries ago I was returning from Tokyo when Kim and I wandered into a Disney store. I spied a single Golden Snitch charm and grabbed it up. Kim said it would be the perfect gift for Kayl. “Oh no, this isn’t for him,” I replied….”it is MINE!!” It still hangs discreetly from my cell phone.

If you happen to wander into my bedroom and pick up the latest book I am reading (ANGELS by Marian Keyes) you will find tucked within the pages the Sorting Hat bookmark Kayl bought for me last year. And Shoved in the center of my magazine basket is the copy of Movie Magic that was wholly dedicated to the Harry Potter movies just prior to the release of Prisoner of Azkaban.

I’ve purchased the Harry Potter board game and trading cards for “my kids”. Who, I might add, enjoy the movies as much as I. And last summer I directed the children during Vacation Bible School wearing Rob’s Gryffindor tie. I offered to pay him for it, but he just couldn’t part with the thing. No worries, I have plans to buy one for myself at The Leaky Cauldron.com, along with a few other items. There’s a lovely Slytherin ring that would look fabulous on my thumb, or perhaps the charm bracelet! Classy!! (wink)

I recall one afternoon when I decided to settle in for a Potter-a-thon. The moment I realized my Sorcerer’s Stone DVD was scratched I rushed to the BX to replace it. Heaven forbid this house not hold the full set of movies for any length of time. I also own all the books in hardback. My treasures. They each hold a hallowed place on my bedroom bookshelf. No, I won’t loan them out! HA!

Reading the Potter books is a great adventure for me. I cannot explain to you the excitement that wells up in me when I think that July 16th of this year I will hold Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in my hot little hand. I considered purchasing it online, but after I spoke with the manager at the Bookmark I decided I could just as easily be waiting at the door on that day. Just a forewarning: I will be unavailable for social calls that day…as I will be hold up in my room, my imagination lost somewhere in the HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY.


Okay, so perhaps I’ve gone a bit overboard with Harry-itis, however I am POSITIVE there are those who are thoroughly worse off than I. Honestly, I could be a Trek-ie. No offense to those of you who are. May you all “Live long & Prosper”. At any rate, the Potter series remains my “guilty pleasure”. Although I might not be able to call it “guilty” anymore considering I just shared it on my blog! The SHAME!!!