Countown to Potter party patter

For years, I refused to read the Harry Potter series.

It was one of those things that became a fad too quickly.

My brother was reading it. My mother was reading it. Everyone I knew had their face stuck in one of those huge books with the funny covers and the characters with strange names.

It was only a matter of time until I got sucked into the madness, caught up in the story of the boy wizard, his tragic backstory, his seemingly impossible quest and his circle of brave friends.

I don't remember when I first picked up a Harry Potter book. I'm sure it was my brother's fault. He's three years younger than I am and was never a huge reader until about the time he started plowing through the Potter series.

Fast-forward a few years, and I've read each book of J.K. Rowling's blockbuster series at least twice. Some of them - "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" - I must have read more than three times. I've seen all the movies (and they don't measure up to the books) and I've speculated about how it's all going to end. (I'm not making any predictions here, and I haven't been reading any spoilers or speculations online.)

I bought the fifth book in Germany, a few days before I flew back to the United States from Europe. And I read the entire thing during the flight. For the sixth book release, I sheepishly hit up a midnight sale, having pre-ordered my book a few weeks early. I read it all that night and into the following morning. In one sitting.

I wouldn't call myself a Harry Potter fanatic. I don't use words like "muggle" in conversation, and I certainly don't plan to dress up for the book release party. I haven't marked Potter events on my calendar, and I didn't rush out to the midnight showing of the most recent movie (though I did see it during opening week).

But I'm definitely a devotee. Each book in the series has been better than the last, and reading Harry Potter brings me back to some of the books I loved as a kid: Those well-loved paperbacks by C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl and Edward Eager, to list a few.

And, of course, I have my favorite characters. The central trio is great - and who can help but love our hero - but I've been most attached to players like Dobby the house elf, Sirius Black, Tonks, Rita Skeeter and Dolores Umbridge (who might be the most evil woman I've ever encountered in print). And, whether he turns out to be good or evil, I'm fascinated with Severus Snape.

These are just a few of the reasons that, when the opportunity came up to live-blog about a Potter release party for the seventh book in the series, I jumped at it. I'm a little embarrassed to say I'll be spending a Friday evening at a bookstore with people wearing fake eyeglasses, scar tattoos, Hogwarts-themed clothing and funny hats. But it's an experience I wouldn't miss.

After all, it's supposedly the last one.

So tonight, starting around 10 p.m., you can find me parked at a cafe table or wandering the floor at Barnes & Noble at Friendly Center, where I'll be grabbing stories and snapping pictures to post online. If there's something you want to hear about - or if you have a question about the Potter party - let me know. I'll try to answer it here.

And I'll be blogging until 1 a.m. or so, whenever the store closes.

Except, of course, when I head up to the counter to get my book.