Why Bookseller Jessica is Looking Forward to July 31

The story of the first time I read Harry Potter is a little more dramatic than most. Way back in 1999, my older sister had read and loved Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She loved it so much that she decided that I could never, ever read Harry Potter. My parents went along with this because…I really think they weren’t paying very much attention.

Being utterly terrified of my older sister, my initial reaction was to be totally on board with her “No Harry Potter for Jessica” plan. After all, there were plenty of other books about school-age witches and wizards I could read, like the novels of Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, or Eva Ibbotson. But while I eschewed J.K. Rowling for Little Women, I noticed that Potter wasn’t going anywhere. All of the other kids in my class had read it, and my teachers and librarians couldn’t grasp why I, a kid who read during recess, avoided Harry Potter like the plague. Eventually my curiosity became too much for me, and when my Scholastic Book Order offered paperbacks of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at the bargain price of $5.95, I surreptitiously asked my mother to buy them for me.

My first thought when the books arrived was, “These smell great!” My second thought was, “How am I possibly going to read them without my sister finding out?” The obvious answer, to my ten-year-old mind, was to read them in secret, and reading them in secret meant reading them in my closet with a flashlight after everyone else had gone to bed. I know that already sounds pretty pathetic (though fitting for the boy under the stairs), but picture this: the entire floor space of my small closet was filled by a trash can in which I kept my extra stuffed animals. I literally had to sit in the trash can to read these books, cushioned by old teddy bears, legs dangling over the side.

I was eventually discovered by my mother, who kept my secret but insisted that I read in the living room instead, and much later on by my sister, who threw a huge fit and said she’d never speak to me again. But the damage was already done – I was in love with Harry Potter. (I mean, technically I was in love with Ron Weasley, but no need to fret about the details). From that point forward, J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard became a huge part of my childhood. I made friends with other fans of the books, dressed up in costume for book and film releases, and Harry himself became the frequent subject of my elementary school art projects (there is a papier-mâché model of him that is particularly impressive).

That’s why, as a bookseller at Porter Square Books, I can hardly wait for July 31 st , when I’ll get to be a part of a Harry Potter midnight book release for the first time since 2007, when I was 16. Though the script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, opening on London’s West End earlier in the summer, isn’t exactly a continuation of the story I love so well, the chance to be in a bookstore surrounded by people who believe in the magic of reading (and of Hogwarts) is something I can hardly wait to experience again. Trust me when I say we’ve got a special night planned for Potter fans old and new – you won’t want to miss it.


So now that you're raring to read, it's high time to make this announcement: Not only is there a new Harry Potter book coming out...

WE'RE THROWING A MIDNIGHT RELEASE PARTY!

(AKA WE'RE GONNA PARTY LIKE IT'S 2007!)

Watch this space for weekly Harry Potter appreciation posts and announcements about programming, entertainment, and delicious snacks. In the meantime, don't forget to preorder the book (20% off until the release!) and mark your calendars for Saturday July 30, 10:30pm!

PS: Want to talk up this event on social media? Use the hashtag #potteratpsb!