With the miserable politics last week, I needed a comfort read, so I picked up my copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. I read the entire series as they came out in the U.S., beginning with this one in 1998, but I haven’t picked them up since. I introduced my nephews to these books, and those two became avid fantasy readers. This truly was a comfort read for me.
I really don’t need to summarize the book, even for those who never read them. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley are ordinary people who have a young son named Dudley. When a baby is delivered to their doorstep, they take Harry Potter in. He’s the son of Mrs. Dursley’s sister, Lily, but the family treats Harry as an outcast. It isn’t until his eleventh birthday that Harry learns his parents were a powerful wizard and witch who were killed when he was a baby, and he survived. Now, he has an invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Despite Mr. Dursley’s protests, Harry is whisked off by train, the Hogwarts Express, to attend the school. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first book of seven that covers Harry’s seven years at the school, as he makes lifelong friends, learns to use his powers, and fights evil.
That’s a quick summary of the book, but it hardly covers the mood created by these stories. Yes, I was in my forties when I read the series, but each one swept me away into that magical world of good and evil. It’s a boarding school story where young people learn to use magic. It’s filled with classes, games such as Quidditch, and growth as Harry and his friends grow from eleven into their late teens. The books are fast-paced with well-developed characters and fascinating creatures such as unicorns, dragons, and centaurs. There are competitions and battles as in any outstanding fantasy novel, with a final triumph of good over evil.
I loved Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, but I loved The Hobbit first. I still watch “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”, my favorite in the movie series. But, I discovered that over twenty years later, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone can still sweep me away from reality. Just what I wanted.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. Scholastic, 1998. 309p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I bought all the books in the series.
How I loved this whole series! I read the first one to our son Tommy, and that time I resisted reading ahead. But I read all the rest to myself before reading them to him (until he took over reading them himself), and I was enchanted. I also listened to all of them as audiobooks a few years later. The perfect escape books, and so full of wonderful characters, excitement, and clever humor.
I didn’t have anyone to read them to, Kim. But, I raced to read each one as they came out. And, along with my Children’s Librarian, I led the best book discussion I ever did with the Harry Potter books and a group of young people and their parents. Those kids were so insightful and remembered every detail. Best discussion ever!
I re-read the Harry Potter series almost every year.
Jody, I don’t blame you one bit. Wonderful books!
I, too, am such a fan of this series. And I also read it as it came out. Loved it all. The audios are really good and I do understand that new audio has been coming out with full-cast reading. Not sure I’d like that as well because, well, I loved the first batch with Jim Dale narrating. Glad you enjoyed the first book again, Lesa. It’s been a long time since I revisited Harry and company, but you never know. Might make my way through them again. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Kay. I think I may make my way through them again. It’s been long enough that I only have vague memories of them. With all of our horrendous news.,they’re a perfect weekend escape.
Great choice! Not only did we read them, but when the second and third came out, we reread the previous books first.
Also, I agree with you – THE HOBBIT over LORD OF THE RINGS.
This time around, Jeff, I don’t have to wait a year for the next one, so I’ll remember details better. Wonderful escape reading. I can just sink into them for an entire day and the rest of the world doesn’t exist. That’s a great book, in my opinion.
I knew you and I share some of the same taste in books. The Hobbit is the reason I failed an English test in high school. We had to read it my sophomore year. I loved it so much that I read all the other books. Then, when it came time for the essay test, I couldn’t remember which characters were in which book. Never regretted it, though!
Me, too. I love THE HOBBIT. I enjoyed TLOTR when I read the three volumes, but it just wasn’t the same. Bilbo is a wonderful character. There’s no one as appealing in TLOTR.
Oh, Lesa, what a good idea. I love this series so much, and agree that it can sweep away the rest of the world.
i remember the first time I read it – two pages in and I was swept completely up. ❤
Isn’t it wonderful, Kaye, to find a book or series of books that become your whole world while you’re reading it? There aren’t a lot of those books. The Harry Potter series is like that for me.
I love the comfort of Harry Potter!! My husband and I try to do a reread every year of at least one of them. Last year was my comfort reading year (so sad that I need to start it again this year!) I read the Septimus Heap series (1st one is Magyk) by Angie Sage and how I adored Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl. It was so much fun introducing these to my students when I taught school and now grandkiddos. I love that I’m aware that I adore them just as much when they’re just for me and my heart!
Gaye, What a beautiful closing sentence about your awareness that you adore these books just as much when they’re just for you and your heart. As I mentioned to Kaye, there aren’t a lot of those books. I may read this entire series this year since the entire world is hurting. But, I also have a couple nonfiction books that are comfort reads for me, and I may pick them up as well. I usually save those for when I am in a reading slump, but I may need them this year, as you said, for my heart.
What are these non-fiction titles, Lesa?