and gold is the reason for the wars we wage

initially, i refused to read harry potter.

i'm sure i've shared this before, but when my brother presented me with it, amid the hype and horn-blowing and general hooplah, i really wanted nothing to do with it. but i read it anyways, and then i read the second book, and then the third. and then i waited and read the next ones as they came out, usually the same week that they were published.

after completing ms. rowling's newest addition to the series, i have to say that i still maintain my initial view on harry potter: fantastic, mindless fun, but entirely borrowed.

i always have this feeling of deja vue when i read harry potter. it feels like someone has taken the best elements from dahl, reinterpreted parts of tolkien and altered the scariest things from belliars and rolled them in faerie powder and- ta daa!- wrapped them in a tiny, easy to interpret and easy to swallow package with the scarred visage of a dark haired wizard.

sadly, i will continue to read harry potter, and will, i'm sure, one day own the series in hardback.

[but i refuse to let any children i may or may not have read them before diving into the twits, the hobbit and curse of the blue figurine].