Harry Potter club at HSE has become one of the most talked about clubs of this current school year. Whether it be a general interest in the odd-seeming game of Quidditch or a fanatical love of the books and movies, Harry Potter has never held a shortage of fans and supporters. The large amount of outside-the-book content and activities for fans make it one of the only series that could support a school club.
One such supporter is senior Reilly Nist, and he believes that he knows the reason as to why the series has remained in the hearts of many even as they continue to age. “There’s a combination of things that contribute to the long lifespan of Harry Potter,” Nist said. “The books are critically considered to be well-written, so that can absolutely help it.”
However, Nist thinks that there is much more to it than that. “We have a Harry Potter club here because of one reason, the fans,” Nist said. “The people who love the books, the movies, or both have taken its popularity to new heights because even now, they still rave to people about how it’s their favorite series. A lot of fans love how in-depth the story and characters are, so they decide to expand some of the lore that they loved so much into the real world with games like quidditch.” Nist explains that because the fanaticism is so embedded within many aging people, they decide to pass their love of the series onto their children. “My friends little brother told us that when their class started reading big books, most of the kids tried to get a Harry Potter book. He didn’t know what Harry Potter was, but apparently those kids’ parents told them in advance about how good the books were.”
The series has become a classic and world-renowned collection of novels. This means that like any other classic novel, Harry Potter is passed down to the younger generations. However, the culture of Harry Potter is quite unique. “For a lot of books, you read them and then you’re done. Maybe you reread it eventually, but that is the furthest extent you would go,” Nist said. “Harry Potter is one of only a few series that have an abundance of content outside of the text or movie. So making a club out of it would be much easier than other novels.”
Nineteen years after the first novel was published and nine years after the last was, the deep love for Harry Potter runs throughout schools across the world. It has sold the most copies of any book series ever, outselling the series in second by over 150 million copies. The expansive fantasy world crafted by JK Rowling has captivated audiences for two decades now and is on pace to continue this trend into the near and far future.
