You won't believe this!

I have a sad admission today, kids, and it hurts like crazy because people in this industry are supposed to be literate. However, I’ve haven’t read a single Harry Potter novel.

There – it’s out. I said it. I’m ashamed, of course, and I know you’re reeling, but hey! A guy can’t read every bloomin’ thing under the sun and I’ve been busy, you know.

We’ve had a couple of kids during the Potter reign over the book publishing industry, this newspaper has gone through one or two redesigns, I’ve accepted new responsibilities around this joint. Plus, I’ll admit it: when the first Potter novel hit the stands 10 years ago, I couldn’t have cared less.

I’m more into horror and crime fiction than magical fantasy, although I’ve thoroughly enjoyed J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series and other such pieces that combine human and fantastic elements to great effect.

So the story of a kid who finds out he’s a wizard didn’t resonate with me. Yeah, sure, the definition of ‘well-read’ suggests a willingness to explore other realms of endeavour other than your own particular interests, but I’ll be honest; it sounded like a kid’s book and so unlike The Shining.

Well, 325 million copies sold worldwide before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I’ve been proven a meathead.

Author J.K. Rowling is now a billionaire and the series of seven books is heralded as one of the greatest collections of coming-of-age stories ever published.

And like nearly everyone else in the free world last weekend, I bought a copy of Deathly Hallows, but not for me. That’s like closing the barn door after the horse is long gone.

I picked it up for my wife, who has – to my chagrin – read each of the previous six installments and is oh-so-much more informed than her man.

When Voldemort starts kicking butt in Deathly Hallows and Harry has a final showdown (I presume) with his nemesis, she’ll know what’s up. And if she should describe a passage to me I’ll nod sagely, knowingly, and won’t have a clue what’s going on until I get on the ball and go back to the beginning.

That’s the goal, you see; to start at Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and burn through the next six books to the final, fateful conclusion. I owe it to myself to take that journey, partly because it’s good to step outside your comfort zone and also because there’s no doubt the Harry Potter series will be (if it isn’t already) a classic.

I read scads of reviews concerning ‘Deathly Hallows’ and it sounds like it’s right up my alley: dark, intense, brooding. A more serious treatment of the subject matter because Harry is no longer a boy, but a wizard on the verge of manhood and lessons in the adult world are hard, fast and sometimes heartbreaking.

Wow! That’s what gets my juices flowing and why darker tales appeal to me. They take people beyond their normal condition and demand courage and magic from those who may not even understand the nature of their own power.

Characters pushed to the limit in these circumstances are ultimately honourable in their personal quests and any victory comes inevitably with a price. Like the lightning bolt scar on Harry’s brow, we are all marked by adversity in one way or another and my understanding is that Deathly Hallows leaves an indelible impression.

If that ain’t cool, I don’t know what is!

So I’m going to turn the clock back a decade and meet this skinny kid named Harry Potter as he enters Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I’d like to say I’ll do it for my kids, who will definitely meet young Harry very shortly because both of them are at or on the cusp of ‘big school’ age, but that’s not completely accurate.

In fact, I’ll do it for me. Simply put, I’ve missed the boat and it’s time to get onboard.