Reflect on a book from your childhood or teenage years, explaining why it is so important to you. Detail the memories associated with the text, its influence on you, and if applicable, your changing attitudes toward it. If you have no favourite book or memory, discuss another childhood entertainment artefact or educational experience.
Harry Potter hasn't always been as important to me as it is now, but I still remember the first time I discovered it. It must have been the Christmas of 1999, because my dad had seen Chamber of Secrets in a shop and given it to me as a gift that year. I'd never heard of it before that point, and neither had he, apparently; he was unpleasantly surprised to find out that it was the second book in a series about magic.
That didn't stop me from being excited about the book. I was a very early and very dedicated reader, and a story about a boy wizard was a perfect way to keep myself occupied, which is mostly what it was for the next eleven years. But on May 2, 2010 (the day of the Battle of Hogwarts, funnily enough), I read Deathly Hallows in one sitting. From that day it stopped being a hobby and became a sort of way of life. I became part of the Potter fandom, I joined a Harry Potter-themed charity organization and met some of my best friends, I started listening to wizard rock, I started going to conventions and midnight showings of the movies and reading the books in my spare time. This made-up story became a huge part of my life in a very real way.
Harry's world is real for those of us in the fandom. It's a way for all of us to connect and share in the same experience, a way for us to escape from the real world into something much more exciting and fun, a base for many other creative projects (music, fanfiction, charity organizations, documentaries, musicals, etc.) within the community. It isn't the first work of fiction to have a community of fans form around it, of course, but I think the Harry Potter fandom is the first to go to this extent, and I think it's blazing the trail for other fiction to go the same route. These books are so important to me not only because they are enjoyable but also because they have affected my life in so many different ways. They're part of the reason why I get so invested in stories, which has changed the way I will view fiction for the rest of my life.
I just finished listening to Fangirl on audiobook during my commutes, and though I have never participated in fanfiction, I found the concept interesting. There are many questions surrounding fanfiction such as authorship, identity, anonymity, and community. Fanfiction reminds me of the discussion we had on the first day of class about how children’s literature isn’t referring to the literature that children write. Perhaps fanfiction may change this idea? Of course I realize that those writing fanfiction aren’t necessarily “children,” but the YA age group still gets lumped into this category. It is a topic attracting attention in the library world and seeing as I plan to be a Youth Services Librarian, it seems like a topic I should explore. In my class, New Media Topics: Community and Identity in New Media, we are talking about the ways that people socialize and connect through social networks. I am considering the topic of fanfiction for my final project. I've heard of sites devoted to Harry Potter fanfiction, as you mentioned, do you have any other recommendations?
ReplyDeleteTumblr is a great resource for any type of fanfiction, that's where I find most of what I read, as well as deviantart and livejournal. Archive of Our Own and Fanfic.net are also pretty good and widely used sites.
DeleteAlso I LOVE FANGIRL. Such a great and fun read, I related to Cath a lot. And I think you're totally right with what you said about fanfiction. It's already become such a popular way to read what your peers are writing and seeing what the people who are younger than normally get published can do.
I am a total Harry Potter nerd too! I fully agree with you that Harry Potter is one of the only book series in the world to have so many different products and media attached to it. Because of the immense success of the movies, I think it has gotten a lot of kids to pick up a book who otherwise wouldn't have wanted to. Like John Locke says, you have to make reading fun for kids and not a chore. Harry Potter makes it fun by immersing you into the world through the books but also with the movies, video games, and theme parks.
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