Saturday, July 21

Come to Me, All Ye Laden With Potter


This morning I discovered one of my possible contributions to society: Harry Potter Therapist.

I was out getting coffee with Mackenzie last night, and we heard that the other coffee shoppes were staying open till 1am to accommodate the frenzied Potterites. For at midnight oh one, bookstores released Rowling's, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7). To poppy culture, I imagine this is just a few adrenaline drops short of Beatle-mania.

I appear as an eyebrow-raised (casually giggling) observer watching this all unfold. I've not yet read even one Harry Potter, nor have I seen the movies. And not for any deep reason, either, except that I've just always been a bit bored by any sort of fantasy/sci-fi. I've never been able to make it through Lord of the Rings, nor have I even finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia (causing great rebukes from Lisa B).

And so, all of these vacuums make me quite useful to society today.

As I was getting my morning coffee here at the Klein house, I observed what hilarious tension Harry Potter can cause in opening-day readers. Two sweet members of the household are voraciously reading their just-acquired Book Sevens, but, they are reading at quite differing paces. Reader #1 will inevitably laugh aloud, or gasp, or signal a cause for alarm. Even if in another room, these responses cause Reader #2 to yell, impassioned, "YOU JUST HUSH!!! DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME ANYTHING!!!"

Seeing that I could be of some help here, in my Potter virginity, I grabbed my pink "I feel just like a princess" coffee mug (just discovered in the cupboards) and took one of these Klein gals for a walk around the block. She was so itching to talk about what she'd read so far, but had no one to listen. I, on the other hand, am somewhat disinterested, and thus, completely immune to ruining the big Harry surprise. A good Potter therapist, I am.

"Well, tell me what you've read so far," I said, as we walked up the block.

"You really haven't read any Harry Potter before? Well, first of all, it's about a kid who does magic..."

16 comments:

Agent B said...

I saw the title and pic of this post and thought "oh great...another harry potter post". *gag.

But this one will do.

Very nice. Keep giving the therapy. You are one in a million.

elizabeth said...

please see my pic for the day. ;) [also, i back-dated a few from this week...]

Rachel said...

okay, I have a couple of fellow students who had ALREADY FINISHED the book by mid-afternoon. I wish I understood this phenomenon. I've never read a single Potter either. I'm with you Jenelle. ;)

Jenelle said...

agent b,
I'm glad you didn't gag on my post. Thanks for the three cheers!

Jenelle said...

elizabeth,
I always wait for your pictures of the day.

Jenelle said...

rachel,
how did those crazies read the whole book in a matter of hours? I suppose we are raging against the machine by not yet having read any Harry.

Anonymous said...

Isn't our house perfect for therapists! With seven or eight people living and hanging out here...one would think there are enough ears to go around for all to be heard. But no...we Kleins seem to love each other so much we all talk at once and in the same room. You're a brave soul to be here with us...and we love you for it! Especially my sweet Potter crazed one who gave you an ear full around the block. Maybe we should open our home for interns...!?

cxp said...

hi! Jenelle hope u're doing fine!
U've a challenge on my blog..drop by..hope u'll get it is in portuguese..if not tell me something;)
BIG hug:]

Unknown said...

You picked a good topic to include me! I finished book 7 last night at 3:30am because I couldn't sit through another day of work not knowing how it ends:) But seriously, I could use a Harry Potter therapist (coincidently, Chris and I had similar arguments over laughs and gasps with our respective copies) because these books really bring me a lot of joy and literally make my heart pump passionately and I have been journaling all day at work to process why they impact me so. But outside of my personal attachments to the story, Christian archtypes and truths are foundations of this good vs/evil story, and they are permiating millions of readers world wide whether they know it or not. And that excites me so much about the power of storytelling and the potential of imagination and excellence. Through the adventures of Harry, the books give me a palpable sence that there is a great good we can hope in.

See what happens when you get me started:)

pearl said...

Nelly-

Yeah, AIM! They're rad. My friend Suz, who is a Fed-Ex director in South America (living in Brazil), and her husband are good friends with Seth, who I think is the Latin America director of AIM. Anyway, they (and I) really wanted me to do something with AIM the year after I graduated, and I spent some time emailing with Seth (he has a rad daughter, Rebekah) and researching. You should definitely find out more about it.

Yeah, I finished my date with Harry yesteday at 8:39pm. It was epic. I hope those girls enjoyed it too, and the baby-mama drama wasn't too bad at the end:)

And Agent B- you just don't know what you're talking about:)

Jenelle said...

dear Sue,
She is no fool to brave seas of generosity.

Jenelle said...

Cxp,
I'll follow your blog-tag this week, in a modified way. Thanks! I was able to understand your Portuguese, once I had some coffee and woke up a bit. When I was sleepy-eyed I felt hopeless. Thanks for dropping by. Bjns

Jenelle said...

Sarah!
Yay! I lured you in with a topic that was sure to seduce you. I love imagining you and Chris squabbling over Harry Potter. And I love hearing you say:
these books really bring me a lot of joy and literally make my heart pump passionately and I have been journaling all day at work to process why they impact me so...
because I'm sure that the passion that already pumps through your veins is happy to be spilled out onto your journal page, and ignite other good things. Looking forward to hearing more about how Potter is inspiring you. Let me know if you need some therapy.

Jenelle said...

Cari,
That's so crazy about you being connected with AIM, too. Thanks for letting me know...you've probably told me before, and I just wasn't listening very well. I'm pretty sure Seth is actually the founding dude.

So I'm happy to hear that you made it through HP, and can now re-engage society! :)

I finally got your Mango in the mail, by the way. Still have Radiant, though!

p.s. I could be wrong, but I'm fairly sure Agent B was referring to my facetious title, and being afraid of some "Harry Potter is of the devil" rant.

Melissa said...

I got such a kick out of this post. I admit that I am a Harry Potter maniac and did indeed have my copy of book 7 pre-ordered and delivered to my house on release day. Now I'm not as bas as some people.. I didnt wait in line the night before until midnight 01 to get it and I didnt read it in one day. I read it in 2 days. LOL. But then again, I love fantasy type books and you should be sad that you haven't finished Narnia! :)

I went to the opening of the latest HP movie in Atlanta at the IMAX theater with a few friends, all of whom, except one, were total HP maniacs like myself. The girl who wasn't said to us in a "sad for our state of misguidedness" tone: "you guys are like trekkys.. only I guess you'd be called 'pottys'!"

Well, I can say I'm proud to be a Potty! :)
love you nellers

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenelle,

I can't believe you of all people haven't read Harry Potter- honestly, you would love the series if you gave it a chance! I WAS one of those people who stood in line at Barnes & Noble to be one of the first with the book in my hand. My sister one upped me though- she actually scheduled her trip to London so that it would fall over the day the book was released! :)

I miss you girl! It has been WAY TOO LONG! You are probably trying to figure out who this "Amanda" character is! ;) Just think Italy and curly red hair...

Keep in touch!
Ciao Bella, Amanda