Do you know what these mean? Until recently, I had no idea!
I am a huge fan of Harry Potter. Not as huge or insane as some or many people on this planet are, but I have read all of the Harry Potter books at least 3 times, some now 4 times each. I love the storylines. And I love how JK Rowling writes. She is truly an inspiration to me…an aspiring author. But it was not until about 2 weeks ago that I discovered a small tip of a very large iceberg of online Harry Potter websites. I was stunned! And I was also quite confused.
The people who gather at these websites all have acronyms for each book. Once I realized this, it was easy enough to decipher. SS/PS=Sorcerer’s Stone/Philosopher’s Stone; COS=Chamber of Secrets; POA=Prisoner of Azkaban; GOF=Goblet of Fire; OOTP=Order of the Phoenix; and finally, HBP=Half Blood Prince.
I still was surprised to see how much time people devote to these websites and to discussions on Harry’s love interests, career choices, who will die, who will live, who will betray whom. I am an avid reader of these books. I even attended the midnight release of OOTP a couple years ago and stayed up reading the book until 2 am. I forced myself to turn the light off because my 3 and 4 year olds were not going to be so accommodating as to let me sleep in from my late night out. But I do not contribute to these websites. Oh no. That’s not for me. I just do it here, in the privacy of my own blog.
I am, however, awaiting the arrival of the 6th book very much like, as one news magazine article worded it, Christmas Eve and the stroke of midnight. I am already dreading the wait for number 7 and then, of course, the inevitable depression surrounding the knowledge that this is the end of the line for Harry Potter (seemingly). Unless we can all persuade JK Rowling to continue picking up her pen and spinning more magical tales.
I love to read her work so very much that she could write a story on just about any topic, and I would snatch it up like a dying woman grabbing a glass of water. So as I said, I truly love Harry Potter and all of his travails, as well as those of his friends. But it is JK Rowling and her talent that I admire more than (gulp) Harry Potter. So please, JK, don’t stop with book 7… I need more acronyms to decipher!
I read on one of those rabid HP fan sites that JK Rowling revealed in an interview that she may put together a book after #7 that includes all the bits and pieces of character development and story line that couldn’t make their way into a “real” book. She already does some of that revealing of bits and pieces on her website, and I find it fascinating to get a glimpse into where her mind was going with a character or plot development. Friday evening you know I”m at Barnes & Noble to get my copy of HBP.