ConnieK wrote:
Vazanella wrote:
I think I started the first one in year 10.. so 6 years ago & pretty much read them all as they came out, the last one being last year. Book two was the worste. Ending could have been a little darker, the whole "10 years" later thing killed it
BOOK 7, SPOILER ALERT!
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Welcome, Vazanella! If you're talking about the "Epilogue" at the end of Book 7 and the series, there are several people here who would agree with you that it was kind of strange, or even a let-down. We talked a lot when Book 7 came out about the 'feel-good' ending and many agreed that since the series began as a children's fantasy, it probably would end up that way, upbeat. Personally, I always thought Harry had to die for the story to make the most sense leading up to the end. JKR actually had him do both--die (kind of) and then come back. Many readers say the ending had to be more uplifting since it was a children's story; others say it follows a hero's journey that needed to end in triumph, etc.
i know this is off subject but i was just on your website and i didn't know you were a author and i think it's really great to be able to talk to one.
nice to meet you,Stuart.
dragon560 wrote:
i know this is off subject but i was just on your website and i didn't know you were a author and i think it's really great to be able to talk to one.
nice to meet you,Stuart.
Nice of you, Stuart! Nice to meet you, too! Yes; I've written several books and am currently working on a novel. Thanks!
Welcome, pugfan, to the world of Harry Potter!
I highly recommend reading the books in order and not seeing the film to match a book until you have finished reading that book first. A lot of readers always prefer books to movies, so you'll probably see that same advice a lot in our book club. There are, however, folks who have gone to the books to "find out more" after seeing a film or two first. The books are very visual on their own--I like to tell people to read first and construct their own "film" in their mind's eye. Then it's fun to see how your own view of the fantasy world matches or differs from the various film directors' views of it.
You have a lot of potential enjoyment ahead of you. Most HP fans would envy not only that you are new to a series that they enjoy, but that you have the whole story available to you to take in at your convenience. The series is not yet that old that most of its readers remember having to wait for each installment of books and movies to be published/produced. Heck, fans are still waiting for the movies of Books 6 & 7! 
EnJOY!
I started reading the books when I was seven, in third grade, in early 2001. Our teacher gave us Scholastic book catalog every month, and had our orders sent to the classroom for us to take home. Goblet of Fire was out by then, but the form offered a collection of the first three books, paperback.
I hadn't heard anything about the books, or known anything about the movies (since the first one came out in November of that year, and it was probably around January or February... Besides, I was seven. I didn't really keep tabs on entertainment news). All I knew was that the summary next to the picture of the three books sounded awfully interesting. So I circled it, along with about 20 other things in the booklet. My mom made me narrow it down to probably three things. I can't imagine what my life would be like now if I had decided I really wanted a flower necklace much more than the books. Haha. Anyway, I distinctly and uselessly remember my mother saying, "Now Kimberly, read them in order, or I won't let you read them at all." Which, okay, I may have been seven, but I wasn't daft.
I got Goblet of Fire for my 8th birthday (I turned eight the September before the first movie came out... I remember having a Harry Potter themed cake at school), and Order of the Phoenix when I was 10. I was catching up around then, because I have one of the first edition hardbacks. I went to both midnight release parties for Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows.
All of that was much more information than was needed. I can be longwinded sometimes. Sorry.
