Ah well...my parents didn't like HP at all at first. They would scoff at it whenever they saw it, and wondered what the whole hype was about, so naturally since I was so young I agreed with them at first (I was in 6th grade). So I'd look at the books and laugh and wonder why everyone liked these books so bloody much, they didn't look that great to me.
Then my friend one day suggested I read one of the books, and of course I said no. She really wanted to read her book, so she made me read the first chapter of CoS which of course I understood none of and thought it was pretty weird. Once again, I ignored the books.
Finally, my friend got so annoyed with me that she just shoved the first book at me and made me read it. I snuck it home underneath a sweater so my parents wouldn't see it, and when they finally did they were all scoffing at me. Of course then I actually READ it, and loved it, and read all the other books after that. And became obsessed, and to this day I still am (with the exception of last year because I was so mad over the death). Needless to say, I got my dad to read the books and now he loves them as well! And my friend Adi is obsessed also, and we analyze the characters together over the phone all the time, 'tis fun /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
Getting Into Harry Potter
Moderator: Prefects
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Sophronia Bradenton
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- Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2004 2:54 am
- Location: Ravenclaw
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Kei Leberecht
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- Posts: 13
- Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 5:27 am
- Location: ~[ravenclaw]~
Getting Into HP: Kei Leberecht's Story
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets came out when I was ten or eleven years old. While this might not seem nearly as important as the publishing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers/Philosophers Stone to your average HP fan, it was much more so for me. My Mom and Dad had been divorced since two years before, and my mom had started dating. I really had no problem with this; my mom was actually better tempered when she had a boyfriend around. Her love interest interest at that time (I cannot remember his name) introduced the HP books to me.
When my mom told her boyfriend that I was an avid reader, and when he witnessed me reading non-stop, he brought up the subject of a book that was beginning to become popular in both England in America. Harry Potter. And that’s when it began.
The idea of a book that starred a wizard boy really didn't interest me. For one thing, I hated fantasy books, and for another, I felt that I couldn't relate to boys as well as I could to girls (yes, I admit, in RL, I am a girl). I would never had bought the book of my own accord. But my mom's boyfriend (I really wish I could remember his name) bought it for me and sent it to me by mail. When I took it out of the package that it was in, I was even more disappointed. Not only was this a fantasy book about a boy, but a fantasy book about a wimpy boy. With glasses and no muscles. That’s the last time I ever judged a book by its cover. And I like to think that I've gotten over the shallowness of judging people by appearance too. I let ‘The Book’ lay around on tables for about a week, giving it odd looks from time to time, wondering why it was so popular, and coming the conclusion that my mom's boyfriend didn't know what he was talking about. Then I got bored. It was nighttime, the library was closed, and I had nothing to read, at least nothing that looked interesting. So, against my will, fraught with boredom, I opened the book, and then I read it.
I could tell I was missing something right away. Yes, the book was Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets. Not that the title meant much to me at the time, but it was obviously a sequel. I didn't care at the moment. ‘The Book’ just drew me in and I loved every second of it. Because I was broke at the time, I got Harry Potter and the SS/PS from the County Library, and did thereafter declare myself obsessed. When POA came out, my friend had the chance to buy it before me. She told me that Sirius was innocent before I got to that part in the book, and I got pretty mad at her for it. Thankfully, this didn't really ruin any of the fun I had while reading it, well I don't think it did anyway...
During the wait for GoF I re-read the other books a multitude of times. I got my grandfather to buy me the English version, thinking, for some reason that it would get here faster. It didn't, but the suspense just made I better. I tried to savor it, I really did. I tried to read it at chapter intervals, but it didn't work.
Then I discovered fanfiction (actually, my friend and sister discovered it and I finally realized just how good it was. I had that to entertain me while waiting for the fifth book, and what a long wait it was.
And here I am, still completely obsessed, and thinking maybe I should ask my mom for her old boyfriend’s address so I can send him a long thank you note.
~[Kei]~
Kei Leberecht (Ravenclaw, ke500, USA)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets came out when I was ten or eleven years old. While this might not seem nearly as important as the publishing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers/Philosophers Stone to your average HP fan, it was much more so for me. My Mom and Dad had been divorced since two years before, and my mom had started dating. I really had no problem with this; my mom was actually better tempered when she had a boyfriend around. Her love interest interest at that time (I cannot remember his name) introduced the HP books to me.
When my mom told her boyfriend that I was an avid reader, and when he witnessed me reading non-stop, he brought up the subject of a book that was beginning to become popular in both England in America. Harry Potter. And that’s when it began.
The idea of a book that starred a wizard boy really didn't interest me. For one thing, I hated fantasy books, and for another, I felt that I couldn't relate to boys as well as I could to girls (yes, I admit, in RL, I am a girl). I would never had bought the book of my own accord. But my mom's boyfriend (I really wish I could remember his name) bought it for me and sent it to me by mail. When I took it out of the package that it was in, I was even more disappointed. Not only was this a fantasy book about a boy, but a fantasy book about a wimpy boy. With glasses and no muscles. That’s the last time I ever judged a book by its cover. And I like to think that I've gotten over the shallowness of judging people by appearance too. I let ‘The Book’ lay around on tables for about a week, giving it odd looks from time to time, wondering why it was so popular, and coming the conclusion that my mom's boyfriend didn't know what he was talking about. Then I got bored. It was nighttime, the library was closed, and I had nothing to read, at least nothing that looked interesting. So, against my will, fraught with boredom, I opened the book, and then I read it.
I could tell I was missing something right away. Yes, the book was Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets. Not that the title meant much to me at the time, but it was obviously a sequel. I didn't care at the moment. ‘The Book’ just drew me in and I loved every second of it. Because I was broke at the time, I got Harry Potter and the SS/PS from the County Library, and did thereafter declare myself obsessed. When POA came out, my friend had the chance to buy it before me. She told me that Sirius was innocent before I got to that part in the book, and I got pretty mad at her for it. Thankfully, this didn't really ruin any of the fun I had while reading it, well I don't think it did anyway...
During the wait for GoF I re-read the other books a multitude of times. I got my grandfather to buy me the English version, thinking, for some reason that it would get here faster. It didn't, but the suspense just made I better. I tried to savor it, I really did. I tried to read it at chapter intervals, but it didn't work.
Then I discovered fanfiction (actually, my friend and sister discovered it and I finally realized just how good it was. I had that to entertain me while waiting for the fifth book, and what a long wait it was.
And here I am, still completely obsessed, and thinking maybe I should ask my mom for her old boyfriend’s address so I can send him a long thank you note.
~[Kei]~
Kei Leberecht (Ravenclaw, ke500, USA)
Last edited by Kei Leberecht on Sun Sep 05, 2004 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
~Kei Leberecht~ | first year | ravenclaw | ke500
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Jessamyn Logan
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- Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2004 7:06 pm
- Location: Proud Hufflepuff Newbie Badger!
- Contact:
How I got into Harry Potter....well its a really interesting story... You see at first I was anti-HP...but it wasn't for long. When Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone came out in the theatres my husband went to see it with his friend... HE LOVED IT... I still was not all about it...Then the movie came out on DVD....well my hubby had to have it, so we bought it....I stared at it for a couple of days, and still refused to watch it...then it happened... I got sick. I wound up being out of work for a few days...and it was so boring, we had no cable and I had by this point watched all the movies in the house. So I popped it in the DVD player, and its been heaven ever since. I loved the movie.... I couldnt believe how good it was....within two weeks I watched it something like 45 times, I could quote it forwards and backwards. I was hooked. Then my husband did the worst thing, bought me all the books that were out... I had all four of them read in a week... I was now obsessed. I have all the books in Hard Cover and paperback, I read them so much, pages have started to fall out because the spine is so creased! I even waited on line at midnight for OoTP! My husband now just shakes his head when we go shopping and I can spot the Harry Potter logo a mile away. Well, I guess that's all history now...I have since gotten him into HOL and I have never been happier...I am looking forward to a great 7 years!
Love and Hugs!
~Jessie
Love and Hugs!
~Jessie
Love Always! ~Jessie||je503||Proud Hufflepuff!||"Home is where the Sett is..."||Hufflepuff Quidditch Rocks!||Sig and Av made by Me!!!
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Ariek Caniam
The back of my edition of Chamber of Secrets proudly proclaims that; "I've yet to meet a ten-year-old who hasn't been entranced by it's witty, complex plot and the character of the eponymous Harry'.
Well, obviously the author didn't meet any of them - but when I was ten, I met about thirty of these kids.
I was a real life 'firstie' at a new school, at the time - and one of our teachers decided to tame us wide-eyed wild-ones by reading to us from Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone.
Now, if any of you remember when you were ten or eleven - you know you thought you were the most grown up thing in the world. Well, this feeling is especially magnified having recently upgraded to school where the older kids aren't even kids anymore, they're almost and act as if they're adults. In lay mans terms? Major ego boost.
And our newfound egos was severely punctured when our teacher told us to 'huddle in a circle' on the insultingly bright purple carpet in the primary library. We had just *left* Primary school, we were in middle school now - who on earth did she think she was, trying to read to us like we were a bunch of five year olds!?
Well, it doesn't take much to realise what happened - we raised a fuss, in other words, a full class temper tantrum worthy of the five year olds we were so desperate not to be like. Still, the poor woman, bless her, charged on in her attempt to read to us. Now, we realised that temper tantrums weren't going to do it, so we settled for giving idiotic comments on every other word - I specifically remember one of the guys in my class yelling out; "The boy who lived? What kind of stupid chapter name is that? Guess I'm a *Boy who Lived*, too."
She didn't even make it to Dumbledore before she snapped shut the book, fumed that we were another wasted year, and dragged us all back to our class while we smirked in satisfaction. As for the teacher, she retired last year, by the way, with a full head of white hair. ;D
It was a year or so after this that my mother came home and stuck her head in my room holding a thick paperback book. As it turned out, one of her colleagues from work had excitedly informed her of a story that "Ariek will absolutely love!" and lent my mother the book for us both to read.
My mother held it up to me, "Have you heard of it, it's called the...uh...Philospher's Stone?"
I glanced over my shoulder, recognising the cover from one I had been glaring at a year ago. "Oh, yeah. Our teacher tried to read it to us in class once - it was crap."
"Oh, well, Debbie seems to think highly of it - I'm going to read a chapter tonight. Have a listen?"
Whenever there's been stories that we both want to read, my mother hasn't and probably will never give up the habit (that I enjoy as much as she does!) of reading them aloud with me.
So I listened half heartedly that night, then a little more interested the next night, and then the next night, and the next night - and by the time we finished Philospher's Stone together, I was rather fond of Harry and his world.
Now, it wasn't my favourite yet - but that didn't mean it wasn't pretty darn cool - and when she came home with our very own copies of Chamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban for us to read, I wasn't exactly wincing anymore.
One night, my mother stopped reading at the most awkward place to take a phone call from my grandmother. Harry and Ron had just taken the Polyjuice Potions and were going to find out if Draco really was the Heir of Slytherin. ARRRRGH! I was about to grab the phone and hang up for her, but decided instead of risking beind strangled by her - I just picked up the book from where it was lying open.
I finished it before she had got off the phone.
The next day, I started, sped through, and finished Prisoner of Azkaban - and was desperate for the next book. Soon enough after my mother had finished reading Prisoner of Azkaban out loud, Goblet of Fire came out - and the rabid obsession finally got under way.
I also got DSL around that time, and was exposed to the fandom world of theories, discussions, and oh the sweet, sweet carnal pleasure that is fanfictions.
And so, I went from absolutely despising Harry Potter and refusing to read it - to being the most obsessed out of everyone I know, and those I don't. Quite a turn around, eh?
-Ariek
Ariek Caniam (Slytherin, Ar504, USA)
Well, obviously the author didn't meet any of them - but when I was ten, I met about thirty of these kids.
I was a real life 'firstie' at a new school, at the time - and one of our teachers decided to tame us wide-eyed wild-ones by reading to us from Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone.
Now, if any of you remember when you were ten or eleven - you know you thought you were the most grown up thing in the world. Well, this feeling is especially magnified having recently upgraded to school where the older kids aren't even kids anymore, they're almost and act as if they're adults. In lay mans terms? Major ego boost.
And our newfound egos was severely punctured when our teacher told us to 'huddle in a circle' on the insultingly bright purple carpet in the primary library. We had just *left* Primary school, we were in middle school now - who on earth did she think she was, trying to read to us like we were a bunch of five year olds!?
Well, it doesn't take much to realise what happened - we raised a fuss, in other words, a full class temper tantrum worthy of the five year olds we were so desperate not to be like. Still, the poor woman, bless her, charged on in her attempt to read to us. Now, we realised that temper tantrums weren't going to do it, so we settled for giving idiotic comments on every other word - I specifically remember one of the guys in my class yelling out; "The boy who lived? What kind of stupid chapter name is that? Guess I'm a *Boy who Lived*, too."
She didn't even make it to Dumbledore before she snapped shut the book, fumed that we were another wasted year, and dragged us all back to our class while we smirked in satisfaction. As for the teacher, she retired last year, by the way, with a full head of white hair. ;D
It was a year or so after this that my mother came home and stuck her head in my room holding a thick paperback book. As it turned out, one of her colleagues from work had excitedly informed her of a story that "Ariek will absolutely love!" and lent my mother the book for us both to read.
My mother held it up to me, "Have you heard of it, it's called the...uh...Philospher's Stone?"
I glanced over my shoulder, recognising the cover from one I had been glaring at a year ago. "Oh, yeah. Our teacher tried to read it to us in class once - it was crap."
"Oh, well, Debbie seems to think highly of it - I'm going to read a chapter tonight. Have a listen?"
Whenever there's been stories that we both want to read, my mother hasn't and probably will never give up the habit (that I enjoy as much as she does!) of reading them aloud with me.
So I listened half heartedly that night, then a little more interested the next night, and then the next night, and the next night - and by the time we finished Philospher's Stone together, I was rather fond of Harry and his world.
Now, it wasn't my favourite yet - but that didn't mean it wasn't pretty darn cool - and when she came home with our very own copies of Chamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban for us to read, I wasn't exactly wincing anymore.
One night, my mother stopped reading at the most awkward place to take a phone call from my grandmother. Harry and Ron had just taken the Polyjuice Potions and were going to find out if Draco really was the Heir of Slytherin. ARRRRGH! I was about to grab the phone and hang up for her, but decided instead of risking beind strangled by her - I just picked up the book from where it was lying open.
I finished it before she had got off the phone.
The next day, I started, sped through, and finished Prisoner of Azkaban - and was desperate for the next book. Soon enough after my mother had finished reading Prisoner of Azkaban out loud, Goblet of Fire came out - and the rabid obsession finally got under way.
I also got DSL around that time, and was exposed to the fandom world of theories, discussions, and oh the sweet, sweet carnal pleasure that is fanfictions.
And so, I went from absolutely despising Harry Potter and refusing to read it - to being the most obsessed out of everyone I know, and those I don't. Quite a turn around, eh?
-Ariek
Ariek Caniam (Slytherin, Ar504, USA)
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Molly Thorman
Molly Thorman(Ravenclaw, mo504, USA)
"Harry Potter? That book looks sooo stupid!", that is what i first said to my firend when she told me she started reading it. "What are you thinking, its about magic! It's all fake!" My friend insisted that I start reading the books, i refused, hands down. Well then in fourth grade, our teacher started reading us the second book. At first I wouldn't pay attention, I kept thinking Oh my god this is stupid! untill of ocurse she was done with the third chapter. After that I tried to listen but when you can't go back and re-read it if you dont understand then its really hard to follow. So i started reading the second book on my own, well about 1/3 way through the book i decided i should read the first book first so i did, immediately after i was hooked. i started to read the third book since we were still reading the second one in class and ever since i've been hooked! I'm waiting not-so-patiently for the sixth book to arrive...
"Harry Potter? That book looks sooo stupid!", that is what i first said to my firend when she told me she started reading it. "What are you thinking, its about magic! It's all fake!" My friend insisted that I start reading the books, i refused, hands down. Well then in fourth grade, our teacher started reading us the second book. At first I wouldn't pay attention, I kept thinking Oh my god this is stupid! untill of ocurse she was done with the third chapter. After that I tried to listen but when you can't go back and re-read it if you dont understand then its really hard to follow. So i started reading the second book on my own, well about 1/3 way through the book i decided i should read the first book first so i did, immediately after i was hooked. i started to read the third book since we were still reading the second one in class and ever since i've been hooked! I'm waiting not-so-patiently for the sixth book to arrive...
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Raevyn Lovel
- No broom
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 9:08 pm
- Location: Ravenclaw
Man... I'm reading all of these, and wishing that my story was better.
I got into Harry Potter before all of the hoopla started. To be honest, I was walking through my local Wal-Martâ„¢, looking for something that I hadn't read yet (which is more difficult than you think). After perusing the book section with no luck at all, I saw a spinner rack with a bunch of paperback books. One of which was a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. For three dollars. I figured, 'Eh, it's only three bucks...if it's horrible, I'll give it to my sister'.
Well. It wasn't horrible.
In fact, I went back the next day to get CoS and PoA. I didn't wait in line for the fourth one, I had it shipped through Amazon. I did, however, join in the fun of line parties for the fifth. Am now eagerly awaiting the Pureblood Prince. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
~Rae
Raevyn Lovel (Ravenclaw, ra503, Conencticut)
I got into Harry Potter before all of the hoopla started. To be honest, I was walking through my local Wal-Martâ„¢, looking for something that I hadn't read yet (which is more difficult than you think). After perusing the book section with no luck at all, I saw a spinner rack with a bunch of paperback books. One of which was a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. For three dollars. I figured, 'Eh, it's only three bucks...if it's horrible, I'll give it to my sister'.
Well. It wasn't horrible.
In fact, I went back the next day to get CoS and PoA. I didn't wait in line for the fourth one, I had it shipped through Amazon. I did, however, join in the fun of line parties for the fifth. Am now eagerly awaiting the Pureblood Prince. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
~Rae
Raevyn Lovel (Ravenclaw, ra503, Conencticut)
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Namia Elisa
Well, when I was in seventh grade, my aunt bought me the first three books for Christmas. I had no idea what Harry Potter was and I had no intention of reading the books. Well, when I went back to school from winter break, alot of other people had gotten the books for Christmas as well and were showing them off like trophies. I had watched people at lunch time for the next several weeks do nothing but read those books. Finally, I felt extremely left out when one day my friends talked about nothing but the book the entire day. I was also crushed when I found out that one of my friends had a Harry Potter party for people who had read the books. I felt that the only way I could stop this madness is if I had read the books. So that summer I began to read the books long forgotten on my shelf. I was so hooked from the first three chapters of SS that I had read all three books in a matter of days. Then. a short time afterwards GoF came out and I read that in a matter of hours. I was so into Harry Potter at that time that ever since I have been included in all my friends' conversations about HP and can't wait for HBP to come out!
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Rireoosol Softrain
- No broom
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:21 pm
- Location: Gryffindor
I've always been a hungry book worm. I read tons of books during my spare time and all of my friends knew this. It happened that my best friend, of my sixth grade year, had begun reading Harry Potter, and he really liked the series, so he decided to tell me about it.
I, on the other hand, had never heard of Harry Potter before in my life (same w/ LotR until after the first movie came out on video) and I had no idea what it was about, but, if someone tells me that a book is good, I'd pick it up and read it.
I spent all extra time reading my friend's book, and I fell in love with it and never put it down! When i finished it, I was enthralled to find that there were more books that followed it! So, I borrow his Chamber of Secrets and another friend's Prisoner of Azkaban and read those, non-stop, for the next few weeks. I adored the books!
I'd already become a hard-core Harry Potter fan. I'm not exactly sure when, but then hype started about the release of the 4th book that I *had* to buy! So, I whine to my mom about this whole series (and by then, there was a Harry Potter craze!) and she decides to bring me to get the book! I didn't get it on the first day (I like to wait and save good things for much later) but I didn't wait too long before I had to buy it. My little brother, always trying to follow in my footsteps, decided he wanted to read the books too. So, my mom bought all of the books except the first one (they were completely out of stock) and my brother...deciding he didn't care, started with the second book.
I'd gotten the Goblet of Fire early one summer morning and I did nothing but read, eat, and other "necessities" the entire day until I finished it that evening! I loved the book, but as always, I get a sense of loss because it's the end until the next book is released.
I was at a camp last year when the 5th book was released, so I couldn't get the book on the first day, but I was surprised to find, when I returned home, that my mother had already purchased the book for me! That was my *joy*! I spent the next 3 days reading Harry Potter along with another summer reading book for school. And now I await the 6th book, knowing I'm one book closer to the end I refuse to accept.
Rireoosol Softrain (Gryffindor, ri501, USA)
I, on the other hand, had never heard of Harry Potter before in my life (same w/ LotR until after the first movie came out on video) and I had no idea what it was about, but, if someone tells me that a book is good, I'd pick it up and read it.
I spent all extra time reading my friend's book, and I fell in love with it and never put it down! When i finished it, I was enthralled to find that there were more books that followed it! So, I borrow his Chamber of Secrets and another friend's Prisoner of Azkaban and read those, non-stop, for the next few weeks. I adored the books!
I'd already become a hard-core Harry Potter fan. I'm not exactly sure when, but then hype started about the release of the 4th book that I *had* to buy! So, I whine to my mom about this whole series (and by then, there was a Harry Potter craze!) and she decides to bring me to get the book! I didn't get it on the first day (I like to wait and save good things for much later) but I didn't wait too long before I had to buy it. My little brother, always trying to follow in my footsteps, decided he wanted to read the books too. So, my mom bought all of the books except the first one (they were completely out of stock) and my brother...deciding he didn't care, started with the second book.
I'd gotten the Goblet of Fire early one summer morning and I did nothing but read, eat, and other "necessities" the entire day until I finished it that evening! I loved the book, but as always, I get a sense of loss because it's the end until the next book is released.
I was at a camp last year when the 5th book was released, so I couldn't get the book on the first day, but I was surprised to find, when I returned home, that my mother had already purchased the book for me! That was my *joy*! I spent the next 3 days reading Harry Potter along with another summer reading book for school. And now I await the 6th book, knowing I'm one book closer to the end I refuse to accept.
Rireoosol Softrain (Gryffindor, ri501, USA)
~| <- riRe -> | owl: Luna | ebony, 10 1/2 inches, fairy hair | ~
| spice girl: Dark Spice | proud patronus prowler pirate|
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Matilda Eastleigh
How did I get into Harry Potter?
I first read a Harry Potter book in my first year of secondary school, which was in 1999.
At my secondary school we had to have a reading book for our English classes, and one day around November-ish I forgot my reading book! So I had to borrow a book from the school Library (or Learning Resources Centre). So I borrowed Prisoner of Azkaban – I don’t know why though, considering it’s the third in the series and I was obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson books at the time!
Then I bought my own copy of it, so that I could finish reading it, because Library books have to be handed back in after so long – I’m not entirely sure if this is true, but as my copy of Prisoner of Azkaban is broken into two separate halves I think its probably older than my copies of the other four. I read Prisoner of Azkaban and really enjoyed it – though probably understood very little of it!
Then I bought Chamber of Secrets – I clearly couldn’t count to four at the time, which is worrying considering that I have been in the top set for maths each year. I read Chamber of Secrets – it might have made a more sense than Prisoner of Azkaban did to me, but I enjoyed it!
But I was still obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson books at this point and not Harry Potter. However, I did like Harry Potter quite a lot because I got Goblet of Fire not long after it came out, and really liked it, because it is my favourite Harry Potter book.
But clearly I didn’t like Harry Potter enough to read Philosophers Stone, because I didn’t read it until about three months later. This was after I had made friends with a Harry Potter obsessive and they had told me that I had to read it before the film came out, which I did!
Though it was really only after the first film came out that I became a Harry Potter obsessive, because everybody was talking about Harry Potter at school. So I talked about Harry Potter a lot more with the other Harry Potter obsessed people in my year and then I started to read the books more. Eventually, Harry Potter was the only thing I would read, so I read them over and over again (that lasted until just over a year ago, when I decided to read Lord of the Rings, but I never have finished Lord of the Rings because Order of the Phoenix came out).
So, then I was obsessed with Harry Potter and I still am!
I first read a Harry Potter book in my first year of secondary school, which was in 1999.
At my secondary school we had to have a reading book for our English classes, and one day around November-ish I forgot my reading book! So I had to borrow a book from the school Library (or Learning Resources Centre). So I borrowed Prisoner of Azkaban – I don’t know why though, considering it’s the third in the series and I was obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson books at the time!
Then I bought my own copy of it, so that I could finish reading it, because Library books have to be handed back in after so long – I’m not entirely sure if this is true, but as my copy of Prisoner of Azkaban is broken into two separate halves I think its probably older than my copies of the other four. I read Prisoner of Azkaban and really enjoyed it – though probably understood very little of it!
Then I bought Chamber of Secrets – I clearly couldn’t count to four at the time, which is worrying considering that I have been in the top set for maths each year. I read Chamber of Secrets – it might have made a more sense than Prisoner of Azkaban did to me, but I enjoyed it!
But I was still obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson books at this point and not Harry Potter. However, I did like Harry Potter quite a lot because I got Goblet of Fire not long after it came out, and really liked it, because it is my favourite Harry Potter book.
But clearly I didn’t like Harry Potter enough to read Philosophers Stone, because I didn’t read it until about three months later. This was after I had made friends with a Harry Potter obsessive and they had told me that I had to read it before the film came out, which I did!
Though it was really only after the first film came out that I became a Harry Potter obsessive, because everybody was talking about Harry Potter at school. So I talked about Harry Potter a lot more with the other Harry Potter obsessed people in my year and then I started to read the books more. Eventually, Harry Potter was the only thing I would read, so I read them over and over again (that lasted until just over a year ago, when I decided to read Lord of the Rings, but I never have finished Lord of the Rings because Order of the Phoenix came out).
So, then I was obsessed with Harry Potter and I still am!
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Adamina Greenhawk
- No broom
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 7:00 pm
- Location: Ravenclaw
I was actually dragged kicking and screaming, at first that is, into liking Harry Potter by my friends. All of my friends were into it biiiiig time. A few online wanted to drag me to a convention, dress me up and in general try to convert me. I finally gave in a while back, to their constant cries or "Read it, you'll love it!" and " C'mon, you're into this sort of thing, why be so stubborn about it." Well, I gave into that and started reading it. Needless to say, I was pushed into it but my own interest and love for the series ended up dragging me further. Of course, now I need no shoving to go out and buy the new books or express my fan-ery(...ok so that's not a real word) to the world. Friends are so great, sometimes. I thank them, because now I meet more people through Harry Potter fandom. ::hug to all her friends.::
Adamina Greenhawk (Ravenclaw|ad506|Usa)
Adamina Greenhawk (Ravenclaw|ad506|Usa)
Last edited by Adamina Greenhawk on Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Drawn and animated by me.
Adamina Greenhawk|ad506|Ravenclaw|Go Eagles!
I got Holden at Magical Menagerie
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Cassandra Rowling
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- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2002 10:08 pm
- Location: GRYFFINDOR!!
When I was 9, my teacher read the first book to my class when it came out. But because it was the end of the year, he never finished reading it and i couldn't remember the story title so I never found out the end. So i never got into HP.
When the first film came out when i was 14, my best friend made me go with her to see the film. Realising it was the book i heard when i was 9, I watched the film, and loved it.
I got the books for my birthday and spent loads of time in my room reading all the first four books. Since then, I've been hooked on HP and I'm glad that my best friend made me go and see the film. /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />
~Cass~
Cassandra Rowling (Gryffindor, ca370, london)
When the first film came out when i was 14, my best friend made me go with her to see the film. Realising it was the book i heard when i was 9, I watched the film, and loved it.
I got the books for my birthday and spent loads of time in my room reading all the first four books. Since then, I've been hooked on HP and I'm glad that my best friend made me go and see the film. /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />
~Cass~
Cassandra Rowling (Gryffindor, ca370, london)
Proud to be a Gryffindor!
LIONS WON THECUP !!!!!!
WAND: Oak, 8 1/2 inches, Pheonix Tail Feather
LIONS WON THECUP !!!!!!
WAND: Oak, 8 1/2 inches, Pheonix Tail Feather
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Blake Slatton
- No broom
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2004 7:54 am
- Location: emm ... i'm an eagle. go claws!
My story may not be all that exciting, but I find it a tad different. I was one of the late readers of Harry Potter. I had heard about it, but to tell the truth, I was not into all the 'magic' type books at all. I thought it was all weird and rubbish, so I just blew it off.
Well, that's typical. My dad comes home one day and has bought me the first two Harry Potter books (I'd want to say this was in .. hmm ... 2000.) I just threw them under my bed and didn't do anything with them, until my friend opened her own Harry Potter school on the net. Everyone in my grade was joining, it was like the newest craze, so I opened up the book and started reading. Well the first four chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are totally boring. So I got through those after reading, re-reading, and re-re-reading (it's hard to comprehend when you're only ten years old!), and decided I didn't like it, so tossed them under my bed once again. It was a few more weeks before I was literally pounded to death by my friend (ha, some friend) and she threatened to kick me in the forbidden place if I didn't go home that night and finish the first book. So I read through it, and absolutely loved it. Since them I've been the biggest freak of Harry Potter known to mankind! Woo!
Blake Slatton (Ravenclaw, bl501, USA )
Well, that's typical. My dad comes home one day and has bought me the first two Harry Potter books (I'd want to say this was in .. hmm ... 2000.) I just threw them under my bed and didn't do anything with them, until my friend opened her own Harry Potter school on the net. Everyone in my grade was joining, it was like the newest craze, so I opened up the book and started reading. Well the first four chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are totally boring. So I got through those after reading, re-reading, and re-re-reading (it's hard to comprehend when you're only ten years old!), and decided I didn't like it, so tossed them under my bed once again. It was a few more weeks before I was literally pounded to death by my friend (ha, some friend) and she threatened to kick me in the forbidden place if I didn't go home that night and finish the first book. So I read through it, and absolutely loved it. Since them I've been the biggest freak of Harry Potter known to mankind! Woo!
Blake Slatton (Ravenclaw, bl501, USA )
Alte Sententiam | Pensieve Opinion Staff
Ravenclaw Book Club | Writer's Society
Sig made by Vladimir of Sig 'N 'Av Palace
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Estelwen Black
- No broom
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2004 7:55 pm
- Location: Hufflepuff
My story is pretty simple, nothing exciting about it. In 1999, I started to hear from here and there, comments about Harry Potter, I saw people talking about it and read an article on Internet about it, so I thought "This books seems really interesting, I need to read it." So, in my first oportunity, I went with my dad in the bookstore in the shopping mall and got the book. At night, I started to read it and I couldn't stop it until 2 a.m, I got sleepy then, so next day I read the rest of it. I got so excited with the story that I couldn't wait to read the next book. In 1999, here in Brazil, we had available only the first two Harry Potter books. Then I remember that my mom had an appointment with a doctor near the mall so I went with her and we went to a bookstore and I got Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I got home and start to read it immediately. After it, I had to wait months to read the next book. I read Harry Potter 2 in May 1999, and the third Harry Potter book was released here in November. In the first day that it came out here I went straight to a bookstore and got it. I was so happy that day!! I got home and start to read it right away, I read it in one day and a half. Since the day I finished the first book I've been trying to persuade everyone I know to read all Harry Potter books, but people say things like " ohh it's a children's books" or "I don't like this kind of book", but after the movies most of them saw that I was right, they said that the story is really amazing. Since the third book, I have always bought Harry Potter books in the first day of release. For the 5th book, I ordered it months earlier. And now I can't wait to read the next one. :/wub.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":wub:" border="0" alt="wub.gif" />:
"Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them." John Updike.
Made by Em @ the Sig N Av Palace
Made by Em @ the Sig N Av Palace
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Kristal Brook
GETTING INTO HARRY POTTER
"Harry who and the what Stone?" I thought when my fourth grade teacher announced to us the next book she would be reading to us for story time. This is when the book just came out and it wasn't all the rage yet. I was bored to tears after the first chapter and had no idea that I was about to become obsessed and addicted to this series. As soon as he found out he was a wizard eveything started going up hill, I more steadily got embroiled into this fantasy land, this world that JK Rowling had created. I couldn't escape.
I becamed so wrapped up in the story that I couldn't even stand to wait to hear one chapter a day at school. I had to know what would happen, right then. I got my dad to go buy me the book and I finished reading it before the class. Then I went on to the other books, each one got better and better. I couln't keep my nose out of them. I wanted more, I needed more. I waited in line for hours anxiously to get my copy of the fourth book the day it came out.
I got my whole family involved starting with my dad who instantly fell in love with the series after reading the first book. He then also read the rest of the books and now I had someone to discuss all details, aspects and theories about the book with. I wanted to share it with more people still though. I wanted them discover this fantasy land I had found and wanted them to share it with me. I would read it to my little sister at night and she would beg me not to put it down when I told her that it was time to go to sleep. She told my little brother all about it and he picked up the copy and read it for himself. I was going in... and I was bringing them with me.
I read and re-read books 1-4 over and over again, taking in every deatail. Soaking it all up like a sponge. Finally after a very long wait the fith book was released. I read it and became more engulfed than ever. Especially now that I have caught up with his age. I understand and relate to Harry and have always wanted to be a part of that world. Also I like to delve into the books, to look for every last detail, to search for every last clue, to read between the lines, to make my own connections and assumptions.
Now that I was old enough to surf the net I was officially obsessed. I've been to every site there is. I think that I love this world that JK has thrown me into so much because when you take away all the magic and frills, you find reality and underlying messages. Hearing these messages is what it is to be a true HP fan. There are so many positive messages enforced through out the book. We can see our selves in this world and these characters, sometimes we don't realize it but, we also hear the messages, through all the mania.
Kristal Brook (Gryffindor, First Year, kr503, USA)
"Harry who and the what Stone?" I thought when my fourth grade teacher announced to us the next book she would be reading to us for story time. This is when the book just came out and it wasn't all the rage yet. I was bored to tears after the first chapter and had no idea that I was about to become obsessed and addicted to this series. As soon as he found out he was a wizard eveything started going up hill, I more steadily got embroiled into this fantasy land, this world that JK Rowling had created. I couldn't escape.
I becamed so wrapped up in the story that I couldn't even stand to wait to hear one chapter a day at school. I had to know what would happen, right then. I got my dad to go buy me the book and I finished reading it before the class. Then I went on to the other books, each one got better and better. I couln't keep my nose out of them. I wanted more, I needed more. I waited in line for hours anxiously to get my copy of the fourth book the day it came out.
I got my whole family involved starting with my dad who instantly fell in love with the series after reading the first book. He then also read the rest of the books and now I had someone to discuss all details, aspects and theories about the book with. I wanted to share it with more people still though. I wanted them discover this fantasy land I had found and wanted them to share it with me. I would read it to my little sister at night and she would beg me not to put it down when I told her that it was time to go to sleep. She told my little brother all about it and he picked up the copy and read it for himself. I was going in... and I was bringing them with me.
I read and re-read books 1-4 over and over again, taking in every deatail. Soaking it all up like a sponge. Finally after a very long wait the fith book was released. I read it and became more engulfed than ever. Especially now that I have caught up with his age. I understand and relate to Harry and have always wanted to be a part of that world. Also I like to delve into the books, to look for every last detail, to search for every last clue, to read between the lines, to make my own connections and assumptions.
Now that I was old enough to surf the net I was officially obsessed. I've been to every site there is. I think that I love this world that JK has thrown me into so much because when you take away all the magic and frills, you find reality and underlying messages. Hearing these messages is what it is to be a true HP fan. There are so many positive messages enforced through out the book. We can see our selves in this world and these characters, sometimes we don't realize it but, we also hear the messages, through all the mania.
Kristal Brook (Gryffindor, First Year, kr503, USA)
Last edited by Kristal Brook on Wed Jul 21, 2004 6:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Catherine Salem
- No broom
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2004 12:59 am
- Location: Gryffindor
Well, I started reading the first book because my little cousin read it, said it was nice and lent it to me (actually, it is still with me, I never gave it back to her). I loved it, I read in 2 days. Then, this year, a student of mine, who has the whole collection of books, lent me the other four books. I'm finishing now the "Order of Pheonix", and I can't wait for the sixth book to come. I am Brazilian, so I read all the books in Portuguese, and now I'll try to buy them in English and read them all over again. I've watched all the movies, joined communities, searched all about JK Rowling and her website. I consider myself a fan of all the characters, and I can't get tired of them! Well, I have a little of "witch blood" myself, considering that "Salem" is my real last name!
May the Goddess of Avalon be with all of you!
Catherine Salem (Gryffindor, First Year, ca505, Brazil) /wub.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":wub:" border="0" alt="wub.gif" /> /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />
May the Goddess of Avalon be with all of you!
Catherine Salem (Gryffindor, First Year, ca505, Brazil) /wub.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":wub:" border="0" alt="wub.gif" /> /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />
May the Goddess of Avalon be with all of you!
Catherine Salem
Catherine Salem
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Ainslie Justus
My very first college friend, Lauren, came to American U. with the Harry Potter trivia game. She desperately wanted someone to play the game with her. We made fun of her, of course. Harry Potter is a KIDS' series, afterall!
Sophomore year, the first Harry Potter movie came out over Thanksgiving break. I was craving some parental attention, so I asked my parents to take me to the theatre. I sat there, Mom on my left side, Dad on my right, surrounded by families with young children. We have since gone to the other two HP movies and sat in the same configuration. I guess its our somewhat annual parent-daughter bonding experience.
Its hard to say at what point I was hooked, probably the very opening scene. Dumbledore's Put Outer was very cool. But I fell in love after the Quidditch lesson scene with Oliver Wood. Yes, a large part of it was the fact that Sean Biggerstaff is exceptionally good looking, but his character was so charming! I HAD to find out more about him!
When I got back to school after break, I begged Lauren to lend me her Harry Potter books. She was more than happy to comply, she would finally have someone to play the Harry Potter trivia game with! I was through the first 4 books in about a week and a half, was given my own set at Christmas from my parents, and was looking up theories about Book 5 on the internet by Spring Break. I have been a Harry Potter addict ever since. I have read and re-read the series so many times I'm thinking of purchasing an extra set of books so as not to destroy the binding on my hardcover set.
Yes, Lauren and I eventually played the Harry Potter trivia game. We even got more of our college friends to join the HP craze.
And now I even own my very own Harry Potter trivia game.
The Washington Post said that Bill Clinton's book was going to be the biggest book-release since Harry Potter and the OotP. Codswallop, I say! After OotP came out, 1 in 4 people on the Metro (DC's subway) were reading "the big, blue book". People were literally walking down the street trying to read. My supervisor and I both sat in the library at our office and read. No one could get any work done until we knew what happened to Harry during 5th year! So far I've only seen one person reading Clinton's book. I'd say the Post got it wrong!
Ainslie Justus, Gryffindor, ai501, USA
Sophomore year, the first Harry Potter movie came out over Thanksgiving break. I was craving some parental attention, so I asked my parents to take me to the theatre. I sat there, Mom on my left side, Dad on my right, surrounded by families with young children. We have since gone to the other two HP movies and sat in the same configuration. I guess its our somewhat annual parent-daughter bonding experience.
Its hard to say at what point I was hooked, probably the very opening scene. Dumbledore's Put Outer was very cool. But I fell in love after the Quidditch lesson scene with Oliver Wood. Yes, a large part of it was the fact that Sean Biggerstaff is exceptionally good looking, but his character was so charming! I HAD to find out more about him!
When I got back to school after break, I begged Lauren to lend me her Harry Potter books. She was more than happy to comply, she would finally have someone to play the Harry Potter trivia game with! I was through the first 4 books in about a week and a half, was given my own set at Christmas from my parents, and was looking up theories about Book 5 on the internet by Spring Break. I have been a Harry Potter addict ever since. I have read and re-read the series so many times I'm thinking of purchasing an extra set of books so as not to destroy the binding on my hardcover set.
Yes, Lauren and I eventually played the Harry Potter trivia game. We even got more of our college friends to join the HP craze.
And now I even own my very own Harry Potter trivia game.
The Washington Post said that Bill Clinton's book was going to be the biggest book-release since Harry Potter and the OotP. Codswallop, I say! After OotP came out, 1 in 4 people on the Metro (DC's subway) were reading "the big, blue book". People were literally walking down the street trying to read. My supervisor and I both sat in the library at our office and read. No one could get any work done until we knew what happened to Harry during 5th year! So far I've only seen one person reading Clinton's book. I'd say the Post got it wrong!
Ainslie Justus, Gryffindor, ai501, USA
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Martin Purnomo
- No broom
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2002 4:46 am
- Location: *Gryffindor rulez*
How do i get into HP?
Well my friends started reading the books couple of years back so i started reading them as well. I was interested in them. The movies are also fun to watch. I sat there with my friends in the cinema's. It was a really great movie to watch.
The books are also interesting with all the adventures they all had. My friend by then already finished the first 4 books. While i was behind. He also told me what had happened in the stories to make it more interesting indeed. I really liked it so much. The 5th book came out and practically all the books were sold out so i would have to borrow from my school library.
After all that I have now seen all the first 3 movies of Harry Potter and i would like to see the coming up movies. It would be fascinating.
Well my friends started reading the books couple of years back so i started reading them as well. I was interested in them. The movies are also fun to watch. I sat there with my friends in the cinema's. It was a really great movie to watch.
The books are also interesting with all the adventures they all had. My friend by then already finished the first 4 books. While i was behind. He also told me what had happened in the stories to make it more interesting indeed. I really liked it so much. The 5th book came out and practically all the books were sold out so i would have to borrow from my school library.
After all that I have now seen all the first 3 movies of Harry Potter and i would like to see the coming up movies. It would be fascinating.
Gryffindor Rulez!!
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Sam Slick
I was in 4th grade (five years ago), when we read 'Time for kids', and it had an article about Harry Potter with the release of the 3rd book. One of my friends brought in all 3 Harry Potter books and I asked her if I could read one. I picked up the third book, Azkaban, and bugged my parents to take me to the store to get Stone. I got it and read it like a burning phoenix! That year was when the whole HP craze broke out, because thats all that anyone talked about from that moment on!
Signed: Sam Slick, Gryffindor, sa502, USA
Signed: Sam Slick, Gryffindor, sa502, USA
Last edited by Sam Slick on Wed Jul 21, 2004 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Issac Promono
Well when I was in 2nd grade my mom and dad made me read the first one and I said I didnt like it because I didnt at that time, and when I went into 3rd grade my teacher read it to the class and thats how I got into it. During that summer I read all of them four times because I liked them so much. Also I was so happy when The Order came out, and I hope J.K. finishs the 6th book soon.
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Evalyn Arasmiss
Well all my friends were reading them, and I'm not usually a follw-the-crowd type, But i decided that I didn't want to be left out, so I borrowed the 1st one, and loved it from the first chapter, they're great.
EDIT: post a new one please, if you want it to count for the Contest with points, this is really not a "story" /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> (Rames)
EDIT: post a new one please, if you want it to count for the Contest with points, this is really not a "story" /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> (Rames)
Last edited by Evalyn Arasmiss on Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.