Post by Mark T. Locker.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.
As a fancy librarian whose job used to entail finding the hottest up-and-coming books, I’d like to share with you something I’m almost sure you’ve never heard of. From an obscure debut author somewhere in England comes this charming new book about a young wizard named Harry Potter.
Of course, unless you are completely out of touch, you’ve heard of this book, possibly read it, possibly watched the movies. Honestly, you could watch the first movie and miss nothing from the book. The reason I’m discussing this book today is because last night my boy and I finished reading the first volume. He’d already seen the movie a billion times, which takes some of the fun out of it, but he’d never read the book. It’s still a pretty fun story. I have not read the series since it first came out, so it was fun to revisit. The boy is a devoted fan. Unfortunately after the first few books, it starts to get awfully dark and I’m not entirely sure he’s ready for the later ones. Also, after the first few books, it starts to get awfully wordy and I’m not sure I can read all that without destroying my vocal chords.
It’s interesting to revisit this after watching the movie so many times with the kid. The dialog in many parts is almost word for word taken from the book. It makes picking voices for the characters a cinch! It’s fun to have been able to share this with my son. Already preparing to read him the next volume. It’s big commitment, this series, but I’m sure we’ll be grateful when I finish the final volume in about eleven years!