The Harry Countdown

We are closing in on the release date of the 6th book in the Harry Potter series, mysteriously titled Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Of course there has been speculation about who the title is referring to, which character will die, and numerous other details, and in 5 days most of us will know the answers. I prefer not to speculate, I get a childish enjoyment out of the Harry Potter books - they remind me of the books I read as a youth, how I could get so completely caught up in the story, it was like a drug. Ok, so I can still do that, but my adult mind makes it easier to transition from storyland to the real world, no matter how much I don't want to.

We still haven't decided if we are going to get the hardcover version, or wait a year for the paperback. It is a hard choice - the first four books had already been published when my husband and I started reading them, so we didn't have to wait. We waited for the paperback for book 5 and it seemed like forever. So we'll see. Our tradition is for us to read it together the first time, my husband reads aloud extremely well, and it is an enjoyable experience. These books seem particularly good for oral storytelling.

Courtesy of the Wizard News, there is an interesting article by a minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Delaware extolling the virtues of the Harry Potter tales in a religious and moral context. I must warn you, however, that if you haven't read the first 5 books, there are some minor spoilers in the article.

I am always astonished when religious leaders criticize these books. I find them chock-full of things for a minister to love. Consider, a small troupe of young people discover their gifts in life, and learn that you may use your gifts to either bless or curse the world. (It's a basic religious choice.) Without moralizing, the characters make ethical decisions that are excellent examples for readers of any age.

I am not overly astonished by religious criticism of the books, as they are also chock-full of things for religious zealots to criticize, the main thing being wizardry and witchcraft. I don't know, I spent a lifetime reading all sorts of children's books that dealt with the supernatural in one way or another, that is the very essence of a children's book. That is the only age when human beings can accept and embrace the supernatural for what it is, a wondrous and magical thing. And in the end, of course, there is always a sound moral lesson to be learned. I suppose it tickles me that people can feel threatened by a work of fiction, but I guess it isn't funny when you see the havoc that other works of fiction have unleashed on the world (yes, I am referring to the Bible, the Koran, and any general religious text, and yes, I do consider them to be fiction).

At any rate, I (along with millions of other people) am looking forward to a new Harry Potter chronicle, although I will be sad when the last one is published.