The End of a "Harry" Month

As you know, this is the end of July. July was a good (though perhaps bittersweet) month to be a Harry Potter fan for a couple reason:

1. July 11- The cinematic adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the 5th book)
   
2. July 21- The release of the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the 7th and last one)

I thought the 5th film was good, though I found it strange that the longest book in the series was adapted to the shortest film thus far. I didn't re-read the novel before watching the film, but from what I can remember, much of the 5th book consisted of internal things, such as angst, anger, and other feelings. Although actors can portray these sorts of feelings, it's not the same as reading the author's descriptions of a particular character's feelings, behavior, and thoughts. That is one of the reasons why people shouldn't expect film adaptations to be a "perfect," word-for-word representation of books (if you want word-for-word, read the book). Although it would be nice for any adaptation to stay as close to the source material as possible, if there are changes, I hope the changes capture the spirit of the book and make sense for the film.

I think the reason why I'm not super strict when it comes to adaptations in general is because most of the time, I watch a film before I've read a book. This isn't a conscious decision; it's just a pattern that I've noticed about myself. Another thing I've noticed is that I'm more likely to be disappointed in an adaptation if I've read the book beforehand. I think not reading the book beforehand allows me to keep an open mind about the film, and I can appreciate the film and books as separate entities.

The Harry Potter series is one of the rare occassions in which I've read the book before watching the film. For the latest Harry Potter film, sure, there were certain parts that I wish would have been fleshed out for the sake of character development. However, the film did sum up the basic plot of the book. Plus, I was entertained and had an enjoyable experience.

As for the 7th novel, I don't think it was my favorite in the series. Still, I did like it and thought it wrapped up the important points in the novel itself and the overall series. The members of my immediate family are Harry Potter fans. On one hand, it's great to have people to share the experience with and understand your interest, but on the other hand, there's more than one person who wants to read the book at the same time. My family members like to peek ahead at the ending before they've even read the Harry Potter books. However, I prefer to read them page-by-page from beginning to end. To me, J.K. Rowling chose to write and arrange the story in a certain way, so I'm going to read it in that manner. I want to be surprised when I come across a twist or pivotal moment. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Let's just say that I covered my ears and did a lot of humming when the rest of my family discussed the ending (they also sometimes had to go to a different room with the door closed if they wanted to discuss the book, as well).

It's still sinking in for me that this is the last book of the series. However, a couple positive things came out of it:

1. I attended the midnight release of the Harry Potter book and wrote a front page story about it for the Citizen. It was my first time going to this sort of event, and I wouldn't have had a reason to attend it if it weren't for the newspaper. It was a crazy, memorable event; I don't think I'll ever see Borders that crowded again.
   
2. Now that I basically know the whole story, someday I want to re-read all seven books back-to-back in order to pick up on any clues that I hadn't noticed before. Although it's techinically over, I definitely think the Harry Potter series has staying power and will be consider classics in their own way.