Poll: How much Harry didya watch or read until you were done?

[nightmare_gorilla]

super unpopular opinion guy here but didn't much care for the movies so I stopped after the first two. read up until 4 or 5 but that's back when I was the age for it. I don't dislike the potter stuff but I do feel like I kinda grew out of it. I know it's "for all ages" but honestly that just means teenagers and housewives. my mom loves it all I've had to sit through some of it with her and I don't know it just doesn't grab me anymore, I firmly believe the movies are not good, they are summaries of the books and honestly skip over some of the more poinient moments or at least the ones I remembered strongest.

I do find it kind of funny that harry potter counts as "nerdy" I mean it's like the most popular thing in the history of ever besides American idol. telling people you're a giant potter nerd is a good thing there is absolutely no risk of people thinking you are "too into" harry potter. I'm not doing the "fake nerd girl" thing obviously but when someone says "I'm such a nerd I've read ALL 7 harry potter books." I have to keep reminding myself that is an actual nerdy thing.

 

[Buckets]

Got to the Half Blood Thingy in books, got to goblet of fire on the movies - lost interest to be honest, never felt inclined to finish them.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

I read up to the Order of the Phoenix, but never could get my hands on Half-Blooded Prince.
But I have seen up to the Half-Blooded Prince.

I probably won't read any more of the books, mainly due to just the reasons why I couldn't get my hands on book six, but if I get a chance to watch the Deathly Hallows, I shall.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I read all of them, mostly at the insistence of my siblings. I was really too old for the earlier ones. By the end they've thickened up nicely and are dealing with substantial issues. It's a fine series to get children interested in reading. I also like that the bad guys are not only genuinely evil, but organized and difficult to defeat, rather than the cartoonish, easily foiled villain hijinks you typically get with kiddie stuff.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Read and watched all of it. Multiple times.

DAMN good series, really enjoyed it.

The ending of the series got a little silly and needlessly convoluted in how it was resolved, but it was still a good ending to a fantastic series.

Would def recommend.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I was the prime age when I read the first book... It came out when I was in my last year of Primary School, just before I went to Secondary School like Harry did. It was great... I couldn't wait for each installment, and read them as soon as they came out.

Unfortunately though, because they took longer and longer to release, I ended up growing out of them. They aren't books for adults, they are poorly written, and weren't really the thing for someone who was now reading a lot of Iain Banks and Stephen King.

So I only read the first 5 books, and I have only seen the first 2 films before I got too bored of the series...

 

[Signa]

I'm in the middle of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as you read this. As I write this I'm only a fourth in, but I'm really enjoying it and I'm home from work 'cause of sickness so I've got lots of time to read.

So tell me, friends: How experienced are you, Harry-wise? Me, I've seen some movies and read some books, and when I've read a book I watch the movie.

As you can see, the poll assumes that you're done with Harry because you either finished it all, gave up in the middle, or never tried to start with. Option #2 is for those of you who aren't done yet.

Also, could you not quote the OP unless there's some specific thing you want to adress? It's a pet peeve of mine, people quoting the OP to make it clear who they're talking to even though we all assume you're talking to the OP unless you specify otherwise.

I know you said not to quote you, but I was curious if you had watched the 4th movie yet. Outside of the 7th book climax, the 4th book was my favorite. On the other hand, the 4th movie was so bad, I stopped watching the films entirely.

 

[Queen Michael]

I think I watched all of the movies, not entirey sure since it went into that episode thing after a while, right? I did not read any of the books. I'm not really invested in the lore and characters so much, I just really like the concept of the whole thing.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'm in the middle of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as you read this. As I write this I'm only a fourth in, but I'm really enjoying it and I'm home from work 'cause of sickness so I've got lots of time to read.

So tell me, friends: How experienced are you, Harry-wise? Me, I've seen some movies and read some books, and when I've read a book I watch the movie.

As you can see, the poll assumes that you're done with Harry because you either finished it all, gave up in the middle, or never tried to start with. Option #2 is for those of you who aren't done yet.

Also, could you not quote the OP unless there's some specific thing you want to adress? It's a pet peeve of mine, people quoting the OP to make it clear who they're talking to even though we all assume you're talking to the OP unless you specify otherwise.

I know you said not to quote you, but I was curious if you had watched the 4th movie yet. Outside of the 7th book climax, the 4th book was my favorite. On the other hand, the 4th movie was so bad, I stopped watching the films entirely.

I have watched the movie; my mom read the book to me as a kid. The movie was pretty good. Not nearly as good as the book, though -- I felt that it relied a bit too much on special effects.

 

[jklinders]

Read and enjoyed all of them. I've seen all the movies too but found both the books and the movies to be a bit of a mixed bag. the earlier ones were perhaps a bit too...I don't know, young for me. but then they got all caught up in the mage civil war and and it got bogged down. I almost would have preferred more of a day to day in the life of a young wizard than the whole epic savior thing. Still they were a good read and watch. I will read and watch them again but I think I liked the middle books best when things were getting a morsel more serious but not too grimdark yet.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

I was a pretty voracious reader as a kid, so I read all the Potter books a few times over. Those and The Edge Chronicles were some of my favourite stuff.

I've also seen the films, which I quite enjoyed; although they aren't as good as the books. The plots of the HP books are generally pretty bad, but the world building and characters make it fun. It's one of those cases where the filler is often better than the actual plot stuff.
Unfortunately, that doesn't work well in a film. You can't spend half the run time faffing about with Hagrid's magical creatures classes or quidditch or whatever. There are too many plot points to cram in.

Honestly I think the series would've worked better adapted into a TV series rather than films.

...

Anyway, if you're reading the series, I personally think The Philosopher's Stone is kinda 'meh' due to being aimed more at young kids. Chamber is better, and then Prisoner & Goblet are where it all really picks up. Order of the Phoenix is kinda frustrating due to Dumbledore picking up the idiot ball, although the DA stuff is fun. Prince is, again, a bit meh;- it's basically an extended setup for The Deathly Hallows. But the payoff is worth it, IMO, so I'd recommend reading all of them.

 

[Hawki]

Read and seen all the books and their adaptations. Films aren't bad, but I hold the books as being superior (though I think the films have the edge in certain aspects, such as Dumbledore vs. Voldemort, or the Dementor design for instance).

Overall, I have a very favorable opinion of the series. Main reason is that as the books go on and the characters age, the maturity increases as does the breadth of the setting. We start off with Book 1 - child goes to a wizard school, simple premise. By book 4 and 5, it's more in young adult territory, with some darker moments, and the characters starting to get romantically entangled, and the less savory aspects of wizarding society. By book 7, it's at its darkest, with parallels to Nazi Germany of all things (though DH isn't my favorite installment).

I don't think the series needs a 'next generation' type sequel series (besides, there's enough fanfic covering that already), or really much else, though I like the concept of Pottermoore. But at the end of the day, I think Rowling created an amazing series.

 

[Summerstorm]

Hm... i think i watched a few movies. (First one for sure, and then something which was on the television - when i was visiting someone with a tv)

Didn't read any of it.

I guess didn't vibe with me. Was OK entertainment, the movies, but nothing where i just HAD TO SEE IT ALL.

Eh...