Welcome to the "What Harry Means to Me..." Board!

[InLoveWithHarr…]

To me Harry Potter is a bridge to another world where the impossible can happen and good an evil collide in an epic adventure like no other with twists and turns at every corner and when you are so sure something is going to happen...BAM!Something totally different happens. I loved nothing more then to snuggle down in a nice cozy blanket with a Harry Potter book and read for hours never stopping. It kills me to know that this is the last book and that my favorite book's tail is at an end. I just hope with all my heart that this is not the end of writing books for J.K. Rowling. She is a very talented and wonderful woman with a amazing imagination. I admire her like no other writer. Not just anyone could come up with what she has and be successful with it. Her determination to publish her book made her what she is today. Not giving up. From when she could barely pay for a second copy to now when she is richer then the queen of england. But money is not what matters to J.K."To see the faces of my readers when they open up one of the Harry Potter books is my reward",says J.K. She really outdid herself with this book. The unexpected happened and the expected didn't. I encourage every one to read,(A Biography of J.K. Rowling ,The Wizard behind Harry Potter),so everyone can know how this amazing mind came up with this multi-billion dollar idea that was started on the edge of a napkin in a favorite cafe' one lovely afternoon. So basically to me theses books are a master peace that, i am sure, will be treasured forever.

[bellamae]

To me, Harry Potter has been an escape to a world not possible in our own. A way to be somewhere else, like taking a vacation. I got so caught up in that world, I would spend hours just reading. Now that the book series is over, it's like coming home from the long vacation.

[lunaginnysnape…]

Harry Potter is my life and my soul. The only way I can truly express how I feel about it is by writing it down. I will miss running into school every morning and giving my best friend (also a huge Harry lover), the newst piece of HP gossip... I will also miss simply reading about Harry walking along Hogwarts corridors - a simple but strangely reassuring thing, it makes me feel at home somehow...

[horselady78]

Yes, I also think although the series has been written for a younger audience, I can totally understand why people of all ages tend to be fascinated by those stories, because they have all the classic ingredients that make a great story - you have the good vs. the evil, there's the hero fighting the evil, the typical wise old man (in this case Dumbledore)... when you compare the Harry Potter series to other big stories that people love, like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, you will find they are all based on the same concepts (in the Star Wars trilogy you have Luke as the hero, Darth Vader and the Emperor as the evil, similar to Voldemort, the wise man is Obi Wan Kenobi, and there always seems to be a female main character that is important and pretty likable - I like to compare Hermione to Princess Leia, I think they have some things in common reagarding character... kind of standoffish at first and behave very noble...)
Ok, play the game of comparison with LOTR - the hero is of course Frodo, who I like to think is similar in a lot of ways to Harry in that he's just a little guy who's been struck by fate to go on a big quest and fight the evil, and also he has a small circle of very good friends to help him, just like Harry... then you have the evil Sauruman, the wise old man is Gandalf... Those are all ingredients that make a really good story, no matter in what context you put them.

I particularly love the Harry Potter series because it also has a lot of humor. For me it is just a very light read that is a lot of fun and entertaining, and that's what I like about it most.

I haven't read the whole series yet. I first got them from the library and read until about the middle of OOTP and stopped... and now just recently I bought the set of paperbacks of the first 6, and started re-reading, and meanwhile I just started OOTP again... so I really am somewhat behind a lot of people.. so far I have no clue yet what is going to happen in book 6 or 7, but I am looking forward to it

Daniela

[books1708]

Hmm what harry means to me? Thats a tough one.

He's not only an escape into a world of magic and wonder rather then being in reality which can get very boring but the harry potter series turned me on to reading all toegther.

See when i was in 4th grade i was bad at reading and i did very poorly on a big state wide english exam. So all my friends were reading Harry Potter at the time. I thought i couldnt read it because in 2nd grade i had tried to read it but it was very very hard for me back then. But i decided to try again and fell in love with the book. I read 3 of the books by 5th grade and ever since ive been addicted to them and any other book and now im awesome at reading and english tests. Now im entering 10th grade. Ive been reading and loving these books for 6 amazing years and will truly never forget them. Thanks HP!

[ConnieAnnKirk]

books1708--JKR recently said in a DATELINE NBC interview that stories like yours are her favorite part of the entire Harry Potter experience for her! Glad you love to read; it's a lifetime activity!

~ConnieK

---

books1708 wrote:
Hmm what harry means to me? Thats a tough one.

He's not only an escape into a world of magic and wonder rather then being in reality which can get very boring but the harry potter series turned me on to reading all toegther.

See when i was in 4th grade i was bad at reading and i did very poorly on a big state wide english exam. So all my friends were reading Harry Potter at the time. I thought i couldnt read it because in 2nd grade i had tried to read it but it was very very hard for me back then. But i decided to try again and fell in love with the book. I read 3 of the books by 5th grade and ever since ive been addicted to them and any other book and now im awesome at reading and english tests. Now im entering 10th grade. Ive been reading and loving these books for 6 amazing years and will truly never forget them. Thanks HP!

---

[Robeena]

I just cant explain how much harry potter means to me and how it is changed alot in my life, i am 21 and i started my hary potter journey sence 18 ; reading and watching the movies as well , till this day i cant get enough of SS or CS or any other one in each time i saw any movie or read any book i feel myself in a very high temper of happeniss and joy .

though i dont have much people to talk about harry potter things i got my sister she is 3 years older, we spent hours of discussions

i feel sad when some people ban their children from reading just because the general idea -witch craft- well com'on your children will not turn to wizards after all !

in my opinion there so much more than witch craft in harry potter pages;
there is love, friendship, courage , intelligence , hardworking , good manners and much more



well lets all say : "long love harry potter"

[ABI]

I hope I can make this quite clear. Because it is the one thing i have ever been absolutely sure of. I love Harry Potter. Those books are EVERYTHING to me.
I swore loudly at myself on finishing DH. I felt almost as if HP meant more to me than the actual world. I know i care as much for HP characters as the people in my life.

I hope I don't sound so pathetic! Ha, well, I'll live. I just need coffee at the moment---i'm more addicted to that stuff than i thought---oh, it's 12 something in the morning so i suppose i could blame it on the time...you know, i should really get another WORKING clock---that's not my computer.

LONG LIVE HARRY POTTER! LONG LIVE SIRIUS BLACK!

---ABI

[herbsinger42]

All of yours, plus:
Staying in school is not for everyone (this from a teacher-- sometimes you have to do what you have to do. It does not mean you don't value education or your teachers. Life often presents problems that must be dealt with right away, and you can always go back to school...)
You do not always win
A win might well mean a very personal sacrifice.
You must learn to accept the sacrifice of others as their choice
Our needs wants and desires are NOT the same as others... and we are
not responsible for their choices
The battle between good and evil is perpetual...
Easy doesn't make it right
Right isn't easy
It takes a team to succeed-
Our strengths are where we must find our personal pride
Even the young contribute to the future!(*Especially the young- tho the teachers that contributed to Harry's and the D.A.'s understanding of magic and personal responsibility... should get a pat on the back as well...
We are capable of change- but each one has to want to change, and be willing to make the effort required to acheive the change.
Belittling others is a sure sign of internal turmoil and fear. One must hate one's self to need to diminish others in order to look better by comparison

I love to read-- Ms. Rollings gave a boatload of kids a reason to read ... late into the night, with excitement and joy! I'd love to turn an English class into a Harry Potter class... maybe one day.

[iheartbooks]

---

rkubie wrote:
Do you find yourself immediately in deep conversation with total strangers once you discover they've also read and loved the series? Do you have "Harry friends?"

Rachel

---

i really wish i could say that i do but i actually have absolutely NO ONE. its terrible. this book club is the closest i've got to "harry friends". i mean dont get me wrong, i have a BUNCH of friends, but none of them are interested in harry potter. i think this is because (not to be conceited) we're supposed to be the so called "popular" group, so i almost feel like they dont want to be caught reading harry potter "/. i took one of my best friends to a midnight party and she was bored out of her mind! all she could do was say, what time is it? or how much longer? while i was having the time of my life...i really wish i had someone to talk to about not just harry potter, but about books!!!

[Prospero]

I recently wrote this letter about Harry Potter to my uncle. Maybe how I feel corresponds to the feelings of a lot of other HP fans, and hopefully my uncle's response, which is included, will help all of us...


"I want to tell you about a "reading experience" I just had so that I can get your opinion about it. I recently finished the Harry Potter series. For almost eight years, I have patiently awaited every single one of the seven books to come out, delving into each as soon as I possibly could, and usually finishing it in just a couple of days. When the seventh came, I swelled with all the emotions that come with the final installment of a captivating series: anxiety, jubilation, curiosity, etc. However, when I read the last page of that seventh book--the last page of the Harry Potter series itself--I deflated instantly into an abyss in which all the above-mentioned emotions could not even exist. Rather I bumped into depression, bewilderment... a somewhat partial sense of loss to my identity, like an actual chunk of me had been ripped away and thrown into space, never to be seen again. My personal exclusion from the characters and their resolved actions in the epilogue felt like an injustice. At the very end of the epic journey, I strongly and passionately believed (and still do!) that I, too, belonged on that platform at the train station with the people through whom I have felt loss, love, joy, pain, confusion, enlightenment, apprehension, and peace.

Does that make sense? In short, rather than being happy that the series is over, I feel extremely unhappy. I'm attempting to make the story live on in my head and heart by writing essays about it, and hopefully on all types of subjects. But I wanted to know from you is if a book has ever made you feel that way, and, if so, what did you do physically, mentally, or spiritually?

There's so much more that I could say about Harry Potter, but I think that will do. J.K. Rowling has one hell of a gift... but that still doesn't summarize her galactic talent. So, yes, I am going to recommend the entire series to you. Please don't be fooled by the propaganda that says its a "children's book," or a "diabolical hymnal," or even "trivial." Of all the books I have ever read, these are without a doubt the best. There is simply too much between, below, above, and behind the lines to only read once. Yea, she's a literary Einstein."

My uncle responded,

"Great literature creates space. This space is sometimes experienced as a “let down.” I have found that it is never a place to be feared nor a place to try and cover up with “happy” thoughts. Can we let the canyon of depression or feeling isolation be there, without trying to escape it?

Great creativity and insights can arise in that space. This is a vital secret that has served me well."

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Prospero--Thank you for this! Your uncle sounds like someone who really knows literature--"Great literature creates space."--love that!

You might like to visit our "Ministry of Spoilers" board, where more people more recently have posted their feelings on Book 7 and the series (this board is actually kind of winding down a bit). You are definitely not alone in your feelings!

Welcome!

~ConnieK

---

Prospero wrote:
I recently wrote this letter about Harry Potter to my uncle. Maybe how I feel corresponds to the feelings of a lot of other HP fans, and hopefully my uncle's response, which is included, will help all of us...


"I want to tell you about a "reading experience" I just had so that I can get your opinion about it. I recently finished the Harry Potter series. For almost eight years, I have patiently awaited every single one of the seven books to come out, delving into each as soon as I possibly could, and usually finishing it in just a couple of days. When the seventh came, I swelled with all the emotions that come with the final installment of a captivating series: anxiety, jubilation, curiosity, etc. However, when I read the last page of that seventh book--the last page of the Harry Potter series itself--I deflated instantly into an abyss in which all the above-mentioned emotions could not even exist. Rather I bumped into depression, bewilderment... a somewhat partial sense of loss to my identity, like an actual chunk of me had been ripped away and thrown into space, never to be seen again. My personal exclusion from the characters and their resolved actions in the epilogue felt like an injustice. At the very end of the epic journey, I strongly and passionately believed (and still do!) that I, too, belonged on that platform at the train station with the people through whom I have felt loss, love, joy, pain, confusion, enlightenment, apprehension, and peace.

Does that make sense? In short, rather than being happy that the series is over, I feel extremely unhappy. I'm attempting to make the story live on in my head and heart by writing essays about it, and hopefully on all types of subjects. But I wanted to know from you is if a book has ever made you feel that way, and, if so, what did you do physically, mentally, or spiritually?

There's so much more that I could say about Harry Potter, but I think that will do. J.K. Rowling has one hell of a gift... but that still doesn't summarize her galactic talent. So, yes, I am going to recommend the entire series to you. Please don't be fooled by the propaganda that says its a "children's book," or a "diabolical hymnal," or even "trivial." Of all the books I have ever read, these are without a doubt the best. There is simply too much between, below, above, and behind the lines to only read once. Yea, she's a literary Einstein."

My uncle responded,

"Great literature creates space. This space is sometimes experienced as a “let down.” I have found that it is never a place to be feared nor a place to try and cover up with “happy” thoughts. Can we let the canyon of depression or feeling isolation be there, without trying to escape it?

Great creativity and insights can arise in that space. This is a vital secret that has served me well."

---

[Robeena]

hey Prospero ,,
i really liked your letter and your uncle response as well ,,
i feel exactly the same when i ever started to think that harry potter world has come to an end.
me unlike you i didn't finished the seventh book simply because i cant stand doing that !
i feel myself very related to each and every character in the story and that all books effects on me more than i expected !

i wonder if am going mad because am also having dreams about it

[nikkicv99]

---

rkubie wrote:
Do you find yourself immediately in deep conversation with total strangers once you discover they've also read and loved the series? Do you have "Harry friends?"

Rachel

---

Yep. I have "Harry Friends", just like I had/have LOTR friends, 80's movie's friends and cartoon/comic/sci-fi/fiction series friends! Some I know personally, some I work with and yes, those you meet while out and about. My favorite ones are the nay-sayers who don't "get" Harry Potter and I talk them into trying it, then they join the ever broadening "harry friends" club. HA!

Nikki

[Prospero]

---

Robeena wrote:
hey Prospero ,,
i really liked your letter and your uncle response as well ,,
i feel exactly the same when i ever started to think that harry potter world has come to an end.
me unlike you i didn't finished the seventh book simply because i cant stand doing that !
i feel myself very related to each and every character in the story and that all books effects on me more than i expected !

i wonder if am going mad because am also having dreams about it

---

Haha. No, Robeena, I don't think you're going mad. If that is madness, then consider me crazy, also. Only, instead of dreaming about perceptual scenes, I dream about the actual WORDS on the pages, like I'm reading the story in my sleep. I think I'm just obsessed.

[Robeena]

That is more than obsession of you asked me !
I memorize half of each book by heart and i enjoy that very much !

I think that the "Ministry of Spoilers" board is suitable to discuss feelings about the story

well, meet you there