Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, by JK Rowling

In preparation for HP7 coming out in a couple of weeks, I re-read the 6th book in the series — amazing how comfortable & familiar it feels. I originally read the book right after the birth of my first son — and was happy to think about the time in the future when he’ll read them for the first time — sort of like the way I shared The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia with my folks.

I’m really looking forward to the 7th book — and a little sad. It’s astonishing how quickly Harry’s world has become part of the fabric of our own — it feels like something that maybe happens just once a generation or so. Stephen King’s editorial in EW captures the feeling pretty well, I think.

Anyway,  this series is a great achievement — there’s an innocence that we don’t seem to have much of anymore, but also no shying away from tragedy. It’s a more accessible series, with more real characters than any of  the fantasies that I grew up with — I’m excited to find out how it ends, and to think about sharing Harry’s very first trip to Hogwarts in 6 or 7 years with SPL.