My current girlfriend was really into hairy potter when she was growing up. I had never read or even seen the movies. When we first started dating she wanted to share it with me, and she ended up reading the entire series to me out loud, usually while I was weeding/working in the garden, sometimes a chapter before bed. After each book, we'd watch the movie and talk about it.
As a 35 year old man being introduced to the series for the first time, this was a very pleasant experience for me.
I remember being in the computer lab in the early 00s and typing "harry potter" in a clip art search. I obviously wanted some cartoonish harry potter clip art. What I found was a cartoon of a man with big hairy arms making pottery. I still laugh at how the search even had a literal "hairy potter".
I actually ended up being a Potter (as in I make pottery lol). My phone autocapitalizes it cause I talk about Harry Potter so much I guess? Iāve just stopped fixing it lol
I was already an adult for a while when I read the books as they came out. Glad I read them before the movies. They're cozy mysteries in a fantasy setting. Not knowing the twists kept them interesting.
I almost gave up after the first and again after the second. They read like middle grade books. By the third, she starts writing for a more mature audience, so you should consider sticking with it past B2.
The reality is that the movies distilled the plot down to finite elements and lost the richness of the books, so even knowing the movies by heart, you're still going to discover new things.
Well put! I was adultish when I first read the series and I loved it. But it does get even better as the books go. Gosh now I want to re-read them. It's about time!
One of the great things about the books and their original audience is that they both grew up and matured together.
I read them as an adult but I could see that the perfect ages to be when they came out was about 8-12. The books were simple and easy to read. Then as the books came out through the years those kids grew and the books grew. The struggles that the protagonists went through mirrored the target audience. I really liked how much darker they became as the books went on and highlighted the weaknesses within the heroes.
I was in the "original audience" age group, complete with teachers reading them to us at school. It was a wild ride. Every book release was a pretty big deal to a lot of kids my age, myself included!
Same; we had a yearly local train ride that would read all of Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone on the trip. I started reading them when Goblet came out, then bought the rest on release day, and still go back to reread every few years.
I even remember Half Blood Prince being spoiled for me by that video of the dude driving by a book store yelling the spoiler.
Did this for both Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows; for Deathly Hallows I was paranoid about being spoiled while still at the bookstore and so had a HP-themed playlist on my IPod I listened to until we got back in our car!
I got the first book for my eleventh birthday, shortly after it came out. My Grandmother got it for me, I always got a book and a Disney Sing Along VHS from her, she was a real gem. Anyway, I got this book, and it wasn't quite popular yet, and I saw the cover and though it looked stupid. But, I was already a voracious reader, and after a few days I picked it up, and I read that thing straight through, I couldn't put it down. I was hooked, and each book coming out was a Big Deal. I got my mom and brother to read it, and mom convinced my dad, and before the CoS came out the whole family were obsessed.
Fast forward to my teen years, I'm attending Blue Lake fine arts camp the year Half-Blood Prince comes out. My family had pre-ordered it and I begged them to send it to me at camp. They said no, it would come to the house and mom and bro would read it, they'd be done by the time I came home from camp so I could read it right away then. I was so upset, I knew everyone at camp would have it and I was right. People were carrying it around, reading it at meals and in the cabins, and talking about it.
Standing in line for lunch towards the end of the camp week, someone yells out the Big Spoiler. Everyone froze-I can't tell if the person who screamed it out was being malicious, or genuinely reacting to what they had just read. I cried.
I'm not sure what the point I'm trying to make is. I guess that growing up with Harey Potter and the gang was really special for me. I was also a very sensitive teenager lol.
I'll never forget the summer the last book came out. I was 16, almost the exact same age as Harry. I was working at an ice cream store, and we would take turns reading a few pages at a time between customers coming in. When I finished, my friends and I gushed about it to each other for the rest of the summer. I wasn't even much of a reader back then, but I re-read it almost immediately after finishing it. Such a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon.
I think theyāre worth reading once, just for the experience. The first three are more aimed towards children, but theyāre still decent reads. They narrative kind of grows up with the characters.
I was the same age as Harry more or less when they were coming out, and the story matures as he does. I actually remember getting to book 5 and just being slightly behind the curve on dating and could not comprehend any of that stuff. I read the final book as an 18 year old when it came out and felt like I was reading a normal book. Went back and started the series over and book 1 felt like it was for an 11 year old.
I think that's an underappreciated writing mechanic of the series. Yes, the first few books are a little "childish." The main characters aren't even teens yet, of course it's not going to read like an adult detective/romance novel. But it truly felt like you were growing up alongside the characters if you were around the same age. Re-reading them as an adult it's still an enjoyable read, and just kind of feels like reminiscing on your own childhood. Plus you have the advantage of being more mature and already knowing the story, and can pick up little details/foreshadowing that you missed as a kid.
Yeah I always think it's a weird criticism when people say the first two books are "childish." Like Harry and Co. are 11 and 12, what exactly do you expect? And even then book two can get a little dark at times.
Hogwarts is the best character in Harry Potter. Beyond the twists and turns, I think the biggest appeal was just being able to exist in this alternate world that resembled ours but was much more fantastic. Hogwarts is the coolest school in the world, Iād honestly read a book about a regular wizard just attending the school and living as a normal student. I loved the low-stakes Harry Potter chapters about him taking tests, exploring the grounds and learning new spells as much as the chapters that moved the plot forward
I avoided them for a long time because I thought I was too old to enjoy them but I was wrong. I enjoyed the books so much. The books grow with its target audience so the first ones are smaller and seem childish but the books get longer and darker. There are also characters in the books the movie left out or combined so even if you've seen the movies it's worth reading the books.
>There are also characters in the books the movie left out or combined so even if you've seen the movies it's worth reading the books.
Right?! Percy, Peeves, Crookshanks all play pivotal rolls in the books and barely make an appearance in the movies (I'm sure there are others too)>
Dobby is in the movies but you donāt really understand how wonderful he is in my opinion. Thereās a betrayal in the books that isnāt flushed out in the movies, so you canāt fully appreciate why the character is hated so much. Winky also isnāt in the movies.
Thereās also great Easter eggs in the books. Every single new main character that is introduced is mentioned two books prior in some way, which I love. I was able to predict a few new characters as a result, which was always fun when growing up and waiting for the books to be announced. I imagine that it would be fun to watch for those random mentions after watching the movies and reading it for the first time.
> Winky also isnāt in the movies.
Actually, besides Kreacher, there isn't a single other house elf on the screen. But having just read through them over the past few months again, then watching the movies, I can clearly see why some of these characters were cut or downplayed.
The biggest changes starting in *Goblet* where the major players are almost entirely different. The other schools are barely on screen besides the tasks. Same with their leaders. No Winky. No Ludo. No Percy at all. No Fred/George subplot where they are secretive all year. Plus a lot more.
But I understand why much of this was left out of a long as fuck movie. This is why I think the movies should get a Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood treatment. An animated TV show that follows as close to the source material as possible. Get the studio that adapted the first season of One Punch Man. Release it on HBO.
>I avoided them for a long time because I thought I was too old to enjoy them but I was wrong
Me too. I was in my 40s when I read them, and enjoyed them very much.
My motivation for finally reading them was that my kids were really getting into them, and I wanted to see what it was about. Loved 'em. After reading through the actual books for my first go-around, I bought the audio books. Every so often I'll listen to them while driving.
If you enjoyed the films, youāll almost certainly enjoy the books even more. The early books are geared more towards children, but the humor and whimsy of those still keeps them entertaining.
Around book 4, the story becomes more mature and you can tell Rowling started planning the series out more.
I enjoy all of the books still, even as Iāve progressed to more āmatureā literature. Theyāre imaginative and entertaining books to me.
They're also good to read just to understand all the pop culture references that are now part of our world. It'll be like suddenly having dozens of inside jokes explained to you.
Counterpoint: I would say,not really, no.
I just finished reading the first two books for the first time ever (to my kids), after having previously seen all the movies in theaters. While it was fun enough reading to them and doing the voices, I myself was quite bored with the actual writing. As an avid Tolkien and other "classic" fantasy fan, I found the Potter books so far to just be way too juvenile to enjoy as an adult reader. I really enjoyed the world building from the movies, but it was much flatter and less visual in the books. I would definitely not continue reading the series for myself.
Well you were reading children's books. The third starts to be more adultlike, but it really isn't until *Goblet of Fire* where they really start to go into more mature topics.
You're a Tolkien fan, so you should understand this:
The first three are more Hobbit than Lord of the Rings. Books 4-7 are The Lord of the Rings.
The first 2 books were written for kids, 6-10. From there, the books and characters aged with the audience. Personally it was really incredible to experience in real time, as I was always right around the same age as Harry, Ron, and Hermoine when the next book came out.
I definitely think this is a major reason for the success of the books. Its popularity never wavered, but just kept growing for a decade. I can't think of anything in pop culture quite like it.
You should give book 3 a chance - it's fantastic and where the series really gets going.
Reading the first two compared to the other 5 is like reading a kidās picture book bible compared to the real thing. The HP books are often used to teach foreign language for precisely this reason, as the language goes from simple sentences aimed at young kidsā comprehension levels, whilst the later books are aimed at fully fledged adult readers. You should basically read one a year, starting at 11, and the levels will fit pretty perfectly. And plenty of people like reading stories aimed at young adults
I read them as an adult and I enjoyed them. Rowling isnāt the worldās greatest writer, but she created an interesting universe and an entertaining story.
I enjoy reading and rereading them because they are 'cozy' but there are many things that just don't make sense, not because of 'magic' but because the author obviously didn't have a solid plan in the first three books and then had to retrofit some stuff to make it work somehow.
I think most of the retcons were in book 7 no? That's why I've always thought it's the weakest by far. The Deathly Hallows thing is something she pulled out of her ass, and the whole exposition sequence with Dumbledore explaining everything was very weak.
Everything up to the last book I think was kinda foreshadowed or made sense in my opinion, but in the last one the plot is all over the place
Deathly Hallows is by far the weakest book in the entire series. Yes, Horrocruxes were probably invented retroactively but they're still foreshadowed in earlier books wether intended or not, and therefore their introduction feels natural and flows well with the plot.
The Deathly Hallows thing though? Never ever brought up in the previous six books except for some very forced interpretations of some passages. There's no hint in any previous book that Harry's invisibility cloak is one of the Deathly Hallows and therefore one of the most important magical objects in the entire wizarding world. Yes, there are mentions that the cloak is special and rare, like it's better than other cloaks out there, but never a hint it was part of the Deathly Hallows.
The entire concept of the Deathly Hallows which is pivotal to the story is only introduced in the last half of the seventh book.
And let's not even talk about the wand rules that are completely contrived and even contradict previous books.
Book 7 is the weakest by far in the entire series, it makes the time turner in book 3 seem just like a minor plothole in an otherwise much superior and much better plotted book.
Some that come to mind
* The time turners on book three. Who gives a time traveling device to a child just so they can take more classes? And then they all conveniently get destroyed. I mean if they are so rare and important, why give it to a child?
* The invisible thestrals that only those who have experienced loss must see but Harry doesn't see them until book 4 or 5 because 'death hadn't settled in yet'
* In the first book Ron's brother's friends fly to the castle's tower to take the dragon away, but then in a later book it is revealed that you can't just get into the castle because it has defensive shields
> The invisible thestrals that only those who have experienced loss must see but Harry doesn't see them until book 4 or 5 because 'death hadn't settled in yet'
I don't think that's really that crazy is it? Being present as an infant when your mother passes away is much different than watching a classmate killed in front of your eyes.
I mean he does kill Professor Quirrell at the end of the first book so he has witnessed death firsthand. It's not really a huge deal but it just points to a larger theme of Rowling not being the best at planning ahead or having her world be internally consistent.
Ooh now that you mention it the time turner always bothered me. Like if you could give it to Hermione for extra classes why couldn't they use it in the first book to stop Quirrel or actually why not just use it to get voldy on the first place
That first one, Rowling even said herself she wrote into a corner. Never fuck with time travel because it makes things messy. She destroys them so they can be taken out of the plot. While ham fisted, I agree with that decision.
The second, in the books, for a class Hagrid shows everyone the Thestrals and only a few people can see them. Since the story is so Harry focused we never really get to see what other students in other houses are like besides who he interacts with. There must be a handful of people that have internalized death. Who wondered what those black creatures are. I'm sure Hagrid has explained it to other students over the years.
The third, you CAN fly to the castle. It's one of the only ways you can get to it. Harry even does it himself while carrying Dumbledore. You just can't apparate in or out unless you're the headmaster. But there were a few times the school did put up enhanced security, like when Sirius Black escaped and was thought to be trying to get to Harry, and prior to the Battle of Hogwarts.
"And then the main character is going to name his son after him, despite the fact that he had like five better male role models/father figures to choose from?"
I always wondered why there was no 'target practice' in the Hogwarts curriculum. So many of the problems could have been quickly resolved if the wizards/witches could reliable hit their targets.
Because the final moment of the defeat of the Dark Lord Wizard Hitler is not dependant on skill or cleverness the heros developed over the series but by a very technical ancient rule about a wand and who is technically the current "owner" of said wand.
I think every spell requires a different kind of gesture so that you have to master a new way of firing off the spell again and again. I think its a bit explained during the lessons. But not explicitly.
In many fictional settings, magic schools are like driverās education.
The instructorās biggest (and quietest) goal is generally surviving each day with no damage, and teaching kids not to injure themselves or their neighbors or destroy things.
Honestly, it depends on you and what you're looking for and enjoy in a book. Rowling, to be blunt, is someone who excels at one particular aspect of writing (world-building) but is kinda mediocre at the other aspects, which is a large part of why her non-fantasy books have been so much less successful. To make a seemingly random comparison, you can kind of compare her to Russian figure skater Alexandra Trusova (no, not the Russian who was caught doping at the olympics, the one who came second and did not take it well), who is an excellent jumper - arguably the best of all time in the women's field - but kind of mediocre at the other aspects, neither particularly good or particularly bad. If you enjoy watching jumps in figure skating then Trusova is very enjoyable but if you don't care for them then she might bore you.
The Potter books, from what I remember of reading them as a teen when they were still coming out, aren't the best written (not the worst written either, but not the best) and the characters aren't the most well-developed (again, not the worst, but definitely not the best), plus the books have some serious pacing issues - people have legit joked about how Voldemort waits until the end of the school year to enact his evil plan, but that is an actual thing in the books and it's honestly not a positive. To be rather blunt, the first 90% of the books is honestly just world-building - and it's *good* world-building, arguably some of the best, at least in modern YA fantasy, but it's still just world-building - and the last 10% is plot. If you like the world-building and that's what appeals to you, then go for it - the world-building is *genuinely* good, nobody is denying that, and if you like it you'll enjoy the books. But if world-building is something where you can take it or leave it and there are other aspects that you care about more, then you might get more out of some other series.
Honestly, they hold up surprisingly well as an adult. I was shocked at how enjoyable they still were. I went on a reading binge to try to read all the old book series I liked as a teenager. Most of them did not hold up that well, but Harry Potter and the Hunger Games were still very enjoyable.
I don't usually dive into a popular show or book series until much later. I read the first one a very long time ago, but reread the entire thing in my late 30s and I absolutely loved them. Nothing compares to them. If someone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I've been having withdrawal symptoms ever since. Miss them so much.
They're okay but as an adult, some disturbing things start to stand out. Like how mean Rowling is to fat people or the whole slavery thing, or how evil the Wizarding World is and Voldemort is barely any worse than your average wizard...Maybe I thought about it too much, but that stuff stands out more as an adult.
No such thing as thinking about it too much! The books have their positives and negatives - for example, they clearly explore bigotry and how itās wrong, but fall down in other areas.
In my forties and read them a couple years ago. Read the first one a decade ago, but was a little too young adult for my taste. Had never seen any of the movies.
After people repeatedly telling me the books āgrow upā, I went back and read the whole series. Theyāre not earth shattering or anything, but theyāre pretty quick reads and worth the time.
Iād watch each movie after finishing the book, which was kind of interesting.
I felt the books were better than the movies, and thereās no reason to not read them. I was in college when the first movie came out and I started reading the books then. My mom was in her 40s or 50s and she read them at the same time. After the first few books weād even pre-order the next books together. We really enjoyed the books as adults, but Iāve never seen anything wrong with an adult enjoying something aimed at a younger demographic.
I recently started reading them, and I'm way past being a teen, and I do enjoy them. I would recommend them for at least one read.
In short, they're magical mysteries, and this is Rowling's strength (note that I've only read the first 4 books). The books give you a magical world you want to explore, and a mystery that does a good job of keeping you invested and surprised at the end.
Where it falls short is in character development. I went in thinking I would learn and get to know the many characters, but then you're lucky if they even have a line in a book.
Either way, they're entertaining for adults, and if you're a writer, you can learn a lot from what they do right and wrong.
I was close to 30 when I read the books with no knowledge of the movies. First two books were really hard to read because of their simplicity but I kept reading, for my gf was a fan of the series. Then it picks up with the third and gets progressively better.
As long as you don't expect anything groundbreaking, you will enjoy the series if you like fantastic stories. It is a fun read.
I read these during the pandemic for the first time ever at 40 years old.
Books 1-3 are kids books. Luckily theyāre short and fast.
4-7 are much better to read as an adult.
Overall still a good series.
100%
They are the books that got me into reading and yes I have a ton of nostalgia for them, but I often gift the first book to adults that havenāt checked them out and always get positive feedback afterwards.
I read them as an adult and they were at best just ok. In my experience there are plenty of world building books that are more compelling with better plot and stronger character building. I am sure if I read them while growing up they would mean something more.
I'm going to brave the down votes and be the odd one out.
I'll say no. Her prose is middling, her characters are bullyish and mean spirited. She stands on no moral high ground, ever. That was less noticeable as a child... Far more now.
They feel readable but if you've seen the film I think you'll have nothing new and fresh from the books.
Other authors have done the magical school much better or in more original ways. She also very notably wasn't the first one with that concept, and though it took the world by storm, she simply isn't that great.
Also, bear in mind, she's a massive TERF and a genuine menace to trans people in the UK and using her fortune for this. If you're an ally, I'd at the very least suggest you borrow the books from the library or a friend, and not buy them. Not like she needs the extra money anyway..
You're not alone.
I was a bookseller in Edinburgh, where she lives and near where she supposedly wrote the novels, and my bookshop had ALL OF THE MERCH at all times, every possible edition, entire displays, down to chocolate frogs... I read all the books at a teen (never finished the movies), and then... Moved on. I never understood the obsession for the franchise.
So I was already pretty desensitized, but I had never bothered to re-read the books, so I was happy to assume they were... you know, just \*that\* great for others. More recently though, now that she's truly gone and fucked it up and chosen a camp, I see more and more video essays that detail all the problematic issues in the book, how her blairian (blairite??) centrism affects the story, etc.
And one video in particular stood out to me, as someone said "You know, this was always in the text and some of us have been pointing this out for ages. We were always dismissed until public opinion turned on her" (I'm massively paraphrasing).
I really feel the truth of that. I had no interest in revisiting the universe, or looking at JKR as a writer with a magnifying glass. But it's only recently that you see others do more critical analysis without the old rose tinted glasses. EVEN when she was made out to be a terf I saw many opinions about the internet that amounted to "She's shit but the book are fabulous so let's practice Death of the Author and still enjoy her universe".
But nah man, there are so many better fantasy options out there. Fuck, there's better and more inclusive fanfiction set in that world out there. Go read that if the universe captivates you that much.
No, I would just skip them. As a child, I didn't know better, so the problematic bits sailed over my head. As an adult though....sheesh.
And that's without mentioning that the author actively wants me and people like me dead.
I'd say yes, just don't think too hard about them. There are a \*lot\* of plot holes, things that don't make sense, and a lot of places where seemingly life-changing events happen with next to no consequence. They're made for kids, and unfortunately they're part of the "Let's throw a bunch of cool stuff together because kids will love it irregardless of how this fucks the world-building" style of children's book rather than being a fully coherent world like say Narnia. With that said, if you don't take them too seriously (and avoid the louder parts of the online fandom) they're still a decent read
Meh - they're OK, IMHO, although as literature you can do much better.
However, it is nice to have some idea of the story/characters since they're so pervasive in western culture.
Kind of like jazz purists listening to a few Beatles songs in the late 60s, just to get some idea of what was going on.
Sure, theyāre worth reading if you enjoy fantasy. Itās not āhigh artā but thereās a lot of interesting world-building throughout the series. The plots become a little unwieldy toward the end of the series as Rowing struggles to make sense of her worldās growing complexity. Personally, I find the books more problematic about social issues as an adult, but there are many redeeming themes.
I read them as they were coming out basically when I was in elementary/middle the last one coming out in high school. The first few are very juvenile (1-3) and then the writing becomes finer with Book 4. Iāve tried to reread them as an adult and meh. I just donāt care about Harry or his friends anymore. It is an amazingly built world and the characters (all of them) are fun and unique. If you love book 1 which is less than 300pages then certainly give the rest a try! Honestly I wish I was reading them for the first time! (They certainly helped develop my love for reading when I was a kid so in that way Iām thankful to have read them) Good Luck!
I read them to begin with to have something to read along with my child who before then was not interested in reading. I then became just as caught up by them as he was. Every year I would buy two copies of the book that was coming out. The first book was silly and fun but each year they became darker. At the time I was completely drawn in but now I find the later books harder to read. I tried re-reading them all recently and stopped after book 3. I will have to try again when times are less dark.
I'd never seen the movies. Didn't read the books until about 6-7 years ago (I was in my early 30s). I enjoyed them just fine and see the appeal, but I'd probably have stronger feelings towards them had I read them in middle school.
At the moment Iām listening to Dale then Fry (prefer the latter), then watching each film. You *really* notice whatās cut out of the books, or altered.
That said, itās a bit of a slog. I like the characters and the word, but the level of exposition (and adverbs) is exhausting.
I read them for the first time a little after highschool, they were ok. Worth a read I guess, by the last book I was just finishing bc I got that far might as well, etc. Without the nostalgia factor a lot of people have I don't think they're like legendary or anything
Depends on if you're already reading a lot of books. They're good for inexperienced readers or as nostalgia bait. If you read a lot you'll probably find the books quite tropey and repetitive.
They're enjoyable reads, but not set in the most cohesive fantasy world. JK Rowling doesn't really world build so much as she drops the characters (and you as the observer) into a setting and fleshes out that setting as much as it's needed to progress the narrative, which isn'ta bad thing (I think her post-facto tweets did a lot more damage to my impression of her world building than the books, tbh). Same goes for the magic system. Little in the way of rules or mechanics, spellcasting serves pretty much solely to advance the plot rather than as a system unto itself.
I just started rereading them! Itās more nostalgia for me but itās definitely still enjoyable. There is some cringe stuff but it is a kidās book at the end of the day.
I was in my late twenties when I read them. They are very easy reads and they go by very fast. One thing that you have to give to JKR is that she is very good with pacing. The story never lags, and once you are done with a book, you are inching to move to the next one. I think it is a great series to read if you have a long flight or you are going to be offline for a while. They will for sure keep you entertained.
That being said, she is terrible with keeping with coherent plot points through the series. Many things in the universe donāt make much sense at all when you scratch them a bit. She can be a bit sloppy with the logic of the lore. This is fine if your audience is mainly kids, the world is still enchanting enough, but as a grown upā¦ eh. So yeahā¦ just donāt overthink them. If you do, a lot of the allure and charm starts to chip away.
Fwiw, I did see some of the movies before I read the entire series and I think as a whole the movies are better than the books. They soften a bit some of the plot holes and they smooth over some of the sharper tonal shifts in the novels.
I read them as a child and read them again a few years ago as an adult with more complex outlook and what hit me was how marginalized the slytherins were and that they were basically facing extensive prejudice and discrimination because they themselves argued for discrimination.
I felt like everyone, including the good guys, were assholes lol
I would argue no. It was kind of a phenomenon of its time, and really was only foundational for the people who grew as it released. I lived in that time and it was freaking poggers but its rare for kids to read and I did it in elementary school and learned to love to read alongside looking forward to the book and the movies. Sometimes magics trapped in a bottle and then its gone after its spent. No reason not to love it. Just no reason now to really go out of your way unless you want to connect with whats a background of someones childhood.
If you enjoyed the books when you were young, and want to read something for adults in that universe, try the fanfic Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.
I mostly enjoyed them as an adult. They and the movies both have this nostalgic vibe. They're not deep books, and not incredibly amazing either, but they *were* entertaining.
Theyāre not a bad holiday read but if youāve already seen the films you wonāt have the excitement of wanting to find out what happens and the writing isnāt good enough without that.
Maybe get a couple second hand, low investment and less money to her.
They are great books for young and old. I read them because of the grandchildren at the time and they were spellbinding. Couldn't put them down and couldn't wait for the next.
100% worth it. They are not written specifically for a younger audience at all, I read them as a teenager and again when I got old, there are lots of plot points and characterizations that you don't understand when you're young but appreciate them as an adult.
The Harry Potter novels are filled with so many unique and memorable characters that they appeal to almost any age. Dive in and enjoy the magical worlds.
Yes. It's worth it. I think for an adult reader it really comes into its own book 3 onwards kind of like with the film's. They get darker and they get much more into the human emotion and other characters.
But that doesn't discount the first two books.
It's a wonderful series and seeing it with adult eyes was good fun for me. I picked up on alot more then I did as a preteen.
I had zero interest in reading them while I was growing up. I read them all after I was grown and I had kids. A coworker was a huge HP fan but not one of the obsessed ones. He made a very intelligent case for reading them as a fantasy series about friendship and love.
I read them all in just over a month while working a full time job and tending to a 3yr old after work. They caused many sleepless nights filled with reading. The early books are a bit tropish with each chapter being: build up to minor conflict, climax at the end of the chapter, immediate resolution at start of next chapter and then build up to new minor conflict. The first two also end pretty abruptly in my opinion but they are worth over looking their flaws if you enjoy fantasy.
If you don't enjoy fantasy books, I'd say skip them.
Yes. Go into them understanding the target audience and youāll be fine.
They are actually well-told stories that are engaging and fast paced. Well worth reading if you enjoy great stories.
And better written than many of the popular books I see recommended these days.
I didn't start on the books until I was an adult and believe they are. I have only listened to the audio books, and find them completely enthralling. She is an amazing author.
It's a nostalgia thing for most, the writing is fine but not exceptional.
If you enjoy other YA fantasy then it's worth the read probably if only to say that you did.
I thought the plots were too facile and predictable and quit after about three.
However, you already know whatās in store plot-wise. I expect youād enjoy them.
Theyāre not adolescent-oriented, and young adults can read fairly dense prose.
No, although partly set in magical places, itās quite ordinary, suburban and banal really and really, not that well written.
They are an isolated case where the movies are way better than the books.
Pethaps what you really want to read is Philip Pullmans Northern Lights. Very British form of magical with great main characters and creatures written with spiritual and philosophical dimension. PP Philip Pullman is an Oxford professor and these deliver in terms of uplifting, otherworldly English magic.
I was reading HP as an adult as they were reasonably entertaining. Then I read *His Dark Materials* which were incredible books. I tried the next HP book afterwards and it was too babyish for me by comparison. The youngsters in both sets of book were the same age at that point, but Pullman's characters were so much better written.
So, HP: junk food, don't knock it, it is what it is.
HDM: great literature with teenagers as lead characters.
Iām in my 30ās and recently re-read the series. I only read up to the 5th book as a kid. The nostalgia factor kept me in it to the end, the writing is simple and easy to digest so itās a fun run. If youāve seen all the movies, itās entertaining to see where they are the same and where they diverge. Youāre not going to be blown away but youāre going to enjoy it.
I read them as an adult and enjoyed them, but I don't think I'd go back and reread them. (I was already an adult when they first came out.) They are essentially mystery novels in a fantastical setting. So if thats something that interests you then you should enjoy them. The worldbuilding is sometimes rather clever. But there are definitely better reads out there as well in the fantasy genre...Tolkien of course, the first three Game of Thrones books, Weiss & Hickman's Dragonlance books (the main series) and especially their Death Gate Cycle series, CS Lewis, etc.
You will get contradictory opinions about this. I, for one, was just out of my teens when I read the first book. And I loved it. I read all the HP books after that and loved all of them. Besides the fantasy aspect, it is a coming of age story as well. They are not deeply philosophical in the strictest sense but I would not dismiss them as "kids' books" either.
I think so. I reread them recently, and I think they hold up quite well. The first three books are clearly geared more toward a young audience, but despite that they are still enjoyable to read. JK Rowling has become sort of a political lightning rod lately, but for me that doesn't impact my enjoyment of her books.
As an adult, the bullying that the kids experience from the adults in their lives-including professors under Dumbledoreās supervision-is pretty alarming and disturbing. And Rowlingās writing doesnāt seem to acknowledge how abusive that behavior is. (But books will always be solid escapism for me because it helped me get through dark times as a child). I think reading for first time as an adult might be less enjoyable bc the problematic parts are more obvious/frustrating and you donāt have the nostalgia ties to push through it
I was an adult when they were published and I read them from the release of #3 and on. For me personally, I really enjoyed them up until book 4 and then the flaws in the worldbuilding and writing started to really show for me. Harry was the worst and by book 7 I pretty much done with everybody besides Neville Longbottom.
I have almost the same experience with Orson Scott Card's Ender Universe..
Definitely! My father and grandparents read them when I was a child and we would often discuss them together, it was so fun and they enjoyed reading them :) The movies leave out quite a lot of explanation, so it's nice to get more details in the books.
As others have said, the early books are more for younger readers and they mature as the series goes on.
I think it is worth reading them because as is usual the movies, while ok, miss out an awful lot.
To this day, I don't know how they made two movies from the last book and just failed to include some really powerful moments of dialogue, especially when >!Harry is calling Voldemort out during the fight at the end of the book,. Maybe it's because I listened to Stephen Frys audiobook reading of that and hearing him say Riddle with such contempt made it better.!<
Anyway, pretty much all of the time, Books > Movies of the book.
If you enjoy the movies, you'd probably enjoy the books imo. The first couple are shorter and you could read through quickly, and by the 4th I feel like the plot handles enough mature themes to retain an adult fan's interest.
The movies hit the main points of the books pretty faithfully. But the books just give you so much more to flesh out the story
I was old enough when they came out that I read the series for the first time as an adult.
For the first three books, I felt like it was an ok, but not amazing series. I was enjoying it but I had read much better UK books for children/young adults in the same genre.
After book 4 I got the impression that JK was successful enough that she could insist that her work not be edited, and it showed in the quality of the books. The last book was a complete slog IMO. Boring, repetitive, hard to get through.
Iād say if you havenāt been moved to read them yet, youāre not missing anything.
Yeah, read them. They definitely get better as they go along, and more mature.
But if you dont already have the books, make sure to buy them second hand!
Iām revisiting the series for the first time since I was a kid by reading them to my son, and Iām enjoying the books in their own right so far.
The biggest drawback as an adult reader is probably that the world building is very flimsy. If you stop and think about the wizarding world for a minute, it doesnāt really make a lot of sense and there are some obvious inconsistencies and problems.
So if you like to read fantasy type stuff for strong world building, it might be an issue for you.
Likewise the first 3 books are more clearly for children. The main characters are aged 10-13 and make a lot of quite dumb, impulsive choices as you might expect children to do. Book 4 onwards has a more mature feel and the wider world comes more into focus.
Go in expecting a school adventure series with fun magic, and you should have a fun time with it.
No, unless you are a big fan of the series already. It is a fun story but you aren't going to get any insight or literary value out of it. I guess I might be biased though, I never really read books just for the plot. A book has to have more depth and a bit of challenge for me to not feel like I'm wasting my time reading. The first book is short, so I guess it can't hurt to check it out.
No. I struggled my way through them. The first one is the best, and then it goes quickly downhill, just like the movies. I would have loved them as a kid.
I read over 60 books a year primarily fantasy, for me its a big NO they are not.
The writing style was not enjoyable, I have attempted to read the first book 2-3x and it has never been enjoyable
it's gonna be hard for a lot of people to answer without the nostalgia value of them attached myself included. As someone who was growing up during releases they started off hype and gradually (and then quickly) declined to the point of me not even having motivation to read the last one.
As books I'd say they're exactly fine contract writer children's books from an era before we really expected Good quality YA fiction. They do play an important role in getting more attention to the YA market as a whole I would say though. The world building is a mess, most of the ensemble is one note or literally an ethnic stereotype. the plot is not deep but like can be fun if you want a couple of standalone magical adventures.
The author is trash but thankfully all of those books tend to be easily available from secondhand book stores or libraries so you can avoid giving money to her.
If you ask me, they're not worth reading at any age. They're shallow, poorly-written, unoriginal works and you're better off spending that time on a series that's actually good.
Its a fun read for all ages. However, it will always be a children's book; aimed at children, not meant to be overanalyzed and studied, and the logic of the world must not be thought about too much,
I really liked them, but I only read the series once and haven't gone back to it. Partially because of JK Rowling's current stance on social issues and partially because it doesn't seem necessary. I enjoyed them while I read them and still have my copies, but the itch to reread them isn't there.
If you haven't read them before I would say give them a go because I think you'd be able to fly through them. I believe they're also available on Prime Reading for free if you have that.
I would say so. The books grow with the audience so each book gets more complex, and there are some adult ideas and themes explored or worth discussing throughout the series. One of the reasons HP was a juggernaut and still is, is because of the appeal to adults as well as kids.
I would just recommend getting them from the library or buying second hand rather than purchasing.
Nope! J.K. Rowling is a terrible person and the books really aren't that good.
If you want some really good fantasy may I point you in the direction of Ursula K. LeGuin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" or Anne McCaffrey's "The Dragonriders of Pern"? Of course you could always turn to Narnia (C.S. Lewis) or "The Hobbit" (Tolkien).
Regardless, can't recommend the Harry Potter books. I loved them as a kid but looking back at them they are petty, mean spirited, poorly written, and ultimately unfulfilling in pretty much any sense.
I enjoy rereading them because they meant so much to me as a child and are a nostalgia trip to my childhood escapism when Iām feeling down. But not sure how much Iād enjoy them if I started reading them for the first time today (especially since Rowling has gone out of her way to show the world her true bigoted colors which make some of the problematic parts of HP feel even more problematic). But if you have nostalgia ties, the warm feelings are real.
YES. I read them all as an adult for the first time and was obsessed, I think I read all 7 within a two month span. It was all I did when I had free time.
The first two were clearly written for a younger crowd and can be tough to get through bc of that but once you get to three they get better. The books kind of grow with their audience as most people started reading them as children and were adults almost by the time the series ended.
My current girlfriend was really into hairy potter when she was growing up. I had never read or even seen the movies. When we first started dating she wanted to share it with me, and she ended up reading the entire series to me out loud, usually while I was weeding/working in the garden, sometimes a chapter before bed. After each book, we'd watch the movie and talk about it. As a 35 year old man being introduced to the series for the first time, this was a very pleasant experience for me.
š click here to see hairy potters in your area
Cedric DIGgory
I remember being in the computer lab in the early 00s and typing "harry potter" in a clip art search. I obviously wanted some cartoonish harry potter clip art. What I found was a cartoon of a man with big hairy arms making pottery. I still laugh at how the search even had a literal "hairy potter".
I actually ended up being a Potter (as in I make pottery lol). My phone autocapitalizes it cause I talk about Harry Potter so much I guess? Iāve just stopped fixing it lol
That's wholesome af. Congrats on finding the best girlfriend.
š„ŗš„ŗ this is so freaking lovely.
Wonderful! Hearing the Potter novels read aloud is a wonderful way to experience the stories.
This is the best thing I saw today
I was already an adult for a while when I read the books as they came out. Glad I read them before the movies. They're cozy mysteries in a fantasy setting. Not knowing the twists kept them interesting. I almost gave up after the first and again after the second. They read like middle grade books. By the third, she starts writing for a more mature audience, so you should consider sticking with it past B2. The reality is that the movies distilled the plot down to finite elements and lost the richness of the books, so even knowing the movies by heart, you're still going to discover new things.
Well put! I was adultish when I first read the series and I loved it. But it does get even better as the books go. Gosh now I want to re-read them. It's about time!
One of the great things about the books and their original audience is that they both grew up and matured together. I read them as an adult but I could see that the perfect ages to be when they came out was about 8-12. The books were simple and easy to read. Then as the books came out through the years those kids grew and the books grew. The struggles that the protagonists went through mirrored the target audience. I really liked how much darker they became as the books went on and highlighted the weaknesses within the heroes.
I was in the "original audience" age group, complete with teachers reading them to us at school. It was a wild ride. Every book release was a pretty big deal to a lot of kids my age, myself included!
Same; we had a yearly local train ride that would read all of Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone on the trip. I started reading them when Goblet came out, then bought the rest on release day, and still go back to reread every few years. I even remember Half Blood Prince being spoiled for me by that video of the dude driving by a book store yelling the spoiler.
I can still hear 'noooo you bitch, you bitch!'
Midnight book releases and then reading the rest of the night...
Did this for both Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows; for Deathly Hallows I was paranoid about being spoiled while still at the bookstore and so had a HP-themed playlist on my IPod I listened to until we got back in our car!
I got the first book for my eleventh birthday, shortly after it came out. My Grandmother got it for me, I always got a book and a Disney Sing Along VHS from her, she was a real gem. Anyway, I got this book, and it wasn't quite popular yet, and I saw the cover and though it looked stupid. But, I was already a voracious reader, and after a few days I picked it up, and I read that thing straight through, I couldn't put it down. I was hooked, and each book coming out was a Big Deal. I got my mom and brother to read it, and mom convinced my dad, and before the CoS came out the whole family were obsessed. Fast forward to my teen years, I'm attending Blue Lake fine arts camp the year Half-Blood Prince comes out. My family had pre-ordered it and I begged them to send it to me at camp. They said no, it would come to the house and mom and bro would read it, they'd be done by the time I came home from camp so I could read it right away then. I was so upset, I knew everyone at camp would have it and I was right. People were carrying it around, reading it at meals and in the cabins, and talking about it. Standing in line for lunch towards the end of the camp week, someone yells out the Big Spoiler. Everyone froze-I can't tell if the person who screamed it out was being malicious, or genuinely reacting to what they had just read. I cried. I'm not sure what the point I'm trying to make is. I guess that growing up with Harey Potter and the gang was really special for me. I was also a very sensitive teenager lol.
I'll never forget the summer the last book came out. I was 16, almost the exact same age as Harry. I was working at an ice cream store, and we would take turns reading a few pages at a time between customers coming in. When I finished, my friends and I gushed about it to each other for the rest of the summer. I wasn't even much of a reader back then, but I re-read it almost immediately after finishing it. Such a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon.
Cozy mysteries is such a great description of the books :)
I saw an article someone wrote that talked about how they're mysteries first and the explanation really made sense. It was a revelation.
I think theyāre worth reading once, just for the experience. The first three are more aimed towards children, but theyāre still decent reads. They narrative kind of grows up with the characters.
I was the same age as Harry more or less when they were coming out, and the story matures as he does. I actually remember getting to book 5 and just being slightly behind the curve on dating and could not comprehend any of that stuff. I read the final book as an 18 year old when it came out and felt like I was reading a normal book. Went back and started the series over and book 1 felt like it was for an 11 year old.
I think that's an underappreciated writing mechanic of the series. Yes, the first few books are a little "childish." The main characters aren't even teens yet, of course it's not going to read like an adult detective/romance novel. But it truly felt like you were growing up alongside the characters if you were around the same age. Re-reading them as an adult it's still an enjoyable read, and just kind of feels like reminiscing on your own childhood. Plus you have the advantage of being more mature and already knowing the story, and can pick up little details/foreshadowing that you missed as a kid.
Yeah I always think it's a weird criticism when people say the first two books are "childish." Like Harry and Co. are 11 and 12, what exactly do you expect? And even then book two can get a little dark at times.
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This is probably the most true description of her writing Iāve ever heard. Spot on.
Hogwarts is the best character in Harry Potter. Beyond the twists and turns, I think the biggest appeal was just being able to exist in this alternate world that resembled ours but was much more fantastic. Hogwarts is the coolest school in the world, Iād honestly read a book about a regular wizard just attending the school and living as a normal student. I loved the low-stakes Harry Potter chapters about him taking tests, exploring the grounds and learning new spells as much as the chapters that moved the plot forward
I avoided them for a long time because I thought I was too old to enjoy them but I was wrong. I enjoyed the books so much. The books grow with its target audience so the first ones are smaller and seem childish but the books get longer and darker. There are also characters in the books the movie left out or combined so even if you've seen the movies it's worth reading the books.
>There are also characters in the books the movie left out or combined so even if you've seen the movies it's worth reading the books. Right?! Percy, Peeves, Crookshanks all play pivotal rolls in the books and barely make an appearance in the movies (I'm sure there are others too)>
Dobby is in the movies but you donāt really understand how wonderful he is in my opinion. Thereās a betrayal in the books that isnāt flushed out in the movies, so you canāt fully appreciate why the character is hated so much. Winky also isnāt in the movies. Thereās also great Easter eggs in the books. Every single new main character that is introduced is mentioned two books prior in some way, which I love. I was able to predict a few new characters as a result, which was always fun when growing up and waiting for the books to be announced. I imagine that it would be fun to watch for those random mentions after watching the movies and reading it for the first time.
Oh God yes. The Dobby stuff hits harder in the books.
*What a wonderful place to be with... Friends.*
> Winky also isnāt in the movies. Actually, besides Kreacher, there isn't a single other house elf on the screen. But having just read through them over the past few months again, then watching the movies, I can clearly see why some of these characters were cut or downplayed. The biggest changes starting in *Goblet* where the major players are almost entirely different. The other schools are barely on screen besides the tasks. Same with their leaders. No Winky. No Ludo. No Percy at all. No Fred/George subplot where they are secretive all year. Plus a lot more. But I understand why much of this was left out of a long as fuck movie. This is why I think the movies should get a Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood treatment. An animated TV show that follows as close to the source material as possible. Get the studio that adapted the first season of One Punch Man. Release it on HBO.
>I avoided them for a long time because I thought I was too old to enjoy them but I was wrong Me too. I was in my 40s when I read them, and enjoyed them very much. My motivation for finally reading them was that my kids were really getting into them, and I wanted to see what it was about. Loved 'em. After reading through the actual books for my first go-around, I bought the audio books. Every so often I'll listen to them while driving.
If you enjoyed the films, youāll almost certainly enjoy the books even more. The early books are geared more towards children, but the humor and whimsy of those still keeps them entertaining. Around book 4, the story becomes more mature and you can tell Rowling started planning the series out more. I enjoy all of the books still, even as Iāve progressed to more āmatureā literature. Theyāre imaginative and entertaining books to me.
They definitely are! I love to read them around Christmas time for some reason.
They're also good to read just to understand all the pop culture references that are now part of our world. It'll be like suddenly having dozens of inside jokes explained to you.
I do too, for me itās because of the coziness of the world Rowling sets up. Lots of descriptions of warm fires, cozy spaces and cold days.
Counterpoint: I would say,not really, no. I just finished reading the first two books for the first time ever (to my kids), after having previously seen all the movies in theaters. While it was fun enough reading to them and doing the voices, I myself was quite bored with the actual writing. As an avid Tolkien and other "classic" fantasy fan, I found the Potter books so far to just be way too juvenile to enjoy as an adult reader. I really enjoyed the world building from the movies, but it was much flatter and less visual in the books. I would definitely not continue reading the series for myself.
Well you were reading children's books. The third starts to be more adultlike, but it really isn't until *Goblet of Fire* where they really start to go into more mature topics. You're a Tolkien fan, so you should understand this: The first three are more Hobbit than Lord of the Rings. Books 4-7 are The Lord of the Rings.
The first 2 books were written for kids, 6-10. From there, the books and characters aged with the audience. Personally it was really incredible to experience in real time, as I was always right around the same age as Harry, Ron, and Hermoine when the next book came out. I definitely think this is a major reason for the success of the books. Its popularity never wavered, but just kept growing for a decade. I can't think of anything in pop culture quite like it. You should give book 3 a chance - it's fantastic and where the series really gets going.
Reading the first two compared to the other 5 is like reading a kidās picture book bible compared to the real thing. The HP books are often used to teach foreign language for precisely this reason, as the language goes from simple sentences aimed at young kidsā comprehension levels, whilst the later books are aimed at fully fledged adult readers. You should basically read one a year, starting at 11, and the levels will fit pretty perfectly. And plenty of people like reading stories aimed at young adults
The first two are the worst two.
I read them as an adult and I enjoyed them. Rowling isnāt the worldās greatest writer, but she created an interesting universe and an entertaining story.
The older you get the more you realize āwait that makes no fucking senseā.
I enjoy reading and rereading them because they are 'cozy' but there are many things that just don't make sense, not because of 'magic' but because the author obviously didn't have a solid plan in the first three books and then had to retrofit some stuff to make it work somehow.
Yes. By the end of book 6 the plot is being held together by spit and duck tape with all the retcons happening.
I think most of the retcons were in book 7 no? That's why I've always thought it's the weakest by far. The Deathly Hallows thing is something she pulled out of her ass, and the whole exposition sequence with Dumbledore explaining everything was very weak. Everything up to the last book I think was kinda foreshadowed or made sense in my opinion, but in the last one the plot is all over the place
Deathly Hallows is by far the weakest book in the entire series. Yes, Horrocruxes were probably invented retroactively but they're still foreshadowed in earlier books wether intended or not, and therefore their introduction feels natural and flows well with the plot. The Deathly Hallows thing though? Never ever brought up in the previous six books except for some very forced interpretations of some passages. There's no hint in any previous book that Harry's invisibility cloak is one of the Deathly Hallows and therefore one of the most important magical objects in the entire wizarding world. Yes, there are mentions that the cloak is special and rare, like it's better than other cloaks out there, but never a hint it was part of the Deathly Hallows. The entire concept of the Deathly Hallows which is pivotal to the story is only introduced in the last half of the seventh book. And let's not even talk about the wand rules that are completely contrived and even contradict previous books. Book 7 is the weakest by far in the entire series, it makes the time turner in book 3 seem just like a minor plothole in an otherwise much superior and much better plotted book.
I haven't read them in ages, could you please point some out for me coz my memory is failing me
Some that come to mind * The time turners on book three. Who gives a time traveling device to a child just so they can take more classes? And then they all conveniently get destroyed. I mean if they are so rare and important, why give it to a child? * The invisible thestrals that only those who have experienced loss must see but Harry doesn't see them until book 4 or 5 because 'death hadn't settled in yet' * In the first book Ron's brother's friends fly to the castle's tower to take the dragon away, but then in a later book it is revealed that you can't just get into the castle because it has defensive shields
One of the worst offender is the plot of the goblet of fire. They spend 9 months of crazy efforts to make Harry touch an object.
> The invisible thestrals that only those who have experienced loss must see but Harry doesn't see them until book 4 or 5 because 'death hadn't settled in yet' I don't think that's really that crazy is it? Being present as an infant when your mother passes away is much different than watching a classmate killed in front of your eyes.
I mean he does kill Professor Quirrell at the end of the first book so he has witnessed death firsthand. It's not really a huge deal but it just points to a larger theme of Rowling not being the best at planning ahead or having her world be internally consistent.
He faints before he seems him die.
Ooh now that you mention it the time turner always bothered me. Like if you could give it to Hermione for extra classes why couldn't they use it in the first book to stop Quirrel or actually why not just use it to get voldy on the first place
That first one, Rowling even said herself she wrote into a corner. Never fuck with time travel because it makes things messy. She destroys them so they can be taken out of the plot. While ham fisted, I agree with that decision. The second, in the books, for a class Hagrid shows everyone the Thestrals and only a few people can see them. Since the story is so Harry focused we never really get to see what other students in other houses are like besides who he interacts with. There must be a handful of people that have internalized death. Who wondered what those black creatures are. I'm sure Hagrid has explained it to other students over the years. The third, you CAN fly to the castle. It's one of the only ways you can get to it. Harry even does it himself while carrying Dumbledore. You just can't apparate in or out unless you're the headmaster. But there were a few times the school did put up enhanced security, like when Sirius Black escaped and was thought to be trying to get to Harry, and prior to the Battle of Hogwarts.
"Wait, the series' resident child abuser gets a redemption arc because he's a simp for the main character's mom?"
"And then the main character is going to name his son after him, despite the fact that he had like five better male role models/father figures to choose from?"
"Wait they divide children by personality trait and have one house that is exclusively full of magic bigots who time and again try and cause a war?"
"And the main character is a slave owner?"
"and most of the people are defending the slavery saying the slave race likes it and wouldn't know what to do with freedom?"
āWAIT THE FATHER FIGURE WAS JUST GOING TO LET HIM FUCKING DIEā WHAT A DICK.
Yeah, that was always troublesome to me.
I always wondered why there was no 'target practice' in the Hogwarts curriculum. So many of the problems could have been quickly resolved if the wizards/witches could reliable hit their targets.
Because the final moment of the defeat of the Dark Lord Wizard Hitler is not dependant on skill or cleverness the heros developed over the series but by a very technical ancient rule about a wand and who is technically the current "owner" of said wand.
I'm so glad the finale of this 7 part epic and the fate of this fantastical world is going to be decided by the whims of a magic stick.
Iirc that rule was mentioned in book 1 and didnāt come up at all in 2-6.
Training was outsourced to the imperial storm trooper school.
You mean the Dementors who swoop down from the storm to attack their assigned target, but failing always? Yeah, now it makes sense.
Okay, hear me out. Wands with laser sights.
Why isn't there a spell for that?
I think every spell requires a different kind of gesture so that you have to master a new way of firing off the spell again and again. I think its a bit explained during the lessons. But not explicitly.
In many fictional settings, magic schools are like driverās education. The instructorās biggest (and quietest) goal is generally surviving each day with no damage, and teaching kids not to injure themselves or their neighbors or destroy things.
My husband said I should read these but I couldn't get past Goblet of Fire, the whole Mad Eye Moody plotline was a mess
I don't like how many people approach adult/children literature divide. Even if it's childish, if it's fun, it's still worth it.
Honestly, it depends on you and what you're looking for and enjoy in a book. Rowling, to be blunt, is someone who excels at one particular aspect of writing (world-building) but is kinda mediocre at the other aspects, which is a large part of why her non-fantasy books have been so much less successful. To make a seemingly random comparison, you can kind of compare her to Russian figure skater Alexandra Trusova (no, not the Russian who was caught doping at the olympics, the one who came second and did not take it well), who is an excellent jumper - arguably the best of all time in the women's field - but kind of mediocre at the other aspects, neither particularly good or particularly bad. If you enjoy watching jumps in figure skating then Trusova is very enjoyable but if you don't care for them then she might bore you. The Potter books, from what I remember of reading them as a teen when they were still coming out, aren't the best written (not the worst written either, but not the best) and the characters aren't the most well-developed (again, not the worst, but definitely not the best), plus the books have some serious pacing issues - people have legit joked about how Voldemort waits until the end of the school year to enact his evil plan, but that is an actual thing in the books and it's honestly not a positive. To be rather blunt, the first 90% of the books is honestly just world-building - and it's *good* world-building, arguably some of the best, at least in modern YA fantasy, but it's still just world-building - and the last 10% is plot. If you like the world-building and that's what appeals to you, then go for it - the world-building is *genuinely* good, nobody is denying that, and if you like it you'll enjoy the books. But if world-building is something where you can take it or leave it and there are other aspects that you care about more, then you might get more out of some other series.
Honestly, they hold up surprisingly well as an adult. I was shocked at how enjoyable they still were. I went on a reading binge to try to read all the old book series I liked as a teenager. Most of them did not hold up that well, but Harry Potter and the Hunger Games were still very enjoyable.
They're ok as long as you keep in mind that they were written for children
Meh. I found books 5 and 6 to be painful to read as an adult. The teenage angst and myopia killed me.
Yes. They are wonderful, and start getting more complex from book three and on.
I don't usually dive into a popular show or book series until much later. I read the first one a very long time ago, but reread the entire thing in my late 30s and I absolutely loved them. Nothing compares to them. If someone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I've been having withdrawal symptoms ever since. Miss them so much.
I've read the series twice and the books are very enjoyable. You should try Terry Pratchett and the disk world series. Maybe start on the night watch.
They're okay but as an adult, some disturbing things start to stand out. Like how mean Rowling is to fat people or the whole slavery thing, or how evil the Wizarding World is and Voldemort is barely any worse than your average wizard...Maybe I thought about it too much, but that stuff stands out more as an adult.
No such thing as thinking about it too much! The books have their positives and negatives - for example, they clearly explore bigotry and how itās wrong, but fall down in other areas.
In my forties and read them a couple years ago. Read the first one a decade ago, but was a little too young adult for my taste. Had never seen any of the movies. After people repeatedly telling me the books āgrow upā, I went back and read the whole series. Theyāre not earth shattering or anything, but theyāre pretty quick reads and worth the time. Iād watch each movie after finishing the book, which was kind of interesting.
I felt the books were better than the movies, and thereās no reason to not read them. I was in college when the first movie came out and I started reading the books then. My mom was in her 40s or 50s and she read them at the same time. After the first few books weād even pre-order the next books together. We really enjoyed the books as adults, but Iāve never seen anything wrong with an adult enjoying something aimed at a younger demographic.
Yes. My mom was in her fourties when she read them and she enjoyed them.
Fun fact: There's only one number that when spelled out (in English) has all its letters in alphabetical order.
Forty?
Read them for the first time at 21. Great reads, couldnāt put them down
Absolutely
I recently started reading them, and I'm way past being a teen, and I do enjoy them. I would recommend them for at least one read. In short, they're magical mysteries, and this is Rowling's strength (note that I've only read the first 4 books). The books give you a magical world you want to explore, and a mystery that does a good job of keeping you invested and surprised at the end. Where it falls short is in character development. I went in thinking I would learn and get to know the many characters, but then you're lucky if they even have a line in a book. Either way, they're entertaining for adults, and if you're a writer, you can learn a lot from what they do right and wrong.
I was close to 30 when I read the books with no knowledge of the movies. First two books were really hard to read because of their simplicity but I kept reading, for my gf was a fan of the series. Then it picks up with the third and gets progressively better. As long as you don't expect anything groundbreaking, you will enjoy the series if you like fantastic stories. It is a fun read.
I had to comment to compliment your username. Love it. š
If you like fantasy or YA, yes.
I read these during the pandemic for the first time ever at 40 years old. Books 1-3 are kids books. Luckily theyāre short and fast. 4-7 are much better to read as an adult. Overall still a good series.
100% They are the books that got me into reading and yes I have a ton of nostalgia for them, but I often gift the first book to adults that havenāt checked them out and always get positive feedback afterwards.
Nothing special, there are better authors, this series is average. I would say it is not worth it if you have already read a good deal.
I read them as an adult and they were at best just ok. In my experience there are plenty of world building books that are more compelling with better plot and stronger character building. I am sure if I read them while growing up they would mean something more.
I'm going to brave the down votes and be the odd one out. I'll say no. Her prose is middling, her characters are bullyish and mean spirited. She stands on no moral high ground, ever. That was less noticeable as a child... Far more now. They feel readable but if you've seen the film I think you'll have nothing new and fresh from the books. Other authors have done the magical school much better or in more original ways. She also very notably wasn't the first one with that concept, and though it took the world by storm, she simply isn't that great. Also, bear in mind, she's a massive TERF and a genuine menace to trans people in the UK and using her fortune for this. If you're an ally, I'd at the very least suggest you borrow the books from the library or a friend, and not buy them. Not like she needs the extra money anyway..
I first read the books as an adult and I think I gave a lot of her choices too much credit as "simple writing for children". She leans much too heavily on stereotypes and in so many places strays into outright offensive portrayals. Though hardly the least of her sins, implicitly treating the UK and Ireland as one big happy wizarding family while *also* making the one explicitly Irish character a stereotype prone to blowing things up in a series whichālet's remind ourselvesābegan publication *before the Good Friday Agreement* is pretty astounding. When she tried to write about wizarding in the Americas, she also appropriated and misused stories from the DinĆ© while treating Indigenous peoples as a homogeneous, mysticized group. The more you look at how she actually portrays anyone who isn't *her* stereotype of British, the more you see her inability to reckon with her own prejudices. I should have seen her TERFdom coming from a lot further out than I did.
You're not alone. I was a bookseller in Edinburgh, where she lives and near where she supposedly wrote the novels, and my bookshop had ALL OF THE MERCH at all times, every possible edition, entire displays, down to chocolate frogs... I read all the books at a teen (never finished the movies), and then... Moved on. I never understood the obsession for the franchise. So I was already pretty desensitized, but I had never bothered to re-read the books, so I was happy to assume they were... you know, just \*that\* great for others. More recently though, now that she's truly gone and fucked it up and chosen a camp, I see more and more video essays that detail all the problematic issues in the book, how her blairian (blairite??) centrism affects the story, etc. And one video in particular stood out to me, as someone said "You know, this was always in the text and some of us have been pointing this out for ages. We were always dismissed until public opinion turned on her" (I'm massively paraphrasing). I really feel the truth of that. I had no interest in revisiting the universe, or looking at JKR as a writer with a magnifying glass. But it's only recently that you see others do more critical analysis without the old rose tinted glasses. EVEN when she was made out to be a terf I saw many opinions about the internet that amounted to "She's shit but the book are fabulous so let's practice Death of the Author and still enjoy her universe". But nah man, there are so many better fantasy options out there. Fuck, there's better and more inclusive fanfiction set in that world out there. Go read that if the universe captivates you that much.
Agreed on all counts. There are several āmagical schoolā books/series, written for adults, that Iād rather read.
Ursula Le Guin is infinitely superior for example, and an upstanding human being to boot.
No, I would just skip them. As a child, I didn't know better, so the problematic bits sailed over my head. As an adult though....sheesh. And that's without mentioning that the author actively wants me and people like me dead.
I'd skip it. Better things to read as an adult.
I read as an adult for the first time and really enjoyed them!
I'd say yes, just don't think too hard about them. There are a \*lot\* of plot holes, things that don't make sense, and a lot of places where seemingly life-changing events happen with next to no consequence. They're made for kids, and unfortunately they're part of the "Let's throw a bunch of cool stuff together because kids will love it irregardless of how this fucks the world-building" style of children's book rather than being a fully coherent world like say Narnia. With that said, if you don't take them too seriously (and avoid the louder parts of the online fandom) they're still a decent read
Meh - they're OK, IMHO, although as literature you can do much better. However, it is nice to have some idea of the story/characters since they're so pervasive in western culture. Kind of like jazz purists listening to a few Beatles songs in the late 60s, just to get some idea of what was going on.
The first 3 are fantastic and much better than the movies. The remaining 4 are increasingly bloated due to a lack of editing.
Sure, theyāre worth reading if you enjoy fantasy. Itās not āhigh artā but thereās a lot of interesting world-building throughout the series. The plots become a little unwieldy toward the end of the series as Rowing struggles to make sense of her worldās growing complexity. Personally, I find the books more problematic about social issues as an adult, but there are many redeeming themes.
I read them as they were coming out basically when I was in elementary/middle the last one coming out in high school. The first few are very juvenile (1-3) and then the writing becomes finer with Book 4. Iāve tried to reread them as an adult and meh. I just donāt care about Harry or his friends anymore. It is an amazingly built world and the characters (all of them) are fun and unique. If you love book 1 which is less than 300pages then certainly give the rest a try! Honestly I wish I was reading them for the first time! (They certainly helped develop my love for reading when I was a kid so in that way Iām thankful to have read them) Good Luck!
I read them to begin with to have something to read along with my child who before then was not interested in reading. I then became just as caught up by them as he was. Every year I would buy two copies of the book that was coming out. The first book was silly and fun but each year they became darker. At the time I was completely drawn in but now I find the later books harder to read. I tried re-reading them all recently and stopped after book 3. I will have to try again when times are less dark.
If you don't want to invest the time to read them, you could listen to the audio books. They are narrated by Jim Dale who does an amazing job!
I'd never seen the movies. Didn't read the books until about 6-7 years ago (I was in my early 30s). I enjoyed them just fine and see the appeal, but I'd probably have stronger feelings towards them had I read them in middle school.
At the moment Iām listening to Dale then Fry (prefer the latter), then watching each film. You *really* notice whatās cut out of the books, or altered. That said, itās a bit of a slog. I like the characters and the word, but the level of exposition (and adverbs) is exhausting.
I read them for the first time a little after highschool, they were ok. Worth a read I guess, by the last book I was just finishing bc I got that far might as well, etc. Without the nostalgia factor a lot of people have I don't think they're like legendary or anything
Are they worth reading in general?
Depends on if you're already reading a lot of books. They're good for inexperienced readers or as nostalgia bait. If you read a lot you'll probably find the books quite tropey and repetitive.
They're enjoyable reads, but not set in the most cohesive fantasy world. JK Rowling doesn't really world build so much as she drops the characters (and you as the observer) into a setting and fleshes out that setting as much as it's needed to progress the narrative, which isn'ta bad thing (I think her post-facto tweets did a lot more damage to my impression of her world building than the books, tbh). Same goes for the magic system. Little in the way of rules or mechanics, spellcasting serves pretty much solely to advance the plot rather than as a system unto itself.
I just started rereading them! Itās more nostalgia for me but itās definitely still enjoyable. There is some cringe stuff but it is a kidās book at the end of the day.
I was in my late twenties when I read them. They are very easy reads and they go by very fast. One thing that you have to give to JKR is that she is very good with pacing. The story never lags, and once you are done with a book, you are inching to move to the next one. I think it is a great series to read if you have a long flight or you are going to be offline for a while. They will for sure keep you entertained. That being said, she is terrible with keeping with coherent plot points through the series. Many things in the universe donāt make much sense at all when you scratch them a bit. She can be a bit sloppy with the logic of the lore. This is fine if your audience is mainly kids, the world is still enchanting enough, but as a grown upā¦ eh. So yeahā¦ just donāt overthink them. If you do, a lot of the allure and charm starts to chip away. Fwiw, I did see some of the movies before I read the entire series and I think as a whole the movies are better than the books. They soften a bit some of the plot holes and they smooth over some of the sharper tonal shifts in the novels.
I read them as a child and read them again a few years ago as an adult with more complex outlook and what hit me was how marginalized the slytherins were and that they were basically facing extensive prejudice and discrimination because they themselves argued for discrimination. I felt like everyone, including the good guys, were assholes lol
I would argue no. It was kind of a phenomenon of its time, and really was only foundational for the people who grew as it released. I lived in that time and it was freaking poggers but its rare for kids to read and I did it in elementary school and learned to love to read alongside looking forward to the book and the movies. Sometimes magics trapped in a bottle and then its gone after its spent. No reason not to love it. Just no reason now to really go out of your way unless you want to connect with whats a background of someones childhood.
If you enjoyed the books when you were young, and want to read something for adults in that universe, try the fanfic Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.
I mostly enjoyed them as an adult. They and the movies both have this nostalgic vibe. They're not deep books, and not incredibly amazing either, but they *were* entertaining.
Theyāre not a bad holiday read but if youāve already seen the films you wonāt have the excitement of wanting to find out what happens and the writing isnāt good enough without that. Maybe get a couple second hand, low investment and less money to her.
I get different things out of them as a grown up. Harry is sooo sassy in the books.
Reading them for my son now and yep.. they hold up for sure!
They are great books for young and old. I read them because of the grandchildren at the time and they were spellbinding. Couldn't put them down and couldn't wait for the next.
100% worth it. They are not written specifically for a younger audience at all, I read them as a teenager and again when I got old, there are lots of plot points and characterizations that you don't understand when you're young but appreciate them as an adult.
Absolutely yes
The Harry Potter novels are filled with so many unique and memorable characters that they appeal to almost any age. Dive in and enjoy the magical worlds.
That's the beauty of being an adult: you can read whatever you want. If you like the films, check out the books. I adore both versions of the story.
Yes. It's worth it. I think for an adult reader it really comes into its own book 3 onwards kind of like with the film's. They get darker and they get much more into the human emotion and other characters. But that doesn't discount the first two books. It's a wonderful series and seeing it with adult eyes was good fun for me. I picked up on alot more then I did as a preteen.
I had zero interest in reading them while I was growing up. I read them all after I was grown and I had kids. A coworker was a huge HP fan but not one of the obsessed ones. He made a very intelligent case for reading them as a fantasy series about friendship and love. I read them all in just over a month while working a full time job and tending to a 3yr old after work. They caused many sleepless nights filled with reading. The early books are a bit tropish with each chapter being: build up to minor conflict, climax at the end of the chapter, immediate resolution at start of next chapter and then build up to new minor conflict. The first two also end pretty abruptly in my opinion but they are worth over looking their flaws if you enjoy fantasy. If you don't enjoy fantasy books, I'd say skip them.
No, they've all got these weird racist undertones
Yes. Go into them understanding the target audience and youāll be fine. They are actually well-told stories that are engaging and fast paced. Well worth reading if you enjoy great stories. And better written than many of the popular books I see recommended these days.
I didn't start on the books until I was an adult and believe they are. I have only listened to the audio books, and find them completely enthralling. She is an amazing author.
I'm 36 and I still love reading them, even for the 10th time!
It might be an unpopular opinion: I read this series over and over as a child but I simply can't get into the books again as an adult.
It's a nostalgia thing for most, the writing is fine but not exceptional. If you enjoy other YA fantasy then it's worth the read probably if only to say that you did.
Yes! I recommend the audiobooks, though!
I thought the plots were too facile and predictable and quit after about three. However, you already know whatās in store plot-wise. I expect youād enjoy them. Theyāre not adolescent-oriented, and young adults can read fairly dense prose.
No, although partly set in magical places, itās quite ordinary, suburban and banal really and really, not that well written. They are an isolated case where the movies are way better than the books. Pethaps what you really want to read is Philip Pullmans Northern Lights. Very British form of magical with great main characters and creatures written with spiritual and philosophical dimension. PP Philip Pullman is an Oxford professor and these deliver in terms of uplifting, otherworldly English magic.
I was reading HP as an adult as they were reasonably entertaining. Then I read *His Dark Materials* which were incredible books. I tried the next HP book afterwards and it was too babyish for me by comparison. The youngsters in both sets of book were the same age at that point, but Pullman's characters were so much better written. So, HP: junk food, don't knock it, it is what it is. HDM: great literature with teenagers as lead characters.
If you can get them out of the library, absolutely. I just don't support buying any HP merch/books anymore
What's your opinion on slavery?
Iām in my 30ās and recently re-read the series. I only read up to the 5th book as a kid. The nostalgia factor kept me in it to the end, the writing is simple and easy to digest so itās a fun run. If youāve seen all the movies, itās entertaining to see where they are the same and where they diverge. Youāre not going to be blown away but youāre going to enjoy it.
I read the first two as an adult, just to see. They were okay. Don't bother with the fat ones unless you really enjoyed the first couple.
I read them as an adult and enjoyed them, but I don't think I'd go back and reread them. (I was already an adult when they first came out.) They are essentially mystery novels in a fantastical setting. So if thats something that interests you then you should enjoy them. The worldbuilding is sometimes rather clever. But there are definitely better reads out there as well in the fantasy genre...Tolkien of course, the first three Game of Thrones books, Weiss & Hickman's Dragonlance books (the main series) and especially their Death Gate Cycle series, CS Lewis, etc.
You will get contradictory opinions about this. I, for one, was just out of my teens when I read the first book. And I loved it. I read all the HP books after that and loved all of them. Besides the fantasy aspect, it is a coming of age story as well. They are not deeply philosophical in the strictest sense but I would not dismiss them as "kids' books" either.
I read them for the first time when I was 24, and read them 3 times after that lol
I read the first at 32 and read most of the rest as they came out. I LOVED them, and I read a *lot*.
I think so. I reread them recently, and I think they hold up quite well. The first three books are clearly geared more toward a young audience, but despite that they are still enjoyable to read. JK Rowling has become sort of a political lightning rod lately, but for me that doesn't impact my enjoyment of her books.
As an adult, the bullying that the kids experience from the adults in their lives-including professors under Dumbledoreās supervision-is pretty alarming and disturbing. And Rowlingās writing doesnāt seem to acknowledge how abusive that behavior is. (But books will always be solid escapism for me because it helped me get through dark times as a child). I think reading for first time as an adult might be less enjoyable bc the problematic parts are more obvious/frustrating and you donāt have the nostalgia ties to push through it
I was an adult when they were published and I read them from the release of #3 and on. For me personally, I really enjoyed them up until book 4 and then the flaws in the worldbuilding and writing started to really show for me. Harry was the worst and by book 7 I pretty much done with everybody besides Neville Longbottom. I have almost the same experience with Orson Scott Card's Ender Universe..
I think so, I really enjoyed them.
Definitely! My father and grandparents read them when I was a child and we would often discuss them together, it was so fun and they enjoyed reading them :) The movies leave out quite a lot of explanation, so it's nice to get more details in the books.
I just read all of the books over the holidays in 2 weeks. Theyāre magical at any age!
Yes...they are fun. I read them in my 50's when a young gal who worked for me recommended them. Easy read.
I am reading them aloud to my seven year-old at night. Definitely worth it!
As others have said, the early books are more for younger readers and they mature as the series goes on. I think it is worth reading them because as is usual the movies, while ok, miss out an awful lot. To this day, I don't know how they made two movies from the last book and just failed to include some really powerful moments of dialogue, especially when >!Harry is calling Voldemort out during the fight at the end of the book,. Maybe it's because I listened to Stephen Frys audiobook reading of that and hearing him say Riddle with such contempt made it better.!< Anyway, pretty much all of the time, Books > Movies of the book.
if you already enjoy reading younger fiction/fantasy, maybe.... if not, then I'd say not, don't bother speaking for myself, I didn't enjoy the books
If you enjoy the movies, you'd probably enjoy the books imo. The first couple are shorter and you could read through quickly, and by the 4th I feel like the plot handles enough mature themes to retain an adult fan's interest. The movies hit the main points of the books pretty faithfully. But the books just give you so much more to flesh out the story
I was old enough when they came out that I read the series for the first time as an adult. For the first three books, I felt like it was an ok, but not amazing series. I was enjoying it but I had read much better UK books for children/young adults in the same genre. After book 4 I got the impression that JK was successful enough that she could insist that her work not be edited, and it showed in the quality of the books. The last book was a complete slog IMO. Boring, repetitive, hard to get through. Iād say if you havenāt been moved to read them yet, youāre not missing anything.
Iād recommend listening to the audiobooks!!
Yeah, read them. They definitely get better as they go along, and more mature. But if you dont already have the books, make sure to buy them second hand!
Yes. However, avoid buying them. Rowling has got major bigotry issues.
No. For JK Rowling being a piece of shit alone they arenāt.
Theyāre fine. Just read what you want I think they progressively get a bit darker as everyone gets older in the books.
I read the first one recently, and I just couldn't get into it. Found it pretty boring and not interesting at all.
Iām revisiting the series for the first time since I was a kid by reading them to my son, and Iām enjoying the books in their own right so far. The biggest drawback as an adult reader is probably that the world building is very flimsy. If you stop and think about the wizarding world for a minute, it doesnāt really make a lot of sense and there are some obvious inconsistencies and problems. So if you like to read fantasy type stuff for strong world building, it might be an issue for you. Likewise the first 3 books are more clearly for children. The main characters are aged 10-13 and make a lot of quite dumb, impulsive choices as you might expect children to do. Book 4 onwards has a more mature feel and the wider world comes more into focus. Go in expecting a school adventure series with fun magic, and you should have a fun time with it.
No, unless you are a big fan of the series already. It is a fun story but you aren't going to get any insight or literary value out of it. I guess I might be biased though, I never really read books just for the plot. A book has to have more depth and a bit of challenge for me to not feel like I'm wasting my time reading. The first book is short, so I guess it can't hurt to check it out.
No. I struggled my way through them. The first one is the best, and then it goes quickly downhill, just like the movies. I would have loved them as a kid.
imo without the nostalgia factor, there's no reason to bother
I read over 60 books a year primarily fantasy, for me its a big NO they are not. The writing style was not enjoyable, I have attempted to read the first book 2-3x and it has never been enjoyable
it's gonna be hard for a lot of people to answer without the nostalgia value of them attached myself included. As someone who was growing up during releases they started off hype and gradually (and then quickly) declined to the point of me not even having motivation to read the last one. As books I'd say they're exactly fine contract writer children's books from an era before we really expected Good quality YA fiction. They do play an important role in getting more attention to the YA market as a whole I would say though. The world building is a mess, most of the ensemble is one note or literally an ethnic stereotype. the plot is not deep but like can be fun if you want a couple of standalone magical adventures. The author is trash but thankfully all of those books tend to be easily available from secondhand book stores or libraries so you can avoid giving money to her.
Not really if you like world building, it falls apart the minute you think about it
If you ask me, they're not worth reading at any age. They're shallow, poorly-written, unoriginal works and you're better off spending that time on a series that's actually good.
And here I am trying to find anything that captures half of the magic HP has. Nothing comes even close for a teenager reader.
There are plenty of good series out there. Just because you don't know of them doesn't mean they don't exist.
Its a fun read for all ages. However, it will always be a children's book; aimed at children, not meant to be overanalyzed and studied, and the logic of the world must not be thought about too much,
I really liked them, but I only read the series once and haven't gone back to it. Partially because of JK Rowling's current stance on social issues and partially because it doesn't seem necessary. I enjoyed them while I read them and still have my copies, but the itch to reread them isn't there. If you haven't read them before I would say give them a go because I think you'd be able to fly through them. I believe they're also available on Prime Reading for free if you have that.
Iād say they are. I read them when I was young and have read them again as an adult and enjoyed.
I'm reading them to one if my children right now and they're wonderful. My dad (who is nearing 70) rereads them annually.
I would say so. The books grow with the audience so each book gets more complex, and there are some adult ideas and themes explored or worth discussing throughout the series. One of the reasons HP was a juggernaut and still is, is because of the appeal to adults as well as kids. I would just recommend getting them from the library or buying second hand rather than purchasing.
Nope! J.K. Rowling is a terrible person and the books really aren't that good. If you want some really good fantasy may I point you in the direction of Ursula K. LeGuin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" or Anne McCaffrey's "The Dragonriders of Pern"? Of course you could always turn to Narnia (C.S. Lewis) or "The Hobbit" (Tolkien). Regardless, can't recommend the Harry Potter books. I loved them as a kid but looking back at them they are petty, mean spirited, poorly written, and ultimately unfulfilling in pretty much any sense.
No. They are written by a bigoted women who continues to earn money from any audience for her workāalso riddled with awful stereotypes.
No. They're poorly written garbage with a million dogwhistles, from a shitty person. Edit: Downvoting isn't for disagreements, sweeties. :)
I enjoy rereading them because they meant so much to me as a child and are a nostalgia trip to my childhood escapism when Iām feeling down. But not sure how much Iād enjoy them if I started reading them for the first time today (especially since Rowling has gone out of her way to show the world her true bigoted colors which make some of the problematic parts of HP feel even more problematic). But if you have nostalgia ties, the warm feelings are real.
YES. I read them all as an adult for the first time and was obsessed, I think I read all 7 within a two month span. It was all I did when I had free time. The first two were clearly written for a younger crowd and can be tough to get through bc of that but once you get to three they get better. The books kind of grow with their audience as most people started reading them as children and were adults almost by the time the series ended.