Out of Egypt:

True Confessions

I've never read a Harry Potter book, and I don't particularly care to start now. I think it's because when they first came out they had more of a kid lit reputation, whereas now they seem to be all the rage among people of all ages. And because there was a guy on my cross-country team who carried them around (possibly read them) who we all disliked. And he kept taking his shirt off at the slightest provocation.

Don't bother telling me how great they are and how I should read them as soon as possible. It won't work. If I don't get in on a trend on the ground floor, I won't get in on it ever. I'm not a bandwagon jumper. (Except for a brief moment in middle school when I liked the Dallas Cowboys. And I was temptated to become a Red Sox after the series last year - then sanity returned, telling me I could never actually sit through an entire televised game of baseball.)

Parallel scenario: I've never seen Pirates of the Caribbean. People tell me it's actually a great film, Johnny Depp is amazing, Keira Knightley is hot, etc. I don't care. I didn't see it in the theater because I thought it was just another Bruckheimer-style flick based on a theme park ride, something slightly above the level of Super Mario Bros. or the D & D movie. If I was wrong, I was wrong. But now that the movie has reached the "Covenant plays it during preview weekend" stage of its life cycle, I don't care to become a fan.

I saw Pirates of the Caribbean last year on a train. It's a great movie. It's even better when you're bored out of your mind on a slow train from Raleigh NC to Washington DC. I also avoid the faddish hype over most movies, but I find that if I just let things happen, I end up seeing all the great ones sooner or later.

Posted by: Jeri Massi at July 24, 2005 8:02 AM

Maybe you shouldn't be so judgmental from the beginning then. I did explore both the Harry Potter and Pirates phenomenons from their birth, having the great excuse of "little sisters", and they have brought me hours of pleasures, I must admit. I understand the initial feelings because, trust me, I had them too. But I've been reasonably frequently surprised by things such as these, that I've become much less ashamed to explore something that I initially feel isn't say, up to snuff, with my normal forays into entertainment. Clearly, you don't have to, I'm just saying, you might be pleasantly surprised. I was.

Posted by: Melinda at July 25, 2005 4:21 PM