Monday, September 1, 2014

The Hogwarts Express Leaves Today!


It's September 1st, and all you Harry Potter fans (so, basically everyone in the world) know what this means: IT'S TIME TO GO TO HOGWARTS!!!!!!

The train leaves at 11 o'clock precisely. I'll be on it and you guys should be too (unless you're Muggles).

I LOVE HOGWARTS.

Is it weird that I love a 'fictional' place more than I love some real-life places I've visited? How could something created and a place I've never been to feel like home? I've been thinking about it and it's just weird; how can readers connect so much to the written word that it feels more real than some aspects of life itself?

This happens with the best books, and there aren't a shortage of them. In fact, I think that's the reason we read: to escape into a world. The better the world is, the more we can escape into it, and the better the book is.

JK Rowling said, on the Deathly Hallows Part 2 premiere, that "Whether you come back by page or by the big screen,Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." The thing is, that quote is so true because Hogwarts feels like home.

Why?

Because along with Harry, we experience the process of finding a home? We are new to the world and so is Harry, and thus we're both immersed into the world and find homes at Hogwarts?

Maybe it's because that's where Harry experiences so much. It's where he grows and learns and goes through incredibly tough times and also great times. Basically, it's home. And the fact that the series centers around this castle that is so detailed and thought-out makes it a home for us. More than that, it's because Hogwarts is Harry's escape, it is also our escape from the real world. Through the third person limited POV, JK Rowling did all this. Is it as technical as that?

Probably. But when it boils down to it, home never feels technical. It's a passion and an emotion. It's why we read.

What do you look for in a book? Why do you read? In what book do you find home?
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6 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 1, 2014 at 4:43 PM

    So true. And I completely agree with you. It was a sad day when I thumbed over the last page :(

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 2, 2014 at 7:18 AM

    I kind of felt that way about Avatar: The Last Airbender. What a cool world!

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  3. Michael SeeseSeptember 2, 2014 at 9:20 PM

    I just finished "Under The Dome" and enjoyed it immensely, even though the ending was a little lame. But the cast of characters....

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  4. Romance Book HavenSeptember 3, 2014 at 2:47 AM

    I read to escape and this was an awesome series for us to escape to a known world. Sad when it was over.

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  5. Jemi FraserSeptember 3, 2014 at 5:16 PM

    Love Hogwarts too! I think the first 'home' I found in a book was Avonlea with Anne of GG, then probably Middle Earth :)

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  6. MorganSeptember 3, 2014 at 9:09 PM

    It's so true. Hogwarts is SO REAL, it's incredible. I wish I could create something as remarkable. Sigh!

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