Customer Reviews

Harry Potter Adult Edition Box Set: Four Volumes in Paperback

5 star:		(354)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I blew off the entire series thinking on my own that it was just another mainstream fad. I don't know why I started reading, but now I am convinced, this is excellent material for anyone child at heart, and arent we all? Yes I am saying that this is a cheerful set for all. Actually you cant beat this, I know all these books will become Icons of reading and remain so for a long long time to come.

Also Recommended SB: 1 or God By Karl Mark Maddox

I've just fininshed reading the first 4 Harry Potter books for about the 5th time through, and they're just as magical and affecting as they have ever been. Everything is in here: suspense, adventure, mystery, humour, danger. There's even some pretty satisfying paybacks. The characters are fantastic and fantastically realistic. There are bad people who turn out to be good guys and good people who turn out to be bad guys, just like life.

I think the thing I like best about these books is the message that it's okay to be different - to be not "normal." I would very much have liked to have heard that message when I was Harry's age and in a stiff, prep school environment.

These book value real thought. Much has been made of Harry's rule breaking, but only once in the series so far does he break a rule for arbitrary personal gain. Most of the time he makes a decision that what's right is more important than what's written. And you know what? Life's like that sometimes. I think it's great that kids are getting an example of how to do what's right even when it involves breaking rules. The Potter books also show that there are consequences for rule breaking. If not getting caught and getting a detention, then a spell going wrong and someone getting turned into a cat. This shows that when you make a decision to go against the rules that things may not go as you expected and you have to take responsibility for the outcome.

Rowling's done a great job with these books! Long may she continue.

I picked this book up, not for a child, but for myself. I am 41, and I loved it! I am all for teaching kids immagination, and so tired of hearing the people complain about what horrible things it will do to our children. Give me a break! Part of the problem now adays is that kids have been growing up too fast because people won't let them imagine, and won't let them have fun! Part of my fondest memories is that my parents made sure that I had an imagination, and encouraged it. I believed in Santa and the Easter Bunny (but I knew the religious difference - yes, it can be taught hand in hand), having my stuffed animals as friends when I felt alone, and playing pretend in general. This will be a tool to get the kids back to what they should be - kids! (PS - sorcerers and fairys have been around for a while, and I don't practice any spells! Remember Cinderella, Tinkerbell, the Sword in the Stone, and Sleeping Beauty, to name a few Disney movies?)Teach them how to imagine, and they will know the difference between real life, and play time!

I have read all four Harry Potter books. Though book 4 is much longer than the others, and does get a little boring at times, you certainly have to rate the whole set a 5 star effort by J.K. Rowling. The author's forte' is imagination and knowing how to spin an interesting tale out of her imagination. I like fantasies and am eagerly waiting for her next one to come out. In the meantime I have just finished reading another book that is actually true stories, but presented within the framework of fantasy, a book called "West Point: Character Leadership...." by Norman Thomas Remick that I want readers to know I really enjoyed a lot. It's not magic and wizardry like Harry Potter, but it also has a Harry, and I think is a good one for Harry Potter lovers before reading Book 5 of the Harry Potter series.

These books are so wonderful and have given me so many hours of pleasure that I am actually shocked to see the controversy they have created in some circles...call me naive. I am over 40, the third oldest of 10 children and have been a voracious reader all my life. Look, people...kids are ornery. They do things...and so do adults, if we are being honest. I find the adventures Harry gets into uplifting because I know that nothing really awful is ever going to happen to him, with the exception of growing up! Ms. Rowling gives you that confidence pretty much from the beginning. You can find evil in anything. But Hogwarts even offers a "Defense Against the Dark Arts" class, where Harry learns to pull strength from within himself to ward off evil. HELLO! This is what we should be teaching our kids! So Harry and his friends don't do everything right, which is just fine with me because life isn't black and white. Here's a kid bouncing back from an abusive childhood of being taunted, ridiculed and locked in a closet. All this because of the FEAR-based muggle world in which he lives. He could have turned out a lot worse. GO HARRY!

I read Lord of the Rings five times through when I was 13 and was hooked on Fantasy and SF. I've got a Masters degree in History. I STILL enjoy Harry Potter. The stories and characters are dramatic and engaging. There is NO reason to slag a series of books that give nothing but enjoyment just because they are popular or are Juvenile/Young Adult fiction. Such books open up the world of reading to many people. Harry Potter is excellent for the beginning reader as well as those who habitually enjoy such sojourns into the world of imagination.

I am a 28 year old guy, but even though I've heard some ignoramuses tease other friends about being Harry Potter fans at middle age, I believe t it is only because they're too lazy to sit down and read the books and would rather see the movie and miss half the fun. These books show an author of great imagination spanning age groups and continents and having a rather good idea about what fantasy novels should be like.

Its quite unlike the boring Enid Blyton stuff where you always have a bunch of boring, British brats acting too big for their boots and finally solving mysteries that their even-more boring adults could not solve. Harry Potter wastes no time in Blyton-style gibberish and goes straight for the jugular.

Its total excitement and I read all four books in 5 days. The best of course, is HP and the Sorcerer's Stone, because it does a wonderful job of introducing such a intricate plot and concept to even children. The Chamber of Secrets of course is darker, with more death and violence and a scary monster that travels inside of walls and kills. Voldemort of course if still trying to kill HP and rise to power again.

The Prisoner of Azkaban should be fun when it comes out as a movie because of all the Animagus, werewolf and Patronus stuff. I especially look forward to how the movie will depict the Dementors, the horrible soul-sucking blind guards of the fortress of Azkaban which is used by the ministry as a jail for Dark Wizards such as the Death-Eaters, who are followers of Voldemort. The Goblet of Fire is not as much fun, the Triwizard Tournament being a let-down, but heats up considerably at the end with all the characters getting ready for a major show-down in the next parts. It felt really incomplete as if Rowling was saving stuff for the next part. Its drawn-out with well over 800 or so pages and it is quite a pain.

On the whole, I would suggest anyone under the age of 100 to read these books and to feel as free as a child again, with nothing to check the imagination but your mind. I loved the books.

As the Harry Potter-hype started a few years ago, I only got to read the books a few weeks ago. Even after Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling started to appear in most conversations within my circle of friends, I still wasn't convinced to read about the adventures of this little wizard who gets all this media attention. During one of my frequent visits to my beloved book stores in town, I overheard a young girl discussing with her mother about which of the HP books they liked the best. The mother sounded like a even bigger fan than her 12-year old daughter. So on the way out, I picked up the British paperback version of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". I took the book with me on my daily train ride to work, and straight from the first chapter, I was hooked to the writing style and the unique atmosphere Ms. Rowling has created in her stories. I regretted that my train ride ended so fast every morning ever since.
I finished the first book in 3 days, (which is no time record at all), and picked up the 3 sequels in the same week. I always loved reading, but have never encountered such a page-turner yet! The magic of Ms. Rowling is that she can keep a 9-year old and a 24-year old reading with interest. Haven't seen much writers who can enchant such a broad group of different ages and cultures in the same time.
The comparison between the Harry Potter series and The Lord of the Rings seemed unavoidable. Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece is also a great reading experience, but to be honest, I enjoyed the Harry Potter books more because of its original reflections towards our own daily life, the humour, the detailed description of everything (from interior decorations at Hogwarts to the magical candy store in Hogsmead), the action and of course all the adorable and less adorable characters in the story. There is the perfect combination of the hero and his sidekicks. The magical threesome (Harry, Ron & Hermione) has concentrated courage, intellect, strong will, loyalty, humour and optimism. They face challenges from dark wizards, nasty professors and dangerous creatures that only exsist in the magical world. They mostly turn out to be the final winner, and the black-white characterisation was quiet obvious. But isn't that a part of the charm of good story telling meant for kids (and sometimes adults as well)?
One advice, if you can, read the books in its original language. I've seen the Dutch and the Chinese translations, which contains several pretty remarkable mistakes. This is due to the fact that the translations must be done in a hurry in order to get the books on the shelves asap. Such a shame that quality must compensate in this case!

So wake up the 9-year old inside you and take a ride on this magical roller-coaster. You'll get enchanted and longing for more...

I'm a 63 year old grandma. My Grandkids introduced me to Harry Potter, and I had to find out what they were so excited about. One of my grandsons shared his books with me. I think this is an excellent series. Yes, it is a little simplistic for an adult reader. But I'm hooked, and am anxiously waiting for book #5.

I can't imagine what all the negative hype is about. Kids have always loved fantasy and stories about witches and goblins and so forth. Consider Grimm's fairy tales for example. And then in contemporary fiction there are the Star Wars series, and Lord of the Rings, not to mention all the other science fiction that's available. I'm glad that the kids are doing something besides watching TV or playing Video games. (Talk about fantasy there!)

Thank you J. K Rowling, you did good!

I am 16 years old and some of my friends think I'm too old to read Harry Potter. Yet those same friends haven't read the books for themselves. J.K. Rowling has such a vivid imagination, and she writes as though she actually enrolled at Hogwarts herself. The world she creates in each book is so incredible that I want to go there and see it for myself. I can't wait until the next books and movies come out and I recommend the Harry Potter series (novel or film) for anyone who has ever wished they could fly, do magic spells, or just be themselves and not judged for being different.