Growing up with Harry

[author_by_night]

(Yet again, non-Harry Potter people- forgive me.)

Many of us were children or in our early teens when we first picked up the book with that odd guy in front of a train (or on a broomstick, or somewhere else, depending on where you reside.) 

So I'm conducting a survey of sorts, and want feedback from those of you who were in your teens or younger when you first read the books. In a short paragraph or sentence, tell me these things
- Your country of residence.

- The fandom/LJ name you want to be quoted as (in case I decide to quote yours), or if you'd rather not be quoted, but still want to answer. 

- How old you are now, and how old you were then. 

- What it was like, growing up with the books.

If you know someone who grew up with the books (little brother/sister, younger friend, your own kid, etc.), you may also post about that. 

Note: I will be quoting a number of these unless you request otherwise, but it is possible not all answers will be used. I will make an effort to link to this post when I complete the project, but if it is hard to fit the number I recieve in, I will not be able to. However, again, I will link to this.

Oh, and just FYI: I was fourteen when I first read the books. I'm now twenty two. Time flies!

ETA: Thanks to all of you who have replied so far! 41 comments! One of these days I will catch up on replying, but in the meantime, it's been cool hearing all of your stories, and look forward to more. :)

Comments

[llyfrgell.livejournal.com]

Country: USA
LJ name: llyfrgell
Age: 22 now, 13 or so when started HP
What it was like: Well, I remember the HP saga in terms of milestones, and when I read your question, I thought, "Hmm, I didn't really GROW UP with those books, did I?" But then I was going back through my HP-related memories and realizing how many of them coincided with major life events. I remember having the 2nd and 3rd books in the top of my locker for practically all of sophomore year of high school and going to every midnight release party from the 4th book onwards. The 4th book actually came out the night before I left for Finland on a choir tour before freshman year of high school, and I went to the release party, got the book, and finished it before the plane left the ground the next day. I have to say, though, I've always felt older than the characters, even though I was 14 when Harry was (I think). Perhaps it's because I wasn't anticipating the releases and considering the series as a whole until I got older than the characters. Anyways, I guess my point is that I don't feel like HP defined my youth like some other book series did (Babysitters Club for childhood, So You Want to be a Wizard and the Tamora Pierce books for teenage).

[elaran.livejournal.com]

Your country of residence.
Australia

The fandom/LJ name you want to be quoted as (in case I decide to quote yours), or if you'd rather not be quoted, but still want to answer.
Elaran

How old you are now, and how old you were then.
19 years old now, I was in Year 7 when I first read SS/PS, so 11-12 yo. whoa.

What it was like, growing up with the books.
Fun. I loved the first three books. When GoF came out, everyone else got in on it and it was more fun cos I could talk about it with more people. It's an integral part of my childhood along with reading Narnia and LotR for the first time and watching Star Wars.

It was one of the main things apart from Stargate that lead me into fandom. I read HP fanfic voraciously from about 13-14yo onwards. I loved reading about the characters, especially Hermione [I loved her character so damn much - I could relate with her so well] and they were close to my age as well and it was like growing up with the characters.

I loved predicting what would happen in the next books. I loved that the story was written as though it could happen, as if we were muggles. I got so emotionally invested in the books and very attached to the characters.

It's amusing now to consider how I used to be. When I started in fandom, I shipped Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny or Draco/Ginny. Now I ship Sirius/Remus, Harrry/Draco, Ron/Draco, Snape/Hermione etc. It lead me into slash as well.

I dressed up [and plan on doing so the for the next few ones as well] for the movies [crappy as they are]. I have a Slytherin scarf that one of my friends knitted for me. In fact, four of us have scarves from the four different houses [actually, we may not have a Hufflepuff].

I cried when Harry trashed Dumbledore's office after Sirius died. I cried reading about Cedric. I cried when Dumbledore was drinking from that well and was confused. He's Dumbledore, he's not allowed to be like that. He has to be wise and all-knowing. I love the character of Snape. [I think he's a good guy :D]. I died of squee reading the Ron/Hermione moments in the books. I went through phases where I was convinced Draco was good and obviously ebing abused at home, where Snape loved Lily and was jealous of James, where Sirius would OBVIOUSLY come back from the veil etc.

There's a post that hesychasm made about HP fandom that sums up what I love about it. It's perfect. (http://hesychasm.livejournal.com/115582.html) You'd need to ask her before using it though.

I'm unhappy about the writing in OotP and HBP. I think it could've been written better. They didn't strike a chord with me as much as the first 4 did [especially the first 3]. Probably because Harry still comes across as being in the angsty rebellious teenager phase that I've kinda grown out of [my mum might disagree :P]. But that said, I don't think it's possible for most people to comprehend my excitement about the 7th book. It'll be an end of an era for me. These books, as I said before, are a large part of my childhood much like Narnia, LotR, the original Star Wars and a few other authors have been.

[anotherusedpage.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'm now 22 so I must've been about fourteen when I read HP, which is odd, because I hadn't really thought of them as 'books from my childhood' - along with things like LOTR and Famous Five, and even His Dark Materials - so much as books I came accross much later.
I live in the UK, and I go by anotherusedpage. The books were originally bought for my kid brother, who is five years younger than me, but he never liked them much.

[anotherusedpage.livejournal.com]

sorry to go on, the question intrigued me - I'm here via metafandom btw.

I think the reason I don't associate HP with my childhood is that the HP event which stick most strongly in my mind are from after I was at uni - and also, I didn't get an LJ or get into fandom much until I was at uni. I have vivid memories of reading the most recent HP book while up at the Edinburgh Fringe, and all the people I was with finishing it at different speeds. I remember ringing home from uni to tell my brother the spoiler from OOTP just because I was mad at him. I remember a group of geeks from my uni saying 'hey, let's just rent the entire cinema' when GOF came out on film, and then actually doing it, and nearly 300 geeks in costume winding round the centre of town at the last minute. As a teenager, I read the books, but I didn't measure milestones with them. *shrug*

[cnidarian.livejournal.com]

- UK
- Izzildor
- I was 15, now 23.
- I missed the original fuss, and only happened to read it while on holiday in Malta. It was outragously hot and Mum gave it to me so I had something to do while lying still and trying to to move! Not looked back. I think they are great books - appealing to kids and adults alike. They contain some good life 'lessons' as well as prodding the imagination. I like how Harry and the other heroes aren't perfect.
I've never been so fanatic that I've queued all night for one, but I did go out of my way to find OotP in 2003 while working as a childcare worker in South Africa, and also HBP while travelling in Tanzania in 2005. I even carried the massive thing back home with me through 4 other African countries.

A question

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Just a question here: are you looking for responses from Harry Potter fans specifically, or just from fannish people who first read Harry Potter when they were young? Because I fall into the second category but not the first.

Re: A question

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite sure what you mean - you mean people who are fannish as in still people in this fandom, or in another one but still on LJ? You can respond however you like, but what I'm doing really sort of focuses on people who are still in the fandom (or at least still fans.) So it wouldn't be included, but I'm now interested to hear what you have to say!

Re: A question

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Just wasn't clear on whether you were expecting responses only from Harry Potter fans, or simply from people who read the books as teens. Sounds like it's the former, but I just thought I would check.

[hinotori.livejournal.com]

Heh. My padded-out reply can be found here. I'm way excited to read everyone's reactions here, it's fantastic!

[zorpisuttle.livejournal.com]

Zorpisuttle, USA

When I first read Harry Potter I was around 9 years old but possibly younger; I know I had read CoS by 5th grade. Now I'm 17 and a senior in high school.

I was always an avid reader, so Harry Potter didn't make me magically (no pun intended) start reading or anything like that, but it was my first fandom, as well as my first introduction to the internet as playground. I had used Google for reports and such, but when National Geographic World (kid's version of the magazine, now renamed) did a little feature on an online Harry Potter RPG, I had to join. The people there taught me how (not) to RP, and told me about other fantasy books I had yet to read, where to get Instant Messenger, and other things to do online, like Neopets. So I guess Harry Potter was my gateway drug.
It's also been nice to be able to talk about Harry Potter with most of my friends, since they've all read it, too... it gave us a common reference point and something to anticipate every couple of summers.

[felisfelidae.livejournal.com]

Country of Residence: Canada

fandom/LJ name: felisfelidae

age then and now: I was 8 then and 16 now.

Growing up with the books: I was in Grade 4 at the time and the teacher I had in Grade 3 lent me the book, since she wanted to know if it was something that her students would like. Then my mom gave me the three books that were out at the time as a christmas present. I already read a lot of books, but it probably got me more into fantasy books, since I was running out of mythology and fairy tale books to read. I certainly remember looking up to Hermione, since she was a lot like me. I also remember reading lots of fanfic for it, though it was probably my third fandom after Pokemon and Digimon. My favourite book in the series was GoF, and at the end of it, there seemed to be so much potential for what would happen in the next book. OotP really disappionted me, and I sort of dropped out of that fandom. I don't know if I'll get the 7th book or not.

[starpaint.livejournal.com]

Eh, why not?

I first came into contact with the books in a reading exercise in 4th grade on adjectives. Two kids had gone to London and come back with copies of PS before SS was published here. Once it came out, my parents got me a copy. Read it, finished it, and picked it right back up again.

HP was as popular a subject for chatter as the grade gossip on romance. It was kind of weird, for me, because I was used to being a lone book-obsessee, and suddenly half the people in the grade were book-obsessees too.

[starpaint.livejournal.com]

...edited a sentence out by mistake. I'm 18 now and was 10 or 11 then.

[talimeeka.livejournal.com]

- Your country of residence.
United States

- The fandom/LJ name you want to be quoted as (in case I decide to quote yours), or if you'd rather not be quoted, but still want to answer.
Talimeeka

- How old you are now, and how old you were then.
Pretty sure I read SS when I was 9, and I'm 17 now.

- What it was like, growing up with the books.
Harry Potter didn't really make a huge impact on me until I was about 13 and started getting involved with fandom. Because of Harry Potter I've met so many different people and bonded over them over this series. It's gotten to the point where I've actually grown up with people I've met via Harry Potter. I believe that the Harry Potter fandom has played a huge role in shaping me into the person I am today.

Harry Potter has also helped me through some tough times, especially my moves. When I moved from NY to Florida when I as 13-14 there was a year in which I was pretty much alone, but I had Harry Potter and the Internet and I was just getting into reading fanfiction and forums so it made my life so much better.

Not only that, but Harry Potter has influenced me to write more and encouraged me to become a better writer. Writer has always been a strength for me, but it wasn't until I got into Harry Potter that I realized I should try using those talents.

Oh, Harry.

[pleonasm]

Oi. I'm rhap_chan, and I was about eleven or twelve when I first read the HP books-- I don't remember exactly how old, but it was BEFORE all the hype began. Yes, I distinctly remember picking the book up because it featured a BOY on a broomstick, and that was new to me. It was really great to find those books in the kids section. I'd loved fantasy since I was very young, but I was still two years away from an adult card and the ability to check out books at my reading level, and I was getting desperate. After I read it, I bought the book, and have since read the first one about eleven times. I could quote whole sections, like the inscription on the Gringotts door and the Sorting Hat's song. HP kept me sane for quite a while-- I even looked into witchcraft once to see if it was a viable religion (no, it wasn't). I'm 19 years old now, but I'm anticipating that seventh book just as much as I did those years ago.

[sea_thoughts]

- Your country of residence: England, the UK

- Starsea

- 24 going on 25; I got into the books just before PoA was published, so that would be 1999, and I was 16 going on 17.

- I didn't really get into fandom until OotP but I did enjoy the first four books (especially PoA) very much indeed. I began reading them because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It took me a few minutes to get into PS, but once I did, I was spellbound (to use a cliché word). I felt that the series really came of age with OotP, actually; that Harry became a real character and that his world expanded for me inside my head. After that, I joined the Sugar Quill and began to discuss things with other fans, which opened up other possibilites. I wrote my first story later that year (2003).

Growing up with Harry

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

I'm replying from the perespective of a mother with a 12 year old daughter who's a Harry Potter fan. My name's Bel but I'd prefer not to give her name. We live in Sydney, Australia, although I'm English.

She started reading Harry Potter when the first film came out. It was just a few months after her 7th birthday. She is now twelve. I had thought she was too young to see the film at the time (I had already read the first 4 books) but her school had booked the local cinema for a showing as a fund raiser and she was so excited about it, I agreed to take her. I read the first book to her before we went so that she would be able to follow the plot. She was totally hooked and spent the summer holidays reading and rereading the first four books.

She and most of her friends were all avid readers by the time OotP was published (she was then age 8). That was quite hard going for some of them, although the brighter children managed to read it through without too much difficulty. In her case, it helped that I too was a fan as I could explain anything she had difficulties with.

There's been a lot written about how Harry Potter has got children reading. This is true but the films seem to be counteracting this. I know many children who are content to wait for the films who would probably have read the books otherwise. What I have seen less written about is the effect on brighter children. My daughter is a good reader had is borderline gifted and talented (although more maths orientated) and most of her friends are also very bright. What I have seen is the way they are starting to analyse the Harry Potter books, looking for clues much as is done by adults on the L-ST. This is being done to a greater extent than the way they are reading other books - I suppose because the children are also trying to work out what's going to happen. I know a twelve year old boy who emails me all his theories (and many are far less bizarre than some on the L-ST!). So whilst the books are helping less able kids to discover reading they are also encouraging the brighter ones to think critically about books. My daughter is currently rereading the series in time for DH, with a notebook by her side making lists of new characters and useful "clues".

Her favourite characters are Neville (because he's the sort of boy she'd like as a friend) and Sirius. She likes Sirius for two reasons: because he can change into a dog and she loves dogs (she always calls him "Snuffles" not Sirius) and because he talks to the children as if they were adults instead of talking down to them.

I am pleased she is old enough, albeit only just, to like the later books as well as the first four. If she'd been any younger she would have given up on OotP. Funnily enough, all the shipping that caused such a furore when HBP was released, is the part that she has found really boring!

A lot of people have justified their expectations that JKR will write a more adult-orientated climax to the series on the grounds that the readership has grown up with Harry and his friends. Personally, I think JKR still has to consider her younger readership. True, those who were ten when the first book came out are adults now but somewhere, an 8 year old will pick up "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" this afternoon and be mesmerised. That child needs to be able to read DH in July, even if she can't understand it thoroughly.

I hope some of that long rambling answer is useful to you. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me on the 'Quill.

[vifetoile.livejournal.com]

- I live in the United States, in one of what's called "the Blue States" (no Harry Potter bans on account of witchcraft here)
- I'm vifetoile on LJ, but known as Queenie on Sugar Quill. So either name works for me.
- I'm now seventeen, and I discovered the books at the age of nine and three quarters (I remember this because, for a school assignment, when I was designing my wand, I made it as long as I had been old at the time - nine and three quarter inches.)
- What was it like? That's a good question. Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt like the best friends I had never met in real life. This book really catapulted my interest in writing fanfiction (and hence writing in general), and reading more books, which, of course, opened my horizons beyond scope. Everything I did, it felt like, had a tinge of Harry to it. Mundane art class assignments about drawing dinosaurs were spiced up with a sketch of Harry and Malfoy in the background, flying after the Snitch (how they managed to go to the Mesozoic is beyond me). There was a point when you could open up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to any given page, start off a sentence, and I could finish it - unless the sentence started with the words "Harry, Ron, and Hermione..." After a while, the initial obsession started to fade, but I still retain a deep affection for the books. I keep imagining my fourth grade self's reaction if I told her, just for example, the release dates of the fifth, sixth, and seventh books. I imagine shock and relentless pacing, digesting the information.
And the ironic thing is, that in the summer between third and fourth grade, I heard of Harry Potter, but only that it was outrageously popular, and, being the class anarchist, turned my nose up at anything 'popular,' even at the snippet of Prisoner of Azkaban that ran in Disney Adventures. Then my fourth grade teacher started reading it aloud to us between classes, and what the heck happened?

Great survey, by the way! Hope you get plenty of feedback!