Harry Potter

I will admit that I am very much a Potter fan. Tomorrow morning I will go to the store and buy several versions of the new book. Now, you may be wondering what in the world this has to do with my writer's blog? I'll tell you. 8)

Ms. Rowling has done exactly what I want to be able to do with mine. Her books have always felt to me the exact sort of story I would have wanted as a child (and an adult who likes to use their imagination). She hit on exactly what so many people would love: to be special; to find out something amazing about themselves that they never could have dreamed; to have a destiny greater than previously thought; to find a whole world that exists alongside the mundane that you never knew was there.

Remember how, a few entries ago, I mentioned that I write to fill a craving? The HP books do that for me effortlessly. My thoughts here are basically: what makes her books so appealing and (pun intended) spellbinding? I understand the plot reasons (see above) but what is the key? What is the one thing (or several things) that manage to "ensnare" our "senses"? I know, that's the million dollar question, right? I just cannot help but continue to be in awe that one series of books have brought so many different groups of people together. Maybe its hope? We want to root for the good guy and acknowledge that, inside, we all have something special about us. We want to hope for the happy ending, whether we get it or not.

Speaking as a writer, I have to say that happy endings are pretty over-rated. As a reader, I always hope and wish for that happy ending. I wanted Scarlett and Rhett to live happily ever after. (I would say some more happy endings here, but I'm always afraid I'll ruin a book for someone.) Despite that, I would never really have been happy if "Gone with the Wind" had ended happily. I read the sequel. The author was a fabulous writer, but a sequel for that book was a bad idea.

Anyone else have any opinions on happy or unhappy endings here? And if you're going to talk about HP, please just analyze and not spoil. With my life the way it is, it takes me longer to get through books than it used to since my moments in literature are stolen moments. I also wouldn't want someone else to read something posted and have the story ruined for them.