I Read Harry Potter for the First Time as an Adult (Series Review)

[@teddyp3723]

The filler stuff might have been my favorite part of the books as a kid but I see how it may not be enjoyable for everyone.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Like I’ve said before, if slice of life is your thing, the filler is probably your favorite part! That’s not my favorite, so that’s why it felt the way it felt, but I can totally see and understand why people loved that. It’s all great stuff!

[@Vintermys]

I 100% agree! The fact that so much of the world building and character development (basically stuff that doesn’t really drive the story forward but rather gives it context, the “filler” if you will) is left out of the films, is one of the main reasons why I keep coming back to the books after all these years. I can totally see why you might not find those chapters as enjoyable if you didn’t read the books growing up, but for a lot of us who did, these characters feel like long lost friends and the “filler” chapters are perhaps the best way to go back and spend time with them. Of course the plot has to move forward but the very story driven chapters don’t always give you the same opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the wizarding world. In fact, the “filler” chapters are probably one reason as to why the plot heavy ones are as good as they are. The deaths of certain characters wouldn’t affect you as much if you hadn’t spent so much time with them at school, in the common room, or on the quidditch pitch. Again, from your point of view as an adult first-time reader I think it makes perfect sense to feel like those parts of the story are a bit slow, I just wanted to shine some light on how that experience might differ from the experience of people whose entire childhood would be different if not for these books. :)

[@jamienoellegordon7693]

I think that Harry being passive and letting people tell him what to do is very telling of the house he lived in for ten years before Hogwarts. He was an abused child, and he learned very early to stay out of the way and do as he was told.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That makes sense.

[@mirrojas]

Agreed. Always thought Harry had a quiet intelligence & let his actions speak more.

[@silverx_1848]

Harry is passive?? Did we read the same books?

[@Zach-fu8wn]

He didn't trust the adults especially at the beginning because of his upbringing

[@YenellyT]

He was def an abused child! And he still managed to be a kind kid, I love his character so much

[@acidead97]

What you say about Harry as a protagonist for the first few books goes in line with what snape says about harry to bellatrix and narcissa. "He's a mediocre wizard who's got out of a number of dangerous situations with pure luck, and more talented friends." In the beginning of book 6

[@victorialastofka1534]

And that is exactly what Harry keeps saying to everyone 😆

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Well I’m glad the book is self aware and pokes fun at it too!

[@EjayT06]

Even though it’s completely not true.

[@dfcarvalho]

Also I feel like Harry being passive and somewhat mediocre is kind of the point. In the first 2 books he's a fish out of water. He didn't have much of a life before Hogwarts, he wasn't used to having any kind of freedom and he didn't know anything about magic or the wizarding world. If he was shown to be "working stuff out himself" in those early books, I feel like it wouldn't be believable. I get the desire for a more interesting protagonist, but I think harry being a bit boring is very much by design. Plus the other characters make up for him by having a LOT of color.

[@gg-sr9lq]

@@dfcarvalhoalso, he’s not actually a mediocre wizard. Especially as the books progress. Take his fully corporeal patronus, as a third year!

[@kayleetiller1302]

I disagree with so many of your takes, but still enjoyed hearing your thoughts! It’s always nice hearing other peoples opinions to see if yours change at all.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That’s the best part about these books, everyone has different opinions and thoughts about them, and that is great!

[@joaofigueira2012]

Order of the Fênix is The book that you needed to read in another time of tour life. Reading it in your teens is awesome and it is the book that i go back the most

[@tycurley8109]

Just got into reading now as an adult when I hated it growing up. I figured I would start with Harry Potter, and it's truly amazing. It has inspired my new hobby to read, and I can't wait to find new books I will enjoy as much or maybe more.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Same here!

[@luskaneseprince]

I think that was the real magic of Harry Potter for, I would argue, hundreds of thousands of people who read the series as kids: it taught them to search for more enjoyable and fun books to read. Harry Potter is not the best book series in the world by any means, but it is captivating, smart, whimsical and satisfying in many ways, making you feel curious about what else is there. It wakes up that little bookworm in you I think. Can't say many other books have been able to do that - a truly marvelous gift for anyone in that sense!

[@thelastbender3703]

I recommend looking at the James potter series. It’s not canon nor written by jk, but it does feel very much like the same writing and universe. I do really recommend though I just finished that last book today

[@HabitualJoker]

Just like you, many other people have found the same love for books through Harry Potter. Welcome to the unlimited world of books!

[@monkeydeluffi3]

if you liked jk rowling you will definetely like the Kingkiller chronicles

[@iio_moon]

I think the reason you get to know more what percy thinks and wants than harry is because of the pov. PJO is first person while HP is thrid person thus you naturally get more info from the mc who's narrating it all.

[@CareyTisdal]

I loved the Order of the Phoenix because you saw the magical world outside of Howgwarts! So, to each his/her own!

[@kimberley3577]

Ok halfway through the video; I feel like you went in skeptical and ready to dislike it because you contradict yourself. “The books are great” then “they’re just ok”

[@bartoszwojciechowski2270]

I don't really understand where most of this criticism comes from, the "filler" chapters were meant to introduce us to the whole magical world, as well as to show that the world is not very different from our real world, they both have corrupted politicians, crime, racism and other forms of discrimination, and magic is just a tool, but fundamentally, wizards aren't different from us, the students act like normal teenagers, the teachers are not omniscient and omnipotent, they can make mistakes, etc. And Umbridge wasn't punished at the end of the 5th book because that was the point, it was meant to show that she still was an influential politician from the corrupted Ministry of Magic which didn't want to admit it had made mistakes. Maybe you're just not a fan of these slices-of-life chapters, but idk what you'd replace them with, action all the time? The story would be incredibly shallow if it was just action action action without any meandering, background descriptions, and internal struggles of the characters that give some depth. The only criticism I'd make is that Rowling uses the deus ex machina device and exposition a little too much, but it's not a big downside because even those are usually well integrated into the plot, they just take a bit away from the climax. But overall, these books are very decent from the structural point of view, they're well plotted, they do get progressively darker and more mature together with their characters, and Rowling has a real talent for foreshadowing.

[@laylaessack4844]

Enjoyed this review even though I didn’t agree with you about everything. I did read these as a kid when I was 11- till this day it’s been the fastest series I’ve ever read (less than a month!). Since then I’ve stayed around in the fan community and yes it’s a really awesome how much we, the fans, have access to. One of the thing you said that I found interesting is your comments on how passive and out of control Harry seemed in the first few books… but to me that’s a big part of the story. Harry IS out of control and generally unsure of himself. He may the the Chosen One but he is ‘just Harry’ and to me, the books really reflect that as Harry’s biggest struggle. I personally enjoy longer books so that might also be a factor, but for a lot of the longer books Harry himself is tired. He feels like he is being dragged along and that struggle comes through in the writing in my opinion. We live the entire story through Harry so we end up feeling what he’s feeling throughout. For me that’s why the ending, as you said, didn’t have that “energy”. It’s because Harry had had enough. The ending isn’t so much a victory as a relief. His friends are safe, he is safe and it is finally over. Idk if that makes sense, just my take on it.

[@Jack-y6n]

The chapter in book 5, Detention With Delores, is a good example. It's possibly the worst week Harry has experienced at school. It is tedious and agonising and the pacing is slow so you feel it as the reader.

[@laylaessack4844]

@@Jack-y6n Wow yes I vividly remember that chapter being a drag now that you mention it! That writing choice makes so much sense thinking back

[@Atrulion]

You keep saying there's not much if you dig deep into the story, and you'll be disappointed if you do, but I wouldn't say so. One of my favorite youtube videos of all time explores Dumbledore *A LOT* . It's called *Dumbledore's Big Plan* . It's a long video, but it covers each book thoroughly. I recommend everyone to watch it if you feel like Harry Potter is quite flat.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Thanks for the rec, I’ll check it out!

[@AHufflepuffAndASwiftie]

Was gonna say the same thing. Look up “SuperCarlinBrothers: Dumbledore’s BIG Plan” They’re GREAT (& funny, too!) 😊

[@victorialastofka1534]

I agree! I am totally on the opposite side constantly saying that I don’t know enough because there are always new things you discover if you dig deep.

[@gonaye1]

@@Atrulion this made me think of another book I really enjoyed called “Looking for God in Harry Potter,” (a book whose author’s name is also ‘Granger,’ incidentally, LOL). The author used what he had learned about Rowling’s Christian beliefs and what she had shared about her favorite works of literature to analyze how she was plotting out each book in the series, and why certain characters were so vital to Harry successfully completing his journey. It was an amazing read and if I remember correctly it actually came out right after the Order of the Phoenix was released, and the author was so accurate with his guesses about what would happen going forward that he even correctly guessed what the next big death in the series would be. It was crazy to read Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows and realize the author nailed his hypothesis about Rowling’s plans for Harry long before the final two books were released.

[@Atrulion]

@@gonaye1 Hot dang, that does sound interesting. I'll keep that one in mind!

[@victorialastofka1534]

Interesting point of view with “not that dark” kind of story. I mean you only have wizard Hitler&friends and murders that split your soul, attacks on one year olds that leave kids hearing their mother dying for the rest of their lives as they experience a level of fear from a soul sucking monsters that push most people into insanity. Let’s not mention the boggarts or the inferi(maybe these are just my personal choices of the most darkest things a human can go through). Sure you don’t get the Red Wedding kind of killings or horror books kind of scary. The darkness in Harry Potter is meant for the traumatizing of the spirit not the flesh 😅😅

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That’s a great take!

[@Alternatives1945]

I agree, it’s obviously not Stephen King dark. But, it definitely could be considered dark especially with the fact it’s considered a child’s series.

[@Christian-ut2sp]

You’ll love Sanderson if you’re after “Epicness”. I find it funny you think the whole thing with Snape’s memories was a distraction from the battle, while I found the battle to be a distraction from character moments. Different readers, different tastes

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Can’t wait to start Sanderson! I’ve heard a lot about his writing and epic is definitely one of the way to describe it! I think my issue with the memory sequence is that it didn’t affect the plot immediately following it. If Harry had seen what he had seen and then gone to save Snape or change the outcome of the future because of the memory, it would’ve made more sense to have it where it was. But because the plot continues on as it would if he hadn’t seen those memories, it felt out of place. I think Harry watching it after the battle as a final send off would’ve been bittersweet and heartbreaking knowing he couldn’t bring Snape back while also coming to terms with what happened, closing the chapter on Hogwarts with all the answers before he left. But hey, that could just be the screenwriter in me 🤷‍♂️

[@TomBruhh]

​@@ericbowdenbooks Surely you recognise that a good story relies on plot *and* character? Just having the plot move forward with no character moments would make for terrible reading. There's a reason why Snape's memories is such a beloved scene in the series, since it's one of the most emotional character moments. Besides, it *does* actually push the plot forward, considering it reveals Harry must allow himself to be killed by Voldemort, and retroactively builds on earlier moments such as Dumbledore's death.

[@missmrocks]

Sanderson is AMAZING! He is a very brilliant man.

[@AnastasiaWyrmberg]

​@ericbowdenbooks this is an odd take, as the memory is where he learns hes a horcrux and must die, so he turns himself over to be killed by voldermort. It been a while since I read it, so maybe Im not remembering the sequence well, but Im not sure how that doesnt progress the plot. Without snapes memories, he would have never turned himself over.

[@joanapereira8011]

Harry as a character I think can be seen in very different eyes on a re-read. Growing up Ron was always my favourite character (and still is), and while I think Ron is severely misunderstood also, Harry is probably the one character that no one says is their favourite when they first read the books, and then like him more and more on re-reads. Harry doesn't have a chance to really have a lot of his own interest and dreams and aspirations. That's kind of the point and why his life is so tragic. Since he was a baby he's been branded by Voldemort and his whole life IS reacting to all the crazy things that happen around him. Hes not given the chance to just be a kid and do whatever he wants most of the time. He's also a child that was abused and neglected a lot since he was a baby, and has no reason to trust adults which is VERY important to understand his behaviour. He still does have a personality in my opinion: he's probably the most sarcastic character in the series and has some of the absolute best one liners, he's super resilient, very impulsive, not always very smart but will always, always go the moral route. His most defining personality trait is his empathy, even for people who don't deserve it. That makes him a hero, not the fact that he survived Voldemort.

[@0rm0rm0]

I love this.

[@shirleydurr411]

I read the books for the first time as an over-40 adult on the recommendation of my students in my grades 8-12 English classes. So no nostalgia for me. I was impressed by the quality of the writing and Rowling's ability to capture each age of the characters -- from pre-teen to high hormonal teen years to young adulthood. I find it fascinating that 20-somethings and 30-somethings miss the reality of what being an adolescent is like. Perhaps it was because I was looking at it as I read the books. Those parts that were boring to you provide backstory the helps us recognize how characters came to be who and how they were. Those parts you call boring are what points us to the theme, the point in telling us these stories, what we can take away, give us insight into who we can be in our society. The only boring part in OOP for me was the battle at the Ministry of Magic.. I do agree with you when you say the story doesn't get darker but more mature with each book with each book maturing in its storyline with the target audience. Rowling wasn't writing a romance so the romances are not emphasized but I noticed Jenny in the first scene when we see her with her family seeing Ron off to his first year at Hogwarts so when she is more prominent in #2, I'm not asking where did she come from. I never understood why people felt Hermione was a better fit for Harry when she is not exactly a powerful witch although she is highly gifted with spells and enchantments that she read about In her textbooks. Jenny, early on, was clearly a more powerful witch as unassuming as her mother who was also a powerful witch. Molly's backstory is one of the "boring" parts that clues us in on this. I was never surprised that Harry, a powerful wizard, found her attractive. They're a perfect match. And I love Ron, not just for his humor. He is typical of a highly intelligent student who tries to get away with doing the least work he can to pass. I like that we see them going to class and studying throughout the books (until #7).

[@avivastudios2311]

The Order of the Phoenix is one of my favorite books in the series. I remember going through it and caring about literally everything that Harry was going through after witnessing Cedric's death. There was a lot of pain in that book, a lot of anger and frustration and I cared about every minute of it because I really cared about Harry.

[@Rosenaification]

I've read these books dozens of times growing up, and I loved your insight. Watching this video has inspired me to read the series more analytically. PoA is also my favorite one, but my second favorite is Order of Phoenix. The filler is what I enjoyed as a kid for some reason. 😂

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I can see that! If you enjoy slice of life at Hogwarts, Order of the Phoenix probably has the most of it out of any of the books. I was just ready for the plot to get moving again so it felt like a slog for me 😅

[@gilbertoflores7397]

​@@ericbowdenbooks you're probably going to hate Sanderson, he has a very unique style of writing so much, and saying almost nothing, while also not being prose heavy either. His plots are slug paced and tons of exposition randomly thrown in because he might not have explained it very well.

[@peteharper2687]

I have to say that I was around 50 when I first heard Stephen Fry read Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone on the radio at Christmas. I loved it straight away.

[@browneyedgirlgb1308]

Radio 4 Boxing Day Philosopher’s Stone unabridged. Love it. Listened as a family.

[@freeloadingmf]

In my opinion the best time to have been a Potter fan was during the long long wait between books 4 and 5. Never in my life have I read so many in depth essays and theories about a project with references and quotations like a university essay using the books themselves, mythology, history,... A lot of that stuff has sadly been erased from the internet. It's amazing that JK Rowling still managed to surprise us with how the story unfolded despite the huge amount of time and minds there were to theorize but at the same time there was a twinge of disappointment when some things didn't come true because they were so well researched and it meant the "evidence" from the previous 4 books was truly just people reading TOO much into things.

[@susanrobertson984]

Now people give Rothfuss or George RR Martin that kind of treatment. 😊

[@Davanthall]

Yeah that was quite a....magical time (pun not initially intended but hey I'll roll with it)

[@alyssakays367]

So happy you liked the series! You are spot on when you say that the character voices and the growth/age of the characters is underrated. One thing to take into consideration with the exposition about Snape in DH: That chapter, The Prince’s Tale, may have been much more gratifying for readers who were reading the books as they came out. When these books were coming out, there was an ongoing debate about whether Snape was good or bad. No one could really decide. He saved Harry’s life, Dumbledore trusts him but he was a Death Eater and he’s extremely mean…etc. So at the end of HBP most of us thought we finally had the answer but there were still a few things that didn’t make sense. So after years of debate, The Prince’s Tale was one of the most jaw dropping and heart wrenching chapters in the entire series. I can see how it wouldn’t have the same impact on someone who can read the books one after the other now but….just something to think about. Also, I have to disagree with you about Snape being better in the movies than the books. He’s watered down in the movies to be a tragic hero. In the books he’s not a good person. He does work for the good side but he’s much more complex.

[@giraffebatman9924]

Interesting review! About Harry "not doing things himself" and that "there is someone else who helps him", in my mind it is logical the way it was written. Because Harry is just a kid, it's unimaginable for him to be able to beat adults that know much more about magic than him. He doesn't even know enough spells to be able to win against them. So I think that is why he get's so much help in the books, and doesn't do so much himself. Of course he does more and more when he gets older. It's more "realistic" that way :)

[@crunchychicken2]

"It's not somewhere you'd want to be. It's a very dangerous place." LOLLLLLL That part had me cackling at the beginning because I remember wanting to go to Hogwarts soooooo bad but then as i got older i thought nope nope nope nope nope. This place is not for kids😂

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Seriously. 😂 When I was growing up, I remember everyone talking about how bad they wanted to go there, and now that I finally read it for myself, I’m wondering wtf they were thinking!

[@crunchychicken2]

@@ericbowdenbooks RIGHT?! Just casually having a death wish at the ripe age of 11🤣

[@g.t.werber4476]

What's also funny is that in the book they keep saying that Hogwarts is the safest place to be ,because Dumbledore is there😅

[@Почемубыинет-с6х]

Thank you for your video! Re-reading those books is really the best part. When you are a kid, or a teenager, or an adult, or a parent - they hit differently every time. With each go you notice more hidden hints and connect more dots, also when you do already know how everything would play out, you can pay more attention to the plot and decisions made without so much emotional connection to the protagonist. Also I think the very important part of the story: no one is flawless, not the wise wizards, not the main heroes - no one. And not everything you do will work out, even if you put effort in it (like Harry's love life or Hermione's elves liberation campaign), but character and reader can learn something in the process. Most of the "unnecessary fillers" are stuffed with stuff, that will be important later or just help us to go deeper into the world, to spend time with characters, so we would understand them better and have deeper connections just in case :D And yes, Harry is kinda stupid a lot of times, but he is just one deeply traumatised kid. It's really heartbreaking to kip this in mind wile looking upon his "stupid" actions. Justice for my boy Ron! When Hermione know a lot of "book stuff" and Harry is a quick thinker, Ron is just filled with all the magical knowledge none of his friends posses. He knows "obvious" things that you just get with mothers milk and that won't be put in a book, and it helps a lot: and in terms of story, and for us to know more about the world.

[@sundaysareforreading]

wow you are making me want to read this series as an adult for the first time. I think this would be fun to read in the winter too!

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Please do! And that sounds like the perfect time to read them. I really think you’ll enjoy them, even as an adult!

[@100FormsofFear]

The whole reason he couldn’t just send Harry to Voldemort at any time with any random port key was because he had to make it look like an accident as Voldemort didn’t want anyone to know he was back apart from his death eaters

[@larilarilarissa]

Although I agree that the romance part is not very well-developed, to my pre-teen mind, it was very clear Ginny was going to be Harry's love interest. If not from Chamber of Secrets (when my 12-year-old self started shipping them lol), definitely from Order of the Phoenix, when there are hints from other characters about it. Great review! :)

[@brendan9868]

Oh yeah it’s not particularly developed well, but I will say the way Harry’s relationships are written is pretty accurate to how it feels at that age. Like every time I read through it I can instantly understand what she’s trying to portray during both Harry’s doomed first date with Cho Chang and the sinking jealousy he has about Ginny after she starts dating Dean. Could just be a personal thing tho as I pretty much went through both of those myself at that age, so at the least I think the awkwardness, anxiety and confusion of underdeveloped brains trying to figure that stuff out is pretty spot on lol.

[@forgotmyun]

I think a big part of it is also the movies severely under-utilizing Ginny. In the books she was one of my favorites, but in the movies she was just…there. Which is also incredibly sad because we all probably would’ve loved to have seen Bonnie Wright shine

[@mike-mz6yz]

I agree, but i do think she messed up by not having Ginny be involved at all in most of the books. She probably gets less page time then all of her family besides Bill and Charlie. If JK had Ginny be Harrys date at the ball for example the relationship could have been built up some more.

[@thorthewolf8801]

After CoS, Ginny basically disappeared in Prisoner and only briefly appeared in GoF, OOTP is spent with a different love interest and only then does she appear in the next book as a love interest. Way too little development.

[@7BearSarah]

I have spent most of my life as a Harry Potter mega fan. I’ve read the books and watched the films more times than I can even count. Getting in to my adult years, I’ve found myself not being super into fantasy (I love Game of Thrones but I haven’t gotten super into other fantasies). Having ventured out into other genres, I realized what I loved about HP was the mystery aspect of things. I read a ton of mysteries as an adult so it makes sense. It’s only until fairly recently that I have been able to really critique HP. I always welcome hearing criticism because most of it is true. The phenomenon was groundbreaking, but it’s not the best writing in the world. Loved this video!

[@ericbowdenbooks]

The mysteries in the books are definitely some of the best parts. Thanks!

[@henry44499]

I totally disagree about not thinking to much about stuff, cause most of the things some people say it that are flaws, mistakes or even kinda weird, have actually explanations to it, and it's not even that deep, some are pretty obvious or basic. I don't know if I'm just too much into it, or if people just don't pay enough attention to certain things. Not saying that HP is perfect at all, but definitely many things are there, people just don't associate sometimes.

[@brandonpuerta3935]

Going to universal studios is about to hit different for you now it’s amazing to step into that world

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Seriously!

[@ruling8082]

I read this series when I was a child and now I'm reading it again. I don't feel the same way I did when I was a child. A child feels emotions much more beautifully and differently. I wish you had read it when you were a child.

[@evadoubravska5133]

Well, you could say that many people were blown away by this series because they read it as children...even though the later books became more serious, children are still their primary target

[@ndifsmurida8838]

I just finished the book series last week, and man!!!! This is the book review I've been looking for: comprehensive, well thought out, detailed, and no performative gimmicks or quirks. Just plain genuine review with complete sentences. I obviously didn't agree with everything but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your thoughts about the book.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@raspar6]

If we're talking about writing with energy, The Hunger Games is the most "cinematic" writing I've come across so far! I didn't even know books could be that energetic because I grew up reading things like Harry Potter...

[@FiercedeityBrad]

I first started reading HP in 2002 when the movie tie in paperback of Chamber of Secrets was at the grocery store, and i bought it. Finished it quickly and ordered 3 and 4 off amazon and devoured them quickly. I remember getting the remaining books on their launch days, the anticipation was immense. I read the final book in 3 days which was my way of pacing myself. I remember the moment i finished it and cried.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That’s so awesome you got to read them as they were released. Did you go to the midnight release events? I have such fomo for that!

[@FiercedeityBrad]

@@ericbowdenbooks I wanted to so bad, but I had to get them at the store I worked at.

[@plsdk8321]

I enjoy the way Order of the Phoenix drags on

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I felt like if you were a big fan of slice of life at Hogwarts then Order of the Phoenix would be your favorite. It does a really great job at that, but I just thought it dragged on for a bit too long.

[@jinphany.]

​@@ericbowdenbooksyeah I think nostalgia plays a big part in that aswell. If you were following the series as they were being released and had waited a year or so for this book to come out since the last one, you'd definitely want the interactions between characters or the slice-of-life mini arcs at the school setting to be shown for longer. That's atleast the differences I've noticed between those who read Harry Potter back then compared to now!

[@yueyume9619]

Order of the Phoenix is arguably my favorite book 😅 usually while reading the series I get stunted midway through Half Blood Prince. But yes! I do think it has to do with what sort of vibes you wanted when reading Harry Potter. I also never read them until I was in college, so I never had any real nostalgia tied to the books. I’ve read the series twice now and really enjoy them - but I do think different books stand out for different people!

[@livebyfaith4647]

great video! very interesting how different people’s rankings of books can differ. i think in terms of consistency of quality i think Prisoner of Azkaban and Half Blood Prince are the best, but my personal favorite is Order of the Phoenix!

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Glad to hear you enjoyed both of my favorites. Although it didn’t resonate with me, I can still see why you liked Order of the Phoenix!

[@olisbookshelf]

Always love seeing adults experiencing Harry Potter for the first time. It must be a very different experience than I had growing up with the books.

[@askesismusic]

I hope you will give it a few re reads. Reading it for the 1st time makes everyone like it, but re-reading it, listening to podcasts etc, i swear this series will actually blow your mind. Even as a writer you haven't spotted everything (the amount of easter eggs, incredible clues and subtleties is insane... just the first questions that Snape asks Harry in class for example. If you analyze it, it gives away so much 😂. She knows what she's doing on so many levels)

[@carlos412]

I've never read any of these, but those editions are GORGEOUS. I recently watched the second film in the theater and became interested in reading at least the first 3 books

[@BileDuctBalderdash]

I was in my mid twenties when Harry Potter Sorcerer's Stone came out in the late 90s. I was not a reader at all at the time and Harry Potter books got me into reading now I read 12 books a year at least.

[@Vanessa-fs7oz]

I saved this to my Watch Later because I'm another adult who hasn't read Harry Potter, so I'm coming back to this video once I read it!

[@DLFfitness1]

As someone in their 50’s, I think media in general is in a rush to go no place. Television shows use to have seasons that were 22 to 24 episodes, they are now done in 8 to 10 episodes. Definitely a faster pace, and most likely cheaper to make. They are doing a series on MAX. It will be interesting to see pace of it all.

[@toodlescae]

I waa in my 40's when Harry Potter came out and I love it.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

It’s great at any age!

[@reneepope-munro8115]

OMG, I so fundamentally disagree with your take on Harry as a character. In the movies, I'd agree, but i do not find him REMOTELY passive in the series, other than in his interactions with other characters in a way that makes sense based on his lived experience of abusive treatment in his childhood. Harry is sarcastic, rash, empathetic, bull-headed and deeply focused on justice. I find it truly shocking that you'd consider him to be lacking dimension. is character is SO clear to me from book 1. I also think you're way off re: romance/Ginny coming out of nowhere. It's one of the things I think is most true to real life and what teenagers are like. There is a chaotic and illogical element to it that, having spent a lot f time around young people, is incredibly accurate. Very few teenagers have epic love stories that span their whole schooling. Like, a Ron and Hermione are the exception, not the rule. Ginny goes on a massive journey from Chamber, through her great discomfort in watching crush not realise she exists, to her coming into her own as the most vocal and confident Weasley (stepping up in Quidditch, by far the most sarcastic and self possessed of the family, confident in her own skin, mischievous and daring).

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I’m glad to hear you’ve got a different take on those points. That’s what I love about these books, each person seems to take away something different from them!

[@Chlovan]

My Ranking is 1. Goblet of fire 2. Order of the Phoenix 3. Half blood prince 4. Sorcerer's stone 5. Deathly Hallows 6. Prisoner of Azkaban 7. Chamber of Secrets I hated Chamber of secrets because of what you said it felt like a rehash. It's still my least favorite but I enjoyed it more on reread.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I love that everyone can have different rankings and opinions about these books. That, to me, is the joy of reading and art 🙏

[@pennywise5662]

I have a theory that originally these books were going to be more of a magical fantasy version of Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys. Maybe the publisher gave feedback that made her change tact or the success gave her more control with the publisher to allow her to make it something more. Still, the first 2 books read like a mystery of the week type of story with an interesting fantasy gimmick. Prisoner seems to be where she makes the shift but still has those roots, so I tend to think that is where she actually had laid out the new archetype leading to Goblet which feels completely different than the first 3 and the rest all follow more a goblet style of storytelling.

[@alexmaverick6647]

I agree with Harry’s character feeling more passive and flat in the first few books. He’s a self-insert character for the target readers (being kids) to project themselves onto, so this decision was definitely intentional by the author. Doesn’t work quite as well when reading as an adult, though.

[@thorthewolf8801]

I would agree, but I would layer this a bit. From the beginning, Harry was set up to be a pretty powerful wizard, him surviving the killing curse, being good at quidditch and his patronus. However about halfway through this is discarded, and he became pretty mundane in his powers. Suddenly every member of the DA could cast a patronus, he survived the killing curse because of his mother, and it turns out he rode a broom well before the first book. He even had trouble with a summoning spell and just generally didnt showcase any special ability in wizardry.

[@Joy6168]

@Eric Bowden Books, I’m twelve years older than you and read the first book at age ten. Now, unlike a whole lot of other big Harry Potter series fans, I never had rose-colored glasses when it came to these books, they most definitely have their problems. However, there’s a reason why they were the top best-selling fantasy book and movie series for me growing up.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I agree!

[@wifeunderthesea]

the way i slammed the subscribe button as soon as you said Prince of Thorns. that is one of the most addicting, page-turning and amazing books i have EVER read. it’s like there was actual crack in the book. also, you are so right about these being easy to read. i had been in a 4 month book slump and starting HP is the only thing that got me out of it. just so easy to consume. cozy. i’m on book 3 now. great video so far. so glad you were recommended to me!

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Glad to have you here, and yes, Harry Potter is great for reading slumps. Prince of Thorns seems right up my alley from what I’ve heard about the first chapter alone. Can’t wait to read it!

[@Darth_Xionn]

Excellent review, Eric! I also read it as an adult for the first time when I was about 23 or so.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Appreciate it! Did you enjoy it as an adult as well?

[@darkhousetheman]

"Why are we getting impactful, emotional scenes when we coukd get a fight scene." Man, come on. This is a book, not an anime. Snape's memories is widely considered as the best chapter in the series.

[@lucykim513]

Thoughts and opinions I had while watching your video (as a life-long Potterhead) Please don't take this too seriously I'm just really into Harry Potter so I wanted to say a few things... Feel free to ignore, just needed to get it off my chest. - The whole idea behind Harrys character is that he is a good guy. He listens to what people say. He takes it seriously, especially because he was abused his whole life as a kid. He may seem passive, but thats only because he took Dumbledores word as law. He knew he was the doing the right thing, always. Also, I quite disagree that Harry wasn't thinking things himself. No one was making him do anything. He made the conscious decision to go save his friends, take the Philosophers stone, go down to the chamber of secrets, and take on the role of the Prophecy. No one was making him. He had a strong sense of responsibility for those around him. He hated seeing people hurt, or seeing injustice occur. He was headstrong about things like that! Also, a reminder that he was coming into this strange new magical world after quite literally having the worst childhood ever. People don't really consider the fact that Harry was severely abused and neglected. Physically and mentally. He was even starved at times. You can see why having a childhood like that would make you a little bit more accepting of things just happening to you. He's probably used to bad things just happening to him for no reason. - People also say that they wish Harry was the villain because 'he had every right to turn evil' and that it wouldve been more interesting if he had been evil. They COMPLETELY miss the whole point of his character. He and Voldemort were very similar. The biggest difference between them, between Harry and the death eaters, is that Harry could love. Harry was a nice boy. He was a good person. The fact that he chose Gryffindor and not Voldemorts old house, the fact that he refused to use unforgivable curses (unless he was extremely angry), how he chose to reject the visions he got into Voldemorts mind and dark magic altogether. That was how he was different. That is why he was the protagonist. Not because he was all-powerful or had some kind of superior skill, no. It was because he was a good person, who, even though he was used and abused his whole childhood, could find it in himself to love and trust. - These days people really don't like Dumbledore but they simply don't understand him. He IS a good person. He did everything in his power to help Harry and help the world. He is not an 'evil' character. (people trying to be different) Thank god you saw through the propaganda. - REAL with your opinion on Ginny. She came out of NOWHEREEEE. I was so confused when I was reading the sixth book for the first time as a nine-year-old because I was so shipping Harry and Hermione or Harry and Luna. Ginny was a weird addition. Also, in my opinion, Rowling just sucks with romance altogether. I hated almost all of her pairings. Some I loved, some made alot of sense like Remus and Tonk, Dumbledore being gay, and so on. But with most of the main cast it was just god awful. - UNPOPULAR OPINION HERMIONE AND RON MADE NO FREAKING SENSE AS A COUPLE. IRL they wouldve been divorced within a year. - With the idea that the world building gets worse over time, I disagree. I think that people are looking at a literal fantasy magic world through a Euro-centric lens. They need to stop trying to make sense of the magical world by comparing it to the regular human world. They are different from regular humans. The whole point is that this is A WHOLE OTHER WORLD. The lore and world building may be more surface level in the books because, as you said, the story is told by Harry, and why would he explain magical history to us. The real lore comes later. It comes with things rowling published or released later. Its actually very deep with you get into it. You just need to know where to look. - If you want to see dark stuff, WATCH THE MOVIES!! Because these are books, you don't really feel that dark vibe. Especially since, as you say, Harry is a pretty passive character sometimes. Theres actually alot of dark things that happen that might fly over your head because of the narration. Like Hermione's torture scene or just the sheer amount of fear and death spreading in the muggle world near the end. But if you're looking for things like genocide or mass torture or horrible stuff like what you'd see in the Poppy Wars, for example, duh you aren't gonna find that. It's still a book that was relying on children to buy and read it. - 44:37 For what you said here, a reminder that these are literal children taking on the whole world on their shoulders. Yeah they probably could've done this or that to get out of a situation better but that's not realistic. We don't always make the right decisions especially when they are spur-of-the-moment ones. We all fuck up and do the wrong thing so its not fair to say something doesn't make sense just because a few characters make a wrong choice. - Chamber of secrets was my least favourite too. lmao. - I think the books you dislike now will grow on you if you read it more. I recommend listening to the audiobooks! I listen to the audiobooks on Potteraudio.com. You'll see things you didn't see before TRUST ME. People don't realise how much they miss while reading. Listening to the audiobooks really shows you how much you missed FRRR. - I wish you explained more about why you felt a certain way! Like how you said you felt like GOF was the least put together but you didn't give any examples!!! :( - Im gonna be honest and sorry if I sound like a brat but I think you need to read Harry Potter more seriously. If you read just like a childrens book, like how you read Percy Jackson, you're gonna find it boring. Read it with the mindset of "nothing is here without reason. There is a meaning behind everything." If you read the later books half-heartedly, it'll seem boring. -The movies did the fouth book better????? Okay SUPERRRRR unpopular opinion there. My least favourite movie after Chamber of secrets is GOF. Not well done at all and leaves out so much info. Also the director wasn't passionate about the work he was doing. Didn't see the love or the detmination from that movie at all. - How could Harry have gotten to Voldemort any other way besides the portkey?... Harry is protected at both Hogwarts and at the Dursleys. It isn't just walls protecting him there, it's deep ancient magic. The portkey was brilliant because it could overrule all these things and slip Harry out of Dumbledore's protection. They couldn't have just kidnapped him like you would a regular kid in America, thats not possible. Of course, Voldemort would not have been able to kill Harry either way but he didn't know that. - Deathly hallows being underwhelming for you is super insane to meeeeeeee. Deathly hallows tied everything together sooooo cleverly. The middle being boring was boring for a reason. Harry wasn't really able to do much. Yeah he was looking for the horcrux but he didn't really know where to look alot of the time. Harry is in a state of fear, anxiousness, and ignorance. He's truly so lost in the last book (and also the trio, at that point, are literally in hiding from the government, so yeah there wont be alot of turbulent action). Thats why this book was so raw because they were all so confused. It really sets in that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are just teenagers, trying their best to save the world with the measly amount of info they have. This is why Harry Potter is so real to me. Because the slog is real. The trial and error, the hard times, the confusing weird times, its all real. If your plan of them already figuring everything out (knowing where and what all the horcruxes were) and going on this fantastical great journey to get all of the Horcruxes and get into duels with other wizards actually played out, the trio would have died. It also would have been such a long writing process of HOW they figured everything out. Where are they getting all that info from? From dumbledore? Then he couldn't have had the ending he did, and everything would have had to change. The perfect, tied up loose ends, would have been a tangled mess. The whole point of someones growth is the journey of figuring out things as you go. Had Harry already had all the answers, not only would the story be boring, but we also would not have seen Harrys growth, his feelings, his complex character growth, etc. Those things came from his unsurety. - JK Rowling is a pretty lowkey writer. But I would argue that that is harder than being an author that soley relys on action to keep the story going. Like Rick Riordan for example. That is so him. And his books are childish, that do not mature gracefully with age. Again PLEASE READ THE AUDIOBOOKS. You'll 'feel' whats happening alot more with the audiobooks. I prefer Stephen Frys narration, not Jim Dale (trust). - The reason all the backstory, Snapes memory stuff came at the end was because Harry was NOT supposed to know any of this until the right time came. Dumbledore left Snape with the clear instructions of telling Harry all this (that he was a Horcrux and that he had to die) AFTER Voldemort seemed careful of the life of his snake, Nagini. Because otherwise, "he would not have the strength to do what he must". And Voldemort only started to become careful of Nagini's safety a few days prior to the battle. Snape had no other time to give those memories to Harry. And Harry is just a boy, 17 years old. Had he known that he was chipping away the shards of his own life by looking for the Horcruxes, how could he really go at it with his all. He didn't want to die. He was so scared while walking down to the forest. Imagine how anxious and harried the narration would have been if Harry knew the whole time that he was a Horcrux. Thank you for listening to my tedtalk.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Thank you for taking the time to write all of this out. It will take some time, but I promise to read all of it!

[@thorthewolf8801]

Barty Crouch Jr was there with Harry the whole year, he could have brought him to Voldemort with a portkey or some other means quite easily way earlier.

[@lucykim513]

@@thorthewolf8801 he was under dumbledores protection while at school. Thats the whole reason the tournament was such an anomaly and such a huge chance. You forget that Harry had eyes on him wherever he went at hogwarts and he was almost always surrounded by friends or at least Ron and Hermione. Alarms would ring fast and hard if Harry and actually disappeared out of nowhere. Meanwhile in the maze no one had eyes on him and no one even knew he was at the graveyard until he got out of it. So no, Barty Crouch Jr had no other way to do this. Also remember this is a book. If he actually kidnapped Harry after class this book would’ve been short and boring lol

[@tannercollins9863]

My favorite memories associated with this series is that my dad would wait in line for me while i was at school saving my spot so i could get the midnight release.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That’s an amazing memory. Your dad sounds like a wonderful person!

[@Chance.Dillon]

This is one I haven’t gone through. The first two i went through with my mom when i was very young but I haven’t returned to since. Killer breakdown. I think it’s cool to hear I can really enjoy this now

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Yes, I think you will pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it is!

[@aryadne2004]

Having loved the Harry Potter books as a child, I love to see the adult perspective from you. Even when I reread them now, I still read them through the lense of child-me

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That’s how Percy Jackson was for me on my re-read, although I was a bit more critical this time around.

[@gonaye1]

SO glad you liked this series! Have you discovered Cormoran Strike series yet? I think Rowling really shows how consistently good of a writer she can be with that series as well (and it is certainly a more adult series than Harry Potter)!

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I have not, but I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the rec!

[@victorialastofka1534]

Yess, very good recommendation! I was not a fan of detective stories in particular and so I don’t really have a comparison, but I devoured them during the first lockdown when I discovered them.

[@Eventually100]

When I don't know what audiobook to listen to, I keep Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike on repeat 😂 HP I think I've listened to at least a dozen times and it's my third time listening to CS, I just love Rowling's worlds, they are so alive ❤

[@gonaye1]

@@Eventually100 heartily agree!

[@neivebroughton4723]

Whenever someone says Snape is one of their favourite characters, other people say how they must have only watched the movies as there’s no way you can like Snape if you have read the books. Snape is my favourite character after Sirius and I have read the book many times so it made me feel validated knowing you like him too

[@brynkasson8100]

I think part of the criticism in the middle of the series dragging on can be in part the fact that you read them all so quickly. Growing up there were only 3 books when I started and the series didn't end for another 7 years. We had time to process the story more. Not saying they're high art or anything but the little things like taking half a chapter to explain how everyone is just hanging out or to explain how some arbitrary magical thing works means a lot to the fans. Great video too, I love hearing unbiased thoughts on how the series holds up.

[@thewriterrose]

Funnily enough, I’ve never met a Harry Potter fan who says Harry is their favorite character. And I say this as a lifelong fan who could hardly read before I picked up the series.

[@alyssakays367]

I guess I’m in the minority because I’ve been a fan of these books since they came out and Harry is absolutely my favorite character.

[@avivastudios2311]

Everyone's favorite character is Ron.

[@AlysianahNoire]

I read the series as an adult and introduced them to my children. We made an event out if reading them and then seeing the movies together as they released. For that reason, these books along with Lord of the Rings and it’s movies are extremely nostalgic for us. That said, I could have done without books 2, 4, and every Quidditch match. 😂 I think however they were vehicles to show the progrssion of the friendship, character growth and seeing Harry start to take more agency and fight, as it does come down to his self preservation skills aided by his friends. My book preference in order is 1, 6, 7, 5, 3, 4, 2.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Really great ranking!

[@RetroSmoo]

I enjoyed 4 book alot more than the movie lol but enjoyed hp2 movie more than the book lol, 1 and 6 are my favourites too

[@johnhermes4112]

Here’s my ranking of the book 7. Book 6: “Half Blood Prince” 6. Book 2: “Chamber Of Secrets” 5. Book 3/ “Prosoner of Azkaban” 4. Book 5: “Order of the Phoenix” 3. Book 7: “Deathly Hallows” 2. Book 1: “Sorcerer’s Stone” 1. Book 4: “Goblet Of Fire”

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Great ranking 🔥

[@Killakaysz]

Luna understood harry. They had more connection throughout the series IMO.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Exactly. When she was first introduced, I thought she was going to be his love interest. I wasn’t a big fan of her character though, so I’m happy they didn’t end up together.

[@Scshupe]

The magicians would be a fun next step in the reviews. It’s fun too because the TV show was so well done like the Harry Potter movies.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I’ll check it out!

[@BestiesandtheBooksPodcast]

We just finished this whole series for our podcast and we agree with a lot of your points. We would have enjoyed it a lot more if some of the filler was trimmed down, however, if we were kids reading this along throughout the school year we would have probably loved it all.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Agreed! Glad I’m not the only one who thought it could be trimmed down 😅 I think adults and kids have a very different perspective on this series. I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

[@percyweasley9301]

🤔🤔You are just impatient and want only action action action. Many of us like so called 'fillers' parts . We like knowing more about the world or more things happening in the school etc..

[@avivastudios2311]

I saw your thumbnail for the deathly hallows. Are you like me and think that the last book in the series is the worst one?

[@MrCodyWarner]

Hearing you say Destiny is your favorite game of all time really cements how important nostalgia is. Because as a 32-year-old, I bounced off Destiny super hard. But I will wax poetically about call of duty 2 and half life until I’m blue in the face.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I’ve got so much nostalgia attached to Destiny from playing it with all my buddies back in the day. The multiplayer also just scratches an itch in my brain that no others do. Half-life and COD 2 are great games too!

[@ChrisRuns1]

This is the first video I’ve watched from you and it was a great review. Harry Potter was my favorite book series since my early childhood. I was diagnosed with expressive and receptive language processing disorders in 5th grade and had a really difficult time reading early in my education. This is the first set of books that got me into reading. I used to listen to these books in the car on my hour long car ride to and from school every day and used to follow along in the book to make the connections in my brain. I’ll forever be grateful for these books, even if JK Rowling herself is a little troublesome now. On a different note, I mentioned that Harry Potter used to be my favorite series. It has since been overtaken by the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, which I just finished rereading and is now my all time favorite. Would highly recommend it if you haven’t already read them and would love to see your reaction video on it if you do read them.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Thanks! I have read the Dark Tower! It’s a fantastic series. I also made a video on it. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story. I’m glad the books resonated with you!

[@bluesidecollection]

As someone who read Percy Jackson and Harry Potter at the right age, I love both series so much. I remember carrying those books everywhere. I need to reread both series.

[@ZariDV]

It's interesting seeing someone's perspective of the series as an adult. I was in the target audience age range when I read the first book over 20 years ago. At 9 years old, most books for our age range back then were pretty simple for the most part and were mostly slice of life with a bit of adventure sprinkled in. I think Harry Potter blew up because it still kept that slice of life that kids could get lost in but with a more dynamic world that what we were offered at the time. We actually wanted to come home from school, curl up on the couch and get lost in the day to day life of a wizard kid who we could see a bit of ourselves in. We got to live in the Wizarding World, eat and sleep at Hogwarts, discover new spell and creatures, learn about a new sport and "see" the games, and then there was a touch of mystery and danger to keep our interest but still maintain the escapism. It was just the sort of thing to make kids excited to go to school and talk to our friends about the chapters and feel like everyone just got it. There was a major community aspect where it felt like everyone sort of went to Hogwarts in a way. So those "filler" moments were a big backbone of the series that built the fandom community until it was moved into online spaces. We had the Mugglenet website introduced to us eventually and the mobile games where we'd have chatrooms separated into houses and so on. It's a cool book but I sometimes wish everyone could get the change to experience more of the Harry Potter fan experience. It's definitely not a book to rush through, but one designed to sit and chill in to fully immerse. It's why the Wizarding World of Harry Potter park has such a draw. A big portion of the love for the book is the story but also the ability to get lost in living in the world itself and inserting yourself into the universe of it. But that set up really isn't for everyone and that's okay. It's alright that that's not what some people look for in a story. Many prefer the faster pace, something's always happening, super dynamic so you never forget it's fiction vibes too. That's the beauty of reading. There's a perfect book out there for everyone. I'm glad you enjoyed it in our own personal way and found a taste of the joy it brought us as kids, but as an adult. It's nice when people go into things with an open mind and heart.

[@cobjacob]

it's midnight here in Brazil and I know I'm 5 months late but I feel like this video is too perfect for me to just keep living my life like nothing happened. It's funny cause I'm one of those people obsessed with harry potter and still I could relate with all your complains, especially about the lack of romance in the series (again, as you said, not that we were expecting some exceptional love story, but I do agree that Ginny kind of came out of nowhere - I'm a fervorous ronmione shipper, tho). I just wanted to share my thoughts about the "lack of energy" you detected in J.K's writing because (ironically) in my opinion this is one of the elements that make the series so relatable. When people ask me about harry potter success and why did it became so famous as it is I usually point out that the story feels like home, and it does feel! If we stop to think harry's story is nowhere near as epic as other fantasy stories like LOTR but we still relate to it in a way that seems we could almost be part of it. Yes, I agree, the books are a bit unenthusiastically in some parts but so does life: harry is not that hero, Dumbledore is not that mentor, Ron is not that immaculate friend and honestly I think that if JK had pushed more on the epic side of the story much of the relatable feeling the majority of people feel while reading or watching would gone lost (btw, sorry for the grammar, its been a while since I last wrote anything in english)

[@herzogtrish]

I really enjoyed your video and assessment of the books in order. Maybe because I agree completely with the order you put them in. I might have switched your 2 and 3, but, your comment that the first book got you truly hooked makes good sense. POA is my absolute favorite book and favorite movie. Snapes voice is probably the most prominent one in my head when I’m reading the books. And, I agree, I like movie Snape much more than book Snape.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the video! POA is definitely one of the best in the whole series. It made me a Potter fan!

[@SquireWilson17]

I just finished it this past week for the first time. I don’t know why I never got into it until my mid 30’s, but I really enjoyed it. Also, Fred and George are still my favorite

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Fred and George were great and consistently hilarious. Their character voices were super strong.

[@nothanksbro420]

Im 24 as well, and i got into Harry Potter (while being a Percy Jackson fan too) because my mom had the movies and i saw the Order of the Phoenix movie marketing and became interested. I checked the books out from my school's library (i was like 7) and immediately fell in love. Magic has always been something I've desperately wished was real growing up. When Deathly Hallows finally was free to check out (was 9-10 at the time) i was hurrying to read it since Deathly Hallows Part 1 (movie) was announced. I even read the short stories, got deep into Pottermore (Ravenclaw for life) and played the HP movie licensed video games lol. Happy you're into it now too! Best memories ever for me.

[@jfarmerswatermelon6061]

I'm currently reading Percy Jackson as an adult. Always felt like i was missing out because i have never read it as a kid😅 Reading HP as a kid was very magical experience def made lots of ppl fall in love with fantasy 😊

[@savelala]

Do these people in the comments who are trying to boycott HP books know that many celebrities out there who they consume are involved in controversies? If they were to stop consuming controversy people, hollywood would no longer exist. Harry Potter books are good and it's no wonder they continue to sell so much. On goodreads it's one of the most read books, if not the most read in fantasy. With the HBO series, this universe will be further expanded.

[@slydogamigo2303]

I think the biggest thing is how Rowling has said that engagement with HP is an endorsement of her political views. She basically told people who disagree with her to stop buying HP.

[@TheCourtsOfLove]

It's also not a " controversy" she did lit support Neo-Nazi groups to attack Trans people...that's not a controversy of politics... that's just down written being a psycho with how she also depicts her jewish connotations in her books to is...yikes.

[@savelala]

@@TheCourtsOfLove where are the sources for this? oh no twitter

[@TheCourtsOfLove]

@@savelala You seem perturbed by the idea that things JK has stated she done is untrue? The vile things she posted on Twitter are real, she actually took the time and thought to write & post what she did - It's why her career is down the gutter objectively her book success aside.

[@YunaElphabaLovegood]

I do get what you say about it's not "dark enough" for adults because it is not a permanent thing from horror to horror... It is not written with the tension of a thriller or horror book. That does not mean some of the dark parts are not *really* dark. But honestly, do you think what happened to Nevilles parents is not "dark enough"? Do you think a literal boy being tortured by a grown man with a bunch of adults around them that cheer said torture is not "dark enough"? The statue in the Ministry in the 7th book is not "dark enough"? People defending slavery is not "dark enough"? (speaking of house elves) The way Merope and Snape were treated by their fathers was not "dark enough"? You can choose to overlook all these things, again as I said, the books are for the most part light hearted and funny. But if you stop to think, yeah, they have wtf dark parts. And I appreciate them for that.

[@mckennamclaws146]

I think it's hilarious that you keep saying not to look too deep because one of the biggest sources of content on KZbin about fantasy is related to Harry Potter and diving deeper into the books. People don't get tired of it.

[@OrtegaPegMe]

Okay I see what you’re saying about the darkness or lack there of. But being a child and reading about what Bellatrix did to Neville’s parents, messes you up a little bit lol. Great video man! Ps I always found Half Blood Prince my favorite, just based on showing us so much of their highschool experience. Nothing to crazy a lot of them having fun and handling their own teen problems. Just a more realistic relatable book.

[@padmeasmr]

Order of the Phoenix was my favourite one in my teens years. Read it like 25 times. I read HP in 5 languages and I like seeing the small differences in each version. Now I don't have a favourite, I love them all for different reasons. The parts about their daily life at school are like my favourite along with everything that introduces you to more details of the magic world. In fact I didn't like much the seventh book except for the ending at Hogwarts.

[@CGingerbreadman]

Interesting! My ranking is basically reverse order of release with the first book in last. Love them all, though

[@joanapereira8011]

Harry is way too busy trying to not get killed by the most evil wizard of all time to constantly be thinking about his love life lol it wouldn't have made sense for his character to always be dating or chasing after girls, he has a lot more important things on his mind. The thing with cho only served the purpose of showing that he does start having crushes, and it shows that this girl who seemed perfect for him was completely wrong once he finally went on a date with her (and it started from book 4 so we did see him crush on her for awhile). I think it's super realistic because how often do we crush on people as teenagers and then once we actually have a chance to get to know them we realize we have nothing in common we them. You're right that it didn't work, but it wasn't supposed to. I know a lot of people, like you, feel like his feelings for Ginny were forced or came out of nowhere. I disagree. Ginny was always there in the background, she had a crush on him since she was a young girl and slowly started being more comfortable around him until they became friends. Once Harry actually got to really know her, he fell fast. Ginny was always intended to be Harry's partner, she was practically written to be perfect for him. Their dynamic and dialogues is just spot on, their chemistry is off the charts in the books even if we don't see a lot of it.

[@nager1997]

My experience with the Harry Potter books and movies is all over the place. Bear in mind I was born in 1997. For context of how old I was when I first got into these stories. I watched the first 2 movies before I found out it was a book first. I saw the first one on vhs. The second in theatres. Then we found a box of my sister’s books up in the loft and she had books one, three and four plus the book the magical worlds of Harry Potter which is kind of an unofficial companion book to the series and she gave them all to me, since I loved the films. I read them and I remember I’d just finished the 3rd book by the time that movie came out. And I watched it once it was on dvd. So working out a rough timeline. I saw the first movie in around 2002 just before the 2nd hit cinema and I remember watching that movie in theatres with my sister and her friends and she and her friends hid under the coats when the spiders came on the screen. Then around 2004 or 2005 I believe it was when we found the books in the loft books 1, 3, 4 in the loft and I read them over the next couple of years over and over again. And I also remember watching the fourth film when it came out on dvd and I found the second book in Waterstones not long after and read it despite having seen the movie countless times by then. I then found the fifth book courtesy of my sister again she found a copy of the fifth book amongst her stuff which she forgot she even had. I had read and finished the fifth book in time for the fifth films dvd release. I remember when the 6th book came out and I was excited to read it. Which I did and then saw the movie on dvd. Now the 7th book. I remember it coming out and Waterstones having a million copies on display in the centre of the shop with a big cardboard poster thing beside it but I put off reading it as I didn’t want the series to end but when I heard about the movie coming out I reluctantly brought the 7th book and was halfway through it when the first part of Deathly Hallows came out in theatres and I went and watched it with my dad despite not having yet finished the book but I was close to the end so I figured being part one of two films. I should be safe and had read enough of the book. Then by the time the 2nd half was on dvd. I’d long since finished the book and watched that movie too. I believe it was also about this time period 2009 -2010 that I read the spin off books Quidditch through the ages, fantastic beasts and the tales of beadle the bard. So yeah my Harry Potter journey has been a tad chaotic to say the least. Then I sort of got bored after 2012 time period of the books and films and gave them up. Then when the curse child script book came out I was excited for it until I read it and it further killed the vibe and any desire to revisit the previous instalments. But I did buy the illustrated Fantastic Beasts text book in 2017 when it came out because it looked cool and I remember enjoying the original non illustrated edition but despite reading that and a history of magic book. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit in 2020 that I brought all of the books again just for nostalgic comfort to help me keep my sanity during that hell time. Nowadays I occasionally reread the books just for the sake of nostalgia. 😂 same goes for the movies. But not the cursed child. I did buy it again around 2021 time and couldn’t finish it this time. I also a couple of years back brought the American editions to compare them with the original editions in Britain. Completed comparison of the first 3 books so far. And I recently this year 2024 via eBay found the magical worlds of Harry Potter book again but have yet to reread that as of now. The 3rd book and film will always be my favourite. As for Fantastic Beasts the first movie was good but the second was a bit meh and the 3rd slightly better but still disappointing and just as confusing as the second one. I have read the 3rd screen play book which made a lot more sense than the movie did Overall I like a bit of Harry Potter from time to time.

[@Celeste7737]

My ranking - Keeping in mind that I started reading these books in middle school and finished in High School. I really should re-read them as an adult! 7: Goblet of Fire - it was hard to read at the age I was, and while the ending of the story was really good, the beginning was so slow and some of the stuff in Hogwarts (not relating to the Tri-Wizard Tournament) was pretty slow for me. 6: Order of the Phoenix - Not bad at all for me, but other books seemed better in terms of suspense. I also wasn't huge on the romance. 5: Chamber of Secrets - I read it soon after seeing the movie came out, so it wasn't bad, but the comparison to the movie made it so I remember less of the book. 4: Deathly Hallows - Really enjoyed how everything tied together and I did actually like the reveal of Snape's story. I went to the midnight release with friends for this one so it's somewhat special for that reason. 3: Sorcerer's Stone - I wasn't interested in the book when it first came out (I was in elementary school), but when the movie came out and my parents decided to have us watch it (me and my sister), I picked the book up that night and read it. I remember enjoying the comparison to the movie and thinking that the book enhanced the joy I got from the movie. 2: Prisoner of Azkaban - This was the first book I was able to read before the movies came out and loved it! The mystery, more magic world building, and the whole concept of time travel. It actually made me like the movie less at the time, but I came to accept the adaptation of the movie. 1: The Half Blood Prince - It felt older and that the books were taking a darker turn, which I liked. I suppose maturity is a good word to use, but I think of dark when I compare it to the first few books where Harry and his friends were only 12-14 and still somewhat depended on the professors. The last few books felt more mature and dark with the threat of Voldemort increasing and Harry is now too old to depend on the adults around him. I also loved that there was more mystery that wasn't just within the Hogwarts walls and the relationship Harry had with Dumbledore I enjoyed.

[@nickstipp8458]

I think the impact of the darkness of Goblet of Fire is muted if you’re already used to really dark adult material. For a 12-14 yo reading the series, it escalates quickly from Harry doing all of these cool magic Olympic-style events to suddenly Wormtail cutting his own hand off and Voldemort murdering people in front of the protagonist. That shift in tone was abrupt and scary for the audience it targeted.

[@KaraganJones]

Loved this video! You mentioned you grew up reading Percy Jackson instead, as someone who did the same I would love to hear your thoughts on the series now as an adult!

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Appreciate it! I actually reread Percy Jackson as an adult as well. It was about 2 years ago, so if I did a video on it, it wouldn’t be nearly as detailed, but I could still try to give it a shot!

[@KaraganJones]

@@ericbowdenbooks I did the same and I felt like the series still held up, but I’ll definitely be watching if you choose to make a video!

[@Sarah-nd2gy]

I am a proliferic reading and always have been. I was already an adult in my early 20s when Harry Potter was first published so I don't attach the same nostalgia to the books as other might do as I never had the child tinted glasses on. I did find them mind blowing and they still hold up for me. I have friends and family both younger and older (sometimes much much older) who agree. It isnt my favourtite book of all time but it is my favourite series of all time. I remember there being so much hype that I thought I would go out and buy the first book just to see what it was like and whether I was missing out. A few hours later I walked back to the book shop to buy the remaining 3 (Goblet of Fire had just been published when I first started reading them) because I was already obsessed. I also didnt find it dragged. I found everything that was in it was relevant. Sometimes I didnt realise or appreciate the relevance until much later - some of those sections that read like filler at the time were actually hiding extremely important information for later in the series such as the locket in the cabinet which I caught onto before it was actually revealed and felt so satisfied with it. I understand why some of what was written made more sense to me having been raised within the British school system and therefore having experience to draw upon that I am aware other American commentators havent always been able to appreciate in the same way. Maybe that contributed toward your sense that some of it dragged. The one part that really did feel like it dragged was Deathly Hallows when they were out camping in the tent looking for Horcruxes. It felt so depressing to me and seemed to go on forever. On re-reading the book I was amazed to discover how short that section actually was and what genius actually lay in that writing - the emotions I was experiencing were the emotions of Harry, Ron, and Hermione for whom the days were dragging in a state of frustration and depression with no tangible leads and I was feeling what they were feeling. It had nothing to do with the book itself dragging at all. I wanted to make this comment not because it invalidates your feelings on the books at all. Your experience is your experience, which is no more or less valid than anyone elses opinion, and I am grateful to you for sharing it. My comment is more because I felt that you were implying (whether intended or not) that an adult reading the books for the first time will share similar views to you, which I dont believe to be true. There may be many adults that do share your views but I do not believe that your lack of nostalgia makes your view clearer than it would be for others or that other adults reading this for the first time would automatically share such a view. I think you view speaks solely to how you as a person felt about the books and nothing more. I would be interested to know whether you still feel those same sections drag if you were to read the books for a second time. I'm not saying they wouldnt for you, I would just be interested if that changed anything

[@Davanthall]

I've been reading Harry Potter since I was 10 years old and the moment I stopped to actually ask myself "which book is my favorite" my immediate answer was Half Blood Prince. I feel like this video greatly validates my opinion in that regard, so thank you very much! 😊

[@ericbowdenbooks]

🙏

[@P0SHED]

Wow…. This really made me realise and cherish how very lucky I was to grow up with these books/movies - and that I was there, when it started and when it BLEW UP, mouth to mouth and without a promotion budget in the beginning or social media. How I saw kids pick up books, who had never read a book before. And it was absolutely unheard of, to have such long children’s book. My school teacher read the first two books for us, out loud while we were eating our lunch - you could hear a needle fall to the ground in that classroom. 25-30 kids, for half an hour. That’s magic 🪄 🙃 Very interesting to hear your point of view.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

What a great experience!

[@chokog2446]

Hahaha! Regarding Fantasy and the romance in it. I am an old hand at the genre and have discovered the #1 rule - the better the author is in writing Fantasy, the worse he/she is in writing the romance for his/hers characters! It is tried and true! 😃 Glad you enjoyed the series. The first Fantasy World I felt like I never wanted to leave was Wheel of Time...

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That sounds like a pretty accurate rule of thumb 😂 Appreciate it! I can’t wait to start the Wheel of Time. I’ve got the first three books sitting behind me, ready to go for when I start that journey!

[@AB-qe8cs]

Growing up with these , they released basically once a year and I was the same age as Harry most every time it released. Me and my brother would get a copy on release day and race to finish it. He always won. I loved the filler, and every page. Revisiting it is like seeing an old friend !

[@defaultx238]

I read them the first time during covid and was pleasantly surprised by how good they are. I'm not an intense potterhead but I really like them, the movies, not as much, but I've been hungering to read them again I think I'll have to now 😅

[@ericbowdenbooks]

You definitely should!

[@EnnvYluv]

I read Harry Potter for the first time as an adult as well. I had bought it for my little brother who was in elementary school because I was trying to inspire a love of reading. I would agree with most of your rankings. I love Harry Potter. I think it’s a phenomenal series and I think that some of the lessons it teaches are really profound . I disagree with you about Harry. I think you’re a little hard on him; you said he didn’t take a lot action but I think it’s important to remember that in the first five books he’s between 11 and 15 years old. How much self direction can you expect from someone of that age? Another thing about Harry is he’s had a very traumatic life and of course that’s gonna affect how he interacts with the world. All that said, thanks for the review. I enjoyed listening to it. If I could recommend a great fantasy book for you it’s Tigana by Guy Gavrielle Kay. His character development is amazing. I enjoy books where the magic is secondary to the plot. It is my favorite book of all time, and fantasy is not my favorite genre. If you want to try a shorter read and a series by him, read the Fionavar Tapestry. The first book is called The Summer Tree.

[@ericbowdenbooks]

I guess it was just me comparing him to someone like Percy Jackson in the Lightning Thief. He’s 12 years old and seems to have a lot of autonomy with his quest and his actions. Now that I’ve heard a few other takes from different commenters, Harry’s behavior and actions make a lot more sense, and I would probably view him differently now. Thanks for the recs, I’ll check them out!

[@1080lights]

I think there are a few special elements that made Prisoner and Prince great and might contribute to why they're at the top of your list. They both do an excellent job of building up a series of dread. There's a real sense of dread that builds up in the last few chapters before the climax that really make you feel like something ominous is coming. They're also the only two books where Voldemort doesn't actually show up (we might be stretching a bit with Tom Riddle of the Diary), and I think that adds to this feeling of an unseen danger. Everything that happens in Prisoner after the Shrieking Shack until the time travel sequence is just a thrill ride of story revelations and twists and action. In Prince, we got the much needed backstory of Voldemort that fleshed out the motivations and drives of what was previously a fairly one-note big bad. I also think your point about Harry being active in this book is the result of being the first book where Harry isn't really an outsider anymore. There are no more scenes where he has to ask some other character, "What do these magical people/places/things do?" He's caught up and immersed in the wizarding world and he's fully in an active role in school and in the plot. I'd put Phoenix higher, but I agree that it drags a lot and it's more about picking out some gems amidst a lot of tedious filler. I think the Snape flashbacks in Hallows are definitely ruined if you have that twist spoiled beforehand. Those of us who read it as soon as it came out were always a bit mystified by Snape and the gravity of the revelation leaves you spellbound when you learn about it for the first time. He's also much more of an atrociously abusive teacher in the books as compared to the movies, so Dumbledore's trust in him seemed completely absurd until that point. I do agree that this last book really suffers from a huge amount of expositional overload and infodump at the end between Snape's memories and the Limbo scene with Dumbledore that really lessens the impact of the battle.

[@ervostudio]

Handsome ginger man! You’ve just done the best Harry Potter book review I’ve ever seen! Congrats! 👏👏👏

[@dnbw1979]

I was 21 when I read Harry Potter for the first time and I loved it then and I still love it.

[@lmungillo]

Love your perspective on this! I grew up with these books and I think that may be why the nostalgia hit you so late. We were reading them one at a time and having to wait a year or more for the next book to come out. I would read the same book or two more than once waiting on the next book!

[@ericbowdenbooks]

That’s awesome! I wish I had been reading them as they were coming out. That would’ve been an amazing experience. I would’ve definitely gone to the midnight release of Deathly Hallows!

[@lmungillo]

@@ericbowdenbooksI was one of those there! lol I’m about to check out your channel, but out of curiosity, any fantasy recommendations??

[@ericbowdenbooks]

What kind of fantasy do you like reading?

[@lmungillo]

@@ericbowdenbooks that’s a good question really! I like a bit of everything. Harry Potter, ready player 1&2, rangers apprentice. Currently reading the 13th paladin box set but it’s alittle slow

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Check out, A Wizard of Earthsea, Mistborn, or Wheel of Time!

[@demoui7]

1.Half-Blood Prince (best book hands down) 2.Deathly Hallows (great but not perfect end to the series) 3.Order of the Phoenix (amazing book, a little boring at times) 4.Prisoner of Azkaban (great book with massive problems if you think about some things for more than five seconds) 5.Philosopher's Stone (good introduction, nice little children's story) 6.Goblet of Fire (good-ish book with massive problems if you think about some things for more than five seconds) 7.Chamber of Secrets (it was just OK)

[@ericbowdenbooks]

Great list. 🙌 Very similar to my own.

[@YamiSpyroX]

I never really understood why Chamber of Secrets was hated so much, much like how I don't get why Reptile Room is hated so much. (Series of Unfortunate Events is another 'kids series' were you'd get thrown back by how dark it gets. Its pretty deep!) We had Harry being barred from Hogwarts because a member of a slave race is trying to keep him alive, we have Hagrid getting pinned for something he never even did, almost murders, the overt undercurrents of racism within the society being unveiled, Harry's own internal struggle believing he's the heir of Slytherin along with Tom Riddles introduction; it actually rocked! Now Deathly Hallows. That one disappoints for reasons you pull up. For one, I'm one of those people who thinks the ending didn't do enough; myself thinking they should had went all Shacking of the Shire with the Ministy of Magic Umbridge being like the series Sauruman figure of a person in power refusing to let go. Rowling get her done more with the dystopia Hogwarts showing Neville and Luna's POV more, and while I didn't hate the Horcrux hunt itself its stuff like Harry's big-fit over Lupin rejecting his help, that in a way demonstrates how film Harry was a better character at least person. Also, how does Kreacher get redeemed, when it seems there is no redemption for Slytherin house? Their was so much built-up from the Sorting Hat that The Houses had to 'stand united' and save for Snape's thing there wasn't really any of that. I didn't hate Deathly Hallows, for I think all Harry Potter books are good (Save for Cursed Child, but that's not cannon.) but when it does stuff like killing off Tonks needlessly, and failing to fulfill Peter Pettigrew's oath it does bother me quite a bit, and not just cause Harry's final bout with Voldemort was far cooler in the film version. I do like Harry Potter allot though, and regardless the author's current stance that doesn't actually harm the series re-reading it. Percy Jackson however...yeah, if you sit and read some Greek Mythology you'll realize Rick was pretty horribly bias. Like if I came to Camp half-blood and saw Dionysus in-charge I'd go 'NOPE!' and rather chance it with the monsters!

[@MovieJustin]

You can't "miss" the moment for a book, do things for yourself not because everyone else is into it.

[@Lore86Ma]

I read the books at least once every year, is my favorite series in the entire world. I know I'm biased, but i find the series perfect . Helped me through my darkest time, and i will always be grateful to the Wizarding world. I think you really missed the point in seeing that this is a coming of age story and that everything that happened to Harry was in some way orchestrated by Dumbledore to prepare him for the final duel against Voldi. You can read between lines about this in Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix both at the end.

[@askesismusic]

I think it's the first time i hear someone saying that Goblet of fire is the "least put together" of the series 😂 the movie, hell yeah, but the book is actually very well constructed, that's what most hp readers say about it and i agree

[@KDBetter]

I’m a Potterhead.. in my early 30s and I grew up with the series, reading all the books and seeing all the movies.. the last one came out my freshman yr of college. So I definitely am part of the nostalgia crowd. I’m subscribed to Super Carlin Brothers here and I think their HP podcast is why your video was in my algorithm even though it’s a month old at this point lol. Definitely interested to hearing your perspective on this.

[@ChiliCrisp88]

I’m just so glad these books managed to wow you and still gave you a great sense of escapism, even as an adult reading them for the first time. It goes to show how well these books have stood the test of time. While I disagreed with some of your opinions, I do agree with your point on the romance aspect. Although, I think it was perfectly reasonable that Harry would have eyes for multiple people, since he’s the most popular kid and he’s still finding his way in the world, his likes and dislikes. I think the whole fandom agrees that his romantic interests were really poorly written and conceived. It’s such a shame since it was so evident how great Rowling was at writing female characters. Although it wasn’t a perfect series, I really can’t think of one that is and is as influential and encapsulating as this one. I’ll never get over the magic of the whole franchise✨