People are funny.

This summer, I spent some time reading the last Harry Potter (of course). One night, my friends Natalie, Maegan, and myself went to Agora in downtown Houston to read. The place was so packed, but for some reason when I got home, I chose to write about something that happened there. Here is that entry:

July 21, 2007

One of my favorite things is becoming so encompassed in a book that when I stop reading, I forget where I am for a split second.

At the coffee shop, there are a sea of voices around me. But while I’m reading Harry, they’re just a dull murmur. Until that one voice (usually a female’s) breaks the flow. Her voice is nasally and shrill, unlike the soft undertone of her counterparts. And she just happens to be belittling the book I am currently reading.

“What’s with the stupid Harry Potter stuff? Why do people read it?”

“I read Harry Potter,” I state, but it doesn’t carry to her.

So I set the jacket-less book higher to maybe catch someone’s attention. After I lower it, I catch the eyes of her male-friend and raise my eyebrows. He lets her know that I’m reading it, so she presumes to talk to me.

“I can’t believe you’re reading that much. That’s so much. I’m impressed,” she says, obviously trying to compensate for her earlier statement.

I give an almost smile, nod, and return to my book. But the voice still lingers on…