So a bit about me… A million and one hobbies, multiple personalities depending on what events are taking place and an interest in just about everything exciting… However, there are just a few things that people tend to come to know in our first meeting or are reminded ever so often when interacting with me that seems to be consistent.
One, is that I love to eat. I can eat quite a lot in one sitting and have a very weird likeness to mixing all types of food. I am a critics nightmare. The more flavours the better. The weirder the combination, the better. If it’s edible, I am satisfied. I have been known to go from savoury to sweet, dessert to dinner with the same utensils and sometimes in the same mouthful…
Two, people tend to call me a hippie. This isn’t a nickname I have given myself but it is one that I am frequently addressed with so I’ve learnt to just own it. It could be because of the fact that I don’t like being on technology a whole lot, or the fact that I will run across a room to save a caterpillar or spider that someone was about to kill, or maybe the psychedelic adventures out in nature that I am quite open about. Whatever the reason, I apparently have the tendencies of a tree hugging spiritual guru.
And third, I LOVE LOVE Harry Potter. I am a complete Harry Potter dork and proud. I am so in love with this story and the world that has come from it. I love the films, I love the books, I love the Cursed Child Play, Fantastic Beasts series, I love J.K Rowling, and have attended more than a couple Wizarding events where I may or may not have been dressed up amongst other dorky HP lovers.
I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again – the books and the films do not compare. They are BOTH equally amazing. They are both the perfect way to tell the story and you cannot say one is better than the other. You just can’t. They are too different and yet somehow tell the exact same story in the most perfect way. Bits and pieces of each compliment where the other lacks and so the two together just create a perfect world. Okay so now that i’ve got that out of way…
I’ve actually had to force myself to take a break from reading the books again and again because I have so many others on my list and let’s face it, i’ll never get through them if I keep reading the same 7 over and over. This doesn’t mean I will never read them ever again, but I decided that I wouldn’t read them again until I go through Jim Kay’s illustrated series. I had also moved overseas for a year and obviously couldn’t bring the books with me so it was a nice forced break and worked out. But the time has come and I have now started reading the series again. And I figure since they’re starting to create the TV series, this would be a good time to go back and reminisce before I create new connections to the story. Yay.
So why do I love this story so much? All the great reasons that most people agree on. The fantasy of a magical world I guess, a prestigious school filled with creatures and moving stairs and living books is quite exciting. But this world JK has created has a lot of flaws too. It’s very real. She somehow turned a complete make belief world into the most believable version of that. She has recognised the flaw in mankind. No matter what problems magic solves, you cannot magic your way out of the flaws of mankind. People lust for power, people are cruel and unfair, there is a hierarchy amongst the creatures and like the muggle world, the powers that be are corrupt.
The most important theme that I have attached myself to is the role of friendship and the relationships you create in life and how just like in real life, you can’t go through it alone. You sometimes will always need help and thats okay. This is a constant theme she addresses throughout the series and is so applicable to real life. Harry could not have done any of what he accomplished if it weren’t for the help he had along the way. I will never forget how she wrote the end of the chapter ‘Hallowe’en’ in Philosopher’s Stone, made me feel. After the three have their second adventure together defeating the troll and from then on become this ultimate trio. Something I always think back to when I get to the part of them three as adults fighting in the tent and for the first time split the group.
What I also appreciate about Jo is that she’s actually put in research and effort behind the world she’s created. The spells and enchantments are all derived from latin, most of the creatures have a mythical history behind it in our world and even the plants and potion ingredients are all based on witchcraft and ancient practices in the real world!
I also love that she is just as obsessed with this world as we are! She has a full background story for every character, she has a full map of Hogwarts and where each section leads to and she has more ideas to keep expanding and revealing this world so I’m glad to say she isn’t done anytime soon… I know this from listening to interviews and behind the scenes and such [I told you, I am full dork when it comes to this story]. All the names of books written by famous witches and wizards, with a full history of this world and its laws. There’s so much to learn.
There are parts to each the film and novel that I love, as for the whole series really. I still have the original 2-disc set of the first 2 films at home that my mum came home with one day. I distinctly remember sitting at the TV watching The Simpsons or something and she walked in through the laundry door which lead to the garage holding the two DVD sets. I immediately got up and put in the first disc. I don’t even remember why I was so excited to watch it. I was so young and can’t even remember why I knew what the story was before even watching the films but I remember that memory clearly and had watched those movies a ridiculous amount of times over and over until we got the next DVD, then we’d watch all 3 over and over, then 4, etc etc. But the first 2 movies are the only ones I have with the 2-disk set featuring special behind the scenes footage and interviews and even games! I played these games so much, I even memorised the dialogue that came with every button press that progressed to the next stage.
So since I’m going to read through the series again, I decided I’ll write a blog about each book once I’ve finished it. I’ll write what I like about the book and movie and what contrasts they have. I’ll write about which parts are my favourite of each version and what I hope to see in the future TV series. Maybe I’ll add in questions I would love to ask JK about if I ever had the chance, stuff like that. Why? Just ’cause. This will be my love letter to the Wizarding World – FKA Pottermore for those who know.
P.S. I actually watched all the films before I read any of the books. If you don’t know this already, the first two films are the truest to the books and the rest I guess are just so long and dense, they couldn’t possibly add everything on to the screen. It wasn’t actually until the last few films that I started noticing gaps in the story. If you watch it just as a fan of the big screen you wouldn’t notice anything but remember, I have seen these films so many times that I picked up on so many details and so many things that either didn’t make sense or needed some explaining. I would do research and found answers until eventually I realised, I have already gotten everything out of these films that I could possibly get so if I want to learn more about this story and world that I love so much, I need to go straight to the source. Then I was hooked. So yeah, I was actually a little late to the game but I think how I did it worked out better than ever. Imagine having something you love so much that you want more of it but can’t get. I was in the perfect position. For those who read the books first, although they are so different, you are limited when you watch the film. Parts are missing, good or bad. Whereas if you watch the films first and already love it then you’re going to love the books even more because you get what you love already and then some. So if you or you know anyone that hasn’t dabbled in this world before, this would be my recommendation on how to enjoy it.