Harry Potter And The Contest On Zoot’s Blog
I’ve always proclaimed my adoration for Jim Dale and the Harry Potter audiobooks. I bought every one of them and have listened to them several times over the years. I don’t think I would like to listen to an audiobook if I hadn’t read the book already, it would require too much concentration. But since I had read the Harry Potter books several times each, the audiobooks required no concentration. Yet they still always revealed secrets to me I had missed while reading with my eyes.
I thought I’d test the fondness by purchasing the last two Twilight books and listening to them, since those two books are my favorite. And let me tell you: Jim Dale spoiled me. It set an unreasonably high standard. He gives all characters unique voices without seeming fake in anyway. He miraculously keeps those voices for the characters for all seven books. I never think about the fact that a boy is reading the girl lines. Yet he does. The girl that reads the Twilight books? Not that talented. It took me awhile to get used to her reading the parts of Edward and Jacob and not rolling my eyes to myself. Thinking, Yes. Adding a growl to your girly voice doesn’t not help. Nice try. And she didn’t change her “male” voice for different male characters so that go confusing, especially when males were talking to each other. Somehow that’s easier to keep up with when reading than when listening on audiobooks.
But once I got used to her and stopped comparing her to Jim Dale. I was fine. But listening to those books, I ended up being surprised that I didn’t discover something I missed while reading them. I think I just always assumed all audiobooks would do that for me – ends up spotlighting things I missed when reading myself. I assumed this was a trait of how I read, maybe often skimming over parts. The same parts even when I re-read books. But evidently? That’s not the case with the Twilight books. I enjoyed them, don’t get me wrong (once I got past Jacob sounding like a girl), but I didn’t learn anything new.
This weekend, however, I decided to re-listen to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to prepare for the movie. And I remembered all over again, how much I adore Jim Dale. And as I caught another tidbit in the description of a certain scene that I had missed one of the dozen times I had read or listened to the book, I realized there are still secrets in these books for me to discover. That’s what makes the Harry Potter books amazing, they’re filled with so much detail. Whether it’s a casual reference to an ancillary member of a scene you didn’t realize before, or a main character revealing something you missed amidst the other descriptions. In Half-Blood Prince, Harry references a smell and recognizes it from a scene before. While I have read the book and can of course attest to what the smell is, I never realized any of the several times I read it OR listened to it that he noticed that smell. This is probably the 8th time (at least) I’ve digested these words in some form, yet this time? I noticed that he noticed the smell.
So, while they’re outrageously priced, they’re totally worth it. And today? I’m going to do something special. I’m going to have a giveaway. This prize is only something those who have read the book should try to claim because I would never encourage you to read the books out of order, much less listen before reading. But – if you’re read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, then you should enter this contest. I’m giving away the audiobook Jim Dale reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’ll either ship it to you on CD from amazon or I’ll give you an iTunes card so you can get it for your iPod, whichever you choose. All you have to do is answer me this in the comments by the time I wake up tomorrow morning and close the comments:
Which book is your favorite of the Harry Potter series?
It is a tie! The Half Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows
Deathly Hallows, even though thay are ALL equally great. I love the happy ending in the last book!
Prisoner Of Azkaban hands down!!
I loved the Deathly Hallows. Ever time I read it, I’m on the edge of my seat. I can’t help getting excited for the big ending.
I think my favorite is a tie between Deathly Hallows and Half-Blood Prince. Although, Deathly Hallows just held me the entire way through, I couldn’t put it down… My boyfriend wasn’t very happy with me. xD But Half-Blood Prince was just excellent all around, too. I can’t WAIT until the 15th – I just hope we can come up with the 30$ to go see Half-Blood Prince.
Honestly, I don’t think I can pick a favorite. Every time I think I’ve got it narrowed down, I re-read (or listen or see) one of the others and fall in love with THAT one, too! I love them all so much for different reasons. I guess if I HAVE to pick, I’ll say Goblet of Fire, because you get Quidditch and Dragons, and it’s really a turning point to the darker and more complex issues of the last three books. Gosh, that was hard! I feel I just slighted the other books by saying that!!!
I truly love the Goblet of Fire. I really enjoyed the tournament and watching Harry struggle to figure things out. Losing Cedric kills me everytime…
My favorite is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The reason it is my favorite is that it introduced me to the world of Harry Potter. There were 4 books written by the time I sat down to read them, I was afraid that I would not like them and not understand all the hype about a children’s book. I finished that book in 8 hours of intense reading. I felt like I was transported into another world and I loved every second of that experience. Since then, I have read every book about 9 times and I love opening the Sorcerer’s Stone very time for that reason….it takes me back to that magical time of discovery. On a side note, I love listening to Harry Potter in audio form. I agree with everything you have said about Jim Dale – listening to him read the books opens my eyes to new discovereis every time.
Deathly Hallows, for sure.
Whow, this is a hard one. I think i choose… HP and the DH. Because it came out the day after (at midnight) my wedding, and my new husband walked, a little drunk and all, to the bookshop to get two copies for us. So, there i was, 7 months pregnant spending my wedding night and honeymoon reading HP at home. And of course the book itself was great too
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Delurking. I love audio books for books I’ve read in the past (not for books I haven’t read as I get distracted then don’t realize what happened).
My favorite? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. the whole mood change, Fred and George producing the swamp… awesome.
This is fun! My favorite by far has always been Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
I love the whole series but my favorite is Deathly Hallows, because all the kids seem to grow up and into their potential. And knowing it was the last one made me appreciate it all the more.
Nienuh stole my story!! Deathly Hallows came out the weekend I got married, too, and we registered for two copies for wedding presents. I also spent my honeymoon pregnant and reading Harry Potter. We should make a club.
Cripes we have to pick just one??? I will go with Prisoner Of Azkaban! But really I love them all!
Loved them all but I have to say the first one because it left me wanting more.
I hear ya on the audio books. My brothers first series is all on audio book. The kid who read it did an excellent job…tho it was hard to listen to without giggling because the kid sounded EXACTLY like my nephew…
Anyways…uhhhhhh my FAVE??? I think I’d have to go with Half Blood Prince…losing Dumbledore? And it being Snape? UGH!!! It ripped my heart out and I was SO surprised at how much that affected me.
Tho I also love Goblet of Fire…HP went from being a kids book to a darker and scarier book ready for all ages…CEDRiiiiiiC!!
I think Book 2 is my favorite of them all, but really it’s very difficult to choose because there are no more fabulous books in the world than all of the Harry Potter books. I definitely liked the opening scenes from Book 2 and I’d love to have a copy of an audio version of any of them! Thanks Zoot!
oh sure, dangle a prize out there and then make it impossible to win. how can i pick a favorite? i guess i’ll pick the deathly hallows. it was the only one i read right when it came out, and it was a great experience staying up reading all night, and being able to text back and forth with my little sisters as they read.
i also liked your podcasts!
I can’t really pick a favorite as they all rock. I started reading when the first book was first published and started pre-ordering by the third. Still, if I had to pick just one I guess I would say the first book. The wonder of discovering this new world along with Harry – the promise of what is to come – the innocence that still exists at this point – all wonderful and leaving you wanting more. Definitely not the most exciting book but wonderful none the less.
Deathly Hallows…I keep going back to re-read the ending. I love the battle scene and Mrs. Weasley going postal! It’s such a mom thing to do.
I still love the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and I still get chills whenever I read it – that element of magic and discovery was just amazing.
And yes, the audiobooks have spoiled me as well for other audiobooks!
Half-Blood Prince is my favorite. The first of the quests for the horcruxes really set the stage for Deathly Hallows.
I also love Chamber of Secrets which is interesting because it was my least favorite for a few years. I think I needed the books after to appreciate the significance.
The last book is my favorite because Harry is coming into his own in the magic world and is finally growing up out of most of the teenage angst, although the first book’s movie is my favorite movie.
I really love Goblet of Fire, for all the international flair!
I think the first one is my favorite only because every time I read it I remember the happiness of the first time I read it!
I am going to have to go with half blood prince to be honest..I loved how it just spun things around on their axles..
I think I’ve got to go with Goblet of Fire. I’ve totally become HP obsessed these past few days as I feverishly anticipate the movie release. I can’t believe they made us wait this long!!
Oh man – I love them all, a ridiculous lot. I loved the Goblet of Fire.
Also, I think there may have been more things for you to rediscover in HP because they are infinitely better books than Twilight. They’re just better written! (Not that I didn’t enjoy twilight, but more in a trashy vampire romance way than in the epic Harry Potter series!)
Ohhh, definitely The Gobblet of Fire. I love all the action in it, I love the characters that are introduced. But more then all of that, I love the ball that Hogwarts throws for all of the schools. Every time I read it I try to image what it must look like in my head. Every time it’s different, but it’s always so wonderful!
Ahh I’m so torn. I really loved Order of the Pheonix because I loved learning about Sirius and Lupin and the adults, the whole change at the school and everything. But I loved The Half Blood Prince because of the Dumbledore sessions Harry would have.
These are my fall back books. When I don’t know what to read, I hit the HP. My copies are so worn! You’re right though, you always pick up new details and things you miss with each read.
I’m a fan of the Goblet of Fire. That’s when I felt that it would be hard for Harry to prevail, even though I knew he would. It became a complex, dark story for me.
How fun!!! I’ve wanted the audio books forever. I love Prisoner of Azkaban for the happy ending and Sirius Black stepping in in that fatherly role for Harry. I’m forever grateful for all your Harry Potter chatter because it prompted me to finally pick up the books.
Deathly Hallows for sure! I loved the ending and especially Mrs. Weasley yelling out the word “bitch”. Or maybe my favorite part was Doby storming in with the other house elves. See, I can’t even pick a favorite! But I definitely love it and can’t wait until it is made into a movie.
Just one favorite? That’s nearly impossible. I would say that out of the first haf of the series, I loved Prisoner of Azkaban the best. I loved meeting Sirius and discovering that Harry had a family. From the second half of the series I would have to choose Half-Blood Prince. Even though I sob like a baby every time Dumbledore dies, I love his sessions with Harry.
Goblet of Fire!
Deathly Hallows!!! The book was released when I was studying abroad, but that didn’t stop me from getting it as soon as it came out and then hauling it back home
My favorite is whatever one I’m re-reading at the moment. My *most* favorite is book five, because of the end of chapter 37, the scene with Dumbledore and Harry when Harry finds out about the prophecy.
“You may, perhaps, have wondered why I never chose you as a prefect? I must confess… that I rather thought… you had enough responsibility to be going on with.”
The scenes between Harry and Dumbledore get me every time. We would be honored to have the audiobook at our house — the kids and I borrow them from the library sometimes and listen to them over and over at night, ’til they’re due back.
I already own these audio books, so don’t consider this an entry! Just wanted to say that I got them on your recommendation a while back and I’ve been listening to #6 myself over the past few weeks, gearing up for the movie (so. excited.). Jim Dale is indeed the bomb.
For the record, my favorite is definitely #3. Um, or #5. Or #7. One of those, anyway!
I definitely have to say the first, Sorcerer’s Stone, because it opened up Harry Potter’s world to me!
If I had to pick just one it would be Deathly Hallows. It was sooo good.
Deathly Hallows….I love the ending!!
Goblet of Fire! I’m listening to the Jim Dale version right now and am totally entranced.
It’s so hard to choose a favorite! I guess I’d have to go with Deathly Hallows though.
My 9 year old son just started reading them about a month ago and he’s averaging a book a week. I’m shocked by how quickly he’s devouring these books!
Deathly Hallows was my favorite, although it is definitely hard to choose…
my favorite? that’s like choosing a favorite cat (burt, for the record)!! i’d have to say my current favorite is Prizoner of Azkaban – it seems to me like a huge turning point for Harry for some reason, and i love so many parts of it.
oh, but then there’s #6, when all the crazy starts to happen for real – it seems like all the crazy has just been a pre-cursor. man! this is too hard! now i want to read them all again – can you do this again in a month or two, when i’ve read them all and can tell you for sure?!
Prisoner of Azkaban- The map, the tunnels, the shack…what is not to love!? Thanks for the contest!
Sorcerer’s Stone. There is something so naive and innocent about the story.
Oh, the Half-Blood Prince, most definitely. That’s when it “really started getting good” in my opinion. It starts the intrigue, the questioning, the darkness… I am SO excited for this movie, I can’t even tell you. I cried in the movie theater over the trailer. YES. CRIED.
Funny, I JUST reread the whole series this last week. Partly for the movie, and partly because I realized I’d never re-read The Deadly Hallows!!! So it was great to read that again and pick up on so many details I’d missed b/c I was reading it so fast when it first came out. I have to say either Deadly Hallows or The Goblet of Fire are my favorites. I love how she starts that one with the Quiddish World Cup and enjoy seeing more of the day-to-day life of the wizzarding world.
I totally agree with you about audio books. I have purchased all of the books on tape, cd and most recently iTunes. I adore Jim Dale. As a web designer, quite often I live in my own little world while working and I have found that any of the Harry Potter books makes for good background listening. After much thought – and I loved all the books – I think I still like the first book the most. It was charming and sweet and got me hooked on the entire series.
I used to think I had a favorite (each time I had devoured the most recently released book), and then I would reread them all and realize that I couldn’t narrow it down. I borrow the audiobooks from the library often, and enjoy them time and time again!
Wow! That’s a really tough question. . . I’ve always claimed that “Goblet of Fire” was my favorite and I do love it so. . . But I claimed this before they were ALL released and now, I think I like “Deathly Hallows” the best. Of course, it’s the one I’ve read the least. I’ll probably be re-reading it again next week after the movie. Right now, I working on re-reading “Half Blood Prince”
I’d love to listen to the audio version and see if I pick up on any sweet morsels I’ve missed like you have. That would be awesome.
Thanks so much for sharing and being so generous.
I’m a Prisoner of Azkaban fan! I love all the trickery about how Sirius Black seemed like something he wasn’t. And the humor in that book was great too!
I’ve never heard Jim Dale! Every time I see the CD’s in our library I’m tempted to get one out because of how much you rave about him, though!
How does one pick? I’ll have to just go with the last one, since it was the one that affected me most emotionally.
(And I love Jim Dale, too…. wish he could move in and read us bedtime stories every night!)
Oh man… After some thinking I would have to say Half blood prince. You just learn so much about all the characters and it really sets up the last book so well.
I remember the summer it came out, I was working as one of those annoying ‘call you while you’re eating and beg for money’ type people, and I knew the script so well that I just read the book at work while reciting why you should give the foundation I was working for money. Except the last few chapters which I, thankfully, read at home and BAWLED MY EYES OUT.
(You’d think that Dumbledore dying would have been the most gut wrenching death of the book. Until the weasley twins were seperated. I am still not over it.)
As a side note…. Years ago, when Azkaban had just come out, my mother came into my room while I was sitting in bed wearing a long black skirt, a black top, a black cape, a witch hat and I held one of those novelty sized pencils as a wand. I was not 9. I was about to turn 15. My mother gracefully held her laughter inside and excused herself. Then I heard her laughing in the hallway.
I still feel a little bit mortified thinking about it.
I love Jim Dale, too. I checked out a couple of the audiobooks from the library after you first professed your love for them here. My favorite book is Goblet of Fire, though all of the later books are dear to me.
I’m getting ready to re-read Book 6 in preparation for the movie … so exciting!
I LOVED the Half-Blood Prince. Hands down, it is my favorite and I’m SO excited for the movie next week! There’s just such a sense of mystery and anticipation throughout the whole book… it’s fabulous.
And the smell you’re talking about – I just noticed that reference in the book the last time I read it (last week, in prep for the movie as well). I believe you’re referring to the scene in the first Potions class of the year?
SUCH A GREAT BOOK!
I’ve got to say it’s the first – Sorcerer’s Stone, because that’s the one that got me hooked. I didn’t start reading the series until after the fourth book had been published. I didn’t want to believe it would engage me, but engage me it did!
I think that one of reasons the Harry Potter series is so full of tidbits for you is that J.K. Rowling is a superior writer. She weaves those details in a way that adds to the story. I’m as fanatic about the Twilight series as anyone, but in my opinion, Stephenie Meyer, while a good storyteller, is just an adequate writer.
One more thing – my husband is already on notice that we *will* be seeing “Half Blood Prince” when it opens in my small town next week:-)
Goblet of Fire.
I love that one and the movie so far the best!
Deathly Hallows
Prisoner Of Azkaban!
It’s hard to pick, but Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is probably my favorite. I have to re-read them all soon though, because it’s been a while!
I just re-read Half Blood Prince so I can see the movie, as well! And I think it’s my favorite, although I really love how everything gets tied up in the last book.
Yay, harry potter! I have always wanted to get the audiobooks.
My favorite book in the series is Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix.
It was the first book in the series that I got and read the day it came out. I had just discovered the series shortly before it came out. My first child was a baby then and I had lots of time to read. It will always have a special place in my memories.
Deathly Hallows for me too.
Hubs and I are going to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in a few weeks and I’m super stoked. It’s going to still be here the weekend of blogger – you could see if Sunday before you leave. But if you do that I would get them ASAP – we just bought ours for July 18 and they were already booking up!
http://www.msichicago.org/
I asked my 10 year old son, who is OBSESSED with Harry Potter, what his favorite book is, and he says Order of the Phoenix. He likes all the action in it.
Also, he pronounces “phoenix” like “phonics”. It makes me laugh.
Next to the chocolate I won from Niobe once this would be the best prize EVER!
My favorite is definitely Harry Pooter and the Order of the Phoenix. I adored Serius Black’s character and was heartbroken when he died. The book was an amazing read and now I’m thinking about rereading them all in anticipation of the new movie!
First of all, I also dressed as Tonks for one of the HP release events, so I love your picture.
My favorite? Oh, Lord. Um. UM. I do love POA, but the last two are also fabulous. I think I’ll pick Half Blood Prince, though, because it sets up so much for the final book and because, well, sob.
I have to say Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone…apparently not a very popular choice here. But I agree with a couple of the commenters in the fact that it led me into that amazing world and I love the opening scene where they describe him living under the staircase and all of the letters being delivered to him at various locations.
I have never listened to a book on tape before, but I must say I’m totally intrigued now!
DH for sure!
For years and years it was Goblet of Fire. But then I reread Deathly Hallows for the third time and something clicked over for me and now that’s my favorite. I also love Jim Dale. He saved me on my former commute. It made being in traffic enjoyable, which is saying a lot!
I have to pick just one? Then ‘Goblet of Fire’–dragons, Quidich, and the occasional snog. What’s not to love?
This is like picking my favorite child. I’m sure you realize that though. Ummm, Prisoner of Azkaban I guess, if I HAVE to go with just ONE.
My favorite book used to be the Prisoner of Azkaban, but after the Deathly Hallows came out it changed. But I love them all!
The Order of the Phoenix. Although there is a death in that book, there is such an aura of hope and camraderie.
I think my favorite would have to be Half-Blood Prince. I loved that we got more back story on Snape, and Harry FINALLY figures out that Ginny Weasley lurves him, even though we’ve known it since Sorcerer’s Stone! I love them all, though – it’s hard to pick just one favorite.
I have to echo Lauren a bit. Goblet of Fire, for a long time, was it for me. Perhaps because I started there and listened backwards. In all of my college freshman wisdom, I actually started with Jim Dale at book 4 and researched backwards. Needless to say, I was hooked and have listened to that one 2 additional times along with physically reading it twice (before 6 and 7). But then Deathly Hallows came out. And I have to say that in 28 hours, I never expected that the fodder for some of my best reality-removal could be so tightly, so comprehensively wrapped. I’m about to start reading it again and can’t wait, as though it’s new to me. And props to the movies because they’ve been good enough to make the books new yet again. My best and geekiest moments are seemingly tied in with this series (see the themed brunch in the link) and it all sounds like Jim Dale in a Midwestern dorm room that might have been Hogwarts.
Goblet of Fire. Hands down.
Half-Blood Prince is my favorite, I think. I love ALL the books, but that one stands out to me.
“All you have to do is answer this question”?!?! An impossible question, if you ask me!
I loved Goblet of Fire, but I think it’s a tie between Half Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone! The first one is the best because that’s when they discover everything. When they first see the magic right before their very eyes.
I’ve read it a couple of times and it’s my favorites of the movies. Even for me, it feels like I’m discovering Hogwart’s for my first year of school. I keep trying to get my 4 year old to watch Harry with me, and he keeps saying no. He’s not as into Harry as he once was. So I guess I’ll have to wait for him to go to bed to watch it again.
I love them all, but for fave, I’d have to pick, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”.
Sorcerer’s Stone! It’s where it all began and it’s what hooked us all in.
My favorite is the Prisoner of Azkaban. Love!
I loved all of them, but think The Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows were two of my favorites.
Goblet of Fire or Half Blood Prince…. they are tied for me because in Half Blood Prince was the one that I just COULDN’T put down. As for Half Blood Prince, there was just so much suspense for me as I was a late starter in reading them, and all my then-husband would say was that someone dies at the end and I couldn’t wait (and also dreaded) to find out who and how.
Which ever one I’m reading/read last! So, since I read it last (and twice in a row, at that), Deathly Hallows. Although I’m going to reread them all *after* I see the movie (before always spoils the movie for me, too busy analyzing how they adapted it), so this answer will change rapidly.
Deathly Hallows for sure, love the happy ending and the peek into their futures.
I love them all, but Sorcerer’s Stone was the beginning – so it has to be my favorite.
Love them all, but I’d have to say the “Sorcerer’s Stone”. It marked a GREAT beginning and left so much to my imagination! I can still remember reading it and losing sleep over it so I can finish (then again, i did that w/almost all of them).
My absolute favorite Harry Potter book is Order of the Phoenix because it introduced us to so many wonderful characters that were in an organization dedicated to fighting evil not to mention the brilliance that is Fred and George’s exit not to mention the incredible Hall of Prophecy scene not to mention…everything.
Oh… that’s hard! Well I really loved them all for different reasons, but if I have to choose I’ll say the last one.
I just loved having all the conclusions and everything wrapped up so neatly… the suspense of not knowing what happens kills me so all the cliff hangers at the end of the books was too much to bear.
Hmmm, this is hard. I’m currently on my 2nd read through of the series in preparation for the movie. I guess if I had to choose I’d say either Half Blood Prince or Deathly Hallows, though I love all of them.
BTW – what a great giveaway!
Prisoner of Azkaban – I liked that everything is set right in the end. I loved the imagry of the patronus (stag).
I think my favorite is the first one.
half blood prince.
pick me, pick me!!!
Definitely Half Blood Prince, but Deathly Hallows (especially the first half – love the build up) is a veryclose second!
FWIW, the guy who reads Shadow of the Wind has the most sexy voice I think I’ve ever listened to bar none. When I was listening to it, I would pull into my driveway, turn off my car and listen to him finish the chapter in the dark and the cold. It didn’t hurt that the story was very compelling but I think this guy could have made a soup can label sound compelling.
I have wanted to comment on about a dozen of your posts lately – but my comments tend to get very wordy and far too sentimental for a comment, in my head anyway. But a give away! Well, of course I have to comment. So, I have to go with the Sorcerer’s Stone simply by virtue of it beginning this HP phenom. Oh, and I saw a CBS Sunday morning segment a while back about Jim Dale and his HP voices and it was fascinating. Love your take on how he brings out something new in the books for you. xo, s
The Order of The Phoenix.
Half Blood Prince
my favorite is the order of the phoenix. it just HAS SO MUCH in it that leads to the final conclusion and the relationship really develops between the trio. also, i’ve never heard the audio tapes!!!!!
Hmmm… nothing can top the sheer magic of the first book. But they’re all awesome, of course. I’ve never listened to them, though.
Really…a favorite Potter book?? Each one is so very special in it’s own right. Being forced to choose…I’m going to go with Order of the Phoenix. IT’s where you see the unification begin within Hogwarts against Voldy (outside the trio) and you see the support Ron & Hermione are going to give–no matter what Harry tried to pull.
Wow…almost bringing me to tears as I type. I very much agree that the Harry Potter story has SO much to offer.
Twilight is an emotive story—drawing the reader in on an emotional wave. Definitely it doesn’t have the depth that keeps one coming back for more again and again only to find new gems that make the story all the more special–like dear Ms Rowling has provided for us!
I love them all for different reasons ~ just like my kids.
My grandmother gave my kids the first three books for christmas one year. We all started them, with some doubt about how good they could because it all seemed so fadish. But we were hooked after the first sentence.
I remember my daughter, the year she turned 11, waiting for her letter from Hogwarts.
I remember going to buy the sixth book, bringing it home for all of the kids and me and we all stayed up too too late that day to finish the book ~ careful of what we said to each other for fear of giving anything away ~ especially you know what.
And then the final book, the seventh. I sat outside with my 20 year old and his girlfriend, my eighteen year old, and my thirteen year old all day and we all read together in one long marathon session.
But if I have to have to choose I guess the first is my favorite because it was the begining of many good times, the least of which was reading seven great books!
Definitely Order of the Phoenix. It built the characters so much, I thought. But then, I love them all. I can’t wait to read them to my son when he gets a little older!
Half-Blood Prince!
My son had the worst case of chickenpox, oh, EVER. He was a smiley, happy, four year old with chickenpox so fierce, there was not a place on his neck that I could place my finger without hitting a pox. It was summer and the heat only made the itching that much worse. In the mornings, we had cool oatmeal baths with Rescue Heros and Barbies. In the afternoons, when his sisters were down for naps, it was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, read aloud by his Mama (that’s me), that made chicken pox bearable. I read until I was hoarse, and in those precious, precious hours, he forgot the fever and the unrelenting itch and was taken away to Hogwarts, to Gryffindor, and his friend Harry Potter that made that summer magical.
It’s got to be Deathly Hallows. And, I can say this here because you will understand: I am SO excited about the movie coming out next week that I am trying to convince my sister to take the next day off of work so she’ll go with me to the midnight showing, as it is something I’ve never done before.
Oh, hard question. I love them all!
I do love Sorcerer’s Stone for introducing me to the series, I remember just FEELING the magic while reading that book for the first time, and discovering the whole universe with Harry and just wanting to jump right into the book and be a part of it.
I love Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows because it was just SO FREAKIN COOL to see how every little teeny tiny thing in the previous books finally came together to make sense. I love having an emotional response to a book – I remember screaming out loud and nearly throwing my book across the room at the end of HBP, and I think you know why! I love the intensity of DH, the waiting, waiting, WAITING for something to happen, and then when it did happen, dreading how it could end.
Love these posts, I could babble about Harry all day.
Half-Blood Prince. Fun contest
Ok, how can I choose just one, when all of the books are so darn good?
I will have to say that the first book is still one of my favorites because it started it all. I remember reading the books right after my son was born. I would hold him in the rocker while he nursed and would read til he fell asleep. Those were special times and I think that the first book will always hold a special place in my heart for that reason.
The Goblet of Fire is my favorite, for no good reason. I read it at an awesome time in my life, so perhaps I associate it with that.
However, I am going to totally disagree with you about listening to the books without reading them. I came late to Harry Potter (call it the cool thing that I took perverse pride in not being “into.” Yeah, that was dumb.) plus, I was a single childless college student. By 2004, I was a librarian in a little rural town and figured I’d better get on the ball.
I grabbed the first book on cd before one 2 hour trip to the big city, and we listened to it on the drive. My husband and I were hooked, and continued the tradition. In fact, we bought the last book on audio the day it was released, and spent the entire weekend listening to it. To this day, I still haven’t read them in book form (I do keep meaning to) but we are re-listening to them all in preparation for the movie release.
But I do agree that Jim Dale is amazing, and to keep the books in order. We stalk the online movie trailers daily.
My favorite is the Half Blood Prince!
oh, so difficult to choose! I loved the Goblet of Fire, I think it also traslated to film very well..
) time round that you missed before.
I could read them over and over again and be entertained every time, as you said, theres always something you catch the second (or 10th
oh, so difficult to choose! I loved the Goblet of Fire, I think it also traslated to film very well..
) time round that you missed before.
I could read them over and over again and be entertained every time, as you said, theres always something you catch the second (or 10th
I really liked The Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows so it is a tie.
I loved them all, but I would have to say that my absolute favorite was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I like being introduced to new worlds- almost always it’s the first book in a series that I find myself going back to again and again.
I need to read them all again. The movies have come out so slow that I have forgotten too much. The Half-Blood Prince was the best.
I loved the Deathly Hallows. It was the best. It ended perfectly and I cried several times like a baby. I have to agree though Jim Dale is the best. I love him to death. He reads Peter and the Star Catcher and it was kinda hard because I kept waiting on him to talk about Harry!!