Great American Read List discussion

This months series is Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

This series is #3 on the GAR list and it has an avg GR rating of 4.53. There are seven books in the series.

#1—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
#2—Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
#3—Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
#4—Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
#5—Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
#6—Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
#7—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Please feel free to comment and let us know what you thought of these stories.

Happy Reading

Hello. I apparently joined this group a while back, but I may have been so new to Goodreads that I missed the fact that this group was reading two GAR books a month per a planned schedule. I am sad that I didn't participate these past 3 years as I have made very slow progress on the GAR list. (But I have exceeded my Goodreads goal of 52 books for 2020, which is doable for a retired person.)

I re-read the 1st 5 Harry Potter books in 2022, and plan to read books 6 & 7 in 2023. I am a big fan of Harry Potter, even though I am 68 years old. I started reading Harry Potter when my son was in college, so that was in 2000 or so. I wanted to know what the controversy was all about. I didn't know I would fall in love with Harry Potter and his friends' quest to save the wizarding world! We rewatch the movies frequently.

What is amazing about the Harry Potter books is their depth, detail, and planning. Rowling had very detailed backstories, the overarching plot of the 7 book arc, and many parameters of the wizarding world worked out before she even wrote the first book. There is a writer/blogger named John Granger who is very well read in the classics and other disciplines, and he has written several books that discuss the many sources that have influenced Rowling's books. I couldn't understand it all, but what I could understand was fascinating. He discusses what he terms "literary alchemy," which is another arc that she used to structure the books. It was mind boggling to realize the unseen complexity of these books. They are lovely children's stories about a battle between good and evil, but they are so much more.

I also enjoy Rowling's detective fiction that she writes under the name of Robert Galbraith, known as the Cormoran Strike novels. (Book #6 came out in 2022. )

Hi Joyce, it's never to late to join in the reading. 52 books in one year is so much more than I've been able to do. (I'm not quite retired but really close) I read the first 3 Harry Potter books when they were published, and thought they were a bit unsettling, and set them aside. This year I've been listening to them on Audible and love them. It seems to be a perfect format for these as I can listen to them at work. I haven't read the Cormoran Strike novels, but would like to give them a try.

I hope you go thru our past reads and find other books that interest you, and then feel free to comment in their discussion groups or even create a bookshelf to keep track of what you've read.

Yes, I will go through the past reads. Did each past read get commented on? Maybe I was looking at it wrong. (I am looking at my phone, but maybe I should try Goodreads on the PC, which is probably how I started on Goodreads.) I have made a list of what you still have upcoming. I will read The Color Purple and Along Came a Spider in January with you all. I am excited to have found people reading this list.

I have trouble looking at details on my phone, I can see a lot more on my PC. If you look here, this is a list of the books and their discussions.

Joyce, are you using the (useless) app? I highly recommend accessing the website from your phone and not the app. Once you get to the GR website, you’ll want to scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “desktop” version. That will make the site much more accessible and functional.

That being said, I’ve read the Harry Potter series a couple times and may reread book one in 2023 for one of the Popsugar reading challenge prompts.

I guess I am using the app, unless I out a link as an icon on my phone. I really don't remember. I may try using my computer. But, that requires cleaning up the papers on my desk! Alas! (LOL.) My adult son will be arriving today from another state. He hasn't been here since 2018, so it may be a couple weeks before I get back to this. I will eventually do the bookshelf thing on this group.