Skip to main content

Books I've previously loved: Harry Potter

I have loads of books I love that I haven't done full reviews on here because I read them well before I starting blogging. I wanted to share a few of them with you every once in a while so I will be doing a post like this every once in a while until I get through them all.

I'm going to start with one of my absolute favourites, The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

I am the first to admit I initially missed the Harry Potter craze. I only joined in once book four had been published. Harry Potter was the series that finally pulled me back into reading again. When I was a teenager I didn't know what I should be reading. I was too old for Enid Blyton but too young for adult books and the ones we had to read in school certainly weren't inspiring. I stopped going to the library or to bookshops and I had quite a few years when I just didn't read. I certainly didn't plan to start to again but at the age of 16 I happened upon Harry and my reading habits haven't been the same again.

I ended up reading the first Harry Potter book for work. I used to work part time in a toy shop whilst I was at school and one of the perks of the job was that my bosses would take me with them to the London toy fair in January. It was awesome, held in at Excel, it was basically a load of grown men playing with toys for two days. I used to go to help them buy what we would be selling for the next year. We stumbled upon the Hasbro stand and they had loads and loads of Harry Potter merchandise (pre film era - some of it in hindsight was laughable - I mean since when would Harry Potter need a torch??) and in a bid to get a head of the game I purchased the read the first four books in a matter of days. I was freaking hooked.

What I loved about Harry was that it had all the qualities I loved about my old child story books but it had that bit more that I could get my teeth into. I loved that characters and I loved the story lines and absolutely wanted to be apart of that world. What I really really enjoyed however was the speculation of what would happen in future books and trying to guess where things were going (I was wrong on all accounts btw).


Book one for me will always be a classic and it is so different from what the series becomes. I loved this first book so much I actually hunted it down in German to read for my German A Level (for the record I didn't ever read it but I did have to talk about it for 4 minutes in German which did not go so well - I sucked at A Level German). I've never had the heart to throw it away as I love how different the book looks.

Book two is my least favourite I think it because it is very similar to Book one in format and I didn't like it as much as book one. I felt as I was reading it like everything had pretty much been done before. It is actually the main reason why I am put off rereading the set (despite the fact that it is still a good book) and I really ought to make myself get through it again to get the full Harry Experience.

The main things I love about the series itself (without being too spoilery for those strange people who have yet to read it are as follows:

  1. The main characters are so diverse and well written. I love Harry and his friends and hate the bad guys. My favourite character has got to be Hermione. I loved how you had a strong and clever female lead who wouldn't put up with being rescued by the boys and how she would often save the day in the end.
  2. The stories often leave you guessing. I love the fact that I got these books as they came out originally and got to speculate along with everyone else was was happening or going to happen. I love the twists and turns and the fact that JK Rowling doesn't always go for the happy ending every time.
  3. I love the world of Hogwarts. I actually want to go and live in that castle and use magic. While I am well aware that the muggle world is all there is a part of me still wants the magic to be true
  4. Quidditch - a sport I could actually be tempted to watch. I loved the scenes with the Quidditch matches. I want to learn to fly and broom and play lots of it - preferably as a beater - give me a good stick I'd really enjoy whacking things at people.
Certainly a series that I can see myself reading time and time again over the years. I think next time I get a good chunk of time off work (like next summer holidays it may be something I get through again. I don't think it'll be one that will ever age or lose its impact. The values they hold are brilliant (even if certain groups have tried to ban it lots of times). I am looking forward to seeing the films as they are released (even though some of them have annoyed me somewhat as so much is missed) but would argue that you will never get the true Harry Potter experience unless you've read the books. If you've not checked it out you are certainly missing out.

Comments

Jessica G. said…
Whoa! Thoughs are some crazy covers!
I have not even read the books, even though I have every one. I'm waiting for all of the movies to come out first, I'll most likly be mad at the book because I love the movies so much.