How did you discover Harry Potter?

I recently finished reading Harry, A History, which is a memoir of Melissa Anelli's experience with the Harry Potter phenomenon. While some of her experiences (working for a major fan site, interviewing J.K. Rowling at her house) are way outside of most fans' experience, a lot of the things she related are ones most people can completely relate to: going to a midnight release . . . trying to avoid having a book "spoiled" for you . . . coming up with complicated theories while waiting and waiting and waiting for the next book to come out . . . and, of course, that first wonderful moment of discovery when you picked up Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone and realized that you had something magical in front of you. It made me want to write my own story, though it's nowhere near as fantastic as Anelli's, and I thought, who would want to read it? Then I thought, well, I wouldn't mind hearing the stories of everyone else on Hogwarts Express. I know some of us have talked about this here and there on earlier threads, but I decided that the topic deserves a thread of its own.

So, what's your story? When did you first "meet" Harry and company? Did you have a group of friends to read and discuss with, or did you read secretively, avoiding any association with a mega-popular kids' series? Did you participate in fan sites (other than here)? Attend conventions or launch parties? Write or read fanfic? Tell us all about it!

(I'll be back with my story in a little while, depending on how carried away I get!)

I avoided the series for a while due to the hype, but sometime between books three and four, my partner at the time owned them, and I figured I'd give them a shot. I'd recently left an abusive relationship, and one of the losses I had to cut to get out was pretty much all of my books. I gobbled up the first three, and have since bought the hardcovers as they come out.

The most fun thing about it all was that my new partner was pretty much the opposite of the abusive one - very nurturing and caring, and loved the opportunity to "theme-ify" a holiday for me. I had the biggest Harry Potter Christmas - every gift, every silly little thing in my stocking, even the wrapping paper was HP. That was my best Christmas in memory for a long, long time. :)

I had heard about them but not read them when I house sat for a friend. She had the first two books on the shelf and I devoured them. then I went out and bought PoA in paperback. My first hard back was GoF.

I'd like to contribute the first digression to this thread:


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LoL, love it, LG!

For me, it started with boxes of books donated for the charitable organization that my parents work for. I put in a lot of volunteer hours there as a teen, and when several hundred books were donated and needed to be sorted through, you can bet that I was right on top of it! Among the donated books were several copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -- one of which was missing the dust jacket. As a thank-you for the hours I put in working with those books, I was allowed to take one book away with me, and I chose that one (to this day, my copy of HPSS is the only one of my set that does not have its dust jacket).

I think that must have been the summer of 1999 (making me 19 at the time), about a year after the first book had come out, but before the series was popular beyond any book's wildest dream. The week after I finished sorting books, I was signed up to be the counselor for a cabin of inner-city girls at a sleep-away summer camp . . . so I took that book, along with one or two others, with me. Those girls made my week a nightmare, but every evening after getting them settled down and lights out, I would retreat to my room and read. Even with the exhaustion of working camp, I managed to finish the book within the first couple days. When I reached the end, I turned the book over and immediately started again -- unusual, for me to start a reread so soon after finishing the book for the first time. I was hooked.

Over the next few years, I managed to get my mother and my brother hooked on the series (basically by saying "read this"). By the time we were reading Prisoner of Azkaban, my father was wondering what all of the fuss was about. We have a family tradition of reading aloud together, so we decided to give the series a try. At first we took turns, but eventually I was the one doing the bulk of the reading, developing distinct voices for each character and really putting a lot into my "performance."

Goblet of Fire came out while my brother was away at music camp, and though we reserved a copy and picked it up from the bookstore on the release date, we all agreed not to read it until he came home. I remember stroking the cover, and opening it up to read the table of contents, and very firmly closing it lest I succumb to the temptation to turn the page and start in on the first chapter! The book was in the car with us when we went to pick him up from camp, and I read the first few chapters aloud during the drive home. By that point, I was the sole reader -- Dad would take over if we were at a suspenseful part and my voice gave out, but I hated to give it up even in those circumstances.

We continued our tradition of reading the books aloud as a family through Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, despite two out-of-state moves, job and school changes for my brother and me, and all manner of differing circumstances. When the release date for Deathly Hallows was announced, though, we knew that we wouldn't be able to continue the tradition through the end of the series: my parents had announced their intention to move to Russia in June of 2007, a month and a half before the book would come out. We discussed the possibility of reading using an internet phone service or some similar device, but in the end, their visa process was delayed just long enough that they were still in the States for the release. My brother and I, though not living at home any more, lived close enough to one another that it wasn't a problem to get together for marathon reading sessions. By that time, though, I was in library school, and many of my friends were enthusiastic readers of the series. I knew we'd have to finish quickly -- and we did. Reading almost non-stop, pausing only when I had to go to class or when we all needed sleep, we read through the book in three days. I couldn't speak normally for a week after, but it was worth it to continue our tradition. Reading aloud as a family (with occasional friends popping in, promising not to spoil things for the rest of us if they'd read the book already on their own), we were able to pause and discuss theories proven and disproven, to mourn favorite characters' deaths and cheer the brighter moments. I can assure you that, at certain points during the story, there was not a dry eye in the house.

Of course, the last chapter of my discovery of all things Harry Potter has to do with this site. I joined LT in late 2006, but didn't find the Hogwarts Express group until right around the release date for Deathly Hallows. Discussing the series and getting to know all of you has been one of the greatest benefits of this series for me, and I look forward to reading your stories.

I hadn't actually heard much Harry hype before I started reading the books. I just remember seeing Prisoner of Azkaban at the bookstore, paging through it a bit and deciding it looked good, but not buying it because it wasn't the first book and I thought I should start at the beginning. Not long after that I went to visit my dad, and he had a copy of Sorcerer's Stone that he'd read for his book club. I started reading it while I was visiting and got hooked. I've been to a midnight release party for every book since then.

I guess for me it all started way back then in, oh 2001 was it? When the first movie came out. I remember I watched the first movie and then the second one at afterschool daycare. I remember I got really scared in the second movie cuz I was really afraid of spiders back then, but whatever, back to the point. I watched the movies up till the 3rd one without reading the books, then in grade 5 my friend was halfway through the first book, and I decided it was time for me to read them. Mainly I hadn't read them because everyone else was reading them and said how great they were and what not, but when I read those first few pages, it was like "boom!" Explosion of wow. It was amazing and I was reading it in french back then, and i just ran through the books (well, up till the 6th one) in bout 3 months. I then reread it but in english I think. Or maybe in french again. Can't remember. Anyways, by that time I was a 100% HP fan. When the 4th movie came out, I was sooo excited, same with the 5th. And when the 7th book came out, I went to the midnight release party with my parents. I remember I dressed in a Hogwarts-like uniform, with a gray skirt, knee high socks, dress shoes, a dress shirt, and I had a black cloak where I pinned a keychain of the four houses! My parents kept saying I looked like Cho! lol Anyways, I was really excited and when I finished reading the book in like 1 week and a half, I just did a rerun of the whole series again.

When I joined LT last August, I thought maybe it'd be fun, to get to rate my books and stuff. Never did I think I'd find a group specifically for HP, and much less did I think everyone would be so nice and welcoming! One funny thing is that I never saw the "Join this Group" button until bout 3 months after I'd started posting. I felt so stupid after I clicked that button, you have no idea. :P

I'm of the "avoided it for the hype" camp. My sister Holly got into them early on, I want to say in 1999, maybe between the releases of CoS and PoA? Anyway, she'd gotten my other sister Mandy reading them as well by the time GoF came out, and at the time Mandy really wasn't much of a reader, so I started paying some attention. On the day GoF was released, Holly couldn't find a copy and I was out at a craft store that had a bunch of them, so I got her one. She devoured it and handed it over to Mandy and then dad....and I really started to feel left out, but I still persisted in avoiding reading them. Within a couple months I was working at a bookstore and that actually turned me off even more, since I was bombarded with it everyday.

Then came my cousin's wedding in July 2001. It was across the country and I finished the books I brought with me on the flight out. I was stuck for something to read, but Holly had brought her UK versions of SS/PS and CoS. She, in the most obnoxious way possible, offered me SS/PS and I reluctantly took it. I finished in a couple days and moved on to CoS, finishing it on the plane back home. I was in school about 500 miles away from my family so I wasn't going to be able to read Holly's PoA. Luckily, I was still working for the bookstore, and we had "check out" privileges. I could check out a book for two weeks as long as I brought it back in saleable condition. Suffice it to say, I did not need two weeks. PoA and GoF were read in two days. Then I joined the wait for OotP.

I was still working for the bookstore when OotP came out. We didn't have a midnight party, but we did have a bunch of activities that day and we sold out of books by about 6 PM. Unfortunately, as an employee, I was only allowed to buy one the first couple weeks, so my boyfriend at the time and I were sharing a copy. It took a bit longer.

I'd left the bookstore for HBP and was living in So.Cal. working in Youth Ministry and the kids had planned a beach trip that day. I of course had to chaperone. So, I got up super early, went to the closest grocery store and bought a copy and got about 200 pages in before heading to the beach. I had it with me there, but it was tough to concentrate. I ended up finishing it in my apartment and calling my sisters, but they weren't done yet! Luckily, the next day was Sunday and some of my youth had finished it, so I was able to have quiet conversations with them.

By DH I was back at a bookstore and this time we did have a midnight party. I had a blast preparing for it. The store endcaps were set up as Diagon Alley, and I had gotten to set up a "staff picks" display for the characters of my choice. I handled most of the games for the party and then finally got to buy my own copy a little after 1 AM. The staff all posed for a picture in our costumes (I was a Ravenclaw) and one of the other employees flipped to the back of the book and started to read the last sentence. She was lucky to escape bodily harm! I drove the hour home, left the book in my car so I wouldn't be tempted to start it right away, I needed sleep! I went to bed and was back up by 6 AM. Four hours of sleep? No problem. I finished that sucked in 12 hours. Then again, had no one to talk to!

I didn't find this site until just over a year ago, but I loved doing the group reads and every chance I get to discuss my obsession with other like-minded people makes me beyond elated! Just another reason to love these books...they led me to all of you!

i'm not a regular poster here on Hogwarts Express, but i was thrilled to see this thread! naturally, i had to share. reading this i noticed that i probably started the series earliest of the postings so far, yet i seem to be the only non-regular here. strange how that happens. but to the point:

>5 foggidawn: foggidawn, my story is a bit similar, at least insofar as the reading aloud. my little brother, who is 7 years younger than me, hates reading but loves stories. i love reading, so it became one of our special activities that i would read aloud to him almost every night. because of this i was always looking for new books for us to share. i turned 16 soon after Sorcerer's Stone came out, which i remember clearly because i was so excited to be able to drive myself to the books store for the first time! almost no one was talking about HP back then, but there was a small new books display in the front of the store and i decided it looked like something my brother, who was 9 at the time, would enjoy listening to. we started reading it a few nights later, after finishing whatever we had been reading, and we were both completely drawn in. it took me a while to get all the characters voices right (i think i did Hermione a terrible injustice early on when we thought she was going to be against Harry throughout).

we bought Chamber of Secrets as soon as it came out, but there were no release parties back then, at least not in our small town. that was the last one we read together. he started playing baseball more and more and our reading together ended. i think that is part of the reason that CoS is my least favorite of the series.

my first midnight release party was for Goblet of Fire. i was in Chicago at the time, taking pre-collegiate classes at the University of Chicago. i was 17 and on my own, and in a really big city, for the first time. all of us who were in the program were living in one dorm on campus, and, since we were all underage, we had to check in with our floor monitor every night by 11pm and then couldn't leave again. 3 weeks into my program, i knew GoF was going to come out and a book store in Hyde Park was having a midnight release party. i wanted to go so desperately. not only was i determined to experience the "big city book party," but i also wanted the new book because it would feel like something homey in my unfamiliar surroundings. so i made the decision to sneak out. when the night of the release rolled around, i checked in with the floor monitor, then climbed a wall and made a run for it. it was exhilarating, running through Chicago streets in the middle of the night all by myself (in hindsight, it wasn't exactly SMART, but it was exciting!). about 30 mins after i arrived at the party, and was having a really great time, someone tapped me on the shoulder. it was my floor monitor! i just knew i was in so much trouble, i didn't stop to think how she could have found me so fast; i hadn't told anyone where i was going. she asked me how i was there, and i told her, and she cracked up laughing. she was at the party not to find me, but because she was a fellow fan. if i had only told her why i wanted to go out that night she would have just brought me along with her, no climbing walls required. but where would the adventure have been then?

when Half-Blood Prince came out, i was studying abroad in New Zealand, my first overseas experience. i had already reserved my copy at home, but i knew it would be weeks before my mom got around to sending it to me, so i went ahead and also reserved a copy at the local bookstore in NZ. because of the time difference, our "midnight release party" was in the middle of the day but it was fun nonetheless. there i was, this American girl, surrounded by NZers with Kiwi accents talking about HP. there was this one little boy, maybe about 9, who had flaming red hair and was the spitting image of a Weasley. he heard me talking and knew i wasn't from NZ so he struck up a conversation with me. all he really wanted to know was if, since i was from America, i had meet Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint! it was a fantastic day.

i think these are the reasons, along with the superb stories, that i love Harry Potter so much. these are things that are now ingrained in my memory because of a book and the people it lead into my life. even though my brother and i stopped reading together, we see the films together and afterwards i fill in what's missing from the books. and he loves to try to beat me at Harry Potter Scene-It. he's actually very good, but he can't ever quite beat me.

and all of this because i happened to pick up a book when i was 16... life is funny and wonderful sometimes.

I had never heard of Harry Potter until MEM who worked at a Teacher supply store told me about them. I think there were three at the time and I read the first one feeling a little silly reading a "Kids" book but I was sucked in and have been a fan ever since!

This is a fun thread to read, foggi; thanks for posting it :)

#9 -- Welcome! Thanks for sharing your experiences, and we hope to see you post more often. We're generally pretty silly, but we do have things like book discussion threads and such occasionally (and, of course, you're welcome to join in the silliness, too).

In September 1998, I was 11 years old and in the 6th grade. My teacher assigned a partner reading, in which both my partner and I had to agree on a book to read and read two chapters of it per week. At the end of the project, we would write a review/ book report with both of our thoughts. From the time I opened the book, I was hooked. I normally read higher-level books such as Tom Clancy, Steven King, Michael Crichton, and other adult novels, while my classmates were reading books like Goosebumps. So, I was a little hesitant in picking up a children’s book; however, I have no regrets of doing so.
I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone so much that I finished it in 2 weeks, while my partner was still on the opening chapter(s). As soon as Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban were released, I read them, getting in trouble in the process: The teacher wouldn’t allow us to read more than two books by the same author every year. Therefore, my English grade went from an A to a B, but it was worth it.
Summer 2000 came along, bringing with it Goblet of Fire. This was my first book pre-order and midnight release. In 2003, my family was coming home from vacation and I stole my parents car keys and made them drive me to Border’s to get my pre-ordered copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on our way home from the airport. Two summers later, I was a newly-licensed driver. Due to curfew, I had to get my parents to sign a note allowing me to drive myself to Border’s for their Half-Blood Prince midnight release party. You see the level of fanaticism that Harry Potter brought out in me?
Along came summer 2007, after I turned 19-years-old. The July 21, 2007 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a sad one: the series that I had grown up with was coming to a close. In each book after Sorcerer’s Stone, I was the same age as Harry, so this felt like the loss of a best friend. However, it wasn’t all bad; I work at a library, so I was given the title of the “Official Harry Potter Expert.” I created displays (memorizing the barcodes of every Harry Potter- related material we own in the process), and did a program after the Order of the Phoenix the movie’s release, but before Deathly Hallows’ release.
Harry Potter has done so much for me over the past 10 years: allowing me to become more analytical while reading, appreciating- and reading- literature, doing bigger and better things at work, and, of course, making new friends. I enjoy writing and I’m currently working on a novel- something inspired by Jo’s amazing story, of course!

Seriously, Laia! Foggi, this is so much fun to read! Though at the moment I have two more dresses to do before tomorrow morning and my thoughts are everywhere. So I'll straighten my head and share tomorrow. :)

In 1997, I quit my job in the children's s dept. of a public library. For many years, I selected children's and YA books for the collection by reading many many many book review. Due to to "re-assessment of my job description" (i.e. I was demoted--another long story that still makes me mad after 12+ years), I no longer did book selection. Therefore, I missed reading the reviews of HP, and then I left that job to return to college to get my teacher certification. Fast forward to 1999...I have my first position as a school librarian. As a part of the book fair, a video promotion was shown to the children...which featured that year Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone I had never heard of the book before because I had gotten behind the times in the book reviewing process of new childre's books. The students were buying the book, requesting holds on library copies...one 4th grader begged me to write a note to his mother that the book was ok to read even though it was about witches, LOL. So I read the book myself to see what was getting the kids so excited. And was hooked from then on.

I agree with everyone, this thread is a lot of fun, foggi!

I started reading Harry as an asignment for school in eighth grade (2000), my Spanish teacher told us we had to read for class and then we would have a discussion. I remember buying the book and expressing that I thought it was such a childish book and it was just some stupid kid on a broomstick (How I come to regret ever saying those words about HP), the book was around my house for like two weeks before I gave it a chance, I never thought reading could be so much fun and HP showed me exactly how much fun it can be. I read the first book in 5 hours and I ran to the bookstore to buy books 2 and 3.

I devoured those ones in a week and the lady at the bookstore told me book 4 was coming out soon, so I distinctly remember calling day after day to the bookstore to check if it had come out. When it came out I urged my mom to take me to the bookstore to buy it. I read GoF in a week.

After that I found a copy of SS in English and I knew I had to get it. After reading that (I was amazed and happy that I could actually read a book in English and understand it) I discovered that OotP was coming out soon and the moment I found a copy I bought it and read it in one week.

For HBP I wanted to buy the book as soon as it came out so I told a friend who was traveling to Spain if she could get it for me coz I wasn't sure it would arrive at my bookstore, well the day it came out I saw it in my local bookstore and I couldn't wait so I bought it(the US version), my friend got back like 2 weeks after that and gave me the UK version so that's why I have two of those :D.

For the last book I was telling all my students that the book was coming out and that I was So excited and a student told me that one of the characters died, I told her that she had just ruined ten years of waiting, spoiled one of my most anticipated books and she kept repeating it and repeating it and I was so mad (If you remember there were lots of rumours around that a hacker had gotten into the scholastic website and had published spoilers on his blog) so I called a friend who had read the spoilers and asked her if the character indeed dies and she said no and I could breathe easily again.

So I went on the day at 10 am to the bookstore (no midnight release parties in my city) and went home with some friends and we read the whole day! it was so much fun coz a very good friend of mine now was reading almost at the same pace as me and we laughed and gasped at the same time. I read the whole night. I went to bed the next day at 7 am because my eyes were closing, I got up at noon and continued reading till 7:30 at night and I was so happy coz the plot wasn't spoiled for me. I was exhausted but happy and sad at the same time.

And then I discovered this website and loved the fact that i could catalog my books coz I was constantly writing the lists of books I had read, and looking through the website I discovered this group and you all have been so welcoming! I'm happy of the many things HP has given me one of them is the fact that I got to "meet" you guys!

I can't even remember what made me pick up the first book, all the buzz, I imagine. I bought the paperback and read that and loved it. For one of the next books I didn't pre-order it and then the day of the release I went driving around to various bookstores with a friend, looking for it. We both got into the series--I was in my late 40s then, and he was in his 50s (and a PhD in classics, too).

I never made that mistake again! Pre-ordered all the rest, and have all of them except the first in hardback.

One of my best memories was being in Atlantic City and buying a set of Harry Potter bookends. They are wonderful--have the Hogwarts Express, Harry, and Hedwig as part of them. I should post a picture of them sometime (maybe tomorrow when I can get a picture in daylight).

I recently started rereading the series and had the chance to read the British edition of the first book. One of my friends had a French exchange student who went on about how different they were, but I didn't notice much difference, frankly.

I've treasured the people I've met here on LT and have found the HE group very friendly and welcoming. I'm now looking forward to meeting some of the folks for the movie this summer and, even better, making the trip to Florida to meet even more of them and visiting the theme park at Universal Studios. That is going to be a seriously fantastic trip!

Ah, mine is a silly start :)
My parents bought the books for my brother in an effort to make him interested in reading again. He set it aside after 2 chapters... He still doesn't read. I had always read, mostly upper high school to adult stuff at the time. Then one day I ran out of my own books, which I don't think will ever happen again, but anyway, I ended up in my brother's room searching for one. I hijacked them and they have since become mine :)

I pretty much did not want to read the books at all but the first book was on a list of books to do a summer reading report for school, and since i was a poor teenager and my sister had the book I borrowed it. Thats when I got hooked and it was good that the first 4 were already out so that I got to keep reading.

My aunt is a children's librarian, and during the summer of 1998 she gave a copy of SS/PS to my mom thinking that all three of us (my mom, me and my sister) would enjoy reading it. I was the only one who picked it up, and despite not being a huge fantasy fan, I enjoyed it. However, I wasn't instantly hooked.

Several months later, my mom and I were in B&N and I spotted CoS on the bestseller's display, and I convinced my mom to buy it. Again, I was the only one who read it. And again, I still wasn't hooked.

The first movie came out during my junior year in college, and I went with a friend and greatly enjoyed it. The following semester I went abroad to Prague, and upon learning that I had only read the first two books, one of my new friends insisted that I read PoA and GoF, so I picked up the UK editions in Poland. I read PoA shortly thereafter, and *still* wasn't hooked, so I put GoF aside for later.

That later turned out to be the plane ride home at the end of the semester, and despite being exhausted from sitting up all night in the Rome airport (apparently getting a taxi to the airport in the wee hours in Rome is impossible), I read 3/4 of GoF on the plane and was HOOKED.

The second movie came out that fall, and OofP came out the following summer after I graduated. My family was at the beach when it came out, and although my dad went to the store at 7am to buy a paper and a copy of OotP for me, he came back empty handed, so I stopped by Borders on my way home and was fortunate to snag one of the last copies they had available.

I had re-read SS/PS at the beach just before OofP, but not the rest of the series, so I did a whole series re-read before HBP was released. Although I did reserve a copy of HBP, I did not attend the midnight release party, as I had just weeks before stopped working at the bookstore and felt weird about going. As it turned out, I never made it to a midnight release and I do regret that.

Later in the summer after HBP came out, my sister went to Cambridge to study for three weeks, and she returned with the UK editions of Cos and HBP for me. The following summer I attended a two-week seminar in Oxford and completed my UK run of the series (as published to that point) by picking up SS/PS and OofP.

When DH came out in 2007, I was once again at the beach, and the small local bookstore was not holding a midnight release party. We unfortunately had to leave early the next morning, so it wasn't until we stopped by my in-laws' to pick up our dog around lunchtime that I was able to swing into their local B&N and grab a copy. I normally get carsick if I try to read while riding, but the lure of DH was too strong, and I finished the first 77 pages during the last leg of our trip home. I then spent the next two days reading (I'd taken off work specifically for this reason).

Last summer, as I was on my way home from Tanzania, I spotted a UK edition of DH in a shop in the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, and snatched it up. I'd hoped to find one in Paris during our layover there, but I was much more excited about buying my copy in Kenya. I now own the entire series in the UK editions (all children's, btw), purchased in Poland, England and Kenya, and SS/PS, CoS, OotP, HBP, and DH in the US editions. At some point I hope to complete the series in US editions, but I'm in no rush.

This is a great thread! I have enjoyed learning about everyone's HP experiences! It took me a while to pick up my first HP book. I think I avoided them partly b/c of the hype and partly because they were children's books.
I picked up the first movie second hand, and I was hooked so I bought CoS, PoA, and GoF. I hadn't read any of the bought any of the books yet.

A co worker of mine found out that I hadn't read the books he lent me is copy of SS/PS. I enjoyed the book, but I had reading to do for school (I was finishing my degree) so I didn't pick up another HP book until June of 2007. One of my professors for Fall '07 emailed us early to give us a book list in case we wanted to buy our books over the summer. Imagine my surprise to see HBP on the reading list! (btw the class was Pychology of Adolescence, so it made sense after I read the book) I was hooked, I had to know what happened next, so I preordered my copy of DH and stood in line for 3 hours to pick it up! I read almost non stop for 2 1/2 days. I haven't made it through all the books yet, I regret to say, but now my degree is finished I have plenty of time to finish the rest!

I can't wait! Yay!

I love this thread.

I watched the first movie and loved it. My mom bought SS/PS and me, my mom, and my brother started reading it aloud together. I was 6 when we started, probably 7 when we finished. Now I didn't know it was a big craze or anything at the time but I was in love. My cousin who was a little older than me, felt the same way. Of course, it also helped that when we were young we had a little crush on Daniel Radcliffe. ;)

We watched CoS for my 8th b-day. I loved that one too and soon after read the book. My parents bought the rest of the series (3-5) in hardback for my brother as he still liked them then. I hadn't read PoA before it came out in theaters, but again I read it afterward. My cousin and I were crazed fans by then, making my brother less wanting to like Harry Potter. He had gone from thinking Harry Potter was neat, to thinking it was stupid.

My parents bought a hardback set of 1-5 for themselves that I also read. For HBP's release, I was in Florida with my family but my dad was at home and he got the book that we preordered. My dad read it before we came home. Then my mom and I took turns reading it. I did get the book before my cousin. :) By the time the fourth movie came around I had read all 6 books. I saw this one for my b-day too.

We preordered DH and happily saw OotP in theaters. When DH came out, I had to wait to read it. My dad read it and then my mom spent like a day and a half before she was done. I read it in about 5 days, finishing it on August 3 (how I remember the date, I don't know). Then I joined this group. I remember reading through a few threads and really wanting to join, but being careful about spoilers. I wouldn't let myself join til I finished reading. I'm so happy I did. :)

I have the set of hardbacks 1-5 in my room. Along with the loner HBP and DH hardbacks. I want to get my own set of all 7, especially since my parents probably wouldn't be too happy with me taking them. My brother still has SS and CoS in paperback and the next 3 in hardback but I bet he hasn't touched them in years. But they're not in the best condition.

I am not ignoring this thread. I just haven't found the time to sit and enjoy your stories. I am starring it so I can read it soon. Hopefully tonight.

I was home schooled through ninth grade and read constantly. For tenth grade, I decided to go to public school and that put a stop to my reading -- I was doing so much busy work there was no time left to read for fun. So I was completely out of the loop and never even heard of Harry Potter until I started seeing previews for the first movie.

LOTR previews were airing too as Fellowship came out soon after the SS movie and I honestly said several times that HP was just another fantasy thing playing off the fame LOTR already has for being a classic. You know how movies come in waves -- several weather phenomena movies, then several superhero ones, then a wave of kid's movies. So, naturally, I ignored HP. It was just piggybacking LOTR as far as I knew.

Finally, I was out of high school in 2002 and found that college scheduling allowed for much more free time for things like reading for fun! At some point freshman year of college, I finally picked up SS just to see what all the fuss was about. And that was it! I immediately fell in love with the writing and the characters. It was all that I loved about reading before life had interrupted. The first four books were out by now and I read all four very quickly but had no one to discuss them with. I also still didn't realize just how big the books were, so I didn't go looking for release dates or anything. I just reread the first four and rediscovered the wonderful world of children's fiction, reading constantly again, until fall of '03 when I realized the fifth book was out.

Around the same time, I was in a class with a girl who was on the school's equestrian team with me. The class took a lot of trips to farms, so on bus rides we usually sat together because we somewhat knew each other and are both too shy to want to introduce ourselves to someone else. On one bus, we were chatting about reading and one of us asked if the other read HP. Well that sped our friendship up considerably! We've since spend countless hours discussing and debating. Which just increased my love for the series!

I got to go to a midnight release for HBP in 2005, but my friend was working at Disney World and went to a release party down there since it was too far away to come back for the day. Husband came with me though. He started reading the series between OotP and HBP. I read HBP immediately with only a 2-hour break for a nap.

In December of '06, husband showed me LT, which he found through Andrew Peterson's website (a musician we follow). I quickly found the HP group and invited my friend -- bdevil4 on LT -- to join too. It was so great to be here for the Snape debates and all the theorizing about what was coming for book 7! But LT was my only HP online. I'm not much for surfing, so I found the plethora of fan site to be too much to sift through.

For DH release, my friend and I finally got to go to a release party together. Husband came too since he was a big fan of the series by now (though not crazed like me). Husband then went home to sleep like a normal person, and bdevil4 and I went to her mom's house to read the book together. We read all night and through the morning. I think we were both done by noonish.

After a bit of sleep, it was right back to LT to see what everyone else thought. It was so great to have you guys here! I posted much less back then, but I loved reading all the responses to the books. Obviously, I have since dropped all hesitation and post with abandon now. ;)

I still haven't had a chance to read the above (soon, I promise), but have sat down to type out my own.

Let’s see. How did I discover HP?

Really I don’t have that good of a story. When I was young I couldn’t get enough of books. Or so I’m told. I really don’t remember much of my younger years. Just a few memories here and there. I wasn’t much of a reader in junior high or high school. I actually didn’t have time to read for fun. I read a little, when I had time, but not like I do now. I studied a little, not really very much. My days were filled with music. Really. I was in band and choir. That took up a lot of time. During the fall semester we had lots of extra practice for band. There were always concerts, games, and competitions. When I turned 16, I got a job at Arby’s (really the day I turned 16). I worked a lot. Since I was a minor I wasn’t allowed to work 40 hrs a week, so I worked 30-39 hours a week. With all of that, I didn’t have time to read anything extra. After graduation I got a 2nd job working at a factory. I was then 18, so I was working 40 hours a week at Arby’s and 40+ hours at the factory. Once college started I was working at Arby’s (still the 40 hours) and working 20 hours on campus jobs. That’s on top of my 18 credit hours. I was a very busy girl. This pattern continued throughout college, except during the summer I was taking classes and doing a 3rd job (house sitting/dog sitting).
When the HP books were coming out I heard a lot about them from church members. You know the older church members. The ones who said they were evil books, and we shouldn’t read them. I never really understood that because they were supposed to be works of fiction. Like LoTR. Right? If the LoTR books were okay because they were fiction, then what was wrong with these HP books that were also works of fiction? The HP books blew up and I just wasn’t interested in reading a book with all the hype.

Now some of you may remember that we have to pay to use library books (because we live out of city limits). I decided that after a rough sophomore year (it was a life changing year) I wanted to begin to read again. I picked up a library card and started reading some books I had read in the past. Then July 8th, HPGoF was released. This was huge in the HP world. I thought to myself, I need to give it a try. So for some reason, I was able to get book 4. Yes, I started with book 4. I read it and was hooked. Two days later I went back to the library and picked up book 1 & 2. A week later I was back to get book 3. Harry Potter hooked me into the YA world of reading. Over the next few years I was able to pick up a book here and there, but I was so busy with my work and school schedule that I didn’t get to read very much. I was having to play catch up in college because of my major change. Previously I had been studying for Music Education, and had a tonal injury which dashed my dreams of being a music teacher (b/c I couldn’t pass 1 class). I was now having to take basic ed classes, which music majors take at the end of their college career. Elementary Ed. majors took them at the beginning of college. I was now taking 21 hours during the regular semester (plus working 2 jobs), and 14 hours during the summer sessions (on top of working 3 jobs). It didn’t leave much time for reading more than my studies. I read a few books here and there. Of course I was ready for book 5. I didn’t do the midnight release or any of the fanfare, but I was there in the same week picking up the book.
Once I graduated college (Dec. 2003), I was reading full fledge. I was only working 2 jobs (Arby’s and subbing), so I had lots of extra time. I started pulling tons of YA books off the library shelves to read. Lots of times they didn’t have some of the books in series, so I wasn’t able to finish some series that I was interested in. When I began teaching in August 2004, I was down to one job. It was enough to keep me busy. My reading slacked off a little, but I was still interested in it. I was buying books left and right for my classroom.
About July 2007 I discovered this little site called LibraryThing.com. I was very interested in it to catalog my 4000+ books in my classroom library (yes I had a little addiction-well I sill have it but that’s another story). I started buying a few books for my personal library, mostly because I couldn’t find them at the library or I couldn’t wait to read them. Around May 2008 (last year) I discovered the message boards. It never occurred to me that I could buy books to read because I could. Duh! I started buying like crazy. I mean I had about 50 books in my library from garage sales and another 20 or so from ones I couldn’t wait on, but didn’t really start buying until then. I then started to go a little crazy. The rest is pretty much history. Book 6 & 7 were reserved and picked up the next day. Really, I’d rather have my own copy than a borrowed copy so this was good for me right?

I was also avoiding the hype for quite a while. Some of my more booky friends had caught the bug, but I wasn't completely convinced and only added to the 'must keep an eye out for' pile which is mental list that gets quickly forgotten.

However shortly after that I was on a long train journey and despite having books with me to read decided to buy a new one anyway - I think I jumped in at PoA! It was sufficiently good that I gradually picked the rest up and read them in order.

However I wasn't blown away and only bought them in paperback, in whatever cover I could find (yes I have a mismatched set) avoiding all the fanfare of the major hardback releases. DH was hardest, but even there I managed to remain unspoilt until the paperback came out 18months later!

>25 kirbyowns:

Phew. I'm exhausted just thinking about your schedule!

Wow guys! Awesome stories! I loved reading each one.

Let's see. What did I forget in my novel above....
Oh, the movies. I wasn't too sure about movies. You know how I am about movies. I usually hate movies that are made out of favorite books. I was flipping through the channels and came across SS and decided to watch it. Wow. Not as good as the books, but wow!

My copies of the books? Well, I don't have them all cataloged, but I have 3 SS paperbacks, 2 CoS paperbacks, 1 PoA paperback, 1 OofP paperback and 1 hardback, 1 HBP hardback, and 1 DH hardback. I also have the new hardback boxset that you guys told me it was okay to get this year. I haven't cracked those open yet, but plan to this summer.

R_F, I can't believe you were able to wait for the paperback to come out before you even read it! I would have had to borrow it if I wasn't planning to buy it.

I havn't been able to read everyone's stories yet...stupid being busy at work...but I'm hoping I will soon. In the meantime this is my HP story.

I was visiting hollybee at her college with my parents. There was some sort of parent/student thing going on and I opted to hang out in holly's room. I asked her if she had any good books that I could read and she told me that in the container under her bed was the Harry Potter series and that I should read them because they are FANTASTIC. So they left and I opened the tuberware and saw 3 HP books. Couldn't see anything on them that told me to order I was supposed to read them in...(I didn't really look that hard, I wasn't a big reader in those days, and figured i'd just read until they got back so what did it matter) So I chose the one with the coolest title. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Started reading and got hooked finished that one then read them in order. Rereading POA. When GOF came out the story has been mentioned by bib, though she forgot to mention that She and I were at the craft store together, and got really excited when we saw it so we grabbed it for holly. When we got home holly was sitting at the kitchen table so I put the bags down, sat down across from her and pulled it out of the bag and opened it. Holly's eyes went wide, and then in her most pathetic voice she said something like "Mandy, you don't want to read that you havn't finished the first three yet, right?" I just laughed and handed it over to her. She grabbed it from me with a huge smile and she was gone to the world.

lol.. I love all the stories everyone!

My Harry Potter story brings back memories... some good some bad. When I was young I loved to read. It was something me and my great grandmother did together every night before bed. (she raised me) When she died in June of 98 I stopped reading and pulled into myself a lot. I didn't really talk to anyone, didnt pay attention in school, and I was just plain depressed. My aunt was really worried about me since I was ten at the time and acting like a teenager lol... (thats the way she puts it anyway) and started buying me boat loads of books. None of which I was even tempted to pick up at the time. Then in (i think)november she came home with another batch of books that I discovered on my bed when I came home from school. I took a quick look through them and decided i would pick one up to humor her. I picked up Hp/SS. After that I was hooked I reread the book so many times that the copy she gave me was well worn. After I read it my aunt made sure that I got all seven in hardback as they came out. It became a tradition of ours and we still read and talk about them together. I am not sure if I would have really gotten back into reading if it wasn't for that.

>31 MellieT:
I'm sorry about your great grandmother, MsBella, but when she read to you she gave you a gift that will last your whole life. I'm so glad you went back to it.

Thanks Ejj. She made me the person I am now, and I have been a bit sentimental lately cause her birthday was tomorrow. So I figured no better time to tell my story! :)

Bella, you made me all misty-eyed! What a beautiful, if bittersweet, story. I'm glad she left you with a love of books, even if it took you a bit to get back to it. A wonderful legacy, for sure.

That is lovely, Bella! What a wonderful way to discover HP! :)

I forgot to mention exactly why I picked HP despite the hype. I noticed that the only people who had negative things to say about the books had not read them. Everyone who had read them was nuts about them. And rightly so.

>35 lefty33:

It is amazing to me how often that turns out to be the case.

wow some really good stories. I'll have mine up tommorow!

Reading everyone's stories makes me want to run down the hall, grab SS/PS and restart the series this very minute!! Unfortunately, I have to go to work today, so that likely isn't a wise idea...but I'll likely give in soon (even though I'm trying to wait to reread them once the baby is here). :o)

Yes, I think i'll have to start my rereads sooner than planned, because i'm really in the mood now.