Favorite book in the series? Please explain

Television, Movies Games and Books Harry Potter
#21

My favorite I think is Half-Blood Prince.

I like it because of the Mystery… the whole of the story begins to unfold really for the first time in the book. Previous books obviously have powerful hints and strong points that need to happen, but by the time you get to the end of book 6, you know essentially what the final point is going to be. There are Horcruxes, and they need to be destroyed before Voldemort can be.

I actually like book 5 the least. Harry’s Whining and the foulness of Umbridge is nearly untenable for me.

My ranking (best to worst)
Half Blood Prince
Deathly Hallows
Goblet of Fire
Prisoner of Azkahban
Chamber of Secrets
Philosopher’s Stone
Order of the Phoenix

#22

Hm. I should probably list out my top 7.

  1. Prisoner of Azkaban
  2. Goblet of Fire
  3. Deathly Hallows
  4. Half-Blood Prince
  5. Order of the Phoenix
  6. Sorcerer’s Stone
  7. Chamber of Secrets

Course I’ve only ever read Hallows and Half-Blood Prince once and OotP a few times so the listing is subject to change. Currently re-listening to the series, and I’m halfway through PoA. Chamber I just don’t enjoy a great deal, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense from the Ministry thinking Harry cast a spell, to not detecting any other time Dobby did something (Steal letters?), to them taking the car (They’re 12 , not dumb), Lockhart on the whole, people suddenly believing Harry is an evil smeghead after he faced down Voldemort the year before, Ginny not telling anybody even though she knew well enough to throw the diary away, and finally Ron and Harry going to Lockhart who they spent the entire book thinking is a prat and has no idea what he’s doing with critical information. The first time they actually tell an authority they choose him? C’mon that’s the first choice?

#23

Though I think I’m going to have to go ahead and vote for Deathly Hallows - I reread it last night and this morning and wow. Just wow. It’s such a rich book, and I for one love the religious symbolism.

(though to be fair, it’s been awhile since I’ve done a PoA reread…)

#24

For me, it is PoA. PoA is the turning point in the series, where it gets serious and where Sirius Black is introduced. Also, the rich tapestry of the past and the overarching story arc of the series begins to really take shape. I have a real soft spot for this book, even though I love books 6 and 7. Book 3 continues to be my favorite.

#25

I picked the first one for the simple reason that it was the first step on the wonderful journey that was the whole saga. I could easily make arguments as to why each book was the best or worst of the series. I loved them all.

#26

Order of the Phoenix is the my favorite because of how it captures the strangeness that is the emerging shadow war as well as the frustration of having to deal with the denial of the ministry. And Umbridge. She epitomizes the evil that is that kind of self important busybodyness. Even Stephen King thinks she’s one of literature’s great villains.

I also have a few random point of awesome I think I are worth mention.

First off, in the book the twins’ departure from the school is several orders of magnitude better than it is in the film. Seriously, it was their masterpiece that entitled them to be master jokesmiths and set up their own shop.

Two words: Luna Lovegood. In spite of her fun eccentricities, my favorite bit with her comes at the end when she shares about her mother’s death to provide solace to Harry when his other friends have been unable to. She’s so kind.