--- title: Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Rereading as an Adult description: I was thrilled to find out that the books were even more enjoyable to reread. After 20 years, the books felt fresh and new and exciting. canonical: https://time.com/4812027/harry-potter-20th-anniversary-rereading/ author: ashley Ross article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-26T13:20:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T05:20:50.677Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 5 Things I Realized Re-reading Harry Potter as an Adult og:description: After 20 years, the books felt fresh and new and exciting og:url: https://time.com/4812027/harry-potter-20th-anniversary-rereading/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9917f78bf749f9f4/69889ff4e20a874be0a91d01/harry-potter-split.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: harry-potter-split og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Things I Realized Re-reading Harry Potter as an Adult twitter:description: After 20 years, the books felt fresh and new and exciting twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9917f78bf749f9f4/69889ff4e20a874be0a91d01/harry-potter-split.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Things I Realized Re-reading Harry Potter as an Adult > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [ashley Ross](https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Jun 26, 2017 1:20 PM UTC  Scholastic; Warner Bros.; Manuel Harlan by [ashley Ross](https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Jun 26, 2017 1:20 PM UTC [Harry Potter](http://time.com/4817894/harry-potter-george-weasley-peter-pettigrew-plot-hole/) survived a killing curse cast by the wizarding world’s [most dangerous dark wizard](http://time.com/4716752/harry-potter-ralph-fiennes-voldemort-laugh/) when he was just a year old — it’s why he’s called The Boy Who Lived. It’s more than an apt moniker for the boy wizard, who has captivated audiences since _Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone_ was released 20 years ago on June 26, 1997 in the U.K. (The renamed [_Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059035342X/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timeharrypotter-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=059035342X&linkId=a8c468a2888b77099e2102fce4d4c956) hit bookstores in September of 1998 in the U.S.). J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world slowed down in 2011 after [seven books](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545162076/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timeharrypotter-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0545162076&linkId=8670f258802109996135d4d1fdd1fff1) and [eight movie adaptations](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OCFGTO/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timeharrypotter-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B005OCFGTO&linkId=99692d871a95e6c3b20370cbaf2b4e68). But in 2014, Rowling planted a seed [on her fansite Pottermore](https://www.pottermore.com/) with a [new short story](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/harry-potter-gossip-column-34-jk-rowling-pottermore) about Harry as an adult. Potterworld fully sprang back into action in 2016 with the release of a sequel play ([_Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1338099132/?tag=timecom-20)) and prequel movie ([_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3PE2PX/?tag=timecom-20)). **MORE:** [Why This Is Harry Potter’s Most Important Birthday Yet](http://time.com/4413044/harry-potter-birthday-cursed-child/) All of this [renewed excitement](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/nyregion/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-disappears-from-stores.html?%5Fr=0) about Harry made me — a [longtime fan](http://time.com/4180502/alan-rickman-dead-snape-harry-potter/) who wrote her own sequel at age 11 because _Chamber of Secrets_ wasn’t out yet — nostalgic for the initial text. I hadn’t reread any of the books since the last movie came out in 2011\. Would they be ruined by the many Harry Potter movie marathons on Freeform? Would my imagination be stale as an adult? Would I be able to remember the taste of cream soda I drank, pretending it was Butterbeer as I dragged my father to yet another [midnight release party](http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2081963,00.html)? The answer, I was thrilled to find out, was that the books were even more enjoyable to read as an adult. After 20 years, the books felt fresh and new. Here’s what stood out: ### 1) Timing Is Everything The concept of time is difficult for anyone to understand, let alone an 11-year-old boy who learns he’s a wizard seemingly overnight after years of suffering abuse at the hands of his aunt and uncle. Rowling introduces us to the concept of time in a number of ways, often through devices that manipulate time as a way of proving just how precious it is to readers. The Mirror of Erised can show time in another life; the Pensieve is a handy tool used to review memories; and the [Time Turner](http://time.com/4417901/harry-potter-cursed-child-time-turners-time-travel/) allows its owner to jump around in time. **MORE:** [10 Major J.K. Rowling Revelations About the Years Between Harry Potter and Cursed Child](http://time.com/4749654/harry-potter-19-year-later-book/) ### 2) The Series Gets Stronger and Stronger When the original books came out, I waited and waited and waited for each next book to be released. In fact, there were exactly [ 1,078 days](http://time.com/3974157/jk-rowling-harry-potter-lessons/?iid=sr-link4) between the release of [_Goblet of Fire_ and _Order of the Phoenix_](http://time.com/3974157/jk-rowling-harry-potter-lessons/?iid=sr-link4). So this time, it was incredibly fun to read them all in a row, to such an extent that I envied those who didn’t have to wait in line at midnight and could just shut off the rest of their world to be with Harry and his cohort for seven incredible books. ### 3) Rowling’s Imagination Stirs Our Own Not only does it stand up, but it’s still just as rich. The books are layered with so much detail that it’s easy to forget it all, no matter how big of a fan you are. I also rediscovered parts of the wizarding world that once seemed like lighthearted minutiae (case in point: Nifflers, the platypus-like creatures at the center of _Fantastic Beasts_, are introduced in the third book). Twenty years later, the books still thrilled this reader, the same way a new smartphone’s features can cause a stir of excitement: each page felt innovative, like something incredible I never knew I wanted but made life that much richer. ### 4) Technology Takes a Back Seat The only bit of electronics we see in the series are video games played by Harry’s cousin Dudley, a Muggle who’s not actually in the wizarding world. Instead, in Harry’s world, there are gold coins where there would be credit cards, traveling fireplaces where there would be traffic jams, owls delivering letters on parchment where there would be email, floating candlesticks where there would be twinkling lights and so on and so on. This vintage feeling gives readers a pleasurable break from reality, where a simple tweet can spur a news cycle. **MORE:** [10 of the Most Magical Harry Potter Quotes to Inspire You](http://time.com/4607327/harry-potter-inspirational-quotes/) ### 5) Potter Will Definitely Last Forever In the final book, readers learn that “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” a passage from I Corinthians in which Paul discusses Jesus’ Resurrection, is inscribed on Harry’s parents’ tombstone. In 2007, [Rowling told TIME](http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753%5F1695388%5F1695436,00.html) that the quote inspired much of the series’ theme. And there’s plenty of proof that love for the series isn’t dying down anytime soon — or if things go the way fans hope — ever. Just a week before the book’s 20th anniversary, Rowling’s fansite Pottermore launched a [Harry Potter book club](https://www.pottermore.com/news/welcome-to-the-wizarding-world-book-club), which will feature curated content and a Twitter conversation that will perhaps include insight from Rowling herself. It’s only fitting that after 20 years, fans are going back to where it all started: [the books](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545162076/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timeharrypotter-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0545162076&linkId=8670f258802109996135d4d1fdd1fff1). 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