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15 July 2010

harry potter I finally read the first book, someone gave it to me back in the early 00s sometime. It was better than I expected.
Yeah, I found the series moderately enjoyable. I like young adult fiction, as long as it's decently written.
posted by Specklet 15 July | 03:10
I read the first book when the Goblet of Fire had just come out. I wonder if the thrill of waiting for the next book with the rest of the world added to my appreciation of the books.
My girlfriend still re-reads them, but I haven't picked up a HP in a long time.
posted by charles kaapjes 15 July | 03:40
I blew through all of them in the Summer of 2007, because I figured with the last book out, I may as well have knowledge of what everyone was talking about.

What I like best about the series is the way a lot of the characters grow. There are a few in mind, but I'm not sure how spoiler-y I'm allowed to get in here, so I'll save it for now.
posted by gc 15 July | 05:17
My family and I read them all a year or so ago. I enjoyed them much more than I expected.

Hate the movies, though.

We also read "Holes" about the same time. I have no idea what the fuss was about.
posted by DarkForest 15 July | 06:36
I liked them. They are Good Reads, engaging and entertaining. Not every book has to be Great Literature.
posted by gaspode 15 July | 08:18
I'm rereading the series again right now! I love those books. The movies are pretty awful though.
posted by leesh 15 July | 08:38
I love me some HP. I don't think the movies are very good but it's wonderful how the casting director got so many of the characters (the Weasleys, Dudley, Hagrid) exactly as I'd pictured them.
posted by toastedbeagle 15 July | 09:49
Having a kid roughly the same age as Harry, as the books progressed, I have read all of them and at a certain point started showing up at midnight to get the new copies. Once, even, without daughter in tow.
posted by danf 15 July | 09:58
That's cool, dan. Makes great memories for the two of you.
posted by toastedbeagle 15 July | 10:28
Initially I had ignored the series as juvenile, marking off the hype as excitement around an easy-to-read series that was fluffy fun. A few months after The Half-Blood Prince came out and everyone else had read it, I read the complete series to date and tried to find any information on the unreleased final book. I was unemployed, so I had time to read through a lot of fan sites, delving into theories and wild guesses based on the smallest fragments. My then-girlfriend (now-wife) came home after work to find me in my bathrobe, looking a bit out of it. I hadn't done any house work, and she was not impressed at the "research" I had done.

We got the Lego Harry Potter game for the Wii, and it's a lot of fun. It follows the movies instead of the books, and it's an abbreviation beyond that as the other Lego games are, but it's a lot of fun so far. The co-op mode can be dizzying at first, but we've gotten used to it. No more pulling your team-mate off the edge if you plunge ahead. MUCH better than the the other Harry Potter Wii game I played, because you don't have to wave the wiimote like a wand. Great idea, awkward in execution.
posted by filthy light thief 15 July | 10:44
I got the first book by accident . . . I was picking up my online orders at the library, and found the book among the one I'd requested. I loved it. I enjoy the movies too, but the books are better throughout. I cannot imagine a movie version that will come close to the satisfaction of the way Deathly Hallows tied up the entire story, with a bow yet.

I am envious that you get to enjoy these books for the first time. They are truly imaginative, and their increasing darkness as the children mature is very satisfying.
posted by bearwife 15 July | 11:20
In my humble opinion they start out better than they end up. She really, really needed an editor with guts towards the end. I didn't much care for how it ended, but that's subjective of course, and I seem to be in the minority.
posted by King of Prontopia 15 July | 12:05
I really liked the first three. After that, I totally agree with King of Prontopia. The last 4 definitely needed some editing.

Or, it could just be I'm an idiot and can't read books thicker than 1".
posted by chewatadistance 15 July | 12:58
I read the whole series one after the other over about a month and really enjoyed them all. I think the enjoyment was partly the knowledge that there was so much or to come - I'm a great fan of the epic novel and, as a fairly fast reader, often find myself disappointed that a book finishes just as I'm getting settled into it. With this series, I could relax in the knowledge that it was OK to invest myself in the story without worrying that it was all going to end too soon.
posted by dg 15 July | 17:53
I caught one of the movies on TV and found it entertaining enough to make me dig out the book. I'll read the rest at some point, maybe wait for winter when I am constantly looking for stuff to do though.
I had just moved to Seattle and saw all these adults reading either the second or third book and decided I'd finally chump in and see what all the fuss was about. I loved the books that were out and waited with bated breath for each one to be released. The movies aren't quite as good as the books, but I find them really enjoyable as well.

Like gaspode said - not all books (or movies!) have to be great literature. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a book (or movie!) just because*.

*Which is how I explain my liking of the Twilight series. Shut up.
posted by deborah 17 July | 20:59
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