Thursday Thirteen Things I Love About the Harry Potter Books! (very mild SPOILERS for books 1-6)

Thirteen Things I love about the Harry Potter books! 1. Dumbledore. He's one of the ultimate characters in any book, in my opinion. He's super powerful, yet still kind and caring. He's brilliant and, in the wizarding world, one of the biggest big-shots around, yet he's often far less than serious. In a nutshell, he's the grandpa we all wish we had. 2. House elves--who doesn't want a house elf? C'mere, Dobby, you can have all the clothes and wages you want if you keep my house presentable... 3. Ron Weasley. He's not the smartest kid, not the most powerful wizard, not the funniest or the most athletically talented or... but he is the best, most loyal friend you could want. Most of the time. 4. Fawkes the phoenix. I have a great love of the phoenix myth--have one tattooed on my right hip, actually. Love their symbolism. 5. The artwork--especially the little black-and-white drawings at the start of every chapter. Whoever does those, absolutely nails what I think Harry's world looks like. 6. Jim Dale. He's the incredibly talented voice actor who reads the Harry Potter audiobooks. I just found out that he's doing Book 7, and it'll be released on the same day as the print book. Yay! I swear, the Harry Potter CDs have done more to keep the peace between my boys on long car trips than anything else in the entire world, including sleepy-making Benedryl and Dramamine for the carsick son... 7. Snape and the potions lessons. Okay, I'll say it... I think Snape's going to come out as a good guy in the end. I love to hate him, I really do, but... somehow. He'll have been consistently loyal to Dumbledore. You wait and see. 8. The owls. They're such beautiful birds, and many of them are endangered. Not only are they great characters in their own rights, I think JK Rowling has done a great thing in increasing awareness and love of these birds in young people. 9. The wands! I like how they're all individual, just like the witches and wizards who use them. That's a great touch. 10. Hogwarts Castle. It's so well described and plays such an enormous role in all the stories, it's practically a main character in itself. At the end of HP6, Harry said he's not returning to Hogwarts for his final year of education, and I'm really biting my nails. A Harry Potter book without the castle??? 11. Aunt Petunia. She's got some 'splainin' to do! Is she in contact with wizards? Was she writing to Dumbledore before his death? Is she going to show her own magical powers in Book 7? Enquiring minds want to know... 12. Hermione... you didn't really think I'd forget her, did you? She's changed so much since the first book--and for the better. She's a walking library, an intensely intelligent and strong-willed young lady that is still cool. 13. Harry. Yes, I know, it's obvious, but who could love a book series without adoring the main character? He's made glasses cool--as a mom of a boy who wears 'em, I appreciate that. He's brave, but can usually admit his mistakes. One thing I'd like to see is Harry learning how to control his impulsive nature. Yes, you do have to save the world, but it never hurts to plan things out first... And since I didn't seem to leave a spot for it--#14, the new Harry Potter 7 cover! Ain't it pretty? Voldemort is on the back, reaching for Harry... very, very dramatic. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants