I have a confession to make and I’m not sure how I feel about admitting this to the general public, but here goes.
I have only read the first four Harry Potter books.
I can hear all of you shrieking “You WHAT??” right now. It’s sad but true. (I’m not going to tell you how many Jenny’s read, but I’ll give you a hint – it starts with “z” and ends with “ero”).
I love books. The idea that zillions of kids line up at midnight to buy the latest book (as opposed to, say, the Wii or whatever that thing is called) gives me hope for the future. I am very ashamed of myself for not getting on the bandwagon as well.
I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to catch up with the rest of the world and get this book read… but I’m not sure how to go about it.
I vaguely remember the first four books. Should I start with number five (I couldn’t tell you what the title of any of them to save my life, so bear with me as I refer to them by number) or go back to number one? I don’t know.
So I’m leaving it up to all of you Harry Potter experts. The results of the poll below will determine my Harry Potter fate! Make sure you vote before Friday at midnight so I can start reading over the weekend… and leave a comment to tell me why you voted the way you did.
Do you have an idea that I didn’t think of? Let me know, and I’ll add it to the poll.
Thanks for helping me make this crucial decision!
I voted for read them all again. But you could also listen to them on tape/CD if you want, that’s a good idea, although expensive unless your library carries them. I say you should re-read them, only because so much happens to Harry in Order of the Phoenix (the 5th book) that you need to understand the subtleties (spelling?) behind the reason the characters react the way they do. Even if you only re-read books 3&4 as opposed to all of them you’d really enjoy the story more.
I’m with Jenny on this one. I just don’t have the time to devote to reading a million paged book just so that I can converse with the average ten year old about them. I just don’t feel like they will add anything to my life. Move on wasn’t an option, so I chose the less popular “watch the movie” option. At least that includes popcorn 🙂
Thanks for ratting me out, cousin!
I, too, have only read the first few books. I read them through when I was tutoring elementary students while I was in college. My oldest wants to see the movies, but we do have a rule in our house that we read the book first BEFORE we see the movie. We did this with Narnia and Charlottes Web. She has already started showing interest in reading Harry Potter so I may start reading it with her soon… starting from the first book and then reading them through. It will take a while, but at least I will get to spend quality time with her. And maybe by the time we finish the last book the final movie will be out and we can have a HUGE movie marathon together.
I was just thinking the same thing yesterday, Emily. Only I only made it through the first 2 1/2. I was trying to figure out how to even have time to reread, and Lord knows I can’t remember anything about them. I LOVE the books on tape idea. I’m thinking it would be easy to listen in car! Thanks for the idea!! (I’ll race you to the library!)
Hi! I just wanted to pop over and say thanks for visiting my blog to enter my giveaway! (If you’re like me, and entered 294575038732 of them, most of which you don’t remember, mine was for some handmade cards).
Anyway, I’m glad you did, because I love your blog–you crack me up! I’ll have to become a regular reader. 🙂
Finally (this comment is getting long), I wanted to say that I voted for read them all again. The only DOWNside of that would be the worry that someone will spoil the end for you before you finish all of the books!
I am in the zero camp too. I think if I had kids that were old enough to read them or was into fantasy type books I would have jumped in on the mania, but I didn’t. So I really can’t help much, sorry!
I think you should add the option of “Don’t waist your time & read something a little less wichcrafty” Not that fantasy doesn’t have it’s place. I for one LOVE LOTR. I just feel that children’s books are not the place to be promoting wichcraft. I try not to speak to strongly about the books as I have not read any of them nor do I plan on watching any of the movies. So this is actually my uneducated opinion. I think the only positive thing about Harry Potter is that it is getting kids excited about reading.