Remarks upon finishing the seven Harry Potter books

(With the exception of the revelatory name of one facebook group, the ending was kindly not given away to me; the following, in the same spirit, will contain no overt spoilers.)

This ending to the series was satisfying enough, I suppose. There is a question that comes up in the penultimate chapter that is never answered. The book is overlong--episodic in a numbing way--and in particular the last two chapters and the epilogue seem tacked-on. I didn't cry at the end the way I was promised I would, although the Regulus and Percy moments did draw sobs. The story arcs of Dumbledore's and Snape's lives were fairly good. I did not care for the Hallows plotline. I still can't imagine any sexual chemistry between one of the books' major couples. Ginny I'm a fan of, although why would you hide a lovely name like Ginevra to go by Ginny? My favorite line in Book 7: "Look at me." Magnificent.

The series as a whole is rather preachy in its message to children. My favorites are still Book 1, which has the most emotional power, and Book 3, which has the best plot. I wouldn't list Harry Potter among my favorite books. They are not very well-written, and I would cite three reasons to invest time in them. Read them for the pleasing twists here and there. Read them for the well-imagined Wizarding world which makes you wish school were that cool. Read them in order to be part of a major pop culture phenomenon of our day, especially if you miss (in Miniver Cheevy fashion) a time when contemporary fiction was more culturally relevant.