Posts tagged random

Dear Harry Potter,

How to begin? Our relationship has lasted quite a while. I remember when I first heard about you. It was summer, and I was maybe eleven or twelve years old. I overheard a conversation between my bunkmates at summer camp. One girl said, “I bet you’re a Hufflepuff!” The other girl, clearly offended, replied, “No way! You’re a Hufflepuff!” And of course, I thought it was all nonsense.

I tried to be cool. I tried to act like I wasn’t interested. I even turned down offers to borrow the book. I will not conform. It was a child-like attempt at assuming an identity. 

But upon returning home from camp I found the first three books neatly placed on my bed. My mother had bought them for me. Alas! I couldn’t escape. They were staring at me. Mocking me. Demanding to be read.

And so began my obsession.

I held my breath as you took flight in your first Quiddich match. I laughed with vindictive glee when Hermione slapped Malfoy across the face. My heart swelled with pride as the Weasley twins pummeled Umbridge with fantastic magical fireworks. I mourned the loss of Sirius and so many others on your impossible journey of vanquishing evil.

And now I mourn the loss of you, my dear friend, who has grown up with me. Your series has ended. There are no more films. Pottermore is just a sliver of your greatness. 

But I have always thought that my grief was more profound than that. You became the symbol of my childhood, and when you ended, my years of being carefree, of living in the glorious aura of a life without “real” responsibilities, ended too. 

It has been almost five years since The Deathly Hallows. In that time I have received two degrees, braved a harrowing job market, started a career, gotten my own health insurance, and maintained a relationship throughout it all. In the world’s terms, I have “grown up.” And maybe the world is right. I feel grown up. I feel responsible. And I feel a certain pride in this responsibility. 

But you have never left. You may have ended, but you’re still there. With one flick of a page I can find myself surrounded by those childhood feelings I have left behind in the real world. I can remember what it was like to be young and impetuous and free. 

And for this, Harry Potter, I thank you.

Sincerely,

extendedfootnotes

Inspired by this article from BookRiot, here are some of my dirty little reading secrets:

1. The first time I read The Picture of Dorian Gray I ended up stopping halfway through. I just couldn’t get into it. 
2. I liked the Lord of the Rings movies better than the books.
3. I am horribly ashamed to admit that I devoured the Twilight series, even though the whole time I was aware of how awful it was. It was an internal battle, and common sense lost.
4. I’ve still never read Beowulf. It was never assigned to me, and I avoided Medieval lit classes like the plague (ha!). 
5. I really don’t enjoy reading short stories. 
6. I don’t like reading books on a device in public because I want people to see me reading and not assume that I’m playing some stupid game. Yes, I have issues.
7. I have too many books on my bookshelf that I haven’t read. It feels like false advertising. 
8. I often make snooty comments to myself while reading that go something like: “Pft this author clearly doesn’t understand the concept of ‘show don’t tell.’”

What are some of your dirty reading secrets?

An old professor of mine writes for CNN’s Belief Blog. I occasionally check up on his articles, and today he posted one titled “My Take: On gay marriage, Obama, Billy Graham, and a tale of 2 Christianities.” As always, Professor Prothero has a knack for getting me to think. Here’s a little excerpt from the article:

Two things are striking about this debate. The first is that both sides are now conducting it in religious terms. Whereas the GOP in prior culture wars was able to denounce the Democratic Party for pushing a “secular agenda,” now it is in the much more difficult position of claiming (as Rick Santorum did of Obama) that the left is preaching a “phony theology.”

Second, it is striking how closely this debate mirrors the slavery debate in antebellum America. Then, pro-slavery forces read key passages in the Bible in a “commonsense” manner and concluded that God was in favor of slavery. Meanwhile, anti-slavery activists, seeking after the “spirit” rather than the “letter” of the Biblical text, concluded that slavery flew in the face of both “love your neighbor” and the Golden Rule.

You have to admit that the guy has balls. He basically compares the debate on gay marriage to the anti-slavery movement. While I don’t think that we’re about to begin a new civil war, I do believe that he has a point. Those who interpret the Bible literally are staunchly opposed to allowing homosexuals the right to marry. Those who look at the Bible metaphorically and therefore in a way that allows the text to evolve with the times see the logic in treating all men (and women) as equals. 

Later in the article, he advises the religious right to take a lesson from history. Those that favor the literal reading of the Bible were on the wrong side of the argument for abolition. It stands to reason that they are on the wrong side of this argument as well. In effect, Prothero predicts that eventually, people will realize that they believe denying rights to fellow human beings is wrong, and they will overcome their literal religious leanings in favor of what is right.

I, for one, hope so.

Projects piling up

at four in the afternoon,

but bored all morning