Getting Into Harry Potter

Post by **Alice Averi** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 9:59 pm

It's pretty simple, a friend recommended them, and so I decided to give them a chance. They were never really one of my favorites series up until the 3rd or 4th book, but I liked them enough to keep reading them and now I love them. I've also turned some of my friends into HP addicts too, it's been fun. And that's basically it.

Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:34 am

I had just moved from IL to TN to start my career as a pro-wrestler and I was living with a friend. I had heard of Harry Potter before this of course. However, I had yet to be interested in them at all. Being bored and low on money, I was looking for something to do...anything to do. So my friend had the first four books. I picked up the first one and I started to read.

About six hours later I was finished with the first book and my friend put in the first DVD. Which had just come out at the time I believe. Right after that I started reading the second book, followed by the third, then the fourth.

Then there was the long wait for the 5th book, which came out the summer after. I've been hooked ever since.

i've read each book twice and now I am listeing to the audiobooks. It's great and passes so much time at work. I love how Stephen Fry reads them too.

I also own all the DVDs and have watched them many times as well.

So that is how I Anna Marie GioVanni discovered and became hooked on HP.

Anna Marie Giovanni (Gryffindor, 1st year, an829, USA)

Post by **Ayahzy Nahki** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:28 pm

My family already owned the current Harry Potter books at the time(Christmas '00). My sisters, who are three years older than me, were already hooked. All they wanted to do was read them. Being seven years old, I wanted them to play with me, not read. So I admit t, I hid their Harry Potter books just so they would play with me. (under the sofa cushions, behind doors, ext.)
Then, for Christmas that year, my uncle gave my sisters a Harry Potter trivia board game for Christmas. "Yes", I thought,"maybe now they would play that silly book game with me." I was surprised to find out, that as I did not read the book, I couldn't really answer any of the questions. So, my father read the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to me.
That night I snuck back into the living room and took the book. I finished it by flashlight that very night.
After reading the published series, I attempted to find a peer to discuss the books with. Aqain, I was surprised that none of my fellow seven year olds had read the series. (After all, that year I read the most books in the whole school, even those two years older than be). Therefore I resorted to Harry Potter websites.
More books came out, movies appeared in box offices, and my library formed a "DA" Harry Potter club. Someone there recommended this site to me. So, I joined and it is wonderful!

Signed: Ayahzy Nahki, Ravenclaw, first year, ay801, USA

Post by **Ron Lupin** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:22 pm

How I got into Harry Potter is a very long story!!!! I started to get into Harry Potter in like 3rd grade!!! My brother and I had the Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone on Playstation, so he would play it a lot!!!!! I would watch him play and help him out. One day, I tried the game out, and I fell in love. So then I started to read the first Harry Potter book and I kept reading that for hours on end. I would have never put that book down!!!! My brother only had the first two books, so when I finished both of them, I asked my mom to go and get me book 3, 4, & 5 for me. I just kept reading them and reading them. Then the 6th book came out, and I fell in love with that. I read all of them and I was eager to see all the movies, so for my birthday, my mom bought me the first 2 Harry potter movies on VHS. Then, we got a Playstation 2, so we could now watch DVD's on it, so my mom bought me the 3rd and 4th one on DVD. I'm still pushing her to get me the first 2 on DVD!!!! So, everything I do has to be about Harry Potter. Most of my conversations are about them and sometimes, I even pretend to do magic and dress up like Harry Potter and concocte potions and conjure spells. I know, I know, I'm very obsessed!!!!

Ron Lupin Gryffindor ro810 USA

Post by **Brett Daniel** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:59 pm

I first got into Harry Potter when i was in fifth grade. Everynight we had to read and I had heard so much about this great book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. I picked it up and not being very interested in reading at all, i would skim the pages. Soon, I got bored of doing that so I actually started reading it from page one. Quickly I became entranced in the magical world and I could not get enough. Just in fifth grade I read from book one to book four. And the is my story of how I got into Harry Potter.

Brett Daniel (Hufflepuff, br811, USA)

Post by **Jesse LeFay** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 2:43 pm

Well, it was around back in...4th grade I guess. I liked reading, as a hobby and one rainy playtime during which I was extremely bored, I discovered a huge book called Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I already loved magic, so even though it was a pretty big book I decided to just try it....and loved it. My best friend and I were in a race to finish off the remaining 3 books heh. A couple of years later, I got into the online wizarding world and hopped from one forum to another, glad to find like-minded people.
*g* I never really DID stop hoping that maybe the whole book thing was J.K.R.'s cover up and maybe just maybe there really was Hogwarts, unplottable to muggles and I could get my acceptance letter in the summer as a reward for being such a fan. Needless to say, no letter came, as I knew it wouldn't. Ah well, kids are allowed to dream, right? /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Jesse LeFay (Slytherin, je804, UK)

Post by **Brenna Westfeld** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:34 pm

Once upon a time...

Honestly, it does feel like that long ago. I can't remember a time when I wasn't reading the HP books. I believe that the first time I read Philosopher's Stone was shortly before Prisoner of Azkaban came out.

Now what you need to know is that I have an insatiable appetite for books. Whether there was any hype about HP or not, I would have read the series regardless, probably just later than sooner. The hype just makes it more fun /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> Anyway, I believe that my mom bought PS because we had heard so much about it, and of course, we both devoured it rather quickly (since it is such a short book after all). Next came CoS of course, and luckily PoA came out shortly after, so pretty much bang, bang, bang and we were both through the three released books. I am a huge fan of any kind of literature, so the fact that they were labelled as kid lit didn't mean anything. I mean, I still read Nancy Drew once in a while just for fun!

I am exceedingly envious of those of you who have just discovered the series recently, as you have not had to deal with the waiting for the next book! Oh, how I pined for Goblet of Fire. I marked the days until Order of the Phoenix (and read it in 24 hrs!) For Half Blood Prince, I was actually working as an intern in Germany (and had been there for a year) and so I promised myself that I wouldn't buy it until I got home, because I couldn't afford the weight of a hardcover book in my luggage, never mind everything else I was bringing back! But then one day I walked by the Hugendubel bookstore, and lo and behold there were English versions so neatly stacked... I could almost hear them calling my name! So I bought it /tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />

Now this all makes me sound obssessed enough...but I have yet to mention that before every new book comes out, I read all the previous ones to catch up again! Even for Half Blood Prince, while I was in Germany, my family came to visit twice, so I had them bring the books in rotation! The PoA film I actually saw in German first (very strange, let me tell you) and it's a darn good thing I knew the plot, because I had to sit there whispering the whole story to my boyfriend because we had only just arrived overseas and didn't speak any German yet.

So that is my story of Harry Potter. I will be so devastated when I finish that last book and know that JK Rowling won't be continuing the story.. however, I'll still have all the other books to read, and reread, and reread, and reread, and......

Brenna Westfeld (Gryffindor, br818, Canada)

Post by **Ryouko Palma** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 7:38 pm

It was years and years ago...in junior high school actually. My friend and I had always had a friendly rivalry going on. I was a Star Wars fanatic, and she was a Harry Potter fanatic. We had so many random, inane, pointless arguments trying to figure out which one was better. I think by polling a lot of people, it eventually turned out that Star Wars was more popular (but then again, Harry Potter was newer too).

But then a year or two later, I was wandering one day and I found the Sorcerors Stone being sold for cheap, so I bought it, for 25 cents!

A few years after that, this year, some of my other friends are really obsessed about Harry Potter (but not as fanatical as my original friend) and they really got me into it.

Eventually, I reconciled the two. Star Wars and Harry Potter are just too different to compare with each other. But both are great! /laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

Ryouko Palma (Ravenclaw, ry800, USA)

Post by **Emily Aca** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 1:25 am

As soon as the Harry Potter books made their apperance, my aunt calls up and tells my mother not to let me read them. Her excuse was religion, obviously. She said that she read in the paper that it was against the church because of all the wizardry and spells, I guess that it's considered EVIL! (I really don't know.) Of course my mom didn't want to cause a rift so she did the typical Yes yes yes! But later on she bought the books!

When I was in 6th grade, I started to read them but I didn't really understand them quite well so I stopped. (Horrible, right?)

By the time I hit 8th grade, I saw everyone with a Harry Potter book in their hands. So I thought, "Why not try them again?" I mean I loved the movies and it's great who plays Harry (hehe.)

When I got off the bus, I told my mom that I was going to start to read them again and of course she was fine with it. As soon as I picked up the first book, I couldn't put it down! I thought it was amazing and they got better with every single word!

Let's just say I wasn't the fastest reader in the world, but I finished the first two books in a matter of weeks! So then I started on the next book and I loved it. But then the books became larger and I even had to get an extension time so I could finish the fourth one. I absolutely love them though! Then I picked up the pace and started reading like mad again up until the last book!

I even get unbelievebly into the books so much that when a character dies, I cry like a baby!!! That just proves how amazing these books are.

After reading the books and watching the movies, I would consider myself a HUGE fan! I mean... I am a student on a virtual Hogwarts! But, that is how I got into Harry Potter!

Emily Aca (Gryffindor, em812, USA)

Post by **Anna Marie Giovanni** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:30 am

Emily Aca wrote:QUOTE (Emily Aca @ Aug 18 2006, 07:25 PM) As soon as the Harry Potter books made their apperance, my aunt calls up and tells my mother not to let me read them. Her excuse was religion, obviously. She said that she read in the paper that it was against the church because of all the wizardry and spells, I guess that it's considered EVIL! (I really don't know.) Of course my mom didn't want to cause a rift so she did the typical Yes yes yes! But later on she bought the books!

When I was in 6th grade, I started to read them but I didn't really understand them quite well so I stopped. (Horrible, right?)

By the time I hit 8th grade, I saw everyone with a Harry Potter book in their hands. So I thought, "Why not try them again?" I mean I loved the movies and it's great who plays Harry (hehe.)

When I got off the bus, I told my mom that I was going to start to read them again and of course she was fine with it. As soon as I picked up the first book, I couldn't put it down! I thought it was amazing and they got better with every single word!

Let's just say I wasn't the fastest reader in the world, but I finished the first two books in a matter of weeks! So then I started on the next book and I loved it. But then the books became larger and I even had to get an extension time so I could finish the fourth one. I absolutely love them though! Then I picked up the pace and started reading like mad again up until the last book!

I even get unbelievebly into the books so much that when a character dies, I cry like a baby!!! That just proves how amazing these books are.

After reading the books and watching the movies, I would consider myself a HUGE fan! I mean... I am a student on a virtual Hogwarts! But, that is how I got into Harry Potter!

Emily Aca (Gryffindor, em812, USA)

I hate that whole Harry Potter is the devil and evil, religious stuff.

All that should matter is kids are reading them. Not playing video games, doing drugs, comitting crimes, ect.

Post by **Sofia Andersen** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 3:15 am

My Harry Potter story's set in stages.

When I was in seventh grade (I think it was that year, anyway), my brother was seven, and my aunt, uncle and cousins got him Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for Christmas. Well, he didn't read it, and he didn't want Mom to read it to him, so I decided to see what the big deal was about Harry Potter, and I read the damned book myself. I loved it.

After I read the first one I wanted to read the second. So I ended up buying a copy in paperback because the library's copies were all out. I loved that one too. I actually ended up watching both movies in the theater.

But I never got around to reading the third one. By the time it came out, I had moved on and forgotten how much I liked the series. I thought I should get around to reading it, but the books were always out of the library, so I gave up.

Time passed. I graduated from high school and went to college, and I still hadn't read or seen any further than Chamber of Secrets. During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college (i.e. last summer), I decided to catch up and read the bloody things, finally. I borrowed them from libraries and from a friend, and finally, during my third semester, I finished Half-Blood Prince.

I was freaking hooked. I finally borrowed the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD from the front desk of my dorm (I couldn't allow myself to watch the movies before I read the books) and I saw Goblet of Fire in the theater. When it came out on DVD, my friends and I had a marathon, complete with lots of discussion, and my obsession has been running rampant ever since.

Sofia Andersen (Ravenclaw, so806, USA)

Post by **Alexia Crowning** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:15 am

My son received the 4 book boxed set as a christmas gift. He was too young to read it on his own so I began reading it to him. Every night I would read a section to him. Everynight he would fall asleep and I would get lost in the book and continue to read. I was hooked from the first book. I remember when book five came out I was in an airport and couldn't wait for the store to open so I could get my hands on it. Once I finally had it and sat down in the terminal, I looked around and realized that about half of the people there were all reading it (all adults!) The books have really helped my son and I bond. We debate what will happen next all the time. I am so looking forward to book 7 and also dreading it at the same time. I want to know, but I don't want it to end.

Post by **Stephen Cry** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:32 pm

Hi mates!

Now you remind me... it was interestin how I crossed into Harry Potter books. The fourth had already been published and I still had not read any of the books. I read a lot of books, almost ten a month, so it was very strange. I had heard of Harry Potter of course but I thought it was another stupid book for children. Then my younger cousin lent me the first one (which had been lent to him by one of his friends). I found the first two chapters a little boring but I decided to continue reading... and I fell in love with it. In two month I read all the books and now I've read them in Italian and English several times.

Post by **Lilly Weasley** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:23 am

How did I get into Harry Potter you ask! It's a funny story actually. My daughter, who was abour two and a half when S.S. came out and she wanted to go and see the movie. I told her she couldn't go and see it. She dropped in and a couple years later CoS comes out and again my daughter is begging me to take her to see it. I tell her nope! So instead I break down and I buy SS on DVD for her and for me! I loved it so much I got CoS too. Then one day I was talking to my mom about the movies and if they were that good...the books had to be better...my mom then informed me that a lot of adults were reading them. So I broke down and went to my local half price book store and bought the first three books. I've been addicted ever since! Thanks to my daughter and her love for Harry Potter *cough* I mean Ron Weasley *cough*

Post by **Serenity Thomas** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:32 am

How I got into Harry Potter is quite unlike how other Harry Potter fans got into it I like to think. I was around a sophomore in high school so about six years ago when I saw my first book, it wasnâ€™t mine of course because being a sophomore in high school I was too old to read a book like that. I like many other people who I went to school with felt the same way. The book belonged to my younger brother and when he asked me if I would like to read it I at once told him no and that it was a childâ€™s book.

That was a big mistake on my part, a few months later I was babysitting my younger cousin who was also into Harry Potter, like most of my family I can honestly say that all of my aunts, uncles and most of my cousin are big supporters of Harry. So I asked Rachel, thatâ€™s my cousinâ€™s name, what she would like to do and she had recently bought Sorcererâ€™s Stone on DVD and wanted to watch it. Long story short we ended up watching it.

My first reaction was OMG this is the best thing since sliced bread! She of course rubbed it in my nose saying that she told me so. As soon as she left that day I rushed upstairs and into my brotherâ€™s room, we looked at each other as I walked in and over to the book, I simply said â€œyoinkâ€ and grabbed it, only to rush in my room and read it in one sitting. That was it I was addicted to the Harry Potter world, luckily for me it was only a few months until Chamber of Secrets was released into theaters.

I bought all four books and read them all within a week I think it was and that was it I was putty whenever it ever came back to Harry Potter and I personally wouldnâ€™t want it any other way.

Serenity Thomas (Gryffindor, se801, USA)

Post by **Amica Somnium** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:06 am

I was about six (I really can't remember!), and my Grandad had dropped around a book with a funny cover (or so I thought at the time), that he had heard about, and thought that I might enjoy. So, as I was only just getting 'good' at reading at the time, I read to myself, and my Mum read bits to me. Half way through the second book, we stopped, but picked it up again, about a year later. When I was on about book 4, I was obsessed! My Mum and I would search the internet for anything to do with Harry Potter! I am now looking forward to the release of the seventh book!

Hurry up!!! /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

Post by **Amarie Stewart** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 7:06 am

The first HP book I read was Prisoner of Azkaban. They'd used it at my college for some kind of freshman class, and I picked up a used copy at the book sale we have every semester. Just looked interesting, I guess. Plus I was surprised that they allowed any HP book on campus, since it's a Christian college. I didn't read any of the rest for almost two years, however, until I went to work at Barnes & Noble--a 6-year-old came up to me on my very first day there and said, "How many of the Harry Potter books have you read? I've read them all 3 times each!!"
I was not going to allow a six-year-old to be more well-read than I was....and luckily as an employee I got to take the books home and read them for free....so I started at the beginning and read all the way through book 5 within a couple of weeks! Then I had to wait for book 6. I hate waiting. Read that in a night (sleep? what is this sleep you speak of?) and now I'm waiting for book 7. And that's about it! /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

Post by **Leigh Adara** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:10 pm

I got into the Harry Potter books in Grade 4, when my teacher, Mrs. Weurgler (my favourite teacher ever) started reading them. HP PS had come out the year before, and Mrs. Weurgler's daughter, who was two years older than the kids in our class read it and loved it. Mrs. Weurgler read it and loved and, and so she read it to our class. We read a chapter every Friday and if we were really good and finished our work early, she would read it to us even if it wasn't Friday, which we thought was a real treat! It was love at first word, I suppose, since she was reading them to us, but still, it was love! When we got about half way through HP PS, the school board banned Harry Potter because it was a Catholic School Board and they for some reason thought that the books, containing some violence and darkness and loads of magic, went against our morals and beliefs as Catholics. I was outraged and heart broken! My whole class was upset, but Mrs. Weurgler said that she had to follow the rules.
In elementary school we had Scholastic Book Orders, where we would get little flyers with books for sale and we could buy them through the school. So the book order after Harry Potter was banned, they had HP PS for sale and I bought it, with my own money! Almost half my class got it and we would sit outside and read it at recess and when we had free time in class we would read it. I suppose it was like our rebellion or pettition or something. I thought it was funny, though, Mrs. Weurgler just pretended she didn't see that that was the book we were reading! The next year, the School Board lifted the ban, but HP was still frowned upon by some teachers and parents at my school.
So, I am now in Grade 11 and I have been a faithful Harry Potter lover since the fourth grade! I owe it all to my favourite teacher, Mrs. Weurgler! /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

Leigh Adara (Gryffindor, le816, Canada)

Post by **Braeden Delacour** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:30 am

I had never been much of a reader. Nothing would ever catch my interest, or even if I did have a small amount of interest, I usually wouldn't make it passed the first chapter.

I had heard of Harry Potter in passing. I just kind of laughed at the thought of ever getting me to read the book. I only thought of it as being on book rather than a series. Harry Potter was for children, and adults must simply be mad for even thinking about reading it. One of my friends was into it, and I just figured it silly.

At any rate, one afternoon during the summer, I was flipping through the channels. As usual, there was never much on day time television. I finally reached the movie channels, thinking that there'd be at least one good movie on. Nothing. Trying to find something, I saw that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was on. Despite my thinking of it being soley a children's book and movie, I kept it on.

The movie ended up dragging me in, with the different effects (not necessarily special effects, but more of the magical aspect of the film), and especially the music. The music really added to the nature of the film. After the movie had ended, I decided that it really hadn't been that bad.

Later that Fall, I started seeing previews for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Not giving it the usual eye roll as I had done upon seeing the Sorcerer Stone's previews, I decided this one might be worth a watch. While I thought it'd be all right to see, I wasn't quite sure if I really wanted to sit in the theature for a long time, not knowing if I could get into this one like I had started the first one.

One weekend my friend that was reading the books asked me to go along. I ended up giving in and going. It turns out I enjoyed this film as much as I had the first. My friend insisted that I read the books since they were better than the films. Again I had to look back at my feelings for them before I really knew what they were, but I decided to take her up on that. I ended up checking out the first four books as that's all that was out at the time from the library.

It was tough because I had recently just seen the first two movies, and didn't feel like going over them again, however, I didn't just want to jump again to number three. I slowly began to read during my study hall period. As I started getting into the books of which I knew nothing of, I started reading more on my off time. By Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I became hooked.

My friend and I started discussing Harry Potter every lunch period. It ranged from theories to what's been going on, etc. In some ways I'm disappointed in the fact that I hadn't given them a try a bit earlier, but I do try to look on the bright side as I didn't have long to wait before book five was released.

Since then, I laugh at how stupid I was to think of the books in such a way before I ever gave them a chance. Now, I enjoy every bit of them.

Braeden Delacour ( Hufflepuff, br675, USA )

Post by **Phoebe Mangrove** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:20 am

hello,,,,!!!

i have two friends who's really crazy 'bout harry potter....
i don't really like reading much and i was not really interesting in those books..
and then..when holiday, i tried to borrow one of hers...it has been 5 or 6 years ago
i read it and the next moment...i really love it!!!!

and since i read the 5th book..it seems i really really love it...i wish i could get into that story,,,i study about it
try to find some website which can enlarge my knowledge bout it...