The Mad Rants of a Raving Genius

For the past eight years, I’ve read the books in the Harry Potter series. It started with my mom reading the first book to me and my sisters when I was 11. We read through the books mere weeks after they came out and anxiously awaited the next in the series. But now it’s over. I’ve read the seventh, and presumably the last, book. Now, I won’t spoil anything for those of you who haven’t read it yet. I will say, though, that it’s definitely the best in the series. J. K. Rowling did a damn fine job with this book in particular, especially considering she had the last chapter in mind before she even began writing the first book.

Anyways, now that I’ve read through the entire series, I’m at a bit of a loss. It’s all over. No more new Harry Potter books to look forward to. Sure, there are always the movies (still got two of those coming), but let’s face it, the movies just don’t do credit to the books. Indeed, it would be preferable to keep the movies shorter than LotR lengths (<4 hours), but a lot is left out when you need to fit a 800-page book into a movie. The latest movie (the fifth) is a good example of that. Where did Ron’s Quidditch successes go? What about Ron and Hermione as prefects? Why is Percy and his split from the rest of the Weasleys never mentioned or even seen (unless that’s him in Dumbledore’s office, sans horn-rimmed glasses)?

Now, I don’t mean to portray the fifth movie as an absolute failure, but it does not even come close to the book. I doubt future movies will improve on this, which makes it hard to anticipate them as much a I did the books. It’s a bit of a bummer, really, but at least I got good closure out of the last book. I’d hate it if Rowling had left off on a cliff-hanger. I get enough of that from Lost.