My trip on the Hogwarts Express

I pulled back a yawn. We still had a full hour to wait.

When my daughter was a young girl, she loved reading the Harry Potter books. When she picked up the first book, I wasn’t sure what to think. I heard stories about a mythical world with wizards and witches and had my reservations. Of course, this was before the public relations machine and the Warner Brothers movies had kicked off. I figured I would find out for myself and read the first book too. I was hooked.

My daughter and I read each new book with anticipation and excitement. We couldn’t wait to see how J.K. Rowling was going to wrap up the many different storylines. When it came to the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, our local bookstore sent out a notice that they were going to have a launch party at midnight on July 21, 2007.

I agreed to take my daughter.

Let’s get ready to party

The launch of the final book is coming up on its 17th Anniversary. I remember the night like it was last week. I was busy with work that week. I couldn’t tell you what I was working on, but I remember making plans with my daughter. And yes, I remember the yawn, but I also remember how excited my daughter was about the event. She was dressed in a Hogwarts robe and roamed the store looking for anything to bite into after she finished reading Harry Potter.

Truth be told, I couldn’t wait to read the book too. I was gripped with the story of the young wizard and the universe that Rowling had created just as much as my daughter. I was exhausted but I was excited too rationalizing that my daughter could be waiting up for a lot worse things in life than a book release party. The more I think about it the more I wish we had more parties like that.

Head in a book

When the clock struck 12, the store began selling the book. I splurged. I bought one for her and one for me. My daughter couldn’t wait to start the book. She stayed up half the night devouring the book. I wanted to start too but I had to work the next day.

The book releases across the country must have been a success. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows shattered sales records, surpassing marks set by the previous Harry Potter books. It holds the Guinness World Record for most novels sold within 24 hours of release, with 8.3 million sold in the US and 2.65 million in the UK. 

Since the release of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in 1997, the books have found immense popularity and commercial success. As of February 2023, the books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, and are available in 85 languages.

As for me, I’m still waiting for a great series to pull me in like Harry Potter did. I’ve been searching since 2007 and I haven’t found it yet. Any suggestions?

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41 thoughts on “My trip on the Hogwarts Express”

  1. While I recognize and appreciate the creativity and originality of the Harry Potter series, I find it impossible to separate the art from the artist. The concept of ethical consumption becomes paramount whenever I consider J.K. Rowling and her objectionable, closed-minded, and well-publicized views on transgender people. Consequently, I cannot, and will not support her work.

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    1. Here’s one of the challenges with blogging Thomas. When I came up with the idea, I originally wanted to address the Rowling controversy. Of course, life got in the way and it slipped my mind. I understand why many people now do not support her or her work. So yes, that’s a huge miss on my part. Saying all that, it’s hard for me to at least not recognize the creativity and focus on reading that Rowling brought back into our culture. I watched all three of my kids, including one who was severely dyslexic and had never found joy in reading, devour her books. My original reason for writing my piece was a wish that we could return to a period when book releases were on par with movie ones and that reading be a bigger part of our public discourse — and I stand behind that — no matter one person’s opinions. Thanks so much for stopping by! 😎

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  4. Thank you for sharing this incredible post! Those days came rushing back!My two, one who struggled with reading, devoured HP. Lord of the Rings and Narnia Chronicles took over in our house!

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  5. I remember the first book. I was teaching a multi-age class in a progressive school here in Ann Arbor. the entire faculty read the entire book aloud to our classes. all families got involved and everyone, down to the youngest child created or presented something in response to it. I’ve never experienced another book that connected all of us at the same time and I’ll never forget it. I love the idea of the launch/sell parties, it means people of all ages are excited about literature and that’s a very good thing.

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  6. I have similar memories of reading Harry Potter with our daughter and there WAS something about the anticipation aspect that solidified her love of reading as a youngster. Your question about ‘what else’? My first thought was the same as ‘newt50’ below…Narnia…but other than that??? Gosh, I dunno. I’ll have to pop back in and look at comments later on to see what I might learn, too! 🥰

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  7. Relatable, Brian. Omg it will always go down in history as the best family book in our fam. It’s a read and a re-read and I think the only books my son read cover to cover to this day.. Worth it’s weight in gold! 💗

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  8. Thanks Brian, you solved my quandary “what to read next?” I have not read ANY of the Harry Potter books (the horror of it). I picked up a used copy of the Philosopher’s Stone serval months ago. I shall start in the beginning.

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  9. Awesome memory, Brian! I love this, and can relate.

    My grandma bought me the first 3 books and I waited in line at midnight to buy the 4th Harry Potter book the night before flying out to visit my grandparents. I got in trouble because I had access to the beach and other fun stuff, but couldn’t put the book down!! I’d lost interest by the the time #5 was released, so didn’t finish the series, but the first 4 books books were magical and still are in my mind. I’ve yet to find a series that even comes close.

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  10. Oh, I love “The more I think about it the more I wish we had more parties like that.” Right! I love reading Harry Potter with my kids. They are such fun books.

    Have you read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline? It’s sci fi which isn’t my usual genre – but as a captivating start to the series, it’s great. I haven’t read the last book – not because I don’t want to but it came out around the time Miss O was born and I forgot about it til now!

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  11. We are huge Harry Potter fans. Hubby’s favorite series is Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. My favorite is the Amanda series by Darlene Foster (for elementary/middle school) and book lovers like me.

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  14. While it’s a shame what’s happened with JK Rowling in the past while, there is no denying what the Harry Potter books did for reading for a generation of children.

    We have a set of the books too and will be introducing them to T in the near future. I think we can hopefully separate the art from the artist and will be having dialogue about JK herself when he’s a little bit older … and if he were to get into the books!

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  17. I am an optimist, but I’m not sure there will ever be anything quite like the Harry Potter universe. It’s such a cultural touchstone for so many people, myself included. Brilliance.

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    1. As adult it was interesting to see. I remember reading those books and voraciously wanting more and more. I keep trying to recreate that feeling, but haven’t been able to repeat it. Of course, I need to put my phone down and be willing to read something more than that screen length long. Ha, ha.

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