WARNING: If you're like me and have hidden under a rock without reading the Harry Potter series, this does contain a few spoilers.
When I was younger, I never read the Harry Potter series when they were fresh off of the press. Honestly, even though everyone insisted on talking about it 24/7, I never even caught onto the plot or had an inkling of an idea of what it was about. Yes, I knew Harry Potter was a wizard. Cool. Yes, I knew there was a bad guy named Lord Voldemort, and for some reason, no one liked to say his name, and I couldn't figure out why (other than it looks kinda hard to pronounce as a young reader). Until a couple of months ago, I had not read any of the books nor watched any of the movies. (I know, I know. I don't know what is wrong with me either.) But now, at 22 years old, I have recently finished the whole magical series and watched all of the action-packed movies, and now I can (join with the rest of the world and) say that HARRY. POTTER. IS. EVERYTHING. J.K. Rowling is as genius and genius gets. It truly is the best (& best written) series that I have read.
Even though I'm late to the party, better late than never right? Here are 5 reasons why reading Harry Potter in your 20s gives you a better appreciation of the series.
1. Realizing that J.K. Rowling made up the whole game of Quidditch, the language of Parseltongue, multiple magical creatures, BUTTERBEER, and countless spells like the creative genius she is.
2. Being in awe of how interwoven and connected each of the 7 books are. (Example: when Ron and Hermione revisited the Chamber of Secrets to destroy a Horcrux. MIND. BLOWN.)
3. Feeling like a part of you died with James, Lily, Dumbledore, Dobby, Fred, Tonks, Lupin, etc., but fully appreciating the sacrifice they made.
4. Being able to fully understand the depth of the love that Snape kept for Lily and how hard it must have been for him to watch her love someone else.
5. The pure joy you feel when you watch Harry finally defeat Voldemort because you know good and well that good beats evil every time, and you've grown to appreciate it more the older you get.
I know that when I'm old and gray, I will be telling my grandchildren to read this series, and I will tell them how much I love it. They'll say "after all this time?" "Always," I'll reply with tears in my eyes.
