Talking about Harry Potter and the Golden Compass made me feel nostalgic, and remember how I started reading. I had trouble speaking and reading English so I had never taken an interest in books. As a little kid I moved to America from Germany. My parents never read to me as a child, because they were not fond of reading in the first place and the books were in a different language, so they did not make the extra effort to read. Of course it was difficult for me to understand what I was reading.
One day a family friend took it upon herself to read to me, and it happened to be Harry Potter. We had the book for a while, I tried reading it once and I could not understand what was going on. I could read the words, but I didn't understand them. All I got from the beginning of the book was that a cat was sitting on a wall with a cold ass, who was somehow not a cat. It just absolutely confused me. Until someone sat down with me and just read it to me, explaining meanings, words, and such. It really excited me to be able to understand these books. I’m grateful to Ginny for reading to me, it really saved me from television and endless advertisement.
I remember I became obsessed with the books. Simply because Harry, at first, was a normal everyday boy that had a really shitty life. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN, he found out that he belonged to this magical world where he was this amazing hero. I could relate to him, he was my age, he had family, he went to school, he had a birthday. Then everything changed. I believed this could happen to me, which made me realize that I was the main character of my own story, that there was always the potential for magic. Although it wouldn't drop in through the door, or down the chimney like it did for Harry. I ended up relating to him, and maturing with him.
Of course I devoured the books and was anxious for more in between release dates. While I was waiting for the next book I distracted myself with other books, such as His Dark Materials trilogy. Harry Potter was my gateway drug to fantasy books, which was my gateway to literature.
I never realized the intense subject matter of these books. There are so many levels to the Golden Compass, it can be taken at face value, it can be seen from a religious perspective, seen as a social commentary, a view on sexual maturation, as well as on a personal level where it's a way to deal with life's struggles. That's what makes these books so great, a wide variety of people can read them, identify with the book and enjoy it over and over again.
