How It All Began for Me

[dcsbelle]

I was introduced to the Harry Potter books through the old "Rosie O"Donnell Show." She had just finished reading SS to her son and raved about the book to the extent that I picked up a copy--at B&N of course--the next day and read it straight through. I was hooked right away and recommended it to my best friend of 40+ years who promptly forget all about it. Then after PoA came out she called me gushing over this great new series she had just discovered and to this day she doesn't believe me when I tell her I found it first! Now we go to all the midnight releases of the books and movies and I consequently have first editions of all the books.

Most of all my friends at work are fans of the series and whenever a new book comes out you can see a whole unit of nurses trying to sneak in a few pages or even sentences intermittently throughout the night as we attend to our NICU patients. This can be problematic as no one is ever on the same page (literally) and discussion must be kept to a minimum.

A former neonatologist once popped into the lounge as we were reading OOP and upon discovering the source of our entertainment stated he doesn't let his kids read them because they are evil and promote witchcraft but left when all he got was a bunch of groans and eyerolling. When he was gone one of my friends snorted, "What a muggle!" I should mention that we are all in our 40's and 50's many with kids who enjoy their own copies of the books.

[Wrighty]

The first time I heard about Harry Potter I was reading a book review of The Sorcerer's Stone shortly before it was released. It sounded good to me and I loved books like that when I was a kid so I asked about it at our local library. The children's librarian had either just ordered it or said she would order it, can't remember now, but she called me when it came in. I was the first one to read that copy and I was hooked. I told friends but most didn't read it until the series became popular. One close friend read it sooner and loved it as well. We have fun discussing the books and wondering how they will end. We've enjoyed them more than our kids!

[Bookladt]

I am a children's librarian at an elementary school. One of the teachers told me about the series shortly before Chamber of Secrets was due to come out. Well, as so many of us are, I read SS and was immediately hooked. I have been ever since. I have been able to share that fascination with a lot of students and even talked a few die- hard resisters into reading the series. My son's girlfriend was one of those and now we are both hooked. I have ordered two copies of the next book - just so she will get her copy too. She talked my 21 year-old son into reading it too. Even my 19 year-old read the first book - even tho his taste in reading materials would make him usually run the other way. My family puts up with my obsession - and even supports some of the crazy things I do. My son bought me the Hedwig's theme ring tone for a present one year and IMax tickets to Goblet of Fire when it came out. The first present was a huge hit but the IMax theater experience only made me sick to my stomach. I can't handle that big a screen. I have an IPod with all the books on it and listen to them constantly - especially when my library is quiet and I am shelving books. The teachers here have been supportive of my addiction too - some have started reading the books because they think I actually know what good books for kids are. It has been quite a ride!!!

[jftapia88]

my 8th grade encounters teacher was a big harry potter fan, her encouragement to read them and the movies coming out is what got me to read the first one. after that i read the 2nd n 3rd n then i was hooked.

[Wildflower]

I don't remember exactly how I first discovered the Harry Potter series, but I do know that it was sometime after CoS came out. My daughter was around 6 and I read the entire SS book out loud to her and my husband over the course of a few weeks. My throat was raw by the time we were done and so for CoS I got the audio book for us to "read" Now she is 14 and can read on her own, but all three of us have tried to read the rest of the books at the same time so that we could enjoy and discuss them together.

[Sillyputty]

My sister introduced me to the Harry Potter books. I foolishly thought they were simply books for children only. It was the summer after my freshman year in college and I was working a very boring job. The only plus to the job was that my boss let me read in downtime. At my sister's urging, I brought the first book to work. I was so wrapped up in the book that I finished it the same day. The next day I read all of the Chamber of Secrets and the day after that I read all of Prisoner of Azkaban. It was a tortuous two weeks before Goblet of Fire came out. I have all of the books in hardcover and I'm saving them to pass down to my children when I have them.

[HPRocksMySocks]

In third grade I just picked the first one up and started reading it. I read the first four in one month....not to shabby for a third grader at the time, eh? Anywyas, I loved them right from the start, never any doubt in my mind.

[StoryMing]

It's hard for me to pinpoint *exactly* how I became a fan. I know I started hearing about Sorcerer's Stone from reviews on the radio and so on, not too long after it came out. I was mildly curious, but kept promptly forgetting to check the book out. About the time PoA came out, I was doing quite a bit of hanging out around a particular bookstore in Providence, which was just downstairs from the dr's office. I am fairly certain I first actually began reading Harry in installments during this time, while I was waiting for (or just after) my appointments. By the time GoF came out I was in line with everyone else.

[Stacy21]

I was at a book store (sorry, I'm not sure if it was BN or not) and I was looking for a completely different book, when I looked up and saw a store employee dressed in robes and a wizard hat. I had been with friends who just made fun of them, but I saw he was walking around with copies of one of the HP books. Then a week or two later, when I started my summer babysitting job (I was in high school at the time), I noticed the kid I babysat for had the book. He had already read it, so I asked to borrow it. And then all my friends who laughed at the store wizard were laughing at me, but I didn't care cuz I had my HP!

[maggie21]

I went with my girlfriend's children to see SS,had never read the books.Loved the movie,but as a avid reader,always prefer the written word.My sister-in-law,who is a teacher,had everything up to GOF,she lent them to me,bless her soul,and i read everything Harry,and was hooked forever!I could'nt wait for OOP to be released and went to my first midnite book sale!It was awesome,and I also went for HBP.My family thinks i'm crazy,as i'm 54,but they indulge me anyway.I can't wait for DH,but am a little sad as this will be the last Harry.However,at least will be able to always go back and reread,JKR...........is an awesome story teller!

[phatrose]

I was living abroad when the first book was released. An English friend of mine, who knew I loved to read, told me that I needed to hurry down to the English bookstore and pick-up
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I told her that I needed to read some other books that I had bought first and that HP could wait because it was a children's book and would probably be a really fast read. She just insisted, so I went on down and bought the book. She called me a little while later and asked if I had started reading. Of course I hadn't, but she was usually not so adamant, so I picked it up and I have been in Harry's World ever since. It is so exciting because I feel like I have been there since he was born!!

[Bookishgal]

I had been hearing about these terrific books for about 2 years when one day in the Dr.'s office I read a Time magazine article about JK Rowling. She sounded fascinating so I went out and bought SS. I thought it sounded like a cute story. I couldn't put it down! I read it in a day and the next day I went back to BN and bought Azkaban. I couldn't wait for the others to come out. When Goblet of Fire was released I took two vacation days off from work....turned on the voice mail....told family I was going away to a two-day spa....checked into a hotel.....put on my pj's and fuzzy slippers, laid in a bottle of vodka and tonic, popcorn and fruit...and lost myself in the glorious world of Hogwarts for 48 hours! It was devine! Now I have a home office with HP calendar, posters, plaques, and collectible toys. Harry and I are very happy!

[Wrighty]

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Bookishgal wrote:
I had been hearing about these terrific books for about 2 years when one day in the Dr.'s office I read a Time magazine article about JK Rowling. She sounded fascinating so I went out and bought SS. I thought it sounded like a cute story. I couldn't put it down! I read it in a day and the next day I went back to BN and bought Azkaban. I couldn't wait for the others to come out. When Goblet of Fire was released I took two vacation days off from work....turned on the voice mail....told family I was going away to a two-day spa....checked into a hotel.....put on my pj's and fuzzy slippers, laid in a bottle of vodka and tonic, popcorn and fruit...and lost myself in the glorious world of Hogwarts for 48 hours! It was devine! Now I have a home office with HP calendar, posters, plaques, and collectible toys. Harry and I are very happy!

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What a great vacation! It sounds like you planned well too. Good for you!

[Rachel-K]

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Wrighty wrote:

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Bookishgal wrote:
I had been hearing about these terrific books for about 2 years when one day in the Dr.'s office I read a Time magazine article about JK Rowling. She sounded fascinating so I went out and bought SS. I thought it sounded like a cute story. I couldn't put it down! I read it in a day and the next day I went back to BN and bought Azkaban. I couldn't wait for the others to come out. When Goblet of Fire was released I took two vacation days off from work....turned on the voice mail....told family I was going away to a two-day spa....checked into a hotel.....put on my pj's and fuzzy slippers, laid in a bottle of vodka and tonic, popcorn and fruit...and lost myself in the glorious world of Hogwarts for 48 hours! It was devine! Now I have a home office with HP calendar, posters, plaques, and collectible toys. Harry and I are very happy!

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What a great vacation! It sounds like you planned well too. Good for you!

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Does sound wonderful, doesn't it?

[mathman911]

That is the life!!!!

[mathman911]

I'm was third grade but I read at an eleventh grade level. I was having a difficult time looking for books that would interest me, so my teacher suggested I read Harry Potter books. That's when it all happened; I read the book on a Saturday, couldn't stop, the next day we were on our way to B&N to get books 2&3 I finished those by the end of the weekend. That's how I became ADDICTED to Harry Potter!!

[Nerefon]

The whole set of Harry Potter was shown to me by other students who were reading the books at the time but they didn't come up and say to me and say "You should read this book" but I saw the cover. I started reading the set when I was only a 11-year-old kid who hated reading because the books I read didn't interest me and when I started was when my aunt and my mom had to go to the library for some research and I had nothing to do so I came. When we reached the library they went to the upstairs and I to the lower section for kids and I picked up the first Harry Potter book and well I couldn't stop reading ever since the first book and now I have over 70 books in my home and still getting more and now I don't mind reading. I love reading because of what the Harry Potter books did for me and they helped my vocabulary immensely and now I am one of the top greatest readers in my class so the books helped me a lot and so on and that is what Harry Potter did for me.

[KristinaMarie]

I was introduced to Harry Potter by my Executive Director. When the office saw her reading SS we started teasing her for reading kids books. She instisted we read it. It was great! Ever since then I have been a huge fan! My daughter has grown up with Harry and friends. We will sit and talk about the books and guess what may happen in the next one. We are there together at midnight for the book releases and movie premieres. It will be sad to see him go. By the way I trust Snape and she doesnt. That makes for good convo right there!

[Celestial_Skies]

How wonderful! that is a great story...

[Rosefire001]

I started reading Harry Potter in 1st grade and books 1-4 were already out. I didn't have to buy the 4 books though b/c my brother had them though I'm sorry 2 say he has not been reading harry potter 4 years im not sure he even reads at all any more. But anyways the book was a fantastic new experience and my mom was so surprised that i could understand what was going on.