Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets


GR synopsis:
All Harry Potter wants is to get away from the Dursleys and go back to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby - who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects... Harry Potter himself.

I am reading this for week 23, the next book in a series you are reading. I started reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone this week. So far, it's okay. Well enough that I'll give the second book a try. I should be starting this one either tonight or tomorrow.

I hope you have fun :) It was great for me when I was the same age as the characters when reading this.

Thanks! I just finished book one last night and will be starting book 2 today. I was less than impressed with the first, but have heard the books get better as you go through the series. So while I am not expecting outstanding improvements from the things I found lacking, I think this will be even slightly better and I'm looking forward to it :D

The third book is where it really starts to amp up. Four gets particularly dark and stays that way till the end of the series.

I love the series as a whole, but CoS is one of my least favorites. J.K. Rowling weaves bits of the whole story into each book so I have come to appreciate CoS for what it contributes overall.

I know exactly what you mean, Emm. I enjoyed the first two, but the third is the one that really hooked me. And now I enjoy the earlier ones more because of the later ones. The arcs, the foreshadowing, the interconnectedness of them all.

Okay, so after reading and really disliking the first book I was pretty hesitant to start this one, but after just finishing the second book, I am so glad I committed to the first three books, no matter what. The second book was wonderful, for a YA/childrens book. There were moments when I was genuinely laughing out loud from funny little quips, and not from ridiculous dialogue (cue: "yer a wizard, Harry").

I have a lot of hope for book three and am looking forward to it.

4/5

That's great, Manda...I have yet to get to book two. Possibly later this month. Looking to finish this series this year.

Week 13: Reader’s choice

I didn't like it so much! I will give it 3 stars, because the movie was too better than the book. And I can't believe it!

You don't have to be young to love this series. I read it for the first time in 2005 just shy of my 4th decade.

I just finished reading this (with the Spider) for 2017, Week 23 (A book from the BBC's "The Big Read" list).

If I had to rate them all, this would be towards the bottom, but really, it's like rating ice cream ... ALL AWESOME. The humour in these books is brilliant, and the Spider was cackling at quite a lot of it, especially anything to do with Lockhart. He's such a brilliant character.

I read this for Week 23 also. I do love the humor between the characters especially Ron. Ron is probably my favorite and I like how Hermione is the smart one. I survived the spider chapter. I almost skipped that but my daughter told me I had to read it.

Haha, I love your ice cream analogy, Jody.

Just read this for week 13: a book about a secret. I loved it! I gotta say though, I couldn’t stop laughing at the end when dumbledore gave them each 200 points because it made me think about that vine

Every time I revisit this book, I fall in love with it all over again. I couldn't believe how much I had forgotten about the storyline in this one, since it's been so long since I last read it. It's amazing to re-read this one knowing how it fits into the rest of the series later on.