There are plenty of books on my shelves a lot of people won’t know.

This, I guess, will not be one of them.

Let’s be honest, at this point Harry Potter is bigger than Jesus.

Maybe even bigger than the Beatles.

People are mad on the bugger, despite the fact he’s not the most compelling protagonist going. (Harry Potter that is, not Jesus)

Certainly not as exciting as Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, so where’s his theme park?

Okay, I suppose it wouldn’t be easy to make a ride about murdering prostitutes, and there may be some legal issues…

He’s also not all that kid-friendly.

But still.

What I’m saying is you all know about Harry Potter, and you’ve all made your mind up how you feel about him.

So, what’s the point in me doing a review?

None.

Still, now we’re here, there’s plenty to discuss.

So, settle in, and let’s talk about an aspect of this challenge that’ll make most think I’m insane.

Sound good?

The Nature of this Challenge

When I decided to do this challenge it was to get every book on my bookshelf read with no exceptions.

See, I put no exceptions in bold, so you know it’s serious.

That’ll be important later.

However, there were some exceptions.

These 12 exceptions outside of the no exceptions (shut up, it does make sense. They’re the exceptions that prove the rule, ha!) were the books on my bookshelf I had read in the couple of months before starting the challenge.

But that was it.

Other than those 12.

No exceptions.

That meant I would read business books, like this one, script books, and even the tome 1001 Days that Shaped the World.

Plus, duplicates.

That’s right.

Duplicates.

Should that be in bold?

Duplicates.

Now, if you’re not wondering why you’re reading this rather than doing something important. Say, catching up on Peaky Blinders (which you must do.) Then you’re probably wondering why anyone would make a habit of keeping multiple copies of the same book.

Well, I don’t make a habit of it, of course.

But, I do have three copies of one book.

You can probably guess which.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Why? Well, it’s not that weird.

Only quite weird.

The first copy is the copy I first got (duh). It’s the old design from when the books were first released, and it makes up part of a set of seven (see pic).

The second, the copy I read this time, is a hardback version with fake J.K. Rowling signature inside and out (see the banner at the top of the page for that one)

And when I say fake, I mean it’s a printed copy of her actual signature. Not that my dad faked her signature because obviously, he didn’t do that.

I hope.

Finally, there is the twentieth-anniversary edition of Philosopher’s Stone (see pic). This copy my girlfriend bought me so she could buy both the Slitherine and Gryffindor versions without feeling like a super nerd.

Totally worked.

Okay, by now you’re thinking – if you’re not already enjoying the first episode of Peaky Blinders – “wait, you’re not really going to read three copies of the same book for this bloody challenge are you?”

And to this I say, you obviously weren’t paying much attention above, were you?

No exceptions.

But also, no.

As luck would have it, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Philosopher’s Stone comes under the 12 books exempt from the challenge.

As for the other two. Yes, I bloody well am going to read both.

You have to remember this is a four-year challenge, end to end, and I’ve just knocked off the first of the two early on.

It could be a couple of years before I pick it up again and I know some people who read the whole Harry Potter series of Harry a couple of times a year.

So, when you think about it, not that weird.

So, um, are you actually going to review this thing, or what?

Short answer.

No.

Long answer.

Yes, eventually.

Like I say, it’s going to be silly to review Harry Potter in the same way I review a lot of my books because it’s so ingrained in the public conscience. Everyone’s already made their minds up about it, so I’m not going to waste my time or yours.

Well, unless you count reading the above as a complete waste of time.

Which you should.

But, beyond that, here’s what’s going to happen.

There will be no review today. When it comes to picking up the Harry Potter series again someway down the line, I will do a joint review then.

I’m already having lots of thoughts about the things I want to write about. Things beyond the ordinary review type stuff.

So, look forward to that.

But for now, no review for you…

Next Up

At the time of writing, I have read four out of five of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

So, next time out expect a joint review of all five of those.

That’s right, five in one.

Should be enough to make up for no review here, right?

No?

Well, sod you then.

Until next time.

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Mark Ayre

International worst selling author Mark Ayre has been writing since before he could pick up a pen (somehow). Recently he is taking the internet by storm with his Man vs Bookshelf Challenge where he aims to read the 210 books on his bookshelf in 210 weeks, reviewing them on his blog and Goodreads along the way. He is also publishing books on Amazon, his most recent being the family suspense novel, Poor Choices, which you can find here.

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