"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"

 Photo courtesy of Amazon

It was almost 10 and a half years ago that I was first introduced to Harry Potter. I remember it vividly...

I was in the seventh grade at Jefferson Middle School. It was lunch time and I walked up to my friends in the cafeteria. They were in the middle of a discussion about these books that they had all been reading. I peeked over their shoulders and piped up: "Who's Harry Potter?" The table fell completely silent. What do you mean, "who is Harry Potter?". The rest is basically history. One of them lent me the first one and I got hooked. This happened right before the 4th book came out, so I had just enough time to catch up on the first three. And then I had my first midnight book release experience.

Since that fateful day in 2000, I have read and reread and rereread the entire series as each successive book made its appearance. These books have been dear to me and always bring back wonderful memories of time spent with my friends and siblings.

As I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone this week, I not only felt constant pangs of nostalgia, but I also grew an even deeper appreciation for the series as a whole. Knowing how J.K. Rowling develops the characters and how the story eventually ends made me even more captivated with the beginning.

Next up, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...