Friday, November 5, 2010

30 Days of Harry Potter (Day 5 - Lisa Desrochers)



What an amazing first week, don't you think?

Today we have the amazing author of Personal Demons, Lisa Desrochers! She's not only amazing because she dubbed me Gabe's Official Fan-Girl Captain but because she just is!

Let's welcome Lisa to the blog!

--------------------
There aren’t too many books that I’ve stood on the steps of the bookstore to get on release day, but The Deathly Hollows was one of them.

I first heard of Harry Potter back in 1999 when my nephew asked for a Hogwarts sweatshirt for Christmas. I went on-line to see what I could find and realized there was this whole Harry Potter franchise out there. Not only did I order a Hogwarts sweatshirt for him, but a Hedwig t-shirt and some Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. I didn’t have kids who were reading age at the time though, and I hate to admit it, but I wasn’t much of a reader back then, so I didn’t pick up the books until much later.

I watched, and thoroughly enjoyed, the first three movies, but just before The Goblet of Fire came out I decided I wanted to read the book first. I raided my daughter’s bookshelf and devoured The Goblet of Fire in a day. I read The Order of the Phoenix the next day, and The Half Blood Prince day after that.

And then I obsessed about them.

I had ten yards of dirt and compost (that’s a lot, in case you’re not into landscaping) delivered in my back yard that I had to shovel and rake so we could lay new sod. It took me four solid days and I barely remember doing it. The whole time I’m worrying about how Harry would ever find all the horcruxes without Dumbledore and if Hermione and Ron would ever get together.

By the end of all that, I decided that I HAD to go back and read The Sorcerer’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban. My daughter kept telling me I was doing it wrong because I read out of order, but I had to see what I’d missed. I discovered I’d missed a lot.

Fred and George.

The actors that play them are fab, but nothing can compare to the genius of Fred and George on the page. When I get asked in interviews what character from any other book I’d pair Frannie up with, the answer is always Fred or George. They live in a world where anything is possible and they take full advantage of that. My very favorite scene from all the books is when Fred and George tear up Hogwarts with all their magical mischief in The Order of the Phoenix.

So, back to the beginning of my story. When The Deathly Hallows came out, I was at the bookstore as soon as it opened, and when I handed the book off to my daughter that afternoon I was still bawling. Fred. Nuff said.

Even though I don’t think the movie could ever measure up to J.K. Rowling’s genius, I will be in line for The Deathly Hallows on opening day, along with the rest of my family—and everyone else in the civilized world.


--------------------

What an amazing, amazing blog post from the lovely Lisa! Thank you Lisa.

To find out more about Lisa and her books, visit her BLOG and WEBSITE.

And that wraps up the first week of of 30 Days of Harry Potter. Awesometastic, right?

Until next time,

1 comment:

  1. Yay Harry Potter! I could totally see Frannie with a Weasley twin. They really are fabulous. I have to agree - one of my favorite scenes is their exit from Hogwarts in book 5 - I was so disappointed in the movie representation of that! I'm nervous about how they're going to pull off the Deathly Hallows movie...but as long as they get it right from the point with Snape's memories through the end, I'll be happy. (Did you hear that, Warner Bros?)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to comment! I would love to hear your opinions about this blog!