I am almost finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Nothing surprising there, as it is the biggest book of the year. Yes, I get many magazine subscriptions and am also reading a philosophical introduction to Derrida (a favorite of mine), working on a class I am teaching, scrolling through countless blogs, and the daily newspaper–yet I am craving to finish the Potter book. I haven’t had this many hours of entertainment for so little money in a long, long time. Where else but in a good read can
I spend hours and hours for only a dollar or so? Not at a movie for $12. Not at a Broadway play at $110. Not at the opera for $130.

This reminds me of the love of reading I developed as a child, when I read because there was not anybody around and, living in a rural area, nothing to do. Now, living in New York City and surrounded by more stimulation than a person can grok, I find myself wanting to read again. I wonder why I, who buy books on a weekly basis and can read hundreds of pages a week (while working and teaching and studying) am finding Harry Potter so exciting and engaging? I have not read any of the other books, and have not read
fiction in some time. Perhaps that is the answer–it is so new for me and, at this time I am focusing more on my arts and sciences roots, am once again open to such experiences?

After all, business for its own sake is only so rewarding and exciting . . . to a point.

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