I've never read any of the Harry Potter books, and for some reason never got into the movies. I finally saw that on ABC family this holiday weekend (which we got tons of rain from) that they were playing the first three on Saturday and the 4th on Sunday. Because of the weather, we stayed in and caught the first, Sorcerer's Stone, going into it with no expectations. And we really liked it. So, we watched Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban. We liked Chamber of Secrets the best, but liked both. We knew Goblet of Fire was coming on Sunday, so we rented Order of the Phoenix to watch after it. We enjoyed them too. And now I'm a fan.

I really liked the feel of the first two- the mix of fun and adventure as Harry and his pals explore the magic world and Hogwarts and Harry learned about himself. POA was the least enjoyable as it seemed like chunks of explanation were missing and it was choppy. With SS and CoS there seemed to be enough backstory and storytelling to get me by. By the time Order of the Phoenix was over I knew there was tons of stuff I had no clue about... like the new blond girl, who she was, where did she come from, and other stuff. I'm still not clear what Harry's "prophecy" crystal ball was, what it meant, and why it's important.

But I still really enjoyed the films. But I know I'm missing tons of stuff in the books. In the 3rd, 4th, and 5th movies I was constantly overthinking trying to guess who/what/where/why/how because I had not read the books. Or maybe I'm slow But now I've three options to choose from. Do I....

1.) Finish watching all the movies without reading the books

2.) Read Sorcerer's Stone through Order of the Phoenix only to get really good understanding of the mythology, characters, events

3.) Read all the books before Half-Blood Prince comes out in November

4.) Some other option I'm missing

I'm not sure what to do. From what I've read, universally people like ALL the books. So I'm not posting this in the Book Forum. But I know with all the different directors, adaptations, and themes/tones of the movies vary. I don't want me reading the books to tarnish the movies (especially the first two) because I liked them. I don't want the events of the next three movies to be tarnished because "no matter what they'll never be as good as the book". But it would be nice to understand what's going on half the time. But does reading the book ruin the movie because you know what will happen? I'd especially like to hear from someone that never read a book but started watching the movies then went back and read. Which would you do, in my position?

There is no right answer here. You watched 75% of the story in a few days. You can't finish the saga for another 3(?) years. If you want to continue the story riding this high, you'll have to read the books.

However the books are, obviously, richer and more full than the movies so I wouldn't recommend starting on 6 just because you've seen the first 5 entries. There are characters, history, and subplots that are missing.

Luckily, the first 2 movies are nearly word-for-word adaptations of the books, so you really wouldn't miss anything by not reading those. But they're such short reads it's almost a wash...

Azkaban as a film was disappointing to me because the book was my favorite and they took out so much of the James/Sirius/Lupin/Pettigrew history. The third movie is really where the movies start diverging from the books in places.

The books are always going to give you a more complete experience, but the time investment is, obviously, much higher. Hell, you might not be able to read all 7 before the next 3 movies (6, 7a, and 7b) hit

I remember after watching the first two movies i read the book versions afterwards. They are pretty much the same as the movies. But the third movie had a lot of stuff taken out from the book. Definately read the third.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I actually feel like Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban was the best of the 5 movies. It just works on so many levels, and I would put it on my Top 20 list of all-time favorite movies. I'd say it's not just the best Harry Potter movie (which I think it is), it's a really great movie, period. That being said, I felt like Goblet Of Fire was the weakest of the 5. It just felt like it could've been fleshed out more. Order Of The Phoenix also suffered from this, especially considering it was the shortest of the movies and yet the longest of the books. I still rank Order Of The Phoenix number 2 in my list. For the longest time, I always found them less enjoyable as they went on, but re-watching Prisoner Of Azkaban last year, it just dawned on me that it was the most fulfilling movie-watching experience of the 5. I still like them all though.

But yeah, more on topic, I am more of a movie fan than a book fan, so I watched the movies before reading the books. I actually have the book for Half-Blood Prince but I'll probably end up watching the movie before I get around to reading it. Not sure if I'll be able to wait for The Deathly Hollows: Parts 1 & 2 before reading that book, but I'm sure I can manage. Reading 1-5 definitely gave me a better understanding of the characters, situations, themes, etc. than if I had just watched the movies and read nothing. But I generally prefer my revelations to come via cinematic interpretation. And yes, Prisoner Of Azkaban is also my favorite book of the series, which, I think, makes me even more of a rarity.

K

You're not in the minority; PoA is generally considered to be the best of the series. I certainly think it is easily the best film. A lot of book fans really like the first two, but I think that the first movie is nothing more than functional, and the second one, in my opinion, is a bit of a disaster...too long and it loses sight of what is important. Honestly, if I didn't know the story my reaction to Ginny Weasley being taken to the CoS would have been...who? Oh yeah, the little red headed girl who had one line two hours ago.

PoA has a real sense of magic that the others lack, though GoF is probably the most entertaining in my eyes. OOTP felt rushed to me, but it's better than the first two.

As for reading the book...you'll understand more...in the last three movies in particular little more than the main plot has survived, though there are little sprinkles tossed in for fans (Ron's room being decorated all in Chudley Cannon stuff in the beginning of GoF, etc). I used to stay one ahead of the movies, but I went ahead and read Dealthy Hallows last summer figuring I would end up spoiled if I didn't (I knew the major deaths before I had read the three previous books).

Based off of the films you enjoyed the most, and why you indicated you didn't enjoy the others as much, I'd say definitely read the entire series before seeing Half-Blood Prince. But beware, you'll probably end up resenting some of the things they did with the more recent movies.

It's funny, a lot of the arguments in favor of the movies that take more liberties with the story than first first two center around non-readers not enjoying a literal re-telling as much as an adaptation. Most of the time I've found that argument to be true, but GradVT06 is apparently one case where that's not true.

This is pretty much exactly how I feel.

I saw the first 5 movies without reading the books. After seeing Order of the Phoenix I finally went back and read all 7 of them. Yup...the first 2 are practically word for word, so if you don't want to bother reading the first 2 you probably don't have to, although they are quick and it's nice to start from the beginning. Again, as it's already been stated starting with Azkaban, books are FAR more in depth than the movies and you get so much more by reading the books. I'm probably in the minority here, but I actually liked The Half Blood Prince the best of all. Most people seem to like Azkaban or Goblet the best and I never hear many people saying they like Half Blood Prince the best.

In any event, my suggestion would be to go back and read Azkaban, Goblet and Phoenix even though you've seen the movies just because the movies left so much interesting stuff out. More than likely, after reading the books, you'll be even more hooked and won't be able to wait to read the 6th and 7th books.

In my opinion the books are light years better than the movies especially the third book and beyond.

I was never really a fan of the movies, except Azkaban. Still, I saw the first four before I took on the books.

I didn't actually read the books but listened to the unabridged audio books. There are 2 versions out there. I listened to the US Jim Dale versions, which are almost like audio plays since Jim has a great talent for voices. There is also a UK version read by Stephen Fry. I haven't heard it, but read that it's a more traditional reading.

Even though I really enjoyed the audio books, they started out too juvenile but really matured as the series progressed, I still am not too excited about the movies. I haven't even seen OotP yet.

So, I would say reading the books after starting with the movies didn't diminish the movies in my view, but I never held them in high esteem to being with. Conversely, I think the movie did a very good job realizing the characters, so seeing them first didn't detract from the book experience.

I think the movies have consistantly been very well made. However, you ARE missing a lot of characters/storylines by not reading the novels - particularly some of the longer books towards the end of the series.

Plus, there's a certain richness to JK Rowling's text that you just can't translate to film. You don't NEED to read the books, but you'll be better for it...go ahead and dive in.

Oh, and woopdido - you're not in the minority, I and many others also feel Half Blood Prince is the best of the lot.

I hadn't read any of the books prior to hearing about the first movie being made. About a week before it came out, I started reading the book. I've kept this tradition up with all the movie releases. I usually get about 1/2 through the book and then see the movie and then finish the book. That way I get a little knowledge of what the movie is about, but doesn't spoil the ending.

Incidently, I think all the books are a fast read, even though some are quite long. I find myself not wanting to put them down once I start.

Thanks for all the opinions- most seem to think reading all the books is a good idea. That was my first reaction after seeing the 5 movies- that I want to go back and read the books. I'll try and get through them all, or at least Half-Blood Prince by the time November rolls around. It's been a LONG time since I've read for pleasure... I read like crazy as a kid, but from high school through college and in the few years since it's only been textbooks. Maybe this weekend I'll head to the library to rent the first few.

Reading the books is a good idea, but be prepared to be disappointed by the movies once you go down that road... GOF was hugely disappointing, and OotP was only slightly better imo.