Anyone else... [READ SPOILER WARNING FIRST]

[John Crichton]

First off there are to be NO SPOILERS OF ANYTHING BEYOND THE FIRST HARRY POTTER BOOK ALLOWED.

Now that's out of the way. I just finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone the other day. I really didn't expect to like it that much. Actually, there were 2 points that caused tears. Big. Honkin'. Manly. Tears.

After Harry's first Quidditch match where he finally does something of note and the very end when Dumbledore awards Neville the final 10 points to win the house cup. I don't know why but I just broke down a little. Shed a tear or two, closed the book and had a wonderful rest of the day. Maybe it's cause I have alot going on right now in life and they were nice slices of fun and triumph but it was cool and I wanted to share (and this same story was a huge hit at a BBQ over the weekend).

Anyone else get a little moved by this book or anything else recently and want to share? C'mon, you know you wanna.

 

[Alzrius]

I remember disliking the Harry Potter books on principle (though what principle that was, I don't know) without having read them. Then, during the holiday season of '02, I was alone in Japan (study abroad) and was so bored I decided to buy the first book from the campus bookstore. I was blown away, and eagerly waited for the store to re-open so I could get 2, 3, and 4. It was well worth it.

 

[demiurge1138]

I opposed, violently, reading Harry Potter for the longest time because everyone wanted me to read them so much. Eventually, I caved in, and ended up really liking the books.

Of course, I did the same thing for The DaVinci Code... with the opposite result. Sometimes the stubbornness is an asset.

Demiurge out.

 

[Dagger75]

I couldn't get past the first chapter. Wasn't for me.

 

[The Serge]

I too avoided reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the name change for us Americans) on principle. I tend to immediately dislike things that grab the attention of the general public and everyone was going nuts over the books. I started reading the material back in 2001 and was floored.

Believe me: if you liked the first installment, you will probably love the books that follow. My favorite remains Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, although I know a lot of people like its predacessor, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

 

[evildmguy]

I don't know why I didn't read them. I think I knew of them but until the first movie, it was never on my radar. After the first movie, my wife got them on audio and I read the first book. She loved them so much (the man who does it, Jim Dale, is EXCELLENT) that she listens to them. She has only read Half Blood Prince.

I read them and really enjoyed them. I liked the first book a lot! Perhaps it was the teasing but it was easy to identify with Harry in book one. And I liked how the friendship with Hermione, Ron and Harry started. I also liked that they all got to shine in that book.

So, yes, I very much enjoy them!

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

 

[Wombat]

Add me to the "At first I didn't want to like it" list. It took one of my nieces to convince me to read it.

After having been burnt by a couple of megasellers, I simply assumed this was another series of over-hyped books. Eventually, though, thanks to said nagging niece, I went out and bought the tpb of the first book.

The very next day I went and bought it hardcover and gave the tpb to a child I met on the street who was sad because he hadn't been able to read it yet.

Yes, these are kid's books, but so was A Wrinkle in Time and, at least nominally, A Wizard of Earthsea. Like these books, the Harry Potter series is imaginative, inventive, and doesn't talk down to the reader. Jo Rawling is willing to use big vocabulary and complex sentences and assumes that the readers will still get the message, perhaps learning something in the process. The characters are believeable and you end up really carrying for Harry and his friends, truly loathing Snape and the Dursleys, and having a sense of wonder about the world. What I find even more amazing is how the series matures -- the first couple books are whizbang adventures, but then things turn darker and become more serious as both the children grow older and the wider plot deepens. Again, Ms. Rawling knows her audience and assumes that they will grow with the changes. So far, she is right.

To date my favourite of the series is Goblet of Fire, though I have enjoyed all of them. No, I don't think everyone will (or even should) like these books, but they are now part of my life in the same way that Tolkein, Chretien de Troyes, and War & Peace are parts of my life, filled with characters I love and admire, fear and hate, and teaching me a bit more about what it means to be human.

 

[TanisFrey]

I had ingnored the books as kids and benight me after the release of book 4 made the news. But when the 1st movie came out I was bored, no job and decided to go to the movies. Harry Potter was the title I was most instreded in, so I saw it. Liked it, got the book and read it over night. When back to the sore then next day and got books 2-4 and finished them over the weekend. Very good books.

 

[sniffles]

I suppose it's a little less unusual for me to get teary-eyed reading these, as I'm female, but yes, I do get emotional reading all of them. Whatever other failings J.K. Rowling may have as a writer, she knows how to get me involved in her story and make me like her main character.

 

[Darrin Drader]

I can't believe they killed

Spoiler

gotcha! I'm notposting spoilers here.

Actually I'm not a fan of the books, but my wife is. She read the new one in four days.