It feels weird asking my basketball brothers and sisters this, because I feel like most my friends think I'm such a geek for liking Harry Potter, but I am making this thread. Also making a thread for favorite movie to see how much the opinion changes.
Picked Philosopher's (cough, Sorcerer's) Stone in the movie thread just because the nostalgia of seeing it for the first time sticks with me the most. As for books, the two biggest on-screen disappointments for me were Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince because they left out SOOO much information that, to me, seemed vital to the plot. With that in mind, the sixth book was the most interesting to me because it revealed the most about Voldemort's early life and intentions to be the most powerful wizard in the world. I really would have liked to have seen more of that on screen. I've always found that Harry was the least interesting character in the books...it's hyperbolic, to be sure, but I would certainly be most interested in a book or two about Dumbledore's or Voldemort's lives. TL;DR...the book with most re-readability to me is Half-Blood Prince, so I'll go with that.
Interesting to see Prisoner of Azkaban getting so much love. Of the first four, it was definitely my favorite, and I still considered it when choosing in the poll. I wonder if it is because the series began to take a dark turn with this book.
First book came out in '97. If people started reading them when they were 8-14, making them 25-31 today. Got a problem with HP, bro?
I've never seen a Harry Potter film or read any of the books. Is there any one in particular I should start with that you experts can recommend?
Nope, no problem, but I think it's still a teenager book. Regardless, I was asking the OP, but... if you'd like, you can answer, too: Are YOU 16 or 17? Spoiler
I'm probably in the minority, but the 7th was by far my favorite to read. Just the build up of anticipation leading up to the book release to flipping through each page knowing that a part of your childhood is fading away. Probably one of the best/worst moments of my life when I finally read that last sentence.
I'm not sure I can pick one. All were good, and it has been too many years since I read them (I started in 2003, when I bought the 1st 4 hardbacks for 99 cents from a Book Club Promotion).
I really liked the first three. I think mostly because you actually get to see what normal life is like in the Wizarding world. I actually enjoyed seeing them in school, doing some of the more menial stuff. I hated 6 at the time I read it because they killed Dumbledore (I was like 10, so I wasn't used to beloved characters being killed). I re-read all of the books last summer. To this day, I can barely stomach 5. I hate it.
What is your favorite Harry Potter book? Hairy Twatter And The Philosopher's Bone. Harry Twatter And Her Chamber Of Secretions. Harry Twatter And The Prisoner Of Ass Ram. Harry Twatter And The Order Of The Pen1s. YOUR WELCOME
Mediocre writing... but, I can see why the kids and certain types of young adults/adults would love it...
Order of the Phoenix. BTW, has anyone read any of J.K. Rowling's adult novels? The Casual Vacancy was the most depressing piece of fiction I took in that year.
I would say at the time of reading, the Goblet of Fire followed by the Deathly Hallows were my favorites.
I liked 5 the best. That headmistress chick was so deliciously hate-able. Like a Nurse Ratched type of thing. Plus the part when Dumbledore kinda makes the wizard police his b****es (incidentally, I feel this part was spoiled in the movies because the 2nd Dumbledore actor didn't have the gravitas to pull it off properly... sucks the 1st guy died, he was awesome). Though I have no especially great love of these books, really. I'd rather re-read Dresden files or Robin Hobb stuff for the 8 billionth time than read these a second time.