Reading Harry Potter as an Adult | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

With the excitement of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening up at Universal Studios Hollywood, and several other Harry Potter related stuff going on recently, I decided it was finally time. I've been trying to re-read Harry Potter for the past few years and this is the year to do it.

I haven't read the series since the 7th book was released back in 2007. Before that, I read them constantly. It was different reading them, and growing up with Harry Potter at the same time. So with it having been 9 years since the last time I read them, I finally picked up the first one.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone introduces us to a ten (almost eleven) year old boy living with a horrible aunt, uncle, and cousin who treat him terribly and make him sleep under the cupboard. Living a very miserable life, Harry soon discovers he's not only a wizard, he's also very famous in the wizarding world. Of course, we all know this already and if you don't, then it's hard to believe you are not living under a rock.

Reading it as an adult is a very different perspective. When I first read Harry Potter, I was eleven myself, and his adventures seemed amazing and so daring. Now that I read it now, all I kept thinking was, "HE'S ELEVEN YEARS OLD, HE'S A CHILD! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE STOP HIM FROM ALMOST GETTING KILLED," and felt very Professor McGonagall about it.

But after the initial shock of realizing I was reading a book about a child, I got really into the story. It's not like I didn't know what was going to happen, but there were so many little things I had forgotten. There was also so many things you don't catch the first time around, until you know how the story is going to end. There were also several times where I found myself tearing up simply because it had been so long since I'd read about these characters, and I missed them. And I know what is coming in the future for them, and I know the pain, struggle, and so many more dangerous situations they'll be in.

I found it also surprising what an easy read it is. I guess I never noticed until now, but these books are so short and so fun, and really just quick to get through. I got through the first one in just a few hours, and it would have been less if I didn't have adult responsibilities. I am definitely glad to finally be reading them again, and am looking forward to getting though the rest pretty quickly as well. The Harry Potter series, as many of you know, is a must read for readers of all ages.