This post by Jennifer Flaten
Our local movie theater is running all seven Harry Potter movies, one a week for the month of October. 
I am a Harry Potter fan. I’ll admit, not from the very beginning. Actually, when they first came out I considered them only for young adults. Then a coworker talked the book up. She was reading the series with one of her kids, and was surprised to find herself enjoying the story.
Despite her recommendation, I still wasn’t sure if I should read it, my kids were too young for me to read it with them and it felt weird reading it by myself. One day at the library, I couldn’t find any new releases I wanted. As I walked headed into the kids section to find some books for the kids my eyes were drawn to the Harry Potter shelf.
There must have been six copies of each of the books. Since I didn’t have anything else to read, I grabbed the Sorcerer’s Stone.
I read it in one night. From then on, I was hooked. I read each book and spent time an embarrassingly large amount of time dissecting the plot with my husband. Who, I might mention is a great sport, because he hadn’t read the book himself. He smiled and nodded in the appropriate places during my rants about characters and plot development.
As the kids got older they decided, on their own, to read the series. All three tried the series, but only two loved the books. One kid preferred to wait for us to watch the movie version.
My husband, feeling left out, decided to read the series, although, he didn’t really broadcast that information to anyone outside our immediate family.
He loved it. I think he’s read the entire series twice. We spent several family movie nights watching the movie series. We own the DVD boxed set and several Harry Potter themed Lego sets.
Since we missed the movies in the theater first run, we decided to see at least on the movies during this theater run. Last night we saw the Sorcerer’s Stone. It was great. People came wearing house scarves, a Weasely sweater and one person had a wand, which they lit it up and waved round at the end of the movie to a thunderous round of applause.
It was great fun, so much so that we might go to another one.
Writing Wranglers and Warriors 
If I lived where you do I wouldn’t miss one of the movies! Yes, a true Harry Potter fan. I can’t remember why I decided to read the books, but once I started I couldn’t stop. I love the characters, setting, plot, and just about everything else about the series. I’ve read the books three times, I think, and it’s about time for another reading. I’ve seen the movies countless times and I enjoy them every time. Oh, forgot to mention: When I had my first back surgery, Harry and his friends kept me company while I recuperated. I was in heaven!
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My husband was the first to get into Harry – even asked for the books as presents . He’s always loved sci-fi and fantasy. We’ve seen the movies countless times and read the earlier books at least twice. I kinda lost interest with book six and I don’t think I’ve ever read seven.
It was so great that Rowling created such interesting characters that kids were willing to sit down and read long books. Have fun with the retrospective. It’s definitely worth it to see them on a big screen.
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Such fun. Lost interest in the stories, but enjoyed the early ones. Just too much demand on the time. Sometime I will finish the series. Still the movies were well done adn quite fun. Enjoy! Doris
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My brother was the same way about Star Wars that you are about Harry Potter. Happy reading and movie watching.
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I’ve never been a big fan of Harry Potter novels or movies. It’s all subjective, I know. Take for instance the Lord of the Rings books. I read them in college and loved them. Saw the movies, even the awful animated one from the late ’70s. On my trips to a friend’s place in Cleveland to see an Indians game together, we’d do marathon LOTR movie watching. But I know others don’t like the books or the movies, including my sister. I noticed a discussion going on in one of the writers’ groups on FB; most hated the Robert Jordan and Stephen Donaldson sword-and-sorcery epics. I liked them, though the late Jordan could infuriate me when he included a plot thread at the beginning of one book and didn’t pick it up until the next book.
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That sounds like such fun! I love the Harry Potter books and movies! I was a little slow coming to the party–it was book 3 that hooked me. But after that, die hard fan. I’ve read most of them multiple times. I’ve been thinking it’s about time to reread them. But there are so many books to read, and there’s so little time…
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You children are so lucky that they have parents that are actively engaged in their lives.
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Watching all of the movies one after the other is a great idea but quite a marathon. Reading them in sequence quickly is also a feat of dedication. I loved them and read them in tandem with my daughters when the books came out. My 2 daughters and I went to see the films when they came out – even though they were adults by then.
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I also admit to a Harry Potter addiction. Have loved the books from the beginning, also reading the first one in a day and anxiously awaiting the next. This is the only set of books I’ve reread (3 times now) and I’ve been to Harry Potter world and would move there if I could.
Great post.
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