In case you haven’t figured this out yet, I’m a pretty big
fan of the Harry Potter series. I started reading the books when I was about
five or six, and it just caught hold of my imagination. I’ve since read the
books over fifty times at last count, and I can quote the movies (apparently,
I’m also quite good at knowing the chapters of each book…Brent tested me the
other day). About two years ago, I stumbled upon the fan site Mugglenet.com,
and I was thrilled to find that I wasn’t crazy (or that crazy, I guess) in my
love for the series. Last year, the site started a new segment/website thing
with an accompanying podcast called Alohomora!
Basically, it’s a global reread of the series, and on each episode they analyze
all sorts of things, and then listeners get involved in the analysis on the
online forums. I got involved on the forums, talking about all kinds of cool
connections we found in the books, and I was actually made a moderator on the
site. And then, just a few weeks ago, I was invited to actually be a guest host
on the podcast!
I was so excited and nervous that day, I really didn’t know
what to do with myself. What if I sounded incredibly stupid? My roommates
probably thought I was going insane, I was so uptight. But, there I was at the
right time, my nice recording equipment all hooked up, my book marked with
notes, and then off we went!
It was an incredible experience. There were three of the
regular hosts on the show that day, and we were discussing chapters nine and
ten of what is tied for my favorite book in the series, Prisoner of Azkaban. I had a great time, and it was just so fun to
nerd out for a while with people who understood why I love these books!
The episode was released this past week, and you can listen
to it here or on iTunes (episode 24, "Filch's Hidden Passion")! My nickname on the site is Ali Wood (it’s a long story, but basically
what you need to know is that I like the character of Oliver Wood), so that’s
what they know me as. I’ve even gotten some positive feedback on the forums
about it! It was so out of my comfort zone, but it was a spectacular experience,
and one I hope I get to repeat.
Getting ready for the show!
Also on the literary/English nerd front, a few weeks ago, I
met a real life published author! Here at BYU, the English department sponsors
a Reading Series every Friday. Basically, authors come and read some of their
work for about an hour, and then there’s a book signing afterward. So a few
weeks ago, Anthony Doerr came, which was really exciting because we have been
reading some of his work in my Literary Analysis class. His collection of short
stories, Memory Wall, is becoming
some of my favorite writing ever, I think. It a really interesting collection,
with stories all focused around what memories are, how we keep them, and why
they are important. The idea and the way he presents it just fascinates me.
So a few weeks ago, there I was all excited just to see a
real author. His reading was great, and then came the book signing! I stood in
line pretty much shaking the entire time. When it actually was my turn, I could
hardly talk my heart was pounding so hard. But he was very kind, and for the
first time in my life, I now am the proud owner of a signed book. I didn’t stop
smiling all the way home that day! This is one of the best things about
college: I get to really focus on the things I love, and I get to learn more
about them then I ever thought I would.
Signed book, aaah!
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