Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone
J.K. Rowling
Thank you all so much for travelling from Shannon, Dublin and Germany and for being with us today. We hope you are having a wonderful day and that you like the book we have chosen for your table!
Rebecca first read Harry Potter, aged 11, on holidays in South Africa just before she moved to Cork. This was the first book that really caught her imagination. Barry first read Harry Potter while sick on the couch in Cork, aged 11. This was the first book that he felt might actually be written for him, and he adored it.
In completely different parts of the world, two 11 year old children read the story of an 11 year old boy who discovered magic, an new exciting new world, and family and friends. For both of us, it was the start of a 20 year long obsession with the books (and counting!)
Recently, we found out what Hogwarts House we belong in. Rebecca is a Slytherin (cunning, resourceful, potentially evil). Barry is a Ravenclaw (bookish and, well, bookish). But we will try not to let that get in the way of our marriage! Despite these deep divides, we both identified and fell in love with the story of a brave Gryffindor.
Without Harry Potter, our interest in books and reading may not have manifested as it did, and instead of books on each table tonight, you would instead have tables named after our favourite vegetables, or something equally mundane.
Thank you all again for being here, and we hope to see you on the dance floor!