Busy college life often traps your brain in a rut of constantly obsessing about school, grades, etc. My personal favorite way of giving my brain a break from whatever project I’m stressing is reading. Recently I have picked up an old favorite. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, the first installment of the famous series is a book I have read almost a hundred times when I was younger. This book has recently turned 20 this year and every college-aged student has grown up with these books. I remember the excitement of waiting for each book and movie, researching every detail about the world, taking the quiz on ‘Pottermore’ to see what house I am in (Ravenclaw by the way).
Rereading the first book in my 20s had me worried if my childhood favorite was going to hold up. This book is still as magic as ever. Reading felt like catching up with old friends. The way Rowling writes her characters makes them feel as real as anyone you know. I was reminded why I love this book so much in the first place. Rowling’s amazing world she created, every thought-out detail is important to the story and builds to make it even richer later in the series. The Harry Potter series are the perfect escape books because this world is so dense with lore and magic, it sucks you in.
I highly recommend a reread in college. The perfect break for a stressed-out mind that takes you back to a time when life was simple. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a classic and creates such a warm childhood feeling, leaves me forever waiting for my Hogwarts letter to arrive in the mail.