On July 21st 2007, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was
finally released, my eager hands grabbing a copy as soon as I could. On July 23rd,
I'd finished it. Like many others, I'd barely slept for two days whilst devouring
every chapter. My fifteen-year-old self cried her eyes out and put the book
down. I never picked it up again.
Despite Harry Potter being such a huge part of my life, I've never reread the
books. I'm not really sure why, and it doesn't mean I love them any less.
Before Deathly
Hallows was released, I'd reread the previous books several times. I've
just never been one for rereading a series' after it's actually finished. Standalone
books? Sure, I'll pick them up again. But a series of books I've dedicated
years of my life to, given so much of my time, money, and tears to? I put them down and I move on.
It's strange, when I think about. Looking
back to some of my all-time favourite series', they've each changed a little part of my life, all of them shaping
me in some way, changing what I look for in a story, what I expect. I love the
characters, the plot twists, the moments that made me laugh and cry, but
they're memories that I think back to rather than read again. Maybe it's because
I've spent so long inside those worlds? Maybe once I've finally got that
perfect ending, I feel like I don't need to go back to it. The characters that I've spent so long with are happy (most of the
time), they're free and, as a reader, so am I. Usually, I’m content with
putting them on my shelves and keeping them as happy memories without diving
back in.
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| My first ever copy of the book! |
Things have changed over the past year,
though. Anyone who checks this blog even occasionally can see how little I've
been posting compared to a couple of years ago. I've been pretty open on
Twitter, and a little on this blog, about how much more I've struggled with my
mental health, leaving me feeling drained and barely motivated to even read,
let alone write posts. For the first time in a very long time, books haven't been a priority for me. I
haven't been able to use them as my escape for a while, and it's really sucked.
At the end of last year, I realised that I was putting too much pressure on myself as a blogger.
As much as I try to avoid doing it, I can't help trying to keep up with the
latest reads, forcing myself to finish certain books quickly so that I can post
about them because everyone else has. It wasn't good for me, and reading
started becoming more like a chore than an enjoyment, and I never wanted that
to happen. Whilst so far this year, I've been able to get my reading back on
track a little, I'm still not where I was a few years ago, and I'd quite like
to be back there. So, to find my Reading Mojo™ again, I've decided to go back to the story that first made me fall in love
with reading.
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| Hogwarts is like my second home |
When I say that Harry Potter played a big
part in my life, I mean it really did. So many people in my generation
say this, but I literally wouldn't be
the person I am today without those seven books. When I was younger, books
did not interest me one bit. My idea of hell was the one hour reading class in
school when us students would have to pick out a book and read in silence. Back
then, bored out of my mind, I had no idea that my entire being would revolve
around books in the future. Until the day that my mum practically forced a copy
of The Philospher's Stone into my
hands, books just weren't my thing. But
discovering Harry Potter opened my eyes to a whole new, literary world.
It was Harry Potter that made me fall in
love with books, with fantasy, with reading any exciting story I could get my
hands on. I have these books to thank
for the me I am today, and for every little thing I’ve achieved within the
world of bookish things, including this blog. Since I was a very different
person when I first picked up Harry Potter, I want to see what I take away from
these books as an adult, how my feelings for certain characters have changed,
and what I appreciate more now than I did when I was younger. I want to see how my general love for the
series has changed over all these years.
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| My Harry Funko. I swear I didn't break one arm of his glasses on the day that I got him. |
So, whilst I delve back into the wizarding
world, I’m going to be publishing a series of Harry-related blog posts to
document my reread. It feels like the perfect way to not only get me back into
reading, but to also get me writing blog posts again.
Here’s to my first ever, full reread of
Harry Potter!
How
many times have you reread your favourite series, or what do you want to reread
in the future? Let me know!
I'm not much of a rereader, and I didn't reread the HP series until my son was old enough for me to read them to him. It was the best experience to be able to share these super special books with him and have him love them just as much. I will say that I had different reactions while reading them 8-10 years later. I still loved them!!! But a little bit of the magic was gone for me and I saw flaws that I was incapable of seeing with my LOVE glasses on the first time through. I'm so interested to see your new thoughts on them-- and to see if any of your fave/least fave books change-- or your ship!!
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