Rowling vs. Dostoevsky - Not even a competition

I awoke this morning with "Accio Deathly Hallows" in my head. Why? Last night I felt tempted to crack open Book 6 (those dang fiveawesomegirls keep reminding me of my teenage obsession with the series). I discovered that the book is much less interesting to me now.

Now the series isn't a guilty pleasure to me. It's just guilt. Can I justify the hours I wasted wondering about whether Harry would die in Book 7 and imagining what would happen next? I wonder how many people have been killed reading Harry Potter and writing fanfic and such. I used to think it was harmless, but I'm pretty sure that there are better ways that we could be spending our time than daydreaming about fictional characters.

I sound like a hater! But I'm not. The first and (maybe) second time I read each book of the series, I felt really good about it - they're entertaining and compelling. But after that, my mind was merely idly going over the books. It was unhealthy.

I felt especially guilty because I was supposed to be reading The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky for my To Be Educated project. Of course, since the project has fallen through I don't necessarily need to read the book. But once I got past page 5 or so, I started really loving it (despite the warm weather - it is my firm belief that Dostoevsky should be read while it's raining or snowing, as it would add to the experience of the novel).

All in all, The Idiot beats Harry Potter today, and I think it will forever.