Harry Potter, of those out which do you like?

[Hijinks]

Order of the Phoenix is my favorite, for the one simple fact of the fireworks that Fred & George set off when they leave Hogwarts. The one that spells out "poo" ... god did I roll with laughter on that one. It's the only time in any of the books that I laughed out loud.

 

[Abe.ebA]

I skipped the first three books. I read Goblet of Fire when my sister got it for Christmas that year and decided that while I was sufficiently interested to read the following books I wasn't sufficiently interested to read the previous ones. Especially given that I could just watch the movies and not have my opinion of them clouded.
I liked Goblet of Fire well enough and the following two somewhat less. I don't have really high hopes for the last book but, like the Wheel of Time, I'm invested in the series so will read it anyway.

Other than big-picture concerns like weak plotting and JKR killing people, in my opinion, just for the sake of killing them (to make her books edgy, maybe? or to get more press?) my only big problem with the series is Harry's ambivalence toward magic. I have a hard time being empathetic for a guy who hated his childhood, discovers that he has a special heritage and magical powers, and then...slacks off. It may have something to do with my own attitude toward learning and study but it just annoys me to no end that Harry is surrounded by a wealth of knowledge and power which he is not only free to access but is even encouraged toward by his teachers and instead he spends his time playing quidditch and goofing off. Okay, he also spends a fair amount of time saving the day but he could at least do his homework.

 

[Hijinks]

Harry is also a teenager, and they are notorious for slacking off.

He doesn't know any other world; the world of wizardry and Hogwarts is very normal to him. He doesn't know what it's like to be a "normal" Muggle teenager who only worries about acne and who to take to the prom. I think it's pretty realistic to show boys goofing off, because ALL teenaged boys goof off to some degree. I have never known a teenager to work, work, work their entire life and never take a break.

He's blase about his world because, to him, it's normal. To us, it's exciting and interesting, but if you lived in his world, you'd probably be blase about magic too.

 

[sckeener]

Order of the Phoenix is my favorite, for the one simple fact of the fireworks that Fred & George set off when they leave Hogwarts. The one that spells out "poo" ... god did I roll with laughter on that one. It's the only time in any of the books that I laughed out loud.

Order of the Phoenix is my favorite....simply for the DA and Luna Lovegood. I've often wanted to create an Alienist based on Luna Lovegood....make up monsters on the fly in a game....

I wish OoP didn't have any romance in it though...or at least Harry's bumbling at romance.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I like them all, but I voted for Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. I really like the way the story amps up in those two books.

 

[WarlockLord]

I hate the Half-Blood Prince. Too much useless teen romance (actually this applies to 4 & 5 as well), Dumbledore, the greatest character in the series, dies, Dumbledore dies...

Snape: Hey, master, you're a cool lich necromancer, right?
Voldemort: Yes.
Snape: Then why are you always getting your *** kicked by teenagers?
Voldemort growled and made no comment.

Also, Quidditch, the "Chosen One" sounds like something out of a pokemon movie (remember how Ash had to save the world from the rampaging pokemon? I don't know why I watched that),

If there is an evil necromancer threatening the universe, why is most of the book focused on teen drama? And isn't it a coincidence that Snape, whom everyone hates, goes over to the dark side? And why are the zombies called Inferi?

*continues rant*

 

[sniffles]

If there is an evil necromancer threatening the universe, why is most of the book focused on teen drama? And isn't it a coincidence that Snape, whom everyone hates, goes over to the dark side? And why are the zombies called Inferi?

*continues rant*

The main characters are teenagers, that's why the focus on teen drama. Teenagers are the most self-absorbed creatures on the planet. A nuclear apocalypse wouldn't stop teens from agonizing about whether some girl or boy likes them.

I don't think it is a coincidence that Snape goes over to the 'dark side' - he started there, remember? It was only Dumbledore's intervention that prevented Snape being sent to Azkaban. And I'm not so sure Snape really has gone over to the dark side, despite what occurred at the conclusion of Half-Blood Prince.

I don't think the Inferi are zombies, either. Even if they are, why can't they be called something else?

I enjoy all the books, though I prefer the later ones since they're a bit more mature in style. I did find some of the feud between Ron and Hermione in Prisoner of Azkaban (or was it Goblet of Fire?) a bit tedious, but I thought it was handled realistically. It's always easy to make judgments about the behaviour of other people, but it's seldom easy to make such judgments about oneself.

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

I voted for all but the newest one, which I would include after I've read them. I think I have more fond memories of #1, since I was reading it to my son as a newborn.