After holding out for 15 years, I have begun reading JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. The experience is sort of like reading Hamlet for the first time. Not because the writing is similar, but because both have become deeply ingrained in the culture. The first time you read Hamlet, nearly every line makes you go, "So that's where that came from." The Hogwarts gang hasn't had anywhere near the same impact, of course, but I do think it's amazing that although I have never read any of the novels before or seen the movies, I recognize most of the characters, have a basic idea of what happens, and even know the rudiments of Quidditch--information which I have acquired by no means other than being alive at this particular moment in history.
It's downright magical.
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