It is the second day of the Harry Potter craze. On Friday night, there were Harry Potter stayovers at Barnes & Noble which resulted in streets inundated with children. Even adults are not immune to the power of the magical book. Warehouse clerks were caught stealing books. Copywriters were stealing single pages. At the end of the week, Harry Potter will knock off Hillary Clinton's autobiography as the number one selling book in the country.

Yours truly can not join this mania for the Potman. I tried; I really did. I sat at the college bookstore intent on finding out what is so interesting with the book. I read through the beginning of one of the magical chronicles. But, I became antsy. The writing was too simple. I could not find any word that would make me go find a dictionary. The storytelling itself hurt my brain so much I had to stop at fifty pages. It became a chore to read the book. Instead of the drama and the high speed of imagination, I was stuck in Dullsville. Was there a plot to this book?

I personally still don't understand the obsession of adults to this book. I understand that children are attracted to it because of the magic and the adventure. I was attracted to the Hardy Boys, the Nancy Drew, the blonde twins solving mysteries too when I was ten years old. But how adults reach a religious fervor for this book is beyond me. I have seen twentysomethings tell me to read this book. When I told them that I disliked the book for blah-blah reasons, their heads rear back as if ready to strike with cobra venom.

Frankly, I have several questions: What does this book tell one about one's abilities? One is reading a book meant for a ten year old child. Is the end of civilization near? Will the decline of America occur because adults are reading at a seven year old's level of imagination? Do adults wish for a linear plot?

Written on Saturday 21 June 03.