- 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. Just this name, Linda Lupos.
- How old you are now, and how old you were then. I'm 24 right now but I was 17 when I started reading it. ... SEVENTEEN? *calculates* Yes! I started reading it in the summer of 2000! O_O
- What it was like, growing up with the books. Wow. Euh. I guess I didn't really 'grow up' with them since 17 is a pretty grown-up age already. But it has shaped me in ways that I can't really imagine me without Harry Potter. I owe friends to it, and my writing, and most importantly so many good memories! I don't think I'd even have been as involved on the internet had it not been for Harry Potter! I was discussing this with this woman at my sewing class the other day, and whether the books would keep up over time. I mentioned that it would be totally different for our children to read the books because they'd have all the books readily available: they don't have to wait three years for OotP! Maybe what happens in it will be a meme like "Darth Vader is Luke's father" - EVERYBODY knows Snape kills Dumbledore. HP is, it seems to me, to this generation what Star Wars was to kids in the 80's and LotR was in the 60's. Something people connected to, what became a part of their lives, and I think it'll be hard for other people, later generations, to understand!
*hums For Good* Because I knew you, I have been changed... for good...
Oh, and uhm. My brother was 12 when he first read HP (also summer of 2000) and HP has been among the handful of books he has actually finished to date. He's not a great reader (like me...) but HP held his attention. For the first time, it was actually my younger brother who asked if we could please stay home so he could read! That was pretty amazing and I think my parents were incredibly grateful to JK Rowling for actually writing a book that had my brother spellbound. :) And then there was the 3-year wait for OotP and he lost interest (he still knows Snape kills Dumbledore but that was because I screamed about it XD) but there's still the memory of the summer when he read three long books (long for his standard) in three weeks. :)
no subject
- Your country of residence.
The Netherlands. ^^
- 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.
Just this name, Linda Lupos.
- How old you are now, and how old you were then.
I'm 24 right now but I was 17 when I started reading it.
... SEVENTEEN?
*calculates* Yes! I started reading it in the summer of 2000! O_O
- What it was like, growing up with the books.
Wow. Euh. I guess I didn't really 'grow up' with them since 17 is a pretty grown-up age already. But it has shaped me in ways that I can't really imagine me without Harry Potter. I owe friends to it, and my writing, and most importantly so many good memories! I don't think I'd even have been as involved on the internet had it not been for Harry Potter!
I was discussing this with this woman at my sewing class the other day, and whether the books would keep up over time. I mentioned that it would be totally different for our children to read the books because they'd have all the books readily available: they don't have to wait three years for OotP! Maybe what happens in it will be a meme like "Darth Vader is Luke's father" - EVERYBODY knows Snape kills Dumbledore. HP is, it seems to me, to this generation what Star Wars was to kids in the 80's and LotR was in the 60's. Something people connected to, what became a part of their lives, and I think it'll be hard for other people, later generations, to understand!
*hums For Good* Because I knew you, I have been changed... for good...
Oh, and uhm. My brother was 12 when he first read HP (also summer of 2000) and HP has been among the handful of books he has actually finished to date. He's not a great reader (like me...) but HP held his attention. For the first time, it was actually my younger brother who asked if we could please stay home so he could read! That was pretty amazing and I think my parents were incredibly grateful to JK Rowling for actually writing a book that had my brother spellbound. :)
And then there was the 3-year wait for OotP and he lost interest (he still knows Snape kills Dumbledore but that was because I screamed about it XD) but there's still the memory of the summer when he read three long books (long for his standard) in three weeks. :)