Last night, I finished up a whirlwind reread of the first six Harry Potter books, and I was struck afresh by how good the writing is. I cried when Sirius died. I cried when Dumbledore died. It's a credit to her Rowling's writing that I was able to feel the loss of those characters as though they were people I knew.
It's not just the depth of the characters. It's also the word plays she uses. I love how so many characters have aptronyms. Even though my minuscule bit of Latin is self-taught, I recognize that Voldemort has death in his name, that Draco means dragon, that Albus means white and shining light, Sirius is the name of the dog constellation, Fleur de la Cour is flower of the heart, and Lupin is derived from the word for wolf. There are allusions, my favorites of which are Minerva for McGonagall's first name, and Fawkes for Dumbledore's loyal phoenix. There is also a healthy dose of word play to create the names of magic items such as the Pensieve. I know you can read the books without catching those things, but to me, such an adult layer of pleasure is added.
On Saturday, the UPS man will roll up the driveway, brave the pit bull, and hand me my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Although I will be so sorry to finish this wonderful storyline, I am also looking forward with a purely childlike glee to getting my hands on this book and finding out whether some of my favorite theories (Dumbledore is ALIVE!!!) can be borne out.
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And then you said.....