As Harry Potter fans the world over flock to theaters for the final screenings of the final film in the eight-part series, I'm marking the end of an era myself, reading the last pages of the last book to my last child.
I read all seven books in J.K. Rowling's epic series to my older daughter, Abby, when she was in elementary school, and I've spent the last two years reading them to my other daughter, Allie.
Closing the book on Harry and his pals is bittersweet. Over the past 10 years, I've watched the wiz kids grow up in the pages and films _ and my own kids right along with them. The little girl I first snuggled up with to read these bedtime stories is now 14; the baby born two years after the first movie enthralled audiences is nearly 8.
As the creative mind behind the most successful book and movie franchise of all time, Rowling has been credited with singlehandedly "saving reading" in an era of electronic entertainment and fostering patience in a generation accustomed to instant gratification. At a more basic level, her originality has given a bit of depth to a movie genre dominated mainly by Disney fairy tales and live-action animation created primarily as a vehicle for special effects and plastic toys.
Other books or movies may one day surpass Rowling's success, but Harry Potter will always be remembered as a cultural phenomenon. Even people who haven't read the books or seen the movies know that The Boy Who Lived wears glasses, has a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on his forehead and attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Second-graders play witches and wizards at recess, launching curses and protective spells at one another in duels with pretend wands. On college quads, kids who grew up reading Harry Potter play a version of wizard soccer (Quidditch) _ minus the flying brooms and self-propelled balls.
I'm not a big fan of the fantasy genre. I picked up the first Harry Potter book 10 years ago _ just to see what all the excitement was about _ and read it in two sittings. I was captivated by the level of detail Rowling put into imagining, so completely, this other world, from the framework _ wand lore, wizard law, the characteristics and history of various breeds of magical creatures, wizard school rules and routines, and the inner workings of the Ministry of Magic _ to lighter details, like the ingredients used in the all-important Polyjuice Potion or the Puking Pastilles and Nosebleed Nougats found in Fred and George Weasley's joke shop.
As someone who makes a living working with words, I love the plays on words that are sprinkled throughout Rowling's pages, in names of things, like floo powder (used to transport yourself from one fireplace to another) and people, like Professor Sprout, expert in all varieties of magical plants. I love the etymology behind the incantations. Who needs "abracadabra" when you've got spells like reparo (great for fixing broken glasses), accio (used to instantly summon an object) or lumos (to create light)?
More than just a well-crafted adventure story or a fantastic twist on the standard coming-of-age tale, the Harry Potter saga has enough layers of complexity to keep adults engaged and guessing until the end. The books build on one another in ways Allie won't fully understand until she re-reads them on her own. Details and characters that seem frivolous in one book turn out to be pivotal to the plot later on.
In addition to the central theme of good vs. evil, the books address issues such as racism and censorship, and pose serious questions about fate and free will, the danger of absolute power to corrupt, and whether the ends always justify the means. There's plenty of drama, too, with first love, unrequited love, unconditional love and tragic death woven throughout the epic tale.
With just three chapters to go, Allie and I will soon rent Part 1 of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and don our 3-D glasses for Part 2. And then, finally, the magic will be over.
Unless, of course, Allie gets a mysterious letter from Hogwarts when she turns 11. As she pointed out the other night, magical powers usually manifest themselves by age 7 or 8 _ even in muggle families like ours.
Lisa Miller is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Oneonta. She can be reached at lisamiller44@hotmail.com.
Lisa Miller
A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Lisa Miller
-
-
A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
-
Being a parent is a constant learning process
I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dressing room, waiting for Allie's dance number to be called. The cave girl costume has been donned, the jazz shoes double-tied, the hair pulled back, the requisite dab of lipstick applied.
-
Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
Half of Americans will be obese by 2030 if current trends continue, according to a report released last week in the British medical journal The Lancet.
-
Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
For many small communities, the Borders store at the nearest mall was the only place to browse and buy a variety of books, beyond the few titles offered in Walmart bestseller and bargain racks.
- Saturday, July 2, 2011
-
Untethered from the cable box
I never imagined it would be so easy to be cable-free.
- Saturday, June 11, 2011
-
On cells, sprouts and sodas
It figures. Six weeks after we dropped our landline, the World Health Organization issued a warning that radiation from cell phones might cause brain cancer. Meanwhile, the ultimate health food, organic bean sprouts, is being blamed for one of the deadliest E. coli outbreaks in recent history.
- Saturday, May 21, 2011
-
End of the world as we know it? I feel fine
If you're reading this article after 6 p.m. and the ground is not shaking beneath your feet, then Harold Camping was wrong. Again.
- Sunday, May 1, 2011
-
Song lyrics are an odd measure of attitudes
It was the third rainy weekend in a row, and I was scrolling through comments to a post by MSNBC blogger Melissa Dahl about a new study linking song lyrics to cultural changes.
- Saturday, April 9, 2011
-
Parenting adventure takes a turn
On Friday, my 13-year-old daughter, Abby, will embark on the biggest adventure of her life.
- Saturday, March 19, 2011
-
Japan devastation: Powerful reminder of our limitations
The images were surreal. People screaming from higher ground as they watched the relentless wave of brown water sweep up houses and topple power lines. Cars and boats floating like bath toys. Aerial photos of flattened villages, with crumpled roofs jutting out of the debris-laden landscape and orange-suited rescue workers like ants on a mountain of twigs.
- Saturday, February 26, 2011
-
As food prices rise, sustainability makes more business sense
Frustration with high food prices is among the underlying causes of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, and a global food crisis may be brewing.
- Tuesday, February 8, 2011
-
National agenda needed to advance green technology
In his State of the Union address, President Obama issued a call to action for Americans to "out-innovate" the rest of the world and build on our history of doing "big things." Green technology is the next big thing, and it's our best hope to reinvent ourselves as competitors in the global economy. But we won't get there without a comprehensive national agenda supported by all parties -- political, yes, but also businesses, consumers, educators and students.
- Saturday, January 15, 2011
-
Shootings remind us of need to teach children to hope
They should have been chattering about spelling tests and Hannah Montana songs. But instead, the two second-graders in my backseat were talking about the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. They had heard about it at school and were commiserating over the "sad" and "creepy" news as we drove home for a play date.
- Friday, December 3, 2010
-
Marketing tactics could get kids to eat healthy foods
In a new twist on the "Super Size Me" fast-food diet experiment, the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission ate nothing but spuds for 60 days.
- Saturday, November 13, 2010
-
'Oneonta 360' captures essence of our area
The fact that Oneonta's new branding campaign has generated so much controversy shows how passionately people feel about this place. One thing everyone might agree on is that the essence of Oneonta cannot be easily conveyed in a few words or a logo. However, photographer Stephen Joseph makes a fascinating attempt to capture it in his new book, "Oneonta 360." If you haven't seen it yet, stop by Huntington Library, where one two-page spread is on display each day.
- Saturday, October 23, 2010
-
Stem cell research must move forward
Robert Edwards of Britain received the Nobel Prize in medicine earlier this month for research that led to the birth of the first "test-tube baby" in 1978. Hugely controversial 32 years ago, Edwards' work is now lauded as a medical breakthrough that has brought immeasurable joy to the families of the 4 million babies born through in vitro fertilization.
- Saturday, October 2, 2010
-
Supersized salmon? No thanks
Davenport Garden Center owner Dennis Valente drizzled maple syrup over sweet potatoes in the cafeteria kitchen while a group of sixth-graders topped pizza crusts with pesto they'd made using basil from their school garden.
- Saturday, September 11, 2010
-
Chobani yogurt: Nothing but good for the area
I'm in love with Chobani. True to its marketing slogan, this locally made, Greek-style yogurt is, indeed, "nothing but good." First of all, it's delicious: thick, creamy, fruity and sweet (but not too sweet).
- Saturday, August 21, 2010
-
Summer is a perfect time to unplug
Last month, I wrote about the rewards of disconnecting from information technology during a weeklong family camping trip. Since then, I've picked blueberries, skipped rocks, curled up with my 6-year-old and a pile of books, walked in the woods, and spent a gorgeous day at the lake picnicking with friends and watching the kids swim.
-
