The Pleasures of Re-reading

Last week I completed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, thus concluding this year's reading of Harry Potter.  My third reading of the series was every bit as enjoyable as the first two.  It confirmed my conviction that if one truly loves a book he or she will keep reading that book over and over again.

A few thoughts from this reading:

(1) I noticed details I had either forgotten or never noticed to begin with, like Hagrid's pumpkins in The Sorcerer's Stone and the subtle hints of Harry's growing love for Ginny in The Half-Blood Prince.

(2) Something I find particularly satisfying is the way Rowling uses little, almost imperceptible details that become important later on in the series.  For example, the mention of Dumbledore's battle with Grindelwald in the first book that eventually becomes a huge point in the revelation of Dumbledore's full past and true character in the final book; the fact that Neville is raised by his grandmother, which eventually leads to the back story of what happened to his parents; the twin cores of Harry's and Voldemort's wand.

(3) I love Neville's character development from a bumbling, hapless boy to a courageous leader (and true Gryffindor) who cuts off the head of Voldemort's snake with the sword of Gryffindor.

(4) Severus Snape still remains a bit of a mystery to me.  He's so ambiguous:  he's finally proved to be trustworthy to the point of death (and becomes a namesake for one of Harry's son's), and it's really quite touching how he never stopped loving Harry's mother, but he was a jerk to Harry.  Almost sadistically cruel.  Maybe his ambiguity is what makes him so fascinating.

(5) I'm going to keep reading Harry Potter.  The prose isn't brilliant (though it improves remarkably midway through the series), but I care for the characters, the plots are satisfying, and the narrative world is compelling.