Wingardium Leviosa!

Ah yes!

I remember very clearly how Mr Potter cast his spell on me many years ago, one fateful afternoon in Popular Bookstore, which was then just around the corner from my workplace.
It was about 1:45pm and as I was wandering around the store, something compelled me to pick up a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Partly because there was great interest in the series as the movie adaptation was underway and due for release soon. And I was curious as to what the big deal was about this children's book.

Chapter One, entitled, The Boy Who Lived got my attention straight away!
And following that was:
"Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much......."
JK Rowling's narrative was so arresting that I had read about four pages of the book before I realised that it was nearly 2pm....and time to get back to work!
What else does a girl do but hop along to the cashier post-haste to part with her money and hurry back to the workplace, whilst wondering how to sneak in reads of the book for the rest of the afternoon....yes, it was that interesting!
I finished the book that very night and the next day, it was back to Popular to get the other two or three titles which were available then.
I even entered a contest by Popular for entries about why we loved Harry Potter....and I won a $50 voucher! Not bad, eh??

I cannot remember my exact words for that entry but it was to do with escapism in the magical world of Harry and friends, where one could have fun with the swish of a wand.
The school setting of Hogwarts was also reminiscent of all the beloved Enid Blyton books of my childhood like St Clare's, Mallory Towers and The Naughtiest Girl series in Whyteleaf School. The kids in those stories seemed to have so much fun at boarding school that I often wished I could do the same here in sunny Singapore too...lol!

Subsequent book releases would see me queueing up at Kinokuniya early on the Saturday mornings to grab them as soon as possible to devour and finish reading within a few hours....so keen was I to know what would happen in each new installment!

Anyway, the first Potter movie was released to a wonderful reception and I could certainly see why. Great casting for both the child and adult characters, a good script, John Williams' brilliant score and the attention to detail for the sets and costumes ensured that there would be more book-to-screen adaptations and the journey only ended last year with the release of the eighth and final movie.
What was amazing about this franchise was how beautifully the child actors stayed and grew up with the series over ten years!
And the plethora of acclaimed British actors who portrayed the senior wizards and witches were nothing short of awesome!
Special mention must be made of Alan Rickman's Professor Snape...those who have watched the movies and read the books will agree that he is easily the BEST character in the story,

Ok, now I feel like reading the books and watching the DVDs all over again!