As wonderful and magical as promised. Because I didn't remember the movie, the third act of the book was a delightful surprise to me.

I wish I'd had this book when I was a kid, because the idea that someone could be special without knowing it, and then get to visit a special world where the things that made him different were the same things that made him awesome would have been really inspiring to me.

Anne's finishing this, too, and I have to wait for her before I start in on the second book ... HURRY UP ANNE!

I really, really loved this.
Reading vlog is up : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_-20...

Book two, here I come!!
4 STARS
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on hiatus since 2017 lol

So I read the newest editions of the books that I’m going to collect. I have so many different collections I’ll probably add later. In these new books I actually love the art on all the pages instead of the interactive stuff. I put together a collage of a couple pages






*******

Where in shit’s ass is my review with all of the pics of the illustrations from the book in it!! Rat bastards!!

Anyhoo, reread on Audible

Publishers have my sympathy. If I try to put myself in the place of an editor picking this manuscript from the pile I can say with some certainty that I would not have recognized it as the ticket to a multi-billion dollar prize. I would have thought to myself that it was a good fun read, revisiting the magic-school trope and doing a fine job for children in the 8 to 12 range. If I hadn't had anything better land on my desk I might have published it, but then again, like quite a number of publishers, I might have passed in favour of a book I liked better.

I read this maybe 15 years back so I could share in what was exciting my three kids at the time. And I've read it twice to my daughter, Celyn. We read the first 5 some years back, and now she's 12 we're going to read the whole lot. She's very disabled and can't read for herself (she can't hold the book or see the page for starters...)

Having just finished I've checked the shelves to discover we have two copies of book 1 and two copies of book 3, but none of book 2. So JKR will be getting some more of my money shortly!

To the review... I liked the book. I have no idea why it has sold a gazzilion copies more than any other children's book or why so many adults are so taken with it. JKR writes solid enough prose, though her addiction to adverbs in dialogue tags irks me no end, he said testily. She writes a fun and inventive story, though the internal inconsistencies would have distressed me even as a child. Why do the finest wizards in the land leave a great treasure guarded only by a series of puzzles rather than actual defences? If in the final scenes the puzzle poem hadn't been left to give the solution to the potion test ... or the key hadn't been left in the same room as the door that wouldn't yield to magic ... would that not have been a better way to defend the treasure? Yes ... it was more fun this way, but ... dammit ... kids aren't stupid...

But yes, funny and inventive magic, school dynamics of making friends and enemies, the hijinx, the evil baddie, the chosen one... it's all good. Celyn certainly enjoyed it. She's on team Hermionie.

The only other thing that really bothered me was the repeated insinuation, present even in the term itself, that 'muggles' are somehow lesser. That the random gift of magical ability somehow makes you better.

I remember that later on (and hinted at in this book) the idea of mud-bloods (wizards born of muggles) is offered up as a proxy for racism and we're invited to condemn Draco Malfoy for his views (rightly so). But all the time I read this I'm feeling the hypocrisy embodied in the whole idea of muggles, which, albeit voiced without open malice, is really the same damn thing.

I will report back on book 2 when we're done.

EDITED IN FROM THE COMMENTS:

>>Aliyah wrote: "Personally I believe the trope is so familiar to you because of JK Rowling. She made this style of fantasy more popular."

>My reply: Personal beliefs are fine and dandy, but in this instance ... badly wrong.

My first encounter with magic schools was in The Worst Witch series (1974) which centres on a magic school and which I began in 1974. Followed by A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) which also centres on a magic school and which I read in 1975.

The mechanics of reaching a boarding school on a dedicated train laid on for the purpose and of sorting a boarding school into four groups to be housed in four towers was something I encountered at a still younger age in the early 70s in my mother's copy of First Term at Malory Towers (1946).



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...

Yes, I've been living under a rock.

Beyond amazing! Way to start the new year! :)

I've read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone way back in High School but I wasn't able to finish it because sad to say, my book was lost. :( And now, thanks to my lovely friend Allie who gave me a copy of this book, I became interested to read it once again and bring back the old times' feels.

And WOW! Just WOW! Thank goodness I decided to read it again because it felt so magical and magnificent and totally breathtaking! -- exactly what I've felt the first time I've read this.



Harry Potter is such a great, well-fleshed out character. Despite being parentless and being bullied both in the Muggle world and Hogwarts by some kids, he still stood up and even became a great friend to Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the others.

This story had lots of exciting adventures and I really enjoyed everything that happened in this book. It was just so awesome! The secondary characters are also perfect. I especially love Hermione and her genius mind! Ron's loyalty towards Harry is also awe-inspiring, as well as Neville's adorable clumsiness. When it comes to its plotline, it's amazingly done. The twist was unpredictable and there was humor in every page that made me laugh. What's even great are the lessons and the message that are instilled to every reader, fantasy and magic aside.

n  n    "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."n  n

I loved all the chapters and my favorites are:

The Boy Who Lived, The Vanishing Glass, Diagon Alley, The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, The Sorting Hat, and Quidditch.

No wonder why this book and the whole series continues to be a real sensation. J.K. Rowling is so brilliant she bewitched me with her world! So excited to find out more about this series and to see what's in store for Harry in the next books. :)

Rating:

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***that mirror scene is still making me cry. Curse you, JK. I will take revenge ☺️

This is one of the ten bestselling books ever. How do I approach this book to review? It set the ball rolling for so many of us. The book was set in the 90's, and I'm almost the same age as Harry would be.

For some time, it would be so tempting to pretend that magic exists. J.K Rowling's seal on this type of mysterious novel has never been attempted before. The book has many influences, but in the end, it stands alone.

Did I broach on how fun it was to read these books? This reread is the first since joining Goodreads. Loved it, and most characters are so funny, including the backfiring handed to Malfoy.

It's been a privilege to read book 1 of the series. I know how it will end, but let me enjoy book 2 in quiet. Book 7 made me cry but the joy of books 1-3 is unrivaled. We will never see it matched in the future. Not until decades and maybe a couple of centuries later.

I tried to find special ideas to show my love for these books, but I can't do it justice. Let's leave out the cold word bildungsroman until later.

Oh look! A cute, funny children's book, just the right length, with a nicely constructed, self-contained plot and a good ending.

Well, obviously we want to turn it into a huge, bloated, ridiculously self-important seven-volume series. Nothing else would make sense.

If you don’t know what a Muggle is by now, you’re either Rip van Winkle or enormously stubborn.

enormously stubborn...

yup, that shoe fits!

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Stuck at home? Got some time on your hands? Want to start a long series? But you don't want a dud?

Check out thisn   booktube videon all about which series are worth your time (and which ones aren't)!

n  Here's the Written Review!n


Can you hear me screaming?

As expected, the illustrations brought this book to a whole new level. I legitimately want to buy another copy, solely to take it apart and frame it.

Each page is just bursting with new life. Honestly, how could you not love such beautiful images?


Hogwarts, Hogwarts. Hoggy Hoggy warty warts.

I think at this point, everyone and their great-great-grandmother has heard of this book.

Harry Potter, orphaned before he was one, was sent to live with his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. He was always a bit of an odd child - much to his family's dismay.

Things just... happened ...around him. Like when he was running from bullies and jumped to the school roof. Or when he got an atrocious haircut (courtesy of Aunt Petunia) and all of his hair grew back in a single night.

On his eleventh birthday, a letter comes to him and a whole new world opens in front of his eyes.

In short - I LOVED THIS ONE. I thought I loved the Harry Potter books when I first read them, but when I bought the illustrated version...well, that love instantly quadrupled.

The fully illustrated Philosopher's Stone still has all the wonder and amazement as the boy-turned-wizard embarks on a harrowing 7-book-adventure and the illustrations bring a whole new dimension.

Seriously, I can't emphasize enough how much I love this book. Just look at these images - they're magnificent:


Ahh! Just look at sad, tiny Harry. Don't worry kid - life will get better!

Not only are these full-color, high quality images but there are so many of them.

Often, illustrated books have a picture here or there but not HP. There's pages and pages of pictures like this - and often the pages without full-sized images will have a small illustrations here and there between the large ones.

Words cannot express how highly I recommend this one. If you haven't read HP recently...I strongly urge you to check out this book.

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