Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first book in the Harry Potter Series. The group is reading the series in preparation for reading the Fantasy Category Winner Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two later in the year.


Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by an owl, taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The Reason ... HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD!

Is it possible to have too much Harry Potter? In the UK this Christmas one of the TV channels has been showing the Harry Potter films each day, with the last one tonight.

And now we're about to start reading the books again, I'm really looking forward to this :)

I'm looking forward to re-reading the series too. I just finished re-reading this one. I picked up the audio narrated by Jim Dale. He did an excellent job. I may go through the rest of the series via audio this time.

I don't even remember how many times I have read these books, I think I read some of last year even (picture edition) but I guess I gonna try these again. The first one has been comfort reading (at least half of book).

I would need audio book one of my challenge, I wonder if this one would be short enough to listen. Well, apparently 7 discs with Stephen Fry. I might try to get this.

I did too, Stephanie! Second one is waiting to go.

Hope you join us for the series, Reija. Some of the books are long for audio, but not the first one. I look forward to seeing what you think.

I might join you, it's one of the few books I read several times in English and in French!! They did an excellent job with the translation, even the names were changed.

I've been going through this series again and am on The Goblet of Fire right now. Finished the Sorcerers Stone not too long ago, but will look forward to the discussion anyway!

So is anyone in this group reading for the first time or are we all re-reads?

I'm still deciding which format to go with, I think I might go for audible for this one as I have a long car journey later this week which will keep me entertained.

For all you re-readers, is the reading experience widely different for you this time around? Did you notice anything that you didn't before?

I think HP is a really interesting cultural phenomenon. My brother was part of the generation that read the books when they were kids and they seem to be a touchstone for so many people. I was in college when these came out and reading them as more of an adult, I was frustrated with Harry, some of the writing/editing, and these books haven't been nearly as beloved for me as they have for other people. I'm curious to see if my opinion changes with this re-read.

I also picked up the illustrated editions for the first two books, and they're definitely a delight. It's such fun reading through them and the illustrations are whimsical and fantastic.

I think I'm now too familiar with the story to really say much about it. I remember I couldn't stop reading it at the first time and I really hated whole Potter phenomenon back then, but my friend wanted to go movies to see the second so I needed to check what all the fuss was about.

I listened audible version of it and I could almost repeat lines even if I have read it mostly in Finnish. And when the story got too boring, I just imagined Stephen Fry made faces.

Actually I watched last movie just couple days ago and also started to read The Dark Tower books again and knowing how it ends, it was quite surreal feeling to start Potter world from the very beginning.

(view spoiler)[Now I think the most annoying thing for me is whole the One saves the world thing, like the ending in this book. We learn later why but just after this book, you think someone, maybe older or wiser, could and should do the world saving job instead of 11 years old boy. (hide spoiler)]

I can't get enough of Harry Potter! I reread the entire series last year. I must have read the first book alone at least 7 times. I even got to use it for my graduate thesis paper, where I analyzed the Latin forms of words in the text.

I plan on listening to the audios to see if it's a different experience than the books.

I really enjoyed the audio, Kirsten. I plan to continue with the audios this time too. I've only listened to the first book. I look forward to seeing what you think of it.

So I'm a first time reader of these - they came out much later than when I was at that reading stage. I resisted reading them for a long time - didn't want to be part of the 'pack' I guess. But I recently read 'A Casual Vacancy' & thought she's a good writer.

So in a different groups reading challenge this is my 'Genre not usually read' selection.

I am re-listening to the Jim Dale (narrator) audio version again. SO enjoyed it the last time.

Diane-OP wrote: "So I'm a first time reader of these - they came out much later than when I was at that reading stage. I resisted reading them for a long time - didn't want to be part of the 'pack' I guess. But I r..."

Hah!!! I was in my 40s when I read them first! Totally not an age appropriate reader. I remember the old Scholastics were falling apart when I'd check them out of the library.

Diane-OP wrote: "So I'm a first time reader of these - they came out much later than when I was at that reading stage. I resisted reading them for a long time - didn't want to be part of the 'pack' I guess. But I r..."

Oh, I'm so glad we've got someone reading for the first time (and Stephanie for the rest of the series) :)

I did go with audio this time around and just started it today with the wonderful Stephen Fry as the narrator.

I'm only up to Chapter 5 so far and there are a couple of things that I didn't remember from reading originally.
- The flying bike that Hagrid used (view spoiler)[was borrowed from Sirius Black. Obviously before they decided he was a traitor and chucked him in Azkaban (hide spoiler)]
- The HUGE warning about breaking into Gringrotts, (view spoiler)[which of course they did in the last book (hide spoiler)]

Kirsten - The first time I read them I borrowed my daughter's copy. lol She was probably the targeted age group when they came out. :)

I finished my re-read a few days ago and it was quite fun. My opinions about the characters haven't changed much (I still think Harry is kind of an idiot and Hermione is probably better off without him or Ron), but the writing was fun and whimsical and Rowling did a great job of building a sense of place. And I'm curious about so many of the other characters throughout the series that are mentioned but not talked about in depth, and I think that's a sign of good storytelling.

And the illustrated edition was definitely a fun component of this re-read. I wish they were all out because I think that would be a fantastic way to read the series.

Diane-OP wrote: "So I'm a first time reader of these - they came out much later than when I was at that reading stage. I resisted reading them for a long time - didn't want to be part of the 'pack' I guess. But I r..."

I'm a first time reader as well. See how far I get.

Good luck, Katy. It's a great series. I hope you enjoy it.

I started reading Harry Potter after the third book had been published, and remember waiting for the fourth book, and then joining the fan forums and reading all the speculations and fan theories waiting for the fifth, sixth and seventh book. After the seventh book I kind of moved on, but it was a lot of fun while the series was still unfinished.

I was in my late 20s when I started reading Harry Potter, so I prefer to think the appropriate age for this series is 9-99, even though I would hesitate to give book 5 and later to a child younger than 14.

Still making my way through this, I don't have a huge amount of time to dedicate to audibles, and the main thing that's different for me (view spoiler)[is of course everything that's about Snape. As well as knowing that Snape isn't the baddy, you can of course look at his actions and now realise what they really mean. (hide spoiler)]

I think that too, Lynn. (view spoiler)[ I have a completely different view of the characters now reading through for the second time and having seen the movies too. My view of them and my interpretations of their actions is going to be so different throughout the series. (hide spoiler)]

Stephanie - I also loved the audio version and already picked up book 2. I'm excited for the series read too. I wish Audible would have a HP sale! lol

I think I may watch the movies each month after reading the books too. Hopefully, I'll have time to do so. It's times like this when I wish my girls still lived at home. We've watched the movies many times together and love them. My husband thinks they're ok and will watch it if I put one on, but he doesn't love it like my girls do. It's a whole different feeling.

My husband will probably say that he will watch it with me, then do something else. lol Probably sit there on his computer or something.

Oh what a good idea to LISTEN to the books this round! I just listened to a sample of the first book and you are right that Jim Dale is excellent. Well, I wasn't thinking I would reread, but now I'm rethinking listening! And my husband would definitely watch the movies with me! :)

Oh good, Deb! I hope you join us in the series.

I'm guessing that Jim Dale is the avaiable audio for US readers, while Stephen Fry is for the UK ...... Stephen Fry does an amazing job on the audio for us.

How interesting that there are different audiobooks!

I've heard that before and I've heard that they are both excellent.

I have read the entire series but am trying to listen to the Audible version of book #1 with Jim Dale. So far I agree with the comments above, as I think he is an amazing narrator. The only problem is I actually starting listening to this in the evening (while traveling during the beginning of January) and kept drifting off to sleep. Very relaxing, even if the traveling wasn't, lol!

Kristie- I wish Audible would have an HP sale too, as I only own the first book.

I finished re-listening to this book on the 27th and haven't had time to comment here. It was a pleasant surprise to me to realize how much of the book I remembered. I so enjoyed it again. On to book two!

I remember a lot of it too. I find it interesting when certain things happen how I look at them differently. For example, (view spoiler)[ the first time around I didn't think twice when Malloy touched Ginny's books or that she said she had to go back for her diary. (hide spoiler)] Now, knowing the ending, I think about those differently as I'm reading.

Kristie wrote: "I remember a lot of it too. I find it interesting when certain things happen how I look at them differently. For example, [spoilers removed] Now, knowing the ending, I think about those differently..."

That's a good point Kristie. It is different when you know what is coming.

Yes, Jackie. There's so much that you don't think twice about until you realize how it affects the story. Then, what seems like a little thing turns into something bigger and important.

Also, the relationships are interesting. When you know how certain relationships grow and change or people's ulterior motives it is eye-opening. Oh, that's why he did that!, or Oh, to think that those two do this later, or he/she becomes this way, etc. I'm loving it.

I finished the book today and had forgotten a bit of the ending. Or rather, I remembered the movie version of the ending which is slightly different. I think it would have been difficult to pull off (and less believable) (view spoiler)[ a bird lifting them all out by its tail feathers. (hide spoiler)] I'll have to watch the movie again now to see if my memory of it is accurate.