“I’ve never read ‘Harry Potter.’”

Those words, uttered from my mouth more than a few times, have always induced shocked gasps and condescending shakes of the head. But I’ve been Potter-less too long, and now’s the time to end the run. Without further ado, I shall begin my quest through Potter land at maximum speed (I’ll try to finish in 24 hours), braving weary eyes, ignoring sleep and by all means reading till I drop. (MINOR SPOILERS)

3 p.m. Dec. 21: First book finished. Harry Potter’s a pretty cool guy, but I don’t like the Draco Malfoy character; he’s too predictable. I think I have a cold, my head feels all dizzy and I really want to sleep. I just sneezed four times in a row. Time to find the second book. Hope the world doesn’t end before I finish the series, because that just wouldn’t be cool.

3:30 p.m.: The second book has disapparated (learning new vocab from children’s books, I’m proud).

6 p.m. Saratoga High School: Had a janitor open up the journalism classroom for me. Second book isn’t in the lost and found pile. Harry poopers.

7 p.m.: Took my sister’s Kindle. Honestly, it took me three hours to think of this. I’m not the smartest.

11 p.m.: Finished the second one. My nose needs to stop. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. “The Chamber of Secrets” was actually mildly frightening. Anyway, it’s time to make some tea.

1 a.m. Dec. 22: Finished “The Prisoner of Azkaban.” Didn’t like it, maybe because I’m super tired, most likely because of time travel. Honestly, why time travel. I hate it, can’t stand it. Need to send memo to J.K. Rowling: Please rewrite the third one. Regards, Samuel. Fourth book looks really long. Why did I decide to do this? Time to make some more tea.

3 a.m.: Only a quarter done with “The Goblet of Fire.” You win, Harry. Until tomorrow.

7 a.m.: Travelling to Los Angeles. Can’t read on cars + really sick. Good.

4:30 p.m. Los Angeles: Sitting on hotel sofa, eating In-N-Out animal fries, reading “The Goblet of Fire.” This is really how I would spend my last day alive, eating and reading. It would be perfect if it was still Dec. 21, but still. All is well, except that Cho Chang disappoints me as the sole representative of the Asian race. According to Google images, she goes to the Yule Ball with Edward Cullen. WHY. I bet Cedric Diggory is a vampire…

10 p.m.: Finished “Goblet” — awesome book. I’m still reliving the graveyard scene. It’s definitely better than first three books, and I approve of Rowling’s decision in regards to Edward Cullen. I love the Ron/Victor Krum subplot, but I strongly disapprove of Harry’s feelings for Cho Chang. She’s probably a vampire, dude. Plus, her name is not real; it’s fake Chinese. I refuse to believe that her Chinese name is Chang Cho (the last name comes first in Chinese). I translate it to “Long Ugly.” There’s no tea in L.A., but I shall make a late night animal fries run (our hotel is right next to In-N-Out).

4 a.m. Dec. 23: Just finished fifth book. It’s pretty good (Dumbledore vs. Voldemort was awesome), but the whining of Cho Chang and overall gloominess made it worse than the fourth one. Cho Chang continues to disappoint; I was hoping she would be finished in the battle at the ministry, but alas, she was nowhere to be seen. It’s time for sleep (this one day thing has really failed).

1 p.m.: Quick In-N-Out lunch and onto the sixth book. Let’s see, I’ve spent roughly 24 hours and 30 minutes reading so far. It’s definitely possible to read the first five in a day, but not all seven. Time to finish what I started.

8 p.m.: Finished sixth book. I’m a big fan of Voldemort — he’s by far the most fascinating character in the series. He’s also quite the looker. The character of Snape confuses me, and it’s taking all my willpower not to wiki him. I wonder if Voldemort’s “nose” was absorbed by Snape’s nose … Anyway, onto the seventh! (After another In-N-Out run, of course.)

1 a.m. Dec. 24: Done!! “Deathly Hallows” is the best book in the series, by far. The second half of the book was wonderful; hours felt like minutes. The dialogue between the Harry and Voldemort in the ending is truly epic, as are the multiple plot twists I shall not spoil.
It’s really a beautifully written series, “Harry Potter” is, worthy of the obsession and cult-like adoration it receives. I’ve been told that reading Harry Potter is useless because supposedly it’s not “advanced” or “great” literature. But Harry Potter’s value lies not in SAT vocabulary, nor life lessons, but in the way it teaches readers to develop characters, to write with suspense, to use dialogue and (perhaps most importantly) to imagine, to wonder. It’s hard to read Harry Potter and not gain a sense of wonder, or creative thought.
Imagination, as Albert Einstein said, is everything. And Harry Potter delivers more than its fair share of wonder and delight.