I recently saw a blog post about rereading books, and how enjoyable it can be. This idea is one that I share, and I often reread books that I have enjoyed in the past. I decided after reading that blog post that it was about time I read the Harry Potter series again. I have read this series too many times to count, but almost all of them were in a very short span of time, when I was much younger. Did the magical experience still hold up?
It did. I found myself staying up late night after night reading, and instead of playing videogames in my free time, my nose was stuffed deep into the world of Harry Potter. Just ten minutes ago I finished reading the final book in the series, and I felt very accomplished indeed. This is one series that will never get old for me.
One thing that I found interesting as I was reading was comparing and contrasting my experience of the book now vs. then. When I first read Harry Potter, there was a lot about it that I didn't understand, from long words to complex ideas. I found myself again and again approaching parts in the book that I had particularly strong memories of, and noticing how much differently I saw the book now. There were moments that I had memories of being scared by; moments that felt much much longer back then than they do now; moments that I finally understood by rereading the books. Even though I have grown older, I still appreciate the experience of the series, and seeing it under a different light is interesting.
A moment in the seventh book that I finally understood by rereading the series now is (spoiler alert for people who for some reason haven't read Harry Potter) the scene where Harry Potter is "killed" by Voldemort, and meets Dumbledore in King's Cross. When I was younger, I didn't really get what was happening during this scene, but now I realize that the book was tackling the concept of death. What does it mean to die, what happens after death, and why should we be afraid of death? Dumbledore said in this scene, "You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying". This is interesting to think about. Why be scared of death when it is inevitable? Instead, choose to make the most out of your life, and when the time comes for you to die, look forward to what you might find next.
Moving on from that strangely philosophical note, I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any book or series or even any experience you'd like to try rereading or redoing, give it a go, you might not be disappointed.
- Gabe
I was recently thinking about how different it would be if I revisited a movie or book that I used to like when I was much younger. I could either find a new appreciation for it, or find it really boring and wonder why I ever liked it. It's nice that you were able to find a bit of a new appreciation for some scenes in Harry Potter. Great post!
ReplyDeleteNice post! I'm also currently rereading the Harry Potter series. I read it back when I was in 5th grade and I also had a hard time understanding some of the stuff that happened. I general I think rereading is nice after it has been a long time since the first read or if it's a book you really really like. For some books the 2nd time will never be like the first, a great post though!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post, and now I feel the need to reread the series too. Sometimes I'm scared to reread things because I want to hold onto the memory of loving it and don't want to risk disappointment. Harry Potter is a classic, though, and of all the times I've read it, it has yet to be boring. I also like the message you pulled from the 'death' scene. It's deeper than I've ever thought about it. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteGood job on your post, it is an interesting idea! I read the Harry Potter books a while back, and I don't remember the plot very well, so I'm interesting in rereading it to look back on why everyone thought it was so good. I would normally disagree with rereading books, just because it doesn't have the magic that it did the first time. I usually find rereading fantasy books frustrating because those are usually plot based and I know what happens already. I also end up finding the character frustrating, since their initial selves seem way less epic than them at the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading the beginning of the first Harry Potter Book. It felt pretty boring because literally nothing happened within the first 20 pages. That was a while back though, so I might give it a second shot this time. I know a lot of people that love Harry Potter, so it might be worth the shot. Nice Post!
ReplyDeleteNice post! I have a couple random Harry Potter books and every year or so when I reread one, I still get a lot of the magic and immersion you described. I feel like this is very difficult to accomplish, as I hate most books by the end of the 2nd reread. I'm feeling motivated to finally sit down and read all the books in sequential order :0
ReplyDeleteLast year, I reread the entirety of the Wing of Fire series, which I read back in 5th grade. I think I had an experience similar to yours. I was able to appreciate moments in the series that I didn't really understand or skipped over. Good post!
ReplyDeleteThis has given me new inspiration to maybe reread some different series I have read in the past. Maybe I will experience some of the things you felt while rereading this series!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the post, I agree that Harry Potter doesn't really get old. It's such a nice feeling to find a series that is just as magical the second time around- or the seventh. Like you said, there are also so many things you don't understand the first time you read the book that you can when you are older. I get that a lot, sometimes with TV shows or movies too.
ReplyDeleteI had the same feeling of nostalgia as I reread part of Ranger's Apprentice this year. I feel like you notice so many things that you miss out on in your first read. I usually don't reread series because I always think the second time around it will get boring since you already know what's going to happen, but when the series/book is really good, it's cool to understand a lot of what you didn't know (like foreshadowing). I might reread Harry Potter too since I don't remember much from when I read it in 5th grade. Great blog post!
ReplyDeleteI, too, read the Harry Potter series many times in my younger years. However, some of the ideas you brought up in your post, delving into more heavy and philosophical aspects of the book, make me want to re-read it again. I think it would be really interesting to see how my perspective on the books might shift now that I'm not nine years old.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!