Okay, I admit it. I like Harry Potter. Even if J.K. Rowling is the richest woman in showbiz, and 11 steps richer than the Queen, the books are imaginative, the film adaptations fun, and the whole enterprise has gotten a lot of kids passionate about reading. That’s a good thing.

I usually avoid “phenomena”. I’m one of those people who likes to read stuff and listen to music that no one else does. It its obscure and cerebral, its all for me. Despite (or perhaps because of)
my rather humble origins, I have a rather elitist, intellectual sensibility. So stuff that lots of other people like rarely appeals to me. :-) So I avoided the Harry Potter books for a long time, but after seeing the first film, I was hooked.

Alan and I went gay campground camping a couple of weekends ago. I counted at least four other people there with the same pretty purple book under their arms.

I have a tiny bit of shame I carry around about my passion for fantastic lit. I remember having Frank Herbert’s “Eye” in my pile of books in 9th grade, and having the jock guys in choir behind me looking at my stuff. I’m sure they thought it was cool, but I remember that I was mortally embarrassed for some reason. But to this day I tend to want to turn over the covers of my books when I’m out somewhere reading. I think partially its because its often difficult to explain what a really good sci-fi or fantasy novel is about. But partially its because of that sense of being seen as “wierd” by what I’m reading.

There was one obnoxious guy named Bob at the campground, whom we nick-named “Bobnoxious” because of his winning personality. He gave me attitude about what I was reading, which immediately brought to mind that moment in 9th grade. However the guys behind me were blond, jock twins (John and David Hance…I do wonder whatever happened to those guys), and this guy was unappealing in about fifteen different ways.

In any event, despite its hefty price tag (I paid thirty bucks!), the Half-Blood Prince does not disappoint. And I warn you that once you’ve read to “The Cave”, you absolutely will have to finish the rest of the book.