The Potter Plague

If there was a book that got kids and adults alike piling into bookstores on the first day of release and makea mad dash for the bookshelves it probably wasn’t as successful as the Harry Potter series. Every once in awhile books get acclaim from various sides of the literary world but none have really had such a large fan base that descends age groups like Harry Potter. It is always refreshing to see a 40-year-old carrying around the Order of the Phoenix on the BART train. But with the new release of what appears to be the final addition to the series, I’m finding myself clinging to denial for dear life. Many non-Potter fans roll their eyes at the devotion that the book brings out of the fans. I don’t necessarily blame them. It is just a book – right? After the release date of final installment came out reality hit me. This was probably the last new book out of the series I was ever going to read. What am I going to look forward to reading after this? I know it sounds nerdy, and a wee-bit obsessive but it is the big finish! The last explosion of fireworks! The reason why some kids actually read. This book got my cousin to read, and she rarely reads anything ever. The fact she actually started reading a 400-page book – I almost fell out of my chair. Once the Potter craze goes away, I’m sure there will be a year or so of withdrawal. For most, watching the final few movies will take off the edge. Some will resort to re-reading all seven books. A friend of mine, who is a more a Potter fan than I am but is a little more optimistic than most said, “Y’know, it is kind of cool that we get the chance to show our kids these books and have them read it for the first time. So they can love is just as much as we did.” And the Potter Plague lives on…