Harry Potter and My Reading Diaries: Part I

Since I graduated high school, one of the things at the top of my bucket list has been to read Harry Potter. It was one of those things where everyone in my year knew and understood the references from either watching the movies or reading the books, and I was kind of in the dark.

Now, I’ve read the books for the first time, and I am ready to share my reactions with you. Be warned: there are many spoilers in this post.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Reading this made me kind of shrug my shoulders. I’ll be honest, I probably borrowed this book from a friend for over a year, and I restarted it so many times because it didn’t hold my interest in the beginning.

Then I just trudged through it, and yes, it was interesting, but I can’t say that I understood what made everyone’s eyes widen with excitement. It was a good book, probably serving as a good introduction to a new world and a new series.

For me, though, I knew that Snape was not trying to kill Harry. That would have been way too obvious, and if J.K. Rowling had done that, I think I would stop reading the series right then. Since she didn’t, and I’m not made about anything, I kept reading.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Okay, this one was better than the last. Granted, Malfoy is still annoyingly arrogant, but this one was a bit out of the box for me, in a good way.

Like, who would have assumed that someone from a book could come to life? Granted, poor Ginny, but you can’t say that Harry doesn’t notice her now. He’s not gonna forget the fact that he barely died trying to save her.

And how long has the world been talking about flying cars? And Gilderoy Lockhart is an interesting character, as well as Dobby the house elf. They added some humor that I needed as I read, to balance the fear aspect of the book.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Okay, now I’m probably hooked. I think this one is probably my favorite so far, just because I have always loved the concept of new found hope, and family is so important to me, and now Harry has someone to really call family. He has Sirius now.

And the way it all played out was the emotional roller coaster that has made me understand why everyone is so hooked. From thinking that he was out to getting him, to thinking that he was the reason his parents died, to realizing that none of that is true. Lupin would have to be my favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to date, and Peter Pettigrew is worse than Malfoy at this point.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I started this book with high expectations, because one of my favorite people in the world said that this was their favorite book in the entire series.

Then I finished the book, and I don’t know where to begin.

I guess there’s the obvious. Cedric Diggory is dead, and I balled my eyes out because he didn’t even need to die, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and because Harry had a strong morale, he died. There’s not much else to describe how wrong or messed up that I feel about it.

I feel like I’m now in that backward free fall of falling in love with these books. It seems that they just get better and better as the series progresses. There were so many twists and turns. Like the fact that Barty Crouch Jr. impersonated Mad-Eye. Then the majority of the book was about the TriWizard Tournament challenges, which added something extra to the school year.

Although, the fact that Dumbledore allowed Harry to go through with the tournament makes me think that he might have been trying to send Harry to his own death. Like, can Harry just get through one school year without being afraid of death?

 

Do you have any interest in the Pottermore world, or are you already invested? What house do you think you belong to? And who is your favorite character, or one that you really relate to?

There are so many things going through my mind about the series, I would really love to hear your perspective on things if you’re willing to share them. If you’re interested in seeing my reaction to the rest of the series, I hope you’re following my blog, or have signed up to be on the email list.

Love Always,

Kristi My♥