As far as them being children's books, I firmly believe that the HP series is designed to be read by children of about the same age as Harry in each successive book. Notice how relatively light the first one is, then they get progressively darker.

I actually haven't read 6 yet, so I need to catch up. I've decided that I'm forgetting too many details, so want to go right back to the beginning and start again.

I agree with the person above who praised Rowling for almost single handedly getting children enjoying reading again! And I blow a raspberry at the lit teacher who refers to them as "trash" - sorry, but these are well-plotted, well-written, intelligent books. And I can't even begin to describe my feelings towards those close-minded people who think the books are somehow evil.

Now I'm VERY interested in knowing what Ms. Rowling (whose fortunes have certainly turned 360 since writing the first one in a dingy flat as a single mother on unemployment benefit) will do next.

Graham.

Another adult Harry Potter fan here.  I actually read the first book in late 1999 when my Book Group at work (many of whom had children) decided to see what the hubbub was all about.  I fell in love with it.  At the time, my son was only 1 so I started buying the books in hardcover so he could have them to read some day.  Well, now that he's 9 I'm picking up used paperbacks for him to read - don't want anything to happen to my hardcovers!!!  He just started the first book about a month ago and is really enjoying it.

DH and I have read the first 6 books and are working on book 7 - we keep fighting over who gets to read it , LOL!

If any of you have not listened to the audios, you really should - they are such a treat.  Jim Dale does a fabulous job with creating such unique voices for each and every character.  I've probably only READ the books once but I've listened to each of them about a dozen times or more.

uuum, I've been thinking maybe this 50 plus year old needs to give them a try....I havent before because there are so many other books I want to read.........Can someone share with me a list of all the HP books in order?  Thank you!

I am 49, read the first 5 books with my two oldest children, then we each read book 6 to ourselves (they are now 17 and 20), and we bought book 7 the day it came out and have all devoured it (we took turns).  And now my youngest, who is 7, is about ready for me to begin reading book 1 with her - how delightful!

But I would be a fan even if I had no children with whom to share them.  ;-)

I've read and reread every book in the series so many times that I've lost count. I finished #7 in record time. I've watched the movies, too. I am waiting for the last one to come out on DVD before I watch it. I think the series is great, the author brilliant, and the naysayers are stiffs. LOL

I started reading Harry Potter when it came out back in 1998.

I was in love from the start.

I've always been mesmerized by magic, wizards and all sorts of fantasy creatures.

I just finished reading Deathly Hallows last night...and i can't believe the series is over.

Rowling still left me wanting more, the epilogue wasnt enough.

but once the movies came out it pulled me in even more. Now the characters had faces and real personalities and i was crazier than ever about it....

It's not a children's series, really.  The legos are fun, too--and the deluxe editions, and special editions--and can I just say, without giving anything away, Snape is by far my favorite character.

I have been following the adventures of the boy  who lived since middle school..and absolutely love the books. The seventh was by far the best of all.

I started reading these books when I was about 11 and my friend in middle school laughed at me because the covers looked stupid to her. She laughed at Harry and his glasses. I kept trying to convince her to try the books out, but she wouldn't read them because they looked nerdy. About a year later I saw her reading them, but hiding the covers from me. Bwahahaha!

Finished book 7 on Sunday afternoon.  I had pre-ordered from Amazon and received mine on saturday morning.   Great book but I am sorry not to have stories from the time during those nineteen years.  A lot of furtile years there.  I am a mother and I have all the movies so far, all the books and assorted items (Hogworts school books, etc) that I keep for my grandkids.  My daughters are now reading the 7th book as well.  we all buy our own.

I started reading Harry Potter out loud to my kids when the first book came out.  I got hooked, my daughter got hooked.  She is now an avid reader (thank you Harry Potter!).  My son, while he doesn't enjoy reading them on his own, will still sit with me and we will read together.  It's been lovely.  I haven't started reading the last book with him yet.  I read it Saturday, and now my daughter has it.  Soon as she's done, I'll start on it with him. 

I remember seeing Rosie O'Donnell on her show raving about how fantastic Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is.  My oldest son was just a baby at the time, and I was a stay at home mom, and I watched Rosie almost every day.  So when it came out in paperback I bought it.  I remember I started reading it one night and absolutely could not put it down.  I made my husband take me to buy the second one in hardcover as soon as that one was finished, and then the third one after that.  I pre-ordered #4 and had it delivered, #5 I got in line for early in the morning at the bookstore, and #6 and #7 I had to have at midnight.  Of course now my husband, sister, and mom are all hooked on Harry. 

I think J.K. is a wonderfully gifted story-teller who injects a lot of heart into her stories.  She has such a creative mind....I envy it.  Now that Harry is finished, I wonder what she will write next? 

I would LOVE to see a companion guide to the Harry Potter books....with family trees, maps of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc, spells and curses, drawings of the characters, all of it.  I think that would be an incredible addition to the series.

Boston Globe raved about book 1 when it came out around 1997 so ended up a book seeker as well.  People had ordered it from Britain so they would not have to wait for copies.  Picked up book 1 and continued with series after movie 3 with books 4 to 6, and now 7.  Decided it was a keeper.  Like the hype, books as a cultural event, what a novelty. 

Those who say Potter books not good reading for children.  I say reading is good and encourages more reading.  Saying less is like arguing, swimming better for fitness than walking so you should not let kids walk so much.

My best friends dad bought her book 4 right after it came out while on a trip in Europe. She read it, loved it, and started from the beginning, all the while of course getting me hooked. Since then we've both been avid HP fans. Now I'm going slightly nuts waiting for her to receive her copy of Book 7 (she wanted British art work go figure) and finish it so we can discuss. I preordered mine and it arrived Saturday morning....I even gave my friends a head start and waited till Sunday morning to start reading, finished Sunday afternoon! I loved it, and was so sad to see it end.

I totally agree with whoever said Rawling has been an major influence in getting kids to read again! heck, even adults too! Saw the fifth movie on a sunday night and it was jam packed....and there were maybe 2 kids out of the 300 people in the theater!!

Can't wait for the sixth movie now!

Two observations:

I am in my fifties and have to buy two copies when the new ones come out (sob - NO MORE!!).  I buy one for me and one for my mother!  Mom had a very serious surgery two years ago, we weren't sure if she'd be able to read, even if she had the strength to hold a book.  She finished #6 in three days within a week of the surgery.

I have been teaching for over 30 years and I cannot name another book series that has had such an impact on children - especially boys.   I team teach with two other teachers in a 3-5th grade program.  Many of the kids in our classes read the entire series over the three years we have them - some in one year.  Since they know we teachers have all read them, also, we have some really interesting discussions.  I once asked a parent who was questioning if her child should read the series, if she objected to them learning about true friends, who can be angry at each other, yet still love each other; loyalty; perserverence;  humor; pathos - it's all there.

I am 31 and LOVE OVE LOVE HARRY POTTER (my persian is a big hedwig fan and crookshanks lover).  I was at the midnight party at the local B&N and dragged my husband there.  My dad is in his 60's and loves harry too.  I made him buy me the box set when he asked what books i wanted.

I read harry in 3 days and that was only because i was emotionally distraught 50 pages in. 

This is a very emotionally draining book and that epilogue just was not enough.  she could go in so many directions (but that is my opinion).

I love the Harry Potter books and started reading them when my first child was about 2 years old. My friend let me borrow the first and second and I couldn't put them down. I read them in like two days and have waited and bought all the rest as soon as they came out. My oldest is just now reading the first one himself and my other kids are years away from reading yet. I am proud to be a Harry Potter fan. I loved the last and final chapter and finished it all too quickly. But I wish the epilogue had been longer with just a little more info such as what happened to Dudley, who is Headmaster at Hogwarts, etc. But I loved it still. Huge Harry Potter fan here!!!!

I'd like to put in a positive word for Jim Dale's audio version of the Harry Potter books; he does a brilliant job!  I purchased the books on tape when we took a long trip from Wisconsin to Yellowstone (my daughter was 7).  There we were... sitting at Yellowstone Falls just waiting for the chapter to finish before we got out of the car!  Consequently, my husband got hooked and has enjoyed listening to all the books and the movies, too.  My daughter and I have read the 7th book in tangent and have to give my husband the blow by blow accounts.  I will still order the audio version, as well.  We will listen to it as we take our daughter to college.

A school teacher, knowing how much I liked to read, told me to read Harry Potter.  At first, I declined, thinking they were childrens books. Then my niece, 11 years younger than me started raving about them, so I bought the first one.  After that, I couldn't wait for the next one to come out.  I was 70 years old my birthday and I am almost through with the last HP.  I love it and i will tell anyone that i read them.

Just a note of interest for those of you who want more.... JK Rowling will be on Dateline tonight (Sunday) talking about the book. From what I've heard, she talked with Meredith Vierra about those missing 19 years and answered questions about some of the characters that the epilogue didn't divulge.

Stacie,

Thanks for the head up about Jo Rowling on Dateline tonight. 

I started reading HP to see what the hype was about.  Loved it...we'd listen to HP on tape/CD in the car on long family vacations, but my 12 and 9 year olds now think that HP is an adult book series!  I finished Deathly Hallows in 2 days, after rereading Half blood prince the previous weekend (1 day).   Love the films, too, but not so much the later ones that have to distill Jo's 600+ page books into a 2 hour film.

Yes, a guilty pleasure!

I JUST FINISHED HP AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS THIS MORNING.  WHAT A BOOK!  IMO, IT WAS THE VERY BEST OF ALL OF THEM.  I'LL ADMIT THERE WERE PLACES THAT I HAD T STOP AND WIPE TEARS!

THERE IS A BATTLE SCENE THAT WILL RIVAL THE ONE IN LORD OF THE RINGS, IF THE RIGHT DIRECTOR DOES THE MOVIE. 

LOVED IT AS I DID ALL OF THEM.  I'VE GOT TO FIND TIME TO READ THEM ALL AGAIN!

I have been an Harry Potter fan since the first book. I don't have kids. But if I did I'd let them read it. I think it's great to see young & older people reading this series or any book. I hate to see Potter end :(

Happy reading to you all :)

I've been a Harry Potter fan for some time now. I started reading the books after the 3rd movie on the recommedation of a work buddy of my dh (he's a foundry worker). He intrigued me by saying the books have so much more than the movies. Of course I should have known this but sometimes a good hit to the head helps sink things in. Have now seen and read all movies and books.

Just finish HP7 and I loved it.  I must say this book was a real roller coaster of emotions from beginning to end. And I think it is a fitting end and answered many questions. Plus the epilogue let us leave with a happy view of the future for the characters we've fallen in love with.

I would recommend this for kids and adults alike. Not a guilty secret as I am willing to ask anyone if they have read or seen Harry Potter.

Now reading: Ghost of a Chance by Yasmine Galenorn

Just finished: Code Name: Bikini by Christina Skye

J.K. Rowling gave a web chat with further who ended up where and what abouts with Bloomsbury Publishing.