Those who know me in real life are probably surprised I didn’t put these first. I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone purely to see what the controversy was about. At that time the fourth book, Goblet of Fire, had just been released and there was talk everywhere about witchcraft and banning books and so forth. Naturally it made me curious. What I did not expect was a life altering experience. I finished the first book the day I had gotten it, I won’t lie, it’s a quick and easy read. However, I was hooked. I needed the next one, but all the stores were closed (the area in which I lived at the time, I think I was 26 or 27, did not have a 24 hour Walmart).

I was working a part time hourly job and living on sheer will power, but I bought the second book the next day. The day after that, I managed to get the third and fourth. After all, these were worth skipping a meal or two for in my opinion. After that I was there at midnight for each subsequent release and stayed up all night to read the new one. I still go back and read them. I read them to my wife when she was pregnant. I read them to my daughter when she was tiny. She just read them herself this past year.  You can see the wear on the spines in the picture below. These books are loved and cherished.