A Walk Down Harry Potter Memory Lane

Hello all! What with this week being a holiday and everything (not to mention checking out some different schools and different jobs for consideration), I felt like I slacked a little bit in the reading department this week. But hey, can you blame me when I was extremely busy conjuring up delicious treats with which to celebrate the nation's independence?

I think not.

Magically delicious!

Look how delicious my homemade ice cream and apple crisp came out to be! That was actually my second attempt at the ice cream since someone was just learning how to use the ice cream maker she got as a wedding gift... Hem, hem. It turned out amazing when I actually did it right! In fact, my mother-in-law is now slightly addicted.

 I hope you all had a fun and safe Fourth of July full of all sorts of delicious treats, barbecued goodness perhaps, brilliant fireworks, and lots of gratitude for all of those who helped found our country.

Me totally reading (or maybe mostly just posing for the blog...)

Now, I should cut my self some slack. After a few days of celebrating and too much eating (which is what always happens around a holiday, right?), I did do some make up reading. I'm now on chapter 10 out of 24 of the book "Sheer Power: Crossing Paths." I don't want to say too much about it yet just because I want to give you a complete overview and review once I've read the whole thing. I will say this though, there is a bit of a mystery that's kept me intrigued thus far. Also, I can't help thinking about Dragon Ball Z as I read it. I've never actually sat down and watched the show, but my husband is a major fan and has a ton of the seasons on DVD. Mostly I just think of it because there are "energy users" in the book which basically can shoot out and control bright streams of energy in varying colors which is kind of part of my impression of Dragon Ball Z. Anyway, I'm rambling a bit, you'll get more on this later.

I may not have a full review for you this week, but it's Friday, and The Book Club of Destiny must go on!

So let's talk about something else that caught my attention recently that totally has to do with book stuffs. Last week I was minding my own business when something on the TV caught my attention--it was the words Harry Potter! It didn't matter what I was doing. With words like that I just had to pay attention! It turns out the news was announcing the 20th birthday of the publication of the first Harry Potter book.

Does anyone else suddenly feel slightly old?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone to those of us in the states) was first published back on June 26, 1997. It took J.K. Rowling loads of rejection letters before someone would represent her story, and look at what has become of it! Not only did we receive seven amazing books, but we have movies, video games, board games, action figures, clothing, Pottermore, a theme park, and a Lego Hogwarts Castle that unfortunately costs more than I'm willing to pay (but it's so cool)! Besides all the amazing merchandise that I probably have to much of and yet would still probably purchase more, the stories themselves are fantastic! I enjoy them so much that not only am I collecting the illustrated versions as they come out, but I also have the entire book series in Romanian (see the picture for proof even though you can't really tell in the picture that it's Romanian...).

Definitely a Romanian version.

I didn't start reading the series at that point. I'm pretty sure that's around the time I was reading Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (so sad, but so good!). And by "reading" I should say it was more like my teacher was reading it to the class...same thing. I wouldn't get into the Harry Potter series until after the fourth book was already on the bookstore shelves. I still remember the friend who introduced it to me at school (thank you, Kathryn). It was on her suggestion that I picked up a copy and quickly fell in love with the boy wizard.

What's amazing to me about this series is the way it's had such a huge impact for 20 years now! I was just reading an article that talks about some awesome statistics when it comes to the book series, the fact that it's helped with literacy and empathy in young readers for example. In one of my English classes in college, I even read a research paper that had been published in some fancy journal comparing Harry Potter to King Arthur and making all these great correlations. Basically Harry Potter as even shaped the academic world.

Above all else, I love some of the classic themes in the book--good versus evil, the power of love and friendship, even the little guy can accomplish great things. All this is done is such a fun universe that has made many fans everywhere young and old want to dress up, wave a stick, and wait for their Hogwarts acceptance letter via owl post. J.K. Rowling truly has inspired us not just to geek out every time we see something Harry Potter related, but think of some of the great things Harry Potter teaches us (besides the correct way to pronounce wingardium leviosa).

Thanks good ol' J.K. Your story is going to be alive in our hearts for many years to come (because we are most definitely going to share the Harry Potter love with all our children and grandchildren).

Tell me what you think about the Harry Potter franchise. What is it that you love about it most? Even if you're not a fan, feel free to speak up. We love muggles too :)