My relationship with Harry Potter

[Sarah]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "grindieloe" <andie1 at e...> 
wrote:
> 
> Anyway... this brings up a good question... How do your 
> boyfriends/girlfriends/husbands/wives feel about your Harry Potter 
> fascination (or obsession)? Do they get into it too?

Sombody has already replied stating that their other half can credit 
JKR as writing the only books they have ever read.  This is me too.  
I have never enjoyed reading very much, there's not a lot that 
appeals.  I can read a trashy novel with the best of them, and forget 
it immediately.  Hubby, on the other hand has been an avid reader 
since he could, and knew Tolkien inside out by the age of 12.  He's 
always been into fantasy, sci fi, and I could just never see the 
appeal.  
For Christmas 1997 I thought I would buy my then nearly 8 year old a 
new book.  He could read by the age of three (I encouraged him, I 
didn't want him to be like me and struggling to read aged 8).  I saw 
this book that had won the smarties prize and thought "that has to be 
good".  I thought it would be an easy read for me - how difficult can 
children's literature be?  I don't want you to think I have a problem 
with reading - I have just never done it for pleasure...until now 
really.
Michael read it first (aged 8) then I read it and really enjoyed it.  
Only as the series progressed did I become slightly obsessed.  Hubby 
has read them all, and we go to the cinema as a family to watch the 
films as they come out.  We can have family discussions about 
virtually every aspect of HP - its the one thing we all have in 
common. (NO exageration there).  I read them for pleasure, but I 
still can't manage to get beyond chapter one of the hobbit.  I just 
can't get into anything else.
I can't critique in the same way as some of you, or compare texts and 
themes with other works, I just haven't got the knowledge.  All I 
know is that I enjoy JKR's writing and stories, and like to discuss 
and speculate, and so do hubby and son (but perhaps aren't quite so 
obsessed because they have other fictional avenues).
Sorry, I've gone on a bit
Sarah xx