I am reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone again. I can't even guess how many times this makes (10, 20, 50) but I still get something out of it every time.
And, in some ways, it makes me kind of sad. Why? Because I really wish I could be reading it again but for the first time.
Does that make sense?
A friend of mine is a big fan of the TV show "Breaking Bad" which, as many of you know, just came to an end with a big, much anticipated finale. This friend told me that the finale was "perfect".
Now, I have only seen one episode of this hit show and, to be honest, I didn't much care for it. I noticed, however, that several of the early seasons of "Breaking Bad" are now available on Netflix so I told her that, since she loves it so much and I respect her taste, it is my intention to give it another try. I plan to watch the entire first season of "Breaking Bad" and then decide whether to continue or not.
To my surprise, her response to this declaration was not one of delight, as I expected it to be, but instead it was simply a groan. I asked her about it: she said, "Oh, you are so lucky. I wish I could go back and watch it all over again for the first time."
We talked a little bit about this idea and both agreed that, often when you first read a book or watch a TV show that becomes hugely important in your life, you don't really understand how great it is and how important it will become. You don't savour it and, in fact, you don't savour your own experience of reading or watching it.
Weird, eh? But true, I think.
To be honest, I can't even remember clearly reading the first Harry Potter book for the first time. I do know that I read it while visiting my partner in England where she was going to school. I remember that I had heard great things about this Harry Potter book and that, in order to enjoy it together, I would often read it aloud to her.
But I can't bring back how I felt while reading it that first time, how it impacted me or even if I realised while reading that Harry Potter would become such a fun, important part of my life.
And then I think about my response to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. How I spent an entire year waiting for the book to be published. I was working at a University in Ontario and there was a group of us who were all Potter fans. We'd sit on our lunch hour or our breaks and talk endlessly about the first six books and what we expected to happen in the seventh.
And then, when Deathly Hallows finally came out, we all bought and read it in a single day. I remember being so caught up in finding out what happens that I completely neglected to enjoy the journey from page one to the end.
I remember reading the last 200 pages so quickly that, when I reached the end, dealt with the intense emotions it elicited, then caught my breath, I had to go back and read them again. And again.
But I worry now that I didn't really savour that first reading.
So, yes, as illogical as it may sound, I do now wish that I could go back and wipe it all out of my memory and read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone again for the first time.
I want to feel again the wonder of discovering Harry's new magical world, the delight at the fullness of Rowling's vision of Hogwarts and its society, the intensity of the suspense as he, Ron and Hermione investigate the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone.
To be honest, I think I cheated myself the first time around. Oh well, you can't go back. We don't have memory charms that would allow me to erase the last 16 years and start all over again, fresh and new.
I guess I'll just have to do my best to enjoy the 20th (or 50th reading) instead.
"And then, when Deathly Hallows finally came out, we all bought and read it in a single day. I remember being so caught up in finding out what happens that I completely neglected to enjoy the journey from page one to the end."
ReplyDeleteI was like that after reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. For weeks in the lead up to that books release, my sister and I (both adults living apart) had many telephone conversations discussing the upcoming release. Then, on the night before its release (9 am for us in Sydney, Australia, not midnight) during one of many calls, my sister said something along the lines that she wasn't going to do any housework until she had completed the book, and before we hung up she suggested that once we had both finished, we should chat again to talk about what we had just read.
I wish now that I hadn't done that. My sister is a speed reader, and I rushed through reading the book partly out of eagerness to know everything that happens and partly so I didn't keep her waiting too long before she had someone to burst out into 'oh my goodness, what did you think when...happened?'
At that very moment that I finished the book I regretted that it was all over and that I would now have another long wait before the final book - if only I had of taken my time to absorb what I was reading (and enjoying) instead of rushing to finish.
So when Deathly Hallows was released I was ready - I was not in competition with anyone or any deadline. I sent my children off to their fathers for the weekend, and warned them not to want me for anything because they would probably get their heads snapped off and be told to bugger off anyway. I patiently waited until I got back home before I even cracked open the spine for the first time, and I had a cuppa next to me and was seated in the most comfortable lounge seat in the house. Then, I read with absolute slow enjoyment, and savoured every word - re-read a sentence or two to make sure I 'got the point' or laugh at something amusing.
Reading Deathly Hallows was the best experience. I arrived home by 9.30 am, and I finished the book some time around 3 or 4 am the next morning. And then I had a great long sleep in. As soon as I woke up again, all I wanted to do was start re-reading, but had to take the book over to my daughter because I promised her she could read it after me (and because I didn't break my promised, I now own two copies of Deathly Hallows, because as soon as I handed it over to her so I could go back to bed and catch up on lost sleep, I went straight into town and purchased a second copy so I didn't have to wait for her to take a week or two until she gave it back - so got the privilege of cracking open another spine for the first time.) While at the bookstore, I gave the store its first review.
So, yes, I fully understand how and why you feel that you may have ripped yourself off not savouring every precious word on release day in favour of speeding towards the end.
Char