As I’ve argued in the OT forum, the first two books are very short, not to mention that they’re both incredibly quick reads just from the style of the prose. They mention places, characters, and concepts that matter throughout the entire series.
As far as the films go, yeah, Chris Columbus put his stamp on the first two films, though it doesn’t bother me terribly, because the first book especially should be enjoyed as a film by all ages. I don’t consider the series to start off too immature, only to grow acceptable for an adult palate; I think it starts at a certain level of age-appropriateness, and then grows with the reader. For example, my son can read The Sorceror’s Stone as soon as he wants because there’s nothing too terrible in it. There’s some scary stuff in Chamber of Secrets, but I imagine he can hack it not too much thereafter. Beyond that, however, Azkaban is a bit scarier, Goblet gets REAL dark at the end, and the series continues on (though I still think detention with Umbridge is the darkest thing in the series, and that’s in OotP).
I can see wanting to skip the first two films because they’re definitely for kids, especially the very first, which at times makes my jaw hurt it’s so darn saccharine. But Chamber is a big step in the right direction, Azkaban’s yet another (even if I think the wrewolf design was a bit weak), and the series has really hit its stride since then.
Listening to the podcast right now, can’t wait to comment as I hear more!
One small postscript. As someone mentioned, Gryffindor, and Slytherin aren’t terirbly different. The difference as I see it is that Slytherin is a little more centered on a personal ambition, whereas Gryffindor is more about following personal conviction over ambition. Slytherin gets a bad rap because the worst are truly terrible, bu that’s just because that they follow personal ambition to its extreme with their own dark goals in mind (also keeping in mind that many early Death Eaters were schoolmates of Riddle’s, meaning that SLytherin’s were around him, and his influence, more).
I’ve gotten Hufflepuff before on tests, and Gryffindor and Ravenclaw on others, but I read (here, I think) that the Sorting Hat probably factors in its wearer’s preference heavily (hence the Weasleys and, for starters, and possibly Colin Creevey, if I recall correctly). And I have a thirst to learn things that is never quenched, so that really makes me feel like I belong in Ravenclaw.
