The lure of a good book

The hush-hush hype preceding the release of the fourth Harry Potter book captured my attention: Closely guarded stacks of books awaited release, only a handful of people knew the plot and yet families waited for the bookstores to open Saturday everywhere including El Dorado to buy a copy of the best selling children’s novel.
My daughter was with me late Saturday when I saw a depleted display of the Harry Potter novels. I walked around and around the display. “I really do wonder what all the hype is about,” I said. “From a writer’s viewpoint, of course.”
My daughter, the English major, urged me on, “Buy one, I’ll read it with you.”
I bought the first book in the series and began reading. The next evening I finished and handed the novel to my daughter knowing why Harry Potter is selling. It is everything that I love in a book.
David triumphs over Goliath again: The youngest kid successfully resists the evil forces of the most frightening big person.
As in Cinderella, Potter is much abused, maligned and unwanted intrusion in the lives of his aunt and uncle who dote on their overstuffed spoiled son. Then Potter’s true identity is uncovered and he discovers he is famous.
Like the seven books in the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis and the 14 books of the Wizard of Oz series, the Harry Potter series is pure fantasy. The impossible happens: Cloaks make him invisible, a giant of a man with a magic pink umbrella befriends him and train platforms appear out of nowhere to take him directly to boarding school. Best of all, like any good children’s books, the ending leaves me with the warm fuzzies.
The first of the Harry Potter series was a great read. Having satisfied my curiosity, I’m still working on a reason for spending more money to buy the rest of the series.
A good author is worth the money. A little hype or information goes a long ways towards widening my literary experience. I discovered my favorite mystery writer, Agatha Christie, after her death. Her obituary tweaked my curiosity. She had written a book for every year of her life and was considered the best mystery writer. I had to read one of her books. I read many more.
I introduced my husband to the best selling, “Left Behind” series. I read a couple of those suspense filled books. Before a recent trip, I borrowed the abridged audio tapes to while away the miles. My husband was hooked after the first audio book. He was so flabbergasted that I only had the first four of the seven books. He began looking for a reason to spend his money on the rest of the series.
They hype is not as intense, but I enjoyed reading Jan Karon’s popular Mitford series this past winter. Through five books I followed the life of the unassuming parish priest as he lived out the Gospel, touched the lives of abused children and their alcoholic parents, shared tea and proverbs with eccentric old ladies and learned to live with diabetes.
As I said, a little hype, followed by a satisfyingly good read, goes a long way towards connecting me with good writers. I I end up investing my time and/or money in more of the author’s books, I consider it well worth the cost.