Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, 1)

By force and pure persuasion I decided to follow through and read the first book in the Harry Potter series after existing for so long and having never read or watched the movies, apparently I was missing out lol.I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised because this is NOT something I would usually read, but I’m happy to have read it. I’m shocked that I loved every minute of it, seeing as there was no skimming through and I read with bated breath, dying to see what would happen next.I was kept on my toes and enjoyed the plot twist at the end. I loved to see the development of Hermione, Ron and Harry throughout and even Neville who gained a backbone. Overall, I feel like a childhood void from not ready for pleasure when I was younger, was slowly filled after reading this book and I love this. Felt like I was healing my inner child and I couldn’t be more grateful for being forced and challenged to start what could simply be the most iconic series.

I’ve read this book many times over the years and as I’m due to go to Harry Potter world this summer I thought I’d reread the books again.J. K. Rowling is a brilliant author with an amazing imagination and very descriptive way of writing. It’s a thou I was there.

Absolutely love the Harry potter books. I have read them many times and always enjoy. I started to read them to my children who have also started to fall in love with the magical world too

The first book is really fantastic, like all six of her books. I remember the first book I ever read was book 4 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). I started reading it, but I found the first chapter boring. I gave up. I'm never really in a reading mood and I know I should be, because everybody needs to read and exercise their brain.Anyway not long after, during an english lesson, where we spent the whole lesson reading in silence, I noticed one of my mates was reading one of the Harry Potter books. I remember it was book 3 (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). I remember asking him if the book was good. He said that it was briliant. Don't laugh but this somehow motivated me to read the 4th book I had at home. I started reading it, ignoring how boring I found the first chapter. Near towards the end of the first chapter, I got hooked onto it. I found myself reading it constantly, getting more and more interested. I found the book fantastic. I couldn't believe I had never read it sooner. I had to read the other three (book 5 wasn't out yet).Anyway the first book is a really good book. No it's more than really good. It's excellent. If you watched the film, then you must read the book. Because believe me when I say that the book is better than the film.It's about a boy (we know his name), who's spent 10 miserable years with his reltives the Dursley family. His uncle Vernon is always jumping down his throught, his aunt Petunia is always nasty, they both see him as filth and his cousin Dudley (about the same age) is always bullying poor Harry. Harry learns on his 11th birthday that he is a wizard. He's not just a wizard, but in the wizard world he's famous.His mum and dad were murdered by the most evil wizard of all time, Voldemort. After killing James and Lily Potter (Harry's parents) he attempted to kill Harry himself. Somehow Harry survived it, left with a permanent lightning shaped scar on his forehead. This somehow defeated Voldemort and Harry was only a baby.He goes to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, where he trains to be a wizard. He befriends a boy and a girl (Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger). Ron is a really nice, loyal person and Hermoine is an annoying boffin, who's always siding with the teachers (the last person to trust if you were attempting to break school rules). Harry also makes his first enemy (Draco Malfoy; a nasty Slytherin kid. All the nasty ones end up in Slytherin House). Harry, Ron and Hermoine end up in Gryffindor house. The other two are Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.Soon Harry and his friends discover that Dumbledore's got something really valuable within Hogwarts (well protected) and someone (their No 1 suspect professor Snape; potions teacher who is nasty to the Gryffindors and is also head of Slytherin).This book is definetely worth reading and buying. Rowling did a fantastic job with this book. Not just the way it was written OR the story, but how she made the wizard life. Their lives are like ours, but with the use of magic. They have a ministry of magic for instance(the wizard govenment), wizard shops and their own sport Quiditch.That I found brilliant. There are Seven players on each team, that fly on broomsticks and there is four balls (a quaffle, two bludgers and a golden snitch) Two beaters hit the bludgers, protecting their team as the bludgers zoom around the pitch, trying to injure the players. Three chasers handle the quaffle and try to put it through one of the three hoops at the end of the pitch. The keeper defends them and the seeker catches the snitch, ending the game and awarding his/her team 150 points. The game was really well designed.The schools are similar to secondry schools. At secondry schools pupils have different subjects in different classrooms, with differnt teachers. The classrooms are designed for that subject. Hogwarts is the same, but with wizard subjects (charms, potions, etc). It's a well written book, inteligently done. One of the best books I've ever read. There's no chance in hell you'll regret getting this.

The book has really nice artwork both on the cover and at the start of the book as it includes a map of hogwarts. I would recommend this book as it look very nice on the shelf, expecially if your planning to get the whole set. I got the second hand one and it was in perfect condition.

Picked as a wild card while ordering multiple books, what a gem.It seems like many moons ago since I watched the first harry potter movie, in fact one of the only ones that I ever did as a child and then didn't return to the series again since reading this book. As I read through it's pages I recalled endless amounts of memories from the film and how it went, it all fits in to place and makes for a very good read.The book length isn't to long nor to short, if you're planning to read them one by one as I was order number two in the series alongside just so that you don't finish the first and find yourself waiting for a delivery to continue the series.This book, the first in the series, is a very exciting and well put together introduction of all of the characters at Hogwarts and their jernouy on their first term. I find it brilliant that J.K. Rowling wrote Harry from a regular muggle to a wizard as it allows the reader to understand the wizardry world as Harry's learning it, to write it in any other way would have been hard to understand, a fine example of the brilliance of J.K. Rowling's writing in this series.The only problem with this book, as written in the book, is that you can't put it down. I decided to drag out the read over days as I like to have the feeling of something to go back to or wake up to and enjoy rather than everything else I do, I want to enjoy my time spent reading and this book certainly allows for that. Each chapter sets of where the last one left and there's no needing to remind yourself of the story before reading again, it all comes flooding back without trouble.I remember the original books and their designs, I think someone I know may still have them stored away somewhere but I defiantly like the look of the newer designed front covers, from the lightning strike in the o of the book title to the general coloring of the book and the feel of the cover I couldn't stop looking at it when I first got it delivered, something about the book draws me in.I have the second book on my bookshelf reading and waiting for the time next I decide to continue with the series, wanting to know more about this world and their adventures I'm sure that all be soon enough.On the whole I hadn't had an interest in the Harry Potter series since a kid as explained but reading this book has made me realize what a gem of a read I've been missing. I appreciate this isn't the newest book in existence and to many they've probably read the last book and watched the last film and it's all over but even then I can imagine that this series is worth a re-read for someone who has the time. So, on the whole, if you're thinking about buying it as I did as something to dive into and see if you do or don't like, DO IT, there's no regret to be had, and at the prices that Amazon are able to offer the paperback version for I can't believe the quality for so little money.Enjoy.

Good quality book. Intact and perfect condition.

My 6 year old is enjoying this classic!