Best Potter book thus far

[Elle Delacour]

Again, we do this occassionally... see if there's any shift in opinion as time passes.

[Richard]

Definitely HBP. I said the same after OotP came out, though after a year or so, it sank in my list. However, I don't think this will happen with HBP.

Richard

[Fins]

GOF is still my favorite. The ending it that book is one of the best thrilling sequences I've ever read... just wish the movie would have captured that better. It was good but could have been great.

[kats]

HBP was the first of the books to really surprise me. Most of the time I had things pretty much figured out. The only thing that I don't like about it is that it hasn't spurred the kind of discussions we had after GoF and OotP. I feel fortunate to have been around to read the books as they came out. Future generations will miss out on having the kinds of discussions we have enjoyed. They will simply read the books through and never need to ponder what will come next. I wonder if they will see as much of the beauty and complexity of JK's writing when reading it straight through.

[Kit M.]

GOF and POA are my faves. I like all of them still.

[Tonks]

GoF hands down. GoF so far to me is the most dynamic. You start off with the dursleys, more comedy than anything, then bang you get thrown into the events of the QWC (good adrenaline, then bang the death eaters!). then, you come down from your rush and are introduced to 2 other school groups of characters, the suspense of how harry's name was put into the cup and the tension he feels in anticipation for the tasks. then, you get teenage hormones and the task of finding a date for the yule ball and the embarassments that go along with finding a date, looking good etc. now, throw in tension b/w best friends, and how their loyalty and trust are tested. then, there is the graveyard! by far the most emotional scene (well, up there with the cave scene in hbp and umbridges detentions-you just wanted to reach through the pages and strangle her) and turning point in the series! (at least, to me anyway)

to me, it just seems that GoF has more layers than the others. also, for me, the more dynamic a book, the more intriguing it is.

[* amanda]

kats said:

I feel fortunate to have been around to read the books as they came out. Future generations will miss out on having the kinds of discussions we have enjoyed. They will simply read the books through and never need to ponder what will come next. I wonder if they will see as much of the beauty and complexity of JK's writing when reading it straight through.

I agree!

as for my take on the books, I voted PS/SS just because I feel that's what really captured my interest and exceeded my expectations when I sat down to read it way back in.... 1998? 1999? I don't remember. A long time ago! Anyways, I can appreciate many aspects of each of the books and thus it's difficult to pinpoint one book and say it was my favourite. The books that I reflect upon having enjoyed reading most, for whatever reason, are SS, PoA, and HBP.

[hedwig]

I was torn between POA and GOF - in the end picked GOF. Loved the way we are introduced more to Harry's background in POA but with GOF it was the build up to the meeting of Harry with Voldy.
Also loved the way JK had Voldy as a threat for 2 books (COS and POA) even though he wasnt really a threat - he was bide-ing for the "right" time.
And still cannot get into OotP!

[hedwig]

the 2 Comic Relief books were excellent. Very informative and for any that dont have them - GET THEM!!
(Reminds me - have to get Magical Beasts back!)

[kats]

It's so strange to me that so many people like GoF the best. To me that book was so slow. I struggled through it. It is the only one I didn't just fly through.

[Kit M.]

That's weird. I struggled through it at first because, i was like 7 or something when I tried to read it. With school now, I finish it in a week if I read it continuosly.

[Gwendolyn Snow]

I totally agree with kats about people reading the series now are not able to have the full experience of digesting all the delicious clues she's left for us. A teacher friend of mine is finally reading the series (she's on PoA and kicking herself for missing it all this time--I told her so!) and I told her she HAS TO wait an ENTIRE MONTH between GoF and OotP!! And I mean it!! I told her the rest of the fans had to wait two and a half YEars and I had to wait one year because of being behind myself in starting to read. She is going to respect my wishes and I'm grateful. I'm so excited about having another adult to discuss them with here in the real world. I'm actually kinda going easy on her because she's trying to keep her mind off the loser she used to date. HP is such wonderful therapy.

POA gets my vote btw. I think gof and hbp come in a close second, but I just LOVEd it so much! Hearing tonks impression of the finer points of Gof make me almost want to change my mind though. HMMMMmmm