Jumping on the Hogwarts Express

They wait in lines wrapped around the bookstore for hours, some sporting robes with brooms in hand. Many of those who are waiting in line are well above the age of qualifying as a young adult, the intended reading age of these Harry Potter books. So why do they do it? How good can a book really be?

If you are looking for an answer to that last question, I would highly suggest reading the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. There is a definite reason that the series has captured the multi-aged hearts of millions. After trying to convince myself since the phenomenon started that I wouldn't like the books, I finally decided to give them a fair shot this past Christmas and placed the first three on my Christmas list for my boyfriend.

When I received the books I was eager to find out why they were all the rage. I began reading the first book and was absolutely blown away. As a student who is studying English, and thus reading many of the best works of literature ever to be produced, I found myself unable to put the books down. I easily read through the first book in two days.

I was very impressed by J.K.. Rowling's ability to make an impossibly fictional world so believable. Not only was this book intended for those far younger than myself, it is also not of my typical genre. I usually read the typical romance novels, or novels that are fiction, but so heavily based in reality that they could be true. But it didn't matter that Harry Potter was intended for my twenty-two year old mind or that it was more of a science fiction fantasy than I was used to reading. J.K.. Rowling has done such an amazing job of blending this fictional wizarding world in with a world that resembles the one we currently live in, that I found myself able to imagine the scenes from the book without thinking, 'Yeah, okay...'

Rowling not only does a wonderful job of blending the wizarding world with the common (muggle) world, she also does a beautiful job of introducing the former world subtly. I never felt like I was reading a Harry Potter dictionary, rather, I felt like I was reading any other book which would explain only what is necessary to explain, and allowing the reader to figure out the rest through implication.

I am now halfway through the fourth book and still completely hooked, an amazing thing for me. I usually find when reading a series, that the writing tends to get lazier and less imaginative as the series goes on, and so my interest and motivation to read the books slackens. This series, however, continues to hold my interest at the same level as when I started, if not on a higher level.

So for all of you out there who have been putting off the Harry Potter books, or who have simply sworn them off because you believe there is no way you will enjoy them, take it from me: They are well worth their affordable cover price, and the little time it takes to read them once you are hooked! So jump on the Hogwart's Express and join Harry for a Quidditch match and an adventure.