I was maybe seven or eight when I first picked up the Sorcerer's Stone at the library. I checked it out and once home I started reading it. At the time to me it seemed like the longest book in the world (obviously I had yet to see the Goblet of Fire!). I was reading the part where Dumbledore and McGonagall are talking outside of Number 4 Privet Drive. To me it seemed that they would never shut up. So I flipped to the last chapter just to see if all they do throughout the book is talk in front of the Dursley's home. All I read was Professor Dumbledore said and my mind was made up. I snapped the book shut and promptly forgot about it. Come on! I was seven!
My mother had a job with a company that organized religious educational retreats. That year the retreat was in New Mexico. I met some friends there and went to the house where they were having movie night. The Sorcerer's Stone movie was put in and I was hooked. Actually I made the people watching with me a little annoyed because I kept asking one of my friends who had come to the retreat and lived in London Harry Potter questions. When I returned home it wasn't long before I was invited to a sleepover at my friend's house for the week. She read Harry Potter but she wasn't really into it. However, she told me that it was a good series and we checked it out from the library and began reading it together. When I realized that the entire book wasn't a long conversation between Dumbledore and McGonagall I was immediately in love and I've stayed that way ever since.
At the time, I was a graduate student working on a gorilla project on the Congo/Central African Republic border. I had been with the project for about three months and had quickly read through all of the English-language books in camp. (We lived about 8 hours down river and 4 hours on foot from the nearest town with running water, so there was little chance of getting fresh material.) Anyway, I was at the point that I had to choose between "The Sorcerer's Stone" and something by one of the Bronte sisters and I finally broke down and decided to read the stupid children's fantasy book that I had been avoiding for so long. Well, needless to say, I was hooked before the end of the first chapter. I finished the book in about three nights, staying up way too late and reading the book by candlelight in my tent while the insects chirped and animals howled. (Thinking about Quirrell's cape scraping the ground in the Forbidden Forest as forest elephants roamed through camp still gives me the shivers.) I even told my sister that the reason the book worked so well was because of the tension of the Snape/Lily relationship...I just love being right!
When I got back to the US and learned that there was to be a series of seven books, I swore that I would never read them because they just couldn't possibly live up to the first one. Then, in 2003, while I was working on a project in Madagascar, a couple of Canadian tourists asked if they could donate a few books to our research station because they were too heavy to continue to carry around. Can you believe my surprise when it turned out to be books 2 and 4!?! At that point, I figured that I was fated to continue reading about Harry's adventures...and, needless to say, I never looked back!
When I was in first grade, I was invited to my friend's birthday party. He told me it was a "Harry Potter" themed party. I had no idea what he was talking about. When I arrived at his house, I found that this party was stranger than I had ever expected. First we brewed potions. Then we played a game called "Quidditch". We all ran around on brooms throwing different sizes of balls around. I was completely clueless as to what was going on. He attempted to explain to me the rules, talking about "Bludgers", and "Snitches", and the "Quaffle". Though I was confused, I was still a first grader and had fun running around wildly with a broom. In our party bags, we each got a pen with a character on it. I had Ron, who everyone assured me was one of the best people ever. Once the party was over, I, who already had a passion for reading, decided to check these books out.
My mom began reading the first one to me. She could not read it fast enough. I finished it on my own and quickly moved on to the next. I lived for the hours I spent at Hogwarts. I kept this up through book four, and then of course had to wait along with everyone else for the next books in the series. While reading Goblet of Fire, the most mortifying experience happened to me. My mom and I were now competing to see who could finish the book first. I was determined to be the first. One day during my second grade year, I hid the book from her thinking she would never find it. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think she would some up to the school and ask me where it was hidden! But of course, she did, though I still finished reading it before her.
Since my coming into the world of Harry Potter, It has become a huge part of my life. I have gone to the midnight release partys for everything that I could. I have read all of the books many times over. I honestly cannot imagine my life without Harry Potter. Nearly everything can somehow cause me to make a connection to Harry Potter. To this day, I cannot fathom why people refuse to read Harry Potter, when they are so meaningful and beautiful. Each time I read the series, I learn something new, and understand them so much more. All I can really say, is that I am so thankful I went to that party.
When the Harry Potter series first came out, I refused to read Sorcerer's Stone because I didn't want to jump on the "Harry Bandwagon." My sister and several friends all read it, loved it, and told me I should read it too. I refused and refused because I was somewhat of a literary snob and couldn't stand the idea of becoming part of what I thought of as a literary popularity contest.
Over that Thanksgiving break, I found myself without a book to read, so I ended up picking up my grandmother's copy of Sorcerer's Stone, which was lying on the kitchen counter. I plopped down on the living room couch and thought to myself with a roll of my eyes," Oh yeah, I bet I just won't be able to put it down." To my utter surprise and delight, I found that I couldn't. I blew through the book at lightning speed, and when I came to the last page, I found myself flipping right back to the first because I couldn't bear for the story to be over. Since then Harry, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the gang have become beloved friends, friends for whom I happily bore many repeated, "I told you so"s.
My son will be 11 years old in January. I started reading the Harry Potter stories to him when he was first born. He has always loved them. We have read each story from the series numerous times since then. He also has numerous copies of each DVD because he watches them over and over again until he wears them out. He wants to change his name to Harry. He wants his nickname to be Harry. He has had every new Harry costume every year. He wants to grow up and continue writing the series where J.K. Rowling left off in her last book. All of the pictures he draws is of Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Every Halloween he wants to be Harry. We have already ordered the special edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from Scholastic and can't wait to get it. When Deathly Hallows came out we went to three different book parties the night it was released, of course he was dressed just like Harry, and while we were standing in line to get our copy 150 people must have came up to him talking about how great he looked and asking for autographs, and having their pictures made with him. These were complete strangers and it became a little frightening to me but he loved every minute of it. He was very dissappointed when the date of the new movie was delayed, but still the books are so much better, we both agree.
When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out I was 8 years old. As a child I'd always had an overactive imagination but never had a way to feed into it, that is except for daydreaming in class. I wasn't much of a reader either. I'd heard a lot about Harry Potter but had no idea who he was, an actor, a presidential candidate, a kid in the seventh grade? December rolled around and with everyone excited about Christmas my teacher decided to take extra time to read us a novel. She thought this would feed into our excitement.
The book was, as you've probably guessed, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. So that's who Harry is, he's a wizard, I thought. I liked this idea. I sat in my chair and eagerly awaited the story. From chapter one, the Boy Who Lived, I was hooked. I hung on every page and to my joy; I received a copy for Christmas. I finished the book, over break the longest and first novel I'd ever finished. When school resided in January I brought my copy and read along with the class. From then on, I was an avid reader famous in my grade school for my constant Harry Potter references. It may sound corny but Harry Potter changed my life. Not only the story but it helped me see the greatness of a good book. I now have a way to feed into my overactive imagination, thanks to J.K. Rowling.
My Name is Heather and I live in Charlotte, NC. I discovered Harry Potter in late November of 1999. I had just had my first child and was suffering from severe post-partum depression. I was looking for something to take my mind off of my situation. I heard a news story about Harry Potter mania and wonder what that was all about. I went to the book store and there was a huge display of Harry Potter. I bought Sorcerer's Stone and began reading it that afternoon. I was hooked from that moment on. What a great story! I didn't know anyone who had read it.
I badgered my friend Emily to read it and finally after book three came out she picked it up. She loved it to. For years we have talked about and tried to figure out what was going to happen in the next book. For Deathly Hallows I went to stay with her for the weekend. We went to the midnight party and then zoomed home to begin reading. We read the whole weekend stopping at the end of each chapter to discuss every detail. It was one of the best weekends ever. I was sad to let Harry go at the end of Deathly Hallows but I have since gone back and am currently at the beginning of OPtP on tape. (I bought all of the books on tape for my husband who is not a big reader). I can not wait for my children to read Harry. I am making them wait until they are 11 to grow with Harry and because I think under 11 is a bit young to deal with some of the themes.
My name is Angela Ricker, I reside in Kentucky, and I'm 21. Many years ago my aunt read the book, and recommended it to me. Of course there was a lot of prejudice against it, and so my father read it first to see if there was any truth to the claims, and fell in love with it just as I did when he handed it to me. Though it didn't happen within the first chapter. In fact I was very close to putting it down. It bored me quickly, but for a reason I don't know I kept reading, and couldn't stop. I didn't listen to the news, or kept up with popular culture at all (I was a hermit), so when I heard there was a second book, and that it was a series intending to be seven books long I was very excited.
During my reading of the series I was going through hard times. I became sick with an illness called Dysautonomia (a nervous system malfunction), and through my hospital visits the book I was currently reading (most of the time it was Harry) would come with me when I waited to be called in. Writing, and reading were a source of outlet for me, it let me forget everything that went on around me. I would lose myself in Harry's world, and it was a release. I continue to read the series over many times, and because they've been handled so much (no matter my over-protective nature of them), the third one - my favorite is falling apart at the binding. It's a story I can never tire of.
Rowling is an inspiration to us all.
Ten years ago, my wife (of only a few months) and I had just gotten off the plane from England. She is British, I'm from Colorado, and she was moving to the states with me. We had taken several road trips together when we were dating, and we decided to take one more, to visit my kin in St. Louis. To pass the time on the road, we had brought several books from England and were planning to read to each other during the 16 hour drive. The first book she picked from the pile was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; we thought that maybe a light bit of kiddie fun would be entertaining for a while. That was the only book we read on the trip, and the only story we talked about for a while afterward.
Over the past decade, we both began careers as high school teachers; she in Chemistry, me in one of the few remaining wood shops. Each year, she sorts her students into houses and teaches her subject using Harry (Halloween is the highlight and draws crowds from around the school!). And my kids... we make wands and broomsticks, and sell them at our local bookshops and toy stores. All the students know that we have bought two copies of each book on the night of each release to avoid a fight, and our own children are now old enough to enjoy reading the stories too. We do have plenty of the books lying around! Though I kind of regret the way that first book now looks, financially speaking...