Collecting Harry Potter

Hardcovers

I started collecting Harry Potter books on accident. I swear I did. I bought the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at twelve after originally borrowing it from a friend to read. The book had been released in the United States on September 1, 1998. It was months later that I read the book, fell in love and had to buy it instantly. I had no idea who this J.K. Rowling person was but I had to have everything that she ever wrote. It was at a book fair at University of California Los Angeles that I found the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A book store owner was there with a small booth of books and she told me that she had imported a few copies of the second book, which had already been released in the UK, and that I could pick it up at her store. Well, I couldn’t be denied! My mother and I went to the bookstore and voila I became the proud owner of a British copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!

Paperbacks

It’s honestly a downhill coaster from there. I had to have the hardcover US edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that came out a few months later. I bought every new release after that in hardcover as well. My mother bought a leather bound Collector’s Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as a Christmas present my senior year in high school. Before I knew it I was off to college in Hawaii and I couldn’t bring all of my Harry Potter books with me. It was the end of the summer in 2004. The first five books had been released and I vowed to limit my rereads to when I was visiting my family in Los Angeles. That is until the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince came out in the summer of 2005. In anticipation for the new release I went and bought all five of the Harry Potter books in paperback so I could have them with me and reread at my pleasure. Somewhere in between that timespan I purchased a Deluxe Edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I also stumbled upon a leather bound Collector’s Edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. After purchasing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, in both hardcover and Deluxe editions, I received a British copy from my mother’s friend who bought it for me while overseas.

Adult British Edition

This may be the perfect time to recap and count. The seventh book hadn’t been released at this point in time but I knew that I had started collecting these books and that I was far from done. I had at this point in our discussion 6 hardcovers, 6 paperbacks, 2 collector’s edition, 2 British editions, and 2 Deluxe editions. That brings our total to 18 Harry Potter books in my possession when only 6 have been released. Then the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on July 21, 2007. I was about to begin my last year at the university. I had just gotten married two months earlier. My life was changing fast, all except for my love of Harry Potter. That was one thing that stayed constant. I had pre-ordered two copies of the book from Borders, one for a friend of mine who was planning on going with me to the midnight release party. It was July 20, 2007 and I was taking classes in the summer and had called Borders as soon as they opened to find out what time their line would be starting. To my pleasant surprise they were handing out wristbands that would determine when you got your book. I was there within minutes picking up my wristband which solidified my purchase. I left my house around 11:00 pm to retrieve my treasure. There were still festivities going on so I staked out my place near one of the registers, enjoyed the show and waited. Minutes before midnight the actual line formed, with the color of my wristband being called first, I found the second place in line. My friend was not able to join me for this monumental moment so when the time came for me to get my copies I asked for a Deluxe Edition as well and in one swipe became the proud owner of two copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. For my 21^st birthday I received an Adult British copy of the seventh book as well. I bought the paperback as soon as it was available. And just like that my collection of Harry Potter books increased by four.

British Edition

Eventually I would receive the first 6 Harry Potter books in the Adult British edition as well from my mother in law who saw me fawning over her copies. I would buy the e-book version years later as soon as they became available. Most recently I bought a Special Edition boxed set that was released in the U.S. with new cover art. I’ll be reading that for the first time for my 2015 reread. All of my other books have been read, and more than once, excluding my Collector’s Edition and Deluxe edition. I have a bookshelf that is dedicated solely to my Harry Potter Collection but has extended to include J.K. Rowling’s other works as well (for now). And yet my collection still isn’t done. The last thing I absolutely have to have for my collection is the set I will buy whenever I make my way to England to buy it. It seems so final and yet exquisite too. I’ll end my collection purchasing the books in the country where it all began. My love of the books will never waver and my collection of the books is a symbol of that. I have stopped reading my original hardcovers in an effort to preserve them. My paperbacks have seen definitely seen better days. They all tell a story of my history with the books. It’s an essential part of my library. Most people won’t understand this and that’s fine. One day my son will have to sort through this and decide what to do with them but hopefully that’s a long time away. Right now they are where they are supposed to be: in my glass enclosed book shelf.

Collector's Edition

Final tally as of right now: 7 hardcovers, 7 paperbacks, 7 Adult British Editions, 2 British editions, 2 Collector’s Editions, 3 Deluxe Editions, 1 Boxed set of the series, 7 e-books. Which brings my total to a whopping 42 copies of the Harry Potter books. Did I mention I’m eyeing buying the 10^th anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? Or that I own The Tales of Beedle and Bard, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Quidditch Through the Ages?

Deluxe Edition

Like I said earlier most people won’t understand why I love Harry Potter and why I absolutely adore my collection. How can a grown woman collect a children’s series? Well, for one it isn’t a children’s series in my opinion. Harry Potter lost that veil after the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. What people have to understand though is that I started this series as a child. I was twelve years old! I was in the seventh grade! I very well couldn’t stop reading the series before it ended simply because I was an adult. I was too invested in the lives of the characters! It has been SIXTEEN years since I started reading Harry Potter. They were with me through middle school, high school, four years at a university and the beginning of my marriage. This series didn’t solidify my love of reading. I already had that! I almost didn’t even read Harry Potter because I was obsessed with Stephen King at that time. (I still am obsessed with Stephen King and have gone on a separate journey with his books, which is another story for another day.) This was something else. I felt it the first time I read Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone. I felt the magic, the connection and the story resonated with me in a completely unexpected and lovely way. This collection represents that experience.

Special Edition US Boxed Set

I am one of millions who have loved and still love the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling changed my life with her books. I can’t explain it. I won’t even try. But I will relive that experience every year as I reread the series. I will remember what my life was like at the time I first read each book. I will laugh at the same parts. I will try not to cry as my heart breaks again at others. I will rediscover those moments. I will find something new unexpectedly. And they will always be there on my bookshelf, like an old friend, waiting to be read again.