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Harry Potter

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I did my best to avoid the Harry hype for years, if for no other reason, just to not bow to popular demand.  But when I finally read the first three books in 2013, I was really impressed at how clever the writing was, in humor, in character development, in cohesiveness, as hints dropped in the first books that one might think were nothing more than part of a self-contained story end up being a hidden thread resurfacing later to neatly tie the whole saga together.  Now there is a great deal of silliness to it, but I must confess that I have seldom enjoyed fiction so much.  I think this deserves its own thread.

I took a break for a while but now I'm nearly done with book 4, from which the fourth film departs more than the previous three.  I have seen all the movies and thought I knew all the surprises, but it amazes me how much mystery remains in the stories in spite of the films spoiling the endings.  Amazing writing for books targeting such young audiences!  What are your thoughts?  And I already know that Frink shuns Harry Potter, so that wouldn't be a new thought to share ;)

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The Reform Quidditch Movement

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Very good, and seeing as the last movie came out four years ago, and the last book even further back, yet people still talk about it leads me to believe people won't ever stop talking about it.

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I didn't know that Frink shuns Harry Potter.   Why?

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I've now been baited in two of the three posts here, and I'm not gonna fall for it.

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Potter books are good times. Enjoy!

Don’t do drugs, unless you’re with me.

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I also avoided Harry Potter for a while, not because it was popular, but because I just didn't find the subject to be very interesting. After reading them, they've become one of my favorite book series. The movie series was also impressive seeing as how 8 films were made without any of them flopping or losing their popularity along the way. 

The Person in Question

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So can anyone tell me why Frink doesn't like Harry Potter?

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I enjoy both the books and the movies, however I wish I was able to view them as separate entities. I started with just the movies. The first two were cute, but didn't affect me in any way. The third movie I found to be so far beyond that I still place it as one of my favorite films. It was after that point that the films really fell apart to me. Why? Because it was at that point that I started reading the books. I didn't want to, but the future-Mrs. O'Five was such a fan of the books that I knew I had to read them to catch up with her.

This was a mistake.

Every movie after that point, because I knew exactly what was going to happen when, I was tapping my foot waiting for my favorite part of the book to start. And that was the entirety of my enjoyment of them. I didn't find myself bitching about "it wasn't like that in the book", but only because I didn't want to be That Guy. The film twists were lost on me because I knew they were coming now. I wish I had experienced the films as films.

Anyway, it sounds like d_e is coming at it from the right angle, so good on you! The books are like the Extended Edition, they help you understand more about what happened and add some fun side quests.

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Both the books and the films are fantastic and well worth watching. Certainly better than all the other YA bullshit that came after. 

Drink doesn't know what he's missing.

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Eh, I saw several of the movies with Mrs. Drink.  Meh.

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I personally enjoyed all of the films, but unlike doubleofive I actually didn't start reading the books until much later, before the sixth one came out, so that was the first movie I saw after reading the book. I will admit that I also was disappointed slightly with some of the exclusion of parts of the book that I like, but overall I still really enjoyed it, and then the 7th film (I consider it as one film simply separated onto two parts) was pretty fantastic in my opinion.

The Person in Question

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Hmmm...maybe I should read them sometime after all.

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You should, but like 005 said, probably with the movies before the books.  The books still contain plenty of enjoyment and surprises.

So I think it would be fair to ask, what is everyone's favorite story, in either book or movie form, just to generate discussion?

Also, and here I give a SPOILER WARNING, but as I wrap up the fourth book, I can't help but take issue with the clever plot.  Yes, it is clever how Barty Jr. tricks Harry into grabbing the portkey and teleporting right into Voldemort's clutches, but I ask myself, if that's really all it would take, why didn't he simply turn a pencil in Harry's backpack into a portkey?  It would have saved time and been just as effective.

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darth_ender said:

So I think it would be fair to ask, what is everyone's favorite story, in either book or movie form, just to generate discussion?

Hmm. I almost want to say that each book is successively better than the last. As for favorite, I'd say Goblet of Fire. It's a damn near perfect "middle-of-the-road" Book Four of Seven. 

Don’t do drugs, unless you’re with me.

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darth_ender said:

Also, and here I give a SPOILER WARNING, but as I wrap up the fourth book, I can't help but take issue with the clever plot.  Yes, it is clever how Barty Jr. tricks Harry into grabbing the portkey and teleporting right into Voldemort's clutches, but I ask myself, if that's really all it would take, why didn't he simply turn a pencil in Harry's backpack into a portkey?  It would have saved time and been just as effective.

Yes, technically he could have done that, but Voldemort's aim was to make a dramatic and grand re-entrance to the wizarding world, by killing 'The Boy Who Lived' after having abducted him in a startling and public manner from under the noses of everyone who believed he had power over the dark lord.  Had he been successful in doing so, he would have been able to announce his return with the death of his perceived nemesis, and immediately terrified everyone who had ever feared him all over again.

As for the issue of books vs films, speaking as someone who began with the books back in 2000 and was utterly enthralled by them, the Harry Potter series is one best experienced in written form, both for completeness and for storytelling style.  The only exception is the final story, Deathly Hallows, which at times is a bit dull and is actually improved upon by its film adaptation.

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@Neglify, I have to agree, in spite of my raised problem (which hairy_hen provides a pretty good answer to), it really is such an exciting and engaging book, better than the previous three.  But then, I think each book has successively improved, so we will see how things go from here.

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While I have virtually zero interest in anything Harry Potter, I may read the books just to give the finger to my mother who buys into that "Harry Potter promotes satanism/witchcraft" bullshit.

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DuracellEnergizer said:


While I have virtually zero interest in anything Harry Potter, I may read the books just to give the finger to my mother who buys into that "Harry Potter promotes satanism/witchcraft" bullshit.
Because nothing promotes witchcraft like made-up latin words being in stories about the power of friendship.

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Prisoner of Askaban. Favorite book and movie.
I read books 1 to 4 shortly before movie 1 came out. At first I was disappointed with the first movie, but I liked it more with every time I watched it.
And when the new books were released I read all the older books before. So I read book 1 at least 4 times. Still fun. Maybe someday I will read them in english.

I added an additional page to the last book. There were several chats with J.K. Rowling where she answered fan questions of what became of some of the characters. I collected and listed them, just like some 80s movie where you see pictures of the characters just before the credits with texts of what happens to them after the movie...