And so it ends...

Transferred from myspace. Originally posted July 24, 2007

I admit it, I was one of those crazy people at a book store Friday night waiting to get my hands on a copy of the last Harry Potter book. I was number 17 out of more than 500, mostly adults. When the clock struck midnight, a great cheer went up and the clerks began opeing the boxes and passing out books. I was out the door at 12:04am and at home reading by 12:15. Stopping only to catch a few hours of much needed sleep and trivial things like food, I closed the back cover at 2pm the next afternoon. The book was fantastic and felt like reading an action movie, but when it was over, I felt, as many other fans have expressed, sad because it was over. Many of the readers have been with the series for 7-10 years and after having read more than 4000 pages felt these characters were friends and reading the final chapter was something of a loss. Some people I know have termed it PPD-Post Potter Depression and I wonder if perhaps psychologist offices won't soon be flooded with its sufferers.
It seems silly to a lot of people to be so attached to a series of books, but it was nice to see young people reading such huge books and being excited about the next installment. It was fun to go to midnight parties and speculate what would happen and it was nice to see people line up for a book instead of a video game or a phone. If JK Rowling has accomplished one thing, it was to instill a love of reading in many, both children and adults and she should be commended for it. And now, I'm off to mourn not only the characters who died but the end of an era.