Has anyone read the Harry Potter books?

I just started reading books for enjoyment. I read all 4 Twilight Books, The Host, And I am just beginning to read The Sookie Stackhouse series.

I was told I would really enjoy the Harry Potter books.

I have seen all the movies, so would the books be worth reading now?

Are they an easy read and do they move quickly?

i read the first three in a weekend, then started the 4th, but i got bored.  they're fun, though!  i think the originality wears off, but obviously lots of people disagree with me .

edit: i didn't answer your questions, did i?  the first three are very quick reads; after #3 they get fatter and more grown-up.  they're easy reads, though; just some british dialect that might take some getting used to.

I've read them all, and they pretty simple reading. Of course, there are a few things that haven't appeared in the movies but I guess you'll like them anyway...

In my opinion, they would have been perfect if the epilogue hadn't been so...cheesy haha it almost ended with "and they lived happily ever after..." LOL

Enjoy them anyway =)

o my god. read them immediately! they are fantastic. I've read them all 7 times (I know, I am a TOTAL dork lol) except Deathly Hallows, but they never cease to capture my attention. Of course, take my advice with a grain of salt, I'm a bit of a potterholic. I just reread the series to celebrate the release of the new movie. Anyway, you should definitely read them if you like Twilight.

I was just going to order the whole set off amazon but im wondering if I should just order the first book to see how i feel about it or just order the whole thing.

I loved the Harry Potter books.  They aren't the most sophisticated read, but the story was entertaining to me.  I got through the first 2 books in a 3 day weekend, so they aren't the hardest books.  But something about them caught my fancy.  I would go to the library or borrow the books from a friend if you're not sure.

I did find that the books (and movies) got better from Prisoner of Askaban onward, so don't judge the entire series by the first book.

I just ordered the first one!

I couldn't get into it. =/ I tried and I tried... then I tried to watch the movies, and that didn't work either. It was a disney tv film or something. I guess HP isn't for me.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

 

edit: i didn't answer your questions, did i?  the first three are very quick reads; after #3 they get fatter and more grown-up.  they're easy reads, though; just some british dialect that might take some getting used to.

Most of the British dialect has actually been removed in the American version, only small amounts of what you get in the British versions remain.

I personally love the Harry Potter books. They are an easy read but they are so good! All of the books you mentioned in your original post are books that I love as well. Especially the Sookie Stackhouse books. I can't say enough good things about the series.

Some people are turned off by the Harry Potter series because it became such a fad but I think if you read them for yourself and forget all the hype surrounding the books and movies you will really enjoy reading them. :)

Another series I would recommend is Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke. Great books. Hopefully you didn't see the Inkheart movie that was out in theaters though becuase Brendan Fraser as the father? Way off base in my opinion. Lol.

Also, one of my favorite authors currently is Jodi Picoult. Her books are nothing like Twilight or Harry Potter. No supernatural beings or anything. Just really great stories. I recommend anything of hers as well.

Have fun reading!

you'll love them! Just skip the epilogue of Deathly Hallows, it doesn't marry up really at all. As far as children's books go, I think they get pretty gritty so the epilogue is crap!

Haha it is so strange to hear people talking about british dialect, maybe it's because this sort of thing would wash over me anyway but I thought that most of the kids were pretty posh. I spose the weasleys are a bit more common in the books than the films. They are supposed to be from the west country but it doesn't really read like that.

Schnooder you say you just started reading for fun so I don't know what you've read before. But if you haven't already and want an awesome british writer to check out then check out some discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is GOD. Also might I suggest saving yourself a small fortune in buying books off amazon (not that I'm against amassing a personal library, everyone should have one) If your starting a series or checking out a new author why don't you try the library for the first book and then move onto buying em if you like them.

Original Post by mmaynar1:

I personally love the Harry Potter books. They are an easy read but they are so good! All of the books you mentioned in your original post are books that I love as well. Especially the Sookie Stackhouse books. I can't say enough good things about the series.

Some people are turned off by the Harry Potter series because it became such a fad but I think if you read them for yourself and forget all the hype surrounding the books and movies you will really enjoy reading them. :)

Another series I would recommend is Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke. Great books. Hopefully you didn't see the Inkheart movie that was out in theaters though becuase Brendan Fraser as the father? Way off base in my opinion. Lol.

Also, one of my favorite authors currently is Jodi Picoult. Her books are nothing like Twilight or Harry Potter. No supernatural beings or anything. Just really great stories. I recommend anything of hers as well.

Have fun reading!

Any idea who the real author of the Inkheart series is? There's no way Cornelia Funke is a real name!

I read each of the Harry Potter books as they came out - SO glad I read them before the movies, I always have the film characters in my head when reading them otherwise. And the film characters aren't really like they're supposed to be - Hermione is meant to be the fugly nerd, not the pretty one, for a start!

I go on and off Jodi Picoult. I've read a couple of her books I really liked - like My Sister's Keeper, the first one I read. But some of them can be a little trashy. It's scary how fast she churns them out. Just think, if I spent all the time I waste on CC writing best-seller novels instead....

Original Post by shanonna:

Haha it is so strange to hear people talking about british dialect, maybe it's because this sort of thing would wash over me anyway but I thought that most of the kids were pretty posh. I spose the weasleys are a bit more common in the books than the films. They are supposed to be from the west country but it doesn't really read like that.

Found this site on how much the books have been changed to fit with American ways of speaking:

http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/potter.html

Seems a bit sad to me, after all it is a British book - they are just taking away its artistic integrity by Americanising it. It also never hurt my vocabulary to read a few new words.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

Original Post by shanonna:

Haha it is so strange to hear people talking about british dialect, maybe it's because this sort of thing would wash over me anyway but I thought that most of the kids were pretty posh. I spose the weasleys are a bit more common in the books than the films. They are supposed to be from the west country but it doesn't really read like that.

Found this site on how much the books have been changed to fit with American ways of speaking:

http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/potter.html

Seems a bit sad to me, after all it is a British book - they are just taking away its artistic integrity by Americanising it. It also never hurt my vocabulary to read a few new words.

I am American, but I decided to buy the British versions for this reason.  My mother had bought the American versions while I was living in the US, but when I moved to Italy, I missed the books so much I bought my own set...and when faced with the choice of the American versions or the British versions, I chose the originals.  I like them much more!

Ok I am taking serious umbridge with some of these "translations"

bobble hats - bonnets A BONNET IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TYPE OF HAT. THIS ISN'T THE VICTORIAN ERA. *ahem* do people in America call wooly hats with a bobble on top a bonnet?

these are just plain stupid. I do not underestimate the intelligence of the average American  to the point that they can not handle a few strange English words. I think it loses it's essence of Englishness and makes it rather bland. How ridiculous that JK agreed to it.

Buy the English versions schnooder and be all the richer for the experience :)

That 'translation' business is bizarre.  Most of the time, if you get a book that contains very specific cultural references, they deal with it by means of a footnote.   Can you imagine if they Anglicised an American classic like Catcher In The Rye or Huckleberry Finn? .... it would spark a diplomatic incident!

I've read every single one of the HP series.  The first one was absolutely charming because it was so original and just the right length.  By Book 4 and 5 I think JK's publishers should have had a little more nerve and suggested she edit them down by a few hundred pages.... but that's just semantics.  Set aside the whole day so that you can immerse yourself in the world of Hogwarts.  Dipping into chapters doesn't really work.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned.... His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.  Now that's a truly un-put-down-able and beautifully written trilogy that will have you on the edge of your seat.  Marketed as a children's book but it's a literary tour de force with many references that only adults would truly appreciate.

Also .... The Weirdstone of Brinsingamen by Alan Garner is another classic children's book.  Much darker than HP and quite disturbingly scary in places

And finally... You've got to read The Hobbit by J R R Tolkein. Precursor to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and a book that's very easy to get absorbed in.

I have the complete set and read some twice.  I love them.

I've read all of them, and I think they're great - but you do have to accept them for what they are.  It's not classic literature, it's fiction for adolescents.  But the characters are engaging enough, it's a decent story, and the world Rowling creates is actually quite imaginative and different.

I think it would be really cool to know how to disapperate.  

Original Post by gi-jane:

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned.... His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.  Now that's a truly un-put-down-able and beautifully written trilogy that will have you on the edge of your seat.  Marketed as a children's book but it's a literary tour de force with many references that only adults would truly appreciate.

Yes! Amazing series.

I skipped the first 3 books.  But I read deathly hollows first as it had just come out at the time.    Then I went back the golbet of fire, order of the pheonix and half blood prince.  I really enjoyed half blood prince ALOT!!!