... and the Sorcerer's Stone. Yep. I'm a little late to the party. I never really saw myself reading the books, because I always assumed they'd be a little insulting (having been written for children), and I haven't had time to read a book for pleasure in what must be years. I went to see Order of the Phoenix last Monday and, on an impulse, picked up a copy of Sorcerer's Stone that had been sitting on my bookshelf for years. There's usually some down time at work while we have patients in the MRI scanner, and, until now, I'd used that time to study. With the MCAT over, I need something else to do. I started reading yesterday and ended up finishing the book by the time I went to bed.

I enjoyed it, and will probably end up reading the rest of the books at some point, but I honestly don't understand the mass hysteria that comes with every new release. Our nation's kids aren't exactly known for their passion for reading. Television, movies, and games are pretty much all we hear about as reasons for why, by 2010, it's expected that 75% of Americans will be overweight. I'll never understand why parents and educators consider reading for pleasure a legitimate use of time while games and television are considered a waste. They all require you to be stationary for long periods of time, aren't particularly social activities, and the argument can certainly be made for which, if any, of these forms of entertainment might actually be educational.

Anyway, I think I've strayed a little off topic. I liked the book. It was fun and easy to read without insulting the intelligence of the reader. But in the end, I still feel as though I'm reading a children's book. It's entertaining, sure, but it's hardly the work of literary masterpiece you'd expect given the hype. My college roommate had to read the Sorcerer's Stone in his high school AP English course. I'm not sure whether that's a sad commentary on the state of our education system or simply the quality of modern novels. Either way, I suppose if anything good comes of the Harry Potter franchise, it might as well be encouraging this country to read.

Closing random thought: I wonder if literary fans or book clubs get as upset over the sales of trashy romance novels as we get over the sales of movie licensed shovelware?