The Harry Potter Thread

[Burnt Ash]

I haven't seen a topic like this in this subforum before, so I thought I'd make one. 

 

I've been reading the Harry Potter books and been watching the movies for quite some time now, and while I'm not super invested into the series as I was before, I've found myself re-reading the 5-7th books especially as of late. I tried to start reading the books when I was around 9 or 10 I believe, but I found the beginning of the first book terribly boring and ended up starting to read the second book, which I got about half-way through before trying to read the first book again. It's kind of odd, seeing as the same exact thing happened to me later in the Hunger Games trilogy and Riordan's Kane Chronicles trilogy; I started with the second book. Anyway, since then I've developed a pretty extensive appreciation for the series, and re-reading it now, I just love it a lot more. I've come to love a good chunk of the characters and the way they interact with another and how each character developed throughout the series. I've also enjoyed the series' plots, and I think Rowling puts together an enjoyable narrative, making it entertaining to read. On top of that, the whole universe established in the books; the magical school, the creatures, the rivalries, the political/social situation, all of it comes together to make me super interested within the series, and it contributes to how much I like the series nowadays. As for the movies, I think I've seen all of them except both parts of the 7th, and I didn't pay much attention to the 6th, and I kinda want to go and see them sometime soon. For the most part, I thought the movies were okay, with my favorite being the 3rd or the 5th. I think, for the most part, the movies are relatively faithful adaptations. 

 

Anyway, in sum, Harry Potter's a series that's been around since the late 90s till 2007, and since then, it has gained a vast fandom. So what are your thoughts on the series, books, movies, or otherwise? 

[Faseeh]

Well... 

 

I watched the Deathly Hallows Part 2, seemed like a nice movie.

 

I read one of the books, I read like one page and then slept for 5 hours as it was just too boring for me, hahaha. I'm never gonna try that again.

 

I've got respect for the series, but that's about it haha.

[Speederino]

I've been with the franchise since the late 90's...I don't really remember many specific details though. I think Prisoner of Azkaban had just been released and the books were starting to gain that wide-spread popularity that it's now famous for. I remember I was hesitant to read the first book because it had a dorky-looking cover and the description didn't appeal to me much (for the record, my tastes as a child were very narrow). I vaguely remember I began reading it during a car ride and was hooked pretty much instantly. Starting with Goblet of Fire, every new release was like a major fucking holiday that only came once every few years.

 

In most cases I would just come home from school and my Mom would have already picked up a reserved copy for me, but I remember with Order of the Phoenix we actually got up super early (5 AM-ish) and drove down to a nearby grocery store so we could get a copy while we could. With Deathly Hallows, we had it pre-ordered with express delivery so it would arrive on the release date. And I burned through that behemoth in just two or three days, lol.

 

As for the movies, the first two are really nostalgic for me. I was so fucking excited to see those fuckers, and they actually ended up being big family gatherings since they came out around Christmas. After that, I always went to the midnight showings.

 

What else? Oh, in the 6th grade my school held an after-school science program that was Harry Potter themed. We made our own wands, potions, troll boogers, sorcerer's/philosophers stones, and a golden snitch. I still have those last two somewhere around here, though the snitch is missing a wing ;A;

 

And...yeah.

 

 

[Linkabel]

I heard about Harry Potter when I was in fourth grade, but I didn't get into it till I was in sixth grade. I had a teacher that was obsessed with Harry Potter (and the Lord of the Rings) and I remember that towards the end of the class he will read us a chapter and from there I became interested in the series.

 

I bought some of the books as they kept coming out, and I would finished reading them in 3-4 days because I would be so hooked on what I was reading. I honestly lost interest though and I still need to read the last two books.

 

The movies were great, but somehow I think they started to lose their steam towards the last ones. Overall, because of Harry Potter I become interested in books.

[Burnt Ash]

I heard about Harry Potter when I was in fourth grade, but I didn't get into it till I was in sixth grade. I had a teacher that was obsessed with Harry Potter (and the Lord of the Rings) and I remember that towards the end of the class he will read us a chapter and from there I became interested in the series.   I bought some of the books as they kept coming out, and I would finished reading them in 3-4 days because I would be so hooked on what I was reading. I honestly lost interest though and I still need to read the last two books.   The movies were great, but somehow I think they started to lose their steam towards the last ones. Overall, because of Harry Potter I become interested in books.

The last two books are particularly interesting as they pretty much happen back to back. The interim between the books are not as large as the other books in the series. I like the last two though. Lots of interesting developments.

[Linkabel]

Oh yeah, I heard good stuff about the last two books, and I know I'll enjoy them more than the movies. I'm just waiting to find them on a bargain cause I'm cheap like that.

[Death the Kid]

This was the film franchise that I basically grew up with. I read the first two books but stopped halfway through the third; it was a lot of reading and I just lost interest since I found the movie versions to be much more exciting than the book. it was sad to see it all come to an end with Deathly Hallows Part 2 when it came out, but hey, it was an awesome run while it lasted. 

[iDEATH]

I absolutly adored the first four books as a child, I was obsessed, I had a lot of the early merch, went as harry to the halloween disco at m school.....I just frikken loved me some potter.

 

Then came the massive lull between books four and five. I read five and didn't love it....then the massive wait to book six. I started it and couldn't remember a single thing that had happened in the last book and quickly fell out of love.

Still not read the last book, seen all the films though.

 

My fiancee adores them though, she's read them all a few times, seen the films countless times. We went to the studio tour this january and that was amazing. Great to see all the props and soak in the detail of the  sets.

 

Also took her to the elephant room for coffee, it's the small cafe in Edinburgh where Rowling wrote the first book. The toilets are coated in hilarious HP based graffitti, the coffee was awesome and cheap too.

If you're in Edinburgh I'd recommend it.

[Emperor Robrainiac]

Sadly, I never had a childhood with the Harry Potter series. My family used to be part of the whole "Harry Potter is satanic" group when it first came out.

 

Years later, after we dropped that lifestyle, my sister got into the books and the entire family watched the movies. We really enjoyed it, and I'm kinda sad that I missed out on it when it was in its prime. Our family, despite being incredibly biased towards any theme park besides Disney's, want to go to the Harry Potter area at Universal Studios... Or was it Islands of Adventure? I dunno, but I really want to check it out sometime soon.