Psst…Are you alone? I have a secret to tell you.

Come closer…

Closer… I need to whisper this one.

Are you ready for this? Here goes:

I’ve never read Harry Potter. Seriously, any of them. I know, I know. It’s become a beloved classic not just for children, but for adults, too. This is one of those book series that’s merged itself into the fiber of our reading culture. Sure I’ve seen a couple of the movies which has kept me versed on the character names and the basics, but I’ve never so much as cracked the spine of the first book.

Honestly, i’m still not 100% sure how they got by me. My best guess is that when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone first came out, I was too old to reach children’s books, but still young enough not to want the stigma of reading a kid’s book when I clearly has moved on and matured past them. (A stigma I’ve happily shed and encourage others to do so, as I’ve already discussed here on the blog.) Then, when the books completely exploded and started becoming a genuine phenomenon, I was too much of a contrarian to want to ride the bandwagon just because “everyone else was doing it.” Thus, the dear wizard boy has never ended up on my book shelf and somehow continuously gets relegated to the deep end of an ever-expanding “to read” list.

I’m sure this is a sensation that most readers have at one point. You’ve either let slip that you’ve never read something only to hear gasps or be met with stunned silence and weird looks. Or you’ve hidden this secret deep within the recesses of your heart, ashamed that you’ve never quite had the gumption to pick up what “everyone” seems to be talking about. I fall short of lying about never having read the book, but I will not pass judgement on those who have, because this is apparently a very common phenomenon that’s been reported on by the Huffington Post, the Telegraph, The Federalist, (who quotes the delightful poem by Joseph Bottum called “Reading by Osmosis” about this seemingly universal issue) and even the more popular-based BuzzFeed.

These lists are surprisingly similar and focus largely on classics, which tells me that people aren’t necessarily hiding a reading shame, but a shame about not having done schoolwork at some point. There’s an assumption that certain books must have been read in school and surely we must have read them, no? I’ve actually been in some very interesting conversations, however, when people start comparing these school lists. Whether the “classics” have been read or not, it’s very interested to see the differences in curricula across the country and what some schools consider classic vs others. It wasn’t until the London Telegraph published an article at the beginning of this month, that they started taking into account kids’ books and more popular books. This list includes none other than the Harry Potter series (at # 12) and while it’s a survey of UK residents, I think it’s interesting that this more recent survey considered “non-school” reading as well as “classics.”

One day, I will fill my Harry Potter knowledge gap and will likely enjoy the experience. When that day comes, I look forward to being able to connect with a new group of people, and possibly connect with my usual circle of readers on a deeper level. If you’re looking to fill your particular reading gap or maybe you just want to finally finish that reading assignment from 10th grade, the South Branch (and, in fact, the entire Peabody Library) can help you out with that:

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: This is one of those books people can probably fake having watched one (or several) of the many film or TV adaptations (just don’t call is “Alice in Wonderland;” it’s a dead giveaway you haven’t read it). But many of those adaptations conflate this book with Through the Looking Glass. If you really want to know what’s what, you can read them both.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville: A Classics group favorite that was elucidated by one of the library’s favorite lecturer’s Prof. Theoharis of Harvard. Even if you missed the lectures, I highly encourage giving this book a(nother) try. Most people just don’t realize how funny Melville is, even amidst all the transcendental angst.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: This one seems to have made it onto every list I mentioned, but with the popularity of the new miniseries on TV, maybe it’s time to give the original text a go. Plus the South has a shiny new copy of an excellent translation so the book might feel fresh and new, even though it’s just new to you.

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: When I decide to fill this particular reading gap of mine, at least I’ll know where to find it!

 

If your reading gap consists largely of classics, consider joining the Library’s Classics book discussion group, which is coming up on its 10th anniversary. However, just like you should never be shamed by what you have read, you should also never be ashamed of what you haven’t read. Everyone’s lives take different paths, and that includes reading lives. Till next week dear readers, I’m off to read again (but still not Harry Potter…. not yet).