Why I Read Harry Potter to My Boyfriend

When I tell people that my boyfriend and I have a habit of reading the Harry Potter books to each other, the response is usually mixed. Some people think it's the most adorable thing in the world, others first look at me for a second to gauge whether I'm serious, and then make it quite plain (whether verbally or nonverbally) that I have just dropped ten steps down their esteem-ladder.

I can't blame them—I've noticed that I too, involuntarily, instantly respect people less when they tell me they "hate" Harry Potter, or "only saw the movies." Awful, I know. It just happens. But anyway, this blog is not about my Harry Potter fandom.

The first book my boyfriend read to me was actually not Harry Potter. We weren't even dating yet when he picked up a random book from my shelves: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. It just so happened that I had spent half of my time that year writing my thesis about this book and its theatre adaptation, so I went into a bit of a ramble, and when he told me he loved it too, my crush on him only intensified.

When we finally ended up next to each other in bed a few weeks later, he picked up the book again. "Shall I read to you?" he said, with a smile. I know, the most irresistible thing a man has ever said to me in bed. We giggled about it for a bit, but it didn't take long for me to realise that I would become slightly addicted to this new way of spending time together.

We never finished Curious Incident. As much as we both liked it, it was completely forgotten once we found an old copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in his room. We looked at each other and immediately knew that we wanted to do this. To relive this experience, this world we both grew up with, again, together.

This was a year and seven months ago. Right now we are at the end of book five, taking it in turns to read each other chapters. We've been doing long-distance since January, so our pace has drastically fallen since then, but even, or perhaps especially, over Skype or phone, hearing his voice reading me my favourite lines is the absolute best way to end a long day.

In an age in which—and I'm really trying not to sound cliché here—real human connection is sometimes scarce, and technology, daily stresses and the speed of life can sometimes engulf us, a simple, analogue, connecting act like this can hold enormous power. For me, laying my ear on his chest, smelling the pages of a second-hand book, hearing his voice and travelling to that distant but familiar world in our minds together, is one of the most soothing experiences on earth.

I can highly recommend trying it for yourself :-)