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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections -> Reading Room

Harry Potter

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GrowingUp

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:15 pm

Should I read it?

Some background: I'm a voracious reader, but haven't really read much the past few years. Busy with the little ones and really don't have time to get lost in a book. Is the series very addictive? Like will I have to read all 7 in two weeks?

My mom never let me read it because I have a cousin who was just a little bit too much of a fan. She didn't think it was healthy... Well I'm almost 30 and feel like I've been missing out. Am I too old? Did I miss the boat?

amother

Wine

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:21 pm

I’m reading it now with my 8 year old. I read it when I was younger and as each book came out. I am noticing a lot more as I’m older and I wonder why some parts didn’t bother me as a kid. I think it’s a great book.

yonabets

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:23 pm

I love reading,and it's a principle" we never miss a boat for a book".I love reading the books of my youths,the one I read already and the one I didn't...
There is no age for reading, just go , read and enjoy all the Harry Potters .(I am french ,so please don't look at my writing mistakes)

little neshamala

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:31 pm

READ IT!

traveller!

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:40 pm

Definitely read it!

monseymom25

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:41 pm

I read them for the first time as an adult and I LOVED them!

imorethanamother

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:43 pm

I think I've re-read these books so often, I can win any trivia game.

I'm a voracious reader, but I come back to these books time after time, and it's enjoyable with each red.

youngishbear

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:52 pm

Yes, read the series.

You probably missed the boat on the obsession factor.

Also, having watched adults give up too early, I'll just add that you might have to force yourself to get through the first two or three. It gets darker and more serious later in the series.

Last edited by youngishbear on Mon, Aug 22 2022, 5:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

Aurora

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:55 pm

I think it's definitely worth a try.

Though I always feel like it's really two trilogies bridged by book 4. The tone starts becoming much darker in that book.

Librarian

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 4:59 pm

Oh yes read it for sure!!

amother

Lightcoral

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 5:03 pm

They're really good and absorbing - well plotted, imaginative and a great escape.

little neshamala

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 5:06 pm

Going to agree with a previous poster-if the first books feel too juvenile, keep reading until you hit the 4th book.
Ive read the series so many times, beginning in childhood and tons of times since.
Now my children are reading it too and I shep so much nachas watching them becoming obsessed over it as well 😃

weasley

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 5:27 pm

Definitely recommend reading! And yes you can read and reread and keep seeing new things!

amother

Copper

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 5:36 pm

I was in my 40s when the first book came out and I inhaled it, then waited eagerly for the subsequent volumes to appear. The reading is sophisticated but it pulls you along and doesn't feel like a chore. I think if you try binge-reading you may get tired of it; or maybe not. In any case, the series is finished so far, so it's not as if you'll be reading it for the next seventeen years. A good reader can get through the entire series in a matter of weeks. As long as you don't neglect your family to read it, what does it matter how long or short it takes you to read it?

Many RW frum people object to it because of the "magical" elements, and even more RW people object to the very light boy-girl awareness that appears in later volumes. I have no problem with elementary-school kids reading what is essentially a fairy-tale because even first graders know the difference between a fairy tale and real life. Nor do I have a problem with a kid in late elementary school reading a book in which teens start to "date" or become aware of the opposite s$x as the opposite s$x and not just pals with a different hairdo. YMMV, of course. You're either married or have been, so reading about teens thinking about dancing together at the year-end dance shouldn't shake you down to your foundations.

The later volumes have some truly dark elements that are inappropriate for very young children or extremely impressionable ones. However, the reading level is such that six-year-olds aren't reading them. If you're almost 30, you should be able to handle it. Anyone old enough to read in detail about the atrocities perpetrated by the Romans, the Inquisition, Crusades and Holocaust, is old enough to read Harry Potter start to finish.

GrowingUp

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 10:15 pm

Thank you all! I’ll go for it then!

I tend to binge read. Hopefully this won’t keep me up for too many nights.

Goldie613

Mon, Aug 22 2022, 11:46 pm

And once you've read them, you can decide if you want to give Goldstein a try ;-)

It's a Jewish themed Harry Potter fanfic, but don't read until you've read some of the books, or you'll get lots of spoilers -

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1.....stein

seeker

Tue, Aug 23 2022, 12:41 am

It's definitely binge-worthy so you will want to make sure to only get hold of one book at a time. You won't have to read all 7 straight but you will probably want to get to the end of each one once you start that one. And then book 6 makes you want to go ahead to book 7. Until book 6 I think you're fine going one at a time. You should definitely go for it because it's so wildly popular don't you want to know what you're missing? I don't think of the first ones as juvenile but I happen to like books written for younger (middle grades) readers.

amother

Cherry

Tue, Aug 23 2022, 4:13 am

As a formerly obsessed HP fan, I am going to be a minority and say they're not as major as people make them out to be. Yes I love the concept and all the different fantasy elements. However, (and I know this may be sacrilegious) I don't think the books are actually written that well. She is full of plot holes, every book has something magical that pops up that allows them to save the day in that book, but never really turns up again. The first book was really poorly written and is truthfully fairly boring.
As a young preteen, when reading the books (and yes I followed the series as it came out) I did love the books. But as I got older and tried to reread them, I lost the appeal.
And I think seeing her adult books post HP made me even more put off. They were so poorly written I couldn't finish them. And I read a lot.
I'm not saying don't read them. I used to like them. And you might want to check out what you're missing. I just wanted to make you aware that not every person in the world is a major fan.

Mayflower

Tue, Aug 23 2022, 5:04 am

I didn't read the series when the books originally came out as I didn't like the whole hype around it... I started reading the books a few years ago to my kids and both the kids and myself were hooked straight away. Yes, there are plot holes and many Deus ex machina twists. But JK Rowling has a real talent of making a whole world come to life.

Shmoozinator

Tue, Aug 23 2022, 7:39 am

Like others I go back to the Harry Potter books time and again. But moreso than reading it, I LOVE listening to it! Jim Dale really does an exceptional job bringing it to life.

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