Michael

Wow! The latest book by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was fantastic. This book has broken all previous records in sales for a first book. The first printing was over 12.5 million. The Harry Potter books have brought reading back to a generation that has been consumed with T.V., video games, movies and other forms of entertainment. Harry Potter has been quite the phenomenon.

I’ve read all the books and I just finished the seventh and final in the series last night on a plane to Germany. The story was so engaging that I read over 300 pages while flying through the night.

J.K. Rowling’s stories are engaging, interesting, full of intrigue, have complex twists and turns, fast paced action and are amazingly vivid in detail. She effectively blends multiple, basic human themes in her writing. This book deals with the hero, the quest, the problems associated with racism, the atrocities of war, fighting for what you believe in, one person sacrificing themselves for all others, the power of love, the enduring mystery of life and many spiritual/religious themes. As they say in the U.K., “Brilliant!”

My only complaint is that this was the last in the series which generates a small empty feeling. But at the same time I have such strong feelings of being enriched by the entire series. Mixed emotions for sure, but I’m happier for reading them.

If you haven’t read the books, I suggest you start now.

Michael

I wrote this poem while flying from Frankfurt to Boston today.

Snow Sounds

Softly falling
Swirling down
Quietly blanketing
All things exposed.

Whiteness envelops,
Surrounds and absorbs
All colors
Transformed.

Inner voice connects
With outer beauty
Inward and outward realities
By silence bridged.

The sound of snow
Soft, deep, timeless
The world’s cacophony
Now muted

My soul
At
Peace