Monday, June 13, 2011

At the Close

Last night was the dramatic conclusion to a story months in the making.  No, I do not mean the NBA Finals.  I finished rereading Harry Potter last night.  I have been reading these books for the last approximately 115 hours that I have been driving my car (not counting the trip to Mississippi).  My love for these books grows every time that I read them.  Now comes the time that I decide which book is my favorite.

Sorcerer's Stone

The reasons it is my favorite.  The newness and wonder of Harry finding out that he is a wizard and escaping from the Dursley's house.  It is the introduction of so many people who I love.  The youth and innocence of the main characters.  Neville winning the House Cup.

The reasons it is not my favorite.  There is very little interaction with Quirrell before the finale.  So the revelation that he is the villain, is not as powerful as with other villains.  The book is half over before the troll fight at Halloween.  I do love the beginning of the book, but Hermione is my favorite character.  So half the book is wasted before she becomes friends with Ron and Harry.

Chamber of Secrets

The reasons it is my favorite.  Harry could be the heir of Slytherin, and is mistrusted by the rest of the school.  The trio get along better in this book than any in of the others.  I love the mystery around the basilisk.  And of course Myrtle.

The reasons it is not my favorite.  Lockhart is really annoying.  I know that he is supposed to be, but still.

Prisoner of Azkaban

The reasons it is my favorite.  Lupin as DADA teacher.  The scene in the Shrieking Shack.  A great time travel story.  (It is too long a subject to discuss here, so remind me to sometime write a post about time travel.)  I'll just say that JKR gets it right.

The reasons it is not my favorite.  Ron and Hermione are not speaking to each other.

Goblet of Fire

The reasons it is my favorite.  Potter Stinks.  I always prefer my heroes to be unliked by the general population.  The fake Moody is a great swerve.  The twitchy little ferret.

The reasons it is not my favorite.  It takes a long time to get to Hogwarts.  That part of the story is good, but I miss the school.  Ron is not speaking to Harry and then later Hermione.  Cedric and Fleur both learned the bubble head charm, but Hermione was unable to find the spell.

Order of the Phoenix

The reasons it is my favorite.  Umbridge is even more evil than the Dark Lord himself.  This is the twins best book.  I love Kreacher.  This may be surprising to people who have only seen the movies or only read the books.  But when Jim Dale reads the books to you, it can make a world of difference.  Kreacher is Dale's best voice.


The reasons it is not my favorite.  I subtitle this book "Angry Harry."  The anger does not bother me except when it is directed at his friends.  Cho Chang.

Half Blood Prince

The reasons it is my favorite.  I love flashbacks and origin stories.  Ginny.

The reasons it is not my favorite.  Once again Ron is mad at Hermione.  Lavender Brown.  Even though Harry is right, his obsession with Malfoy's plans gets really old.

Deathly Hallows (this section has been edited for those of you who have not yet read the book)

The reasons it is my favorite.  It is a great ending to a great story.

The reasons it is not my favorite.  The story is over.

In conclusion I rank them Hallows, Chamber, Order, Prisoner, Stone, Goblet, and Prince.  Even though Half Blood Prince is last on this list, it may still be the seventh best book ever written.  The widest gaps on the list between books are between Hallows and Chamber and Goblet and Prince.  Order is very close to Chamber, and Prisoner, Stone and Goblet are close enough that they might be in the wrong order if I was writing this on another day.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for not giving away the whole ending. I'm going to start the series again soon and actually go all the way to the end. Love seeing all your reasons for and against each winner.

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  2. Do I even have to tell you how much I loved this post? Even though I'm sad that I won't get to hear a snippet of Harry the next time I ride in your car.

    The thing you said about Kreacher and Jim Dale was brilliant. I read the first sentence and said no way, and then by the time I got to the end of your point, I knew you were perfectly right.

    I could also tell that you've mostly listened and not read because you spell some names wrong. I'm trying not to hold that against you.

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  3. I think I only spelled Ginny wrong. The funny thing is that I checked to make sure it was G and not J and considered putting Ginevra instead.

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  4. The author of the Harry Potter fantasy series has launched a new website, Pottermore.com. Clues to the existence of the new site were offered up on various Harry Potter fansites.

    The site has its own Twitter account, @Pottermore.

    ReplyDelete