I’ve noticed in a lot of the H Potter discussions lately that there are a considerable amount of people who list Goblet of Fire as their favorite of the series so far. :blink Maybe this is because that’s when a lot of people started reading the series and a lot of times, everyone’s “first” is their best? Or maybe… they just like long, rambling and often pointless stories? *ducks* :ignore :lol :jk
I have to say that isn’t my case. Here are my order of favorites:
- Prisoner of Azkaban
- Half-Blood Prince
- Order of the Phoenix
- Chamber of Secrets
- Sorcerer’s Stone
- Goblet of Fire
Prisoner of Azkaban may well be my favorite forever. As much as I like the newer books, I don’t think I like them any more than I liked Book 3. I loved the introduction of Sirius, Lupin is my favorite character in the whole series, I have a sort of werewolf fixation anyhow and the whole end with Buckbeak and the Time Turner and all that was so fabulous I could read it over and over. Goblet of Fire, I felt, fell short in a lot of categories. The book was too long. There was a lot of extraneous stuff, too much time in between tasks. The Quidditch World Cup at the beginning wasn’t enough quidditch by a long shot. I never have enjoyed Cho Chang and there was a lot about her in this one. (One of the reasons I like OOTP so well is that he and Cho break up.) I did enjoy the end, but it was a case of “too little too late”. If the book had been a lot shorter, I probably would have enjoyed it more. And I usually really love really long books! Oh well. I’m still looking forward to the movie.
Half-Blood Prince was fantastic, maybe almost as good as POA, but I think my agony over the ending may prevent it from being my favorite. So a close second is a good rating. 
I love how the characters (and J.K. herself!) have matured by this book.
And if you don’t read H Potter at all? Shame on you. 
You’re totally missing out.
{ 3 comments }
Garnet (12 comments.) 07.26.05 at 6:08 pm
Hmmm…good question. I really like Goblet of Fire because it’s the first time very much goes on outside of the campus or Hogsmede. You’re introduced to a bunch of new and important (long-term) characters and are able to witness Harry’s first real leap forward in growth (as opposed to the first two where he’s mostly settling in to the school and magical world and such). But I like Order of the Phoenix for similar reasons. I like the introduction of so many more characters. I especially love the house elf stories in both of those books! That’s how come I named my Chihuahua Dobby!
Zoot 07.27.05 at 7:39 am
I started reading the series right before book 3 came out…like maybe even days before, so book 3 was the first one I “waited” for, I guess, and I LOVED it, DEARLY. But - I think I liked GoF so much because I learned so much more about the wizarding world in general, the other schools, the world cup, the mer-world, it was all so fascinating and new and different.
But, MrZ’s favorite is PoA which is why, I think, he didnt like the movie. He loved the book SO MUCH that the movie was a let down simply because so much was missing. I’m hopign I dont have the same reaction to GoF movie, because I WANT to LOVE IT!
Jen P 07.27.05 at 4:33 pm
I started with Book 1 way back in the day. I really, really liked it. 2 was even better! Whoo hoo. Then came 3. While I liked it, it just…I dunno. I didn’t like the darker side it took. I was sooo pleased with Book 4. I know it didn’t serve much point in the overall nature of HP but I loved the quest and the characters and it was just good fun.
I own book 5 but just can’t get past page 50. I don’t know what my mental block is! I’ve tried 5 times!! I think it’s because I love Book 4 too much.
Hope you’re doing well.
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