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Rank the Harry Potter Series
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Ooooh that's a tough one! I love them all, the last ones aren't unloved one, far from it. I switched the order a few times, but I'd settle with this :1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Aside from numbers 1 and 7, it was really tough for me to put these in order. Ultimately, I love them all, but I do have my favorites. In the last few years, I've listened to the series on audiobook a few times. I listen to them when I'm bored with my other reading or when I'm having trouble sleeping. 1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I think this one is my favorite, in part, because I came to the series as an adult. I was in my late twenties when I read the first book with my son. And this marked a huge shift in the series. It wasn't just for kids anymore. Everything was suddenly much darker and the threat was real. And Dumbledore's "Remember Cedric Diggory" speech kills me. Every. Time.
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Harry and Dumbledore have adventures. Lots of Voldemort backstory. And that ending :'(
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Many, many callbacks to things earlier in the series. Dudley is (kind of) redeemed. Lots of adventure and a big finish. Neville Longbottom is a goddamned hero at last. But so much loss, so much pain. And someone should really check in on Andromeda Tonks. She had a rough year :(
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
What a great introduction to the magical world! "Yer a wizard, Harry." Diagon Alley. Gringotts. Hogwarts. And I loved the teamwork involved in getting to the Sorcerer's Stone, particularly Ron doing what had to be done.
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I had a particularly hard time with the order of 5 and 6. Unpopular opinion time: I am not the world's biggest fan of Sirius Black. Sure he is heroic and unjustly accused. Mostly, I found it hard to believe that Harry and Sirius developed such a strong bond in really no time at all. (Of course, Harry names one of his kids after the guy he hated just because he found out he wasn't such a bad guy after all, so...) And in subsequent books, Sirius spends a lot of time guilt tripping Harry, either for being too reckless or not reckless enough.
Reasons this one gets the number 5 spot: Hermione refuses to let her time be wasted in Divination. Lupin teaches Harry to cast a Patronus. The Marauder's Map. More backstory on Hogwarts, The Previous Generation.
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Hermione Granger is a badass, but something had to go here.
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Reasons this one is last: Overlong. The Cho Chang debacle. Pouty Harry, who doesn't seem to remember all the times he would have died if Ron and (especially) Hermione had not helped him. Pouty Sirius.
On the plus side: Luna Lovegood. The Weasley twins grand exit.
Ooh, great topic! I love them all, of course, but I do have definite favourites.1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
This one kept me up until 3am - I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the first two, but this was the one that turned me into a raving fangirl. I also felt this was where the series started to get a little darker, and deeper. Thing started to get more complex, there was far more backstory involved, and you really got a chance to see just how bloody clever J.K. Rowling is, to have crafted this incredible world.
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
This is a very, very close favourite. I remember picking up my copy (I was probably the most excited person there), going straight back to bed and read it all in one go, with one of my cats snuggled up with me the entire time. It gripped me from the very start, and as soon as I'd finished drying my tears, I started to speculate about how the series was going to end. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for two years, waiting for the last book to come out. Plus, Snape.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
An incredible end to an incredible series. I feel like I cried from the start to the finish. It was brutal, and heartbreaking, and Snape. Did I mention Snape?
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
An incredible beginning to an incredible series! It's accessible but complex at the same time.
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Action packed, for sure, and the first real sign of just how dark the series would get.
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I wasn't the hugest fan of angsty, angry Harry in this one. The whole chip on his shoulder wasn't my favourite. That said, I enjoyed this one much more in subsequent readings. Also, Umbridge. Vile creature.
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Sorry, Chamber, but someone had to come last. And this one is a clear last place for me. But it's still a five star nonetheless.
Saying all of that, I think they are all amazing, and they all had to be just how they are for the whole series to work.
Just YES to Order of the Phoenix being last. Angsty Harry was the worst. I seriously gave up on the series for years because I couldn't get through that one. Don't worry, I eventually got my head in the game and adored the last 2 novels.
Beth wrote: "Aside from numbers 1 and 7, it was really tough for me to put these in order. Ultimately, I love them all, but I do have my favorites. In the last few years, I've listened to the series on audioboo..."This. Exactly.
I always loved Goblet of Fire best - quidditch cup, tournament, Voldemort's return - can this be more action packed and dramatic?
Agree with Order Of Phoenix last, absolutely. Harry is annoying and whiny, Dumbledore is missing, and Umbridge suffocates Hogwarts.
In between it is harder fir me to rank but Beth's ranking is spot on the way I feel about the books.
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceThis is my favorite for many reasons. I mean, so many great, awkward, hilarious scenarios occur in this book, and I couldn't put it down. Ever. And then there were the sad scenes that went hand in hand with the happy scenes, intertwining perfectly so I would still feel some stuff and get a good laugh at the same time.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
This just made me feel a lot of emotions and made me tear up too much. Learning about Snape was just so intriguing and it made a lot of sense as to why Snape hated Harry so much, and the one reason that this did not top the Half-Blood Prince is because of the bitchiness of Ron for, like, 100 pages or so, if I'm remembering correctly.
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
This book was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. It was this nice, in-between moment where things, while still being light and cheerful, it also had this dark tone to it added by the dementors and a criminal running around Hogwarts. However, this book didn't make me feel anything, like the Half-Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows did.
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
This was a great read, because you see this kid who just comes from a sad, broken background, suddenly get pulled up from the dirt and finally has his life go his way. This book was put so low because it didn't make me feel a lot of emotions the first time I read it, and it was much less complex compared to the books in the rest of the series.
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Not to say that this book is necessary bad, it's just that it had a couple negatives. One of which, for me, being the Quidditch World Cup. I just felt that this event was dragged out too long for me. It was just so slow, and kept on going for me, that I could complain about it for a long, long time. Not to mention Ron being annoying about the whole Harry-Getting-Everything-Ron-Wants. This book was still great, but, yet again, lacking the emotional toll. When Diggory died, I was like, meh. Oh well. We didn't know him all that well, and I didn't really care about him.
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This is the book where a lot of things happen, but not a lot of them really matter. And that is to say, this book, was, for me, more than a little forgettable, and more than a little annoying. There's so many things that happen in this novel, but, to be honest, there's something about the Chamber of Secrets that is just so…insignificant for me. Yes, a lot of things that happen in this book end up coming back, but it just wasn't the biggest deal for me.
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Before I read this book, I thought that the Chamber of Secrets would forever be my least favorite book of the Harry Potter series in general. Then I read this book, which took me 3 days to plow through, because I just wanted this book over so we can go back to the happier times. I mean, we have Dolores Umbridge, the angstiest Harry of all time, the angstiest Sirius of all time, the Always Crying About Cedric Cho Chang, and the most annoying Dumbledore of all time. How could this not be last? It has some good qualities, like all of these books, but when you compare it to the rest, there's no contest.
Definitely a tough question, and I really struggled with this, but I think this is my final ranking. I absolutely love all of the books and it is by far my favourite series, so even the "low" ranking ones are still amazing.1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I'm honestly not even sure what it is about this book specifically that made me love it so much. I have re-read the series several times, and this has always been the one that I am most excited to re-read. When I first read it, I think I loved it because it "broke the formula" a little from the first two books. I loved that there was a villain in it other than Voldemort, and I really loved the whole Time-Turner idea...although it was a shame that was never used ever again.
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Unpopular opinion time, apparently. Unlike everyone else here, I really loved this book. Although I agree it was a little too long in places (Grawp, for instance, really wasn't too necessary), I really don't understand why people had such an issue with angsty Harry. Keep in mind that this was a 15 year old, thrown into a very scary situation with no one to talk to about it. He had just witnessed someone he knew being murdered in front of him, spent the summer left alone to stew about, and his main mentor suddenly shuts him out. Is it really a big surprise that he's so grumpy? I actually thought Umbridge was a very interesting character because she was so widely hated. Her interactions with the other teachers were hilarious, and I was actually really interested by the Ministry's interference in the school.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
For some reason, this is the one book that I really don't remember in much detail, possibly because I haven't read it as many times as the others. It was an excellent, emotional, and very fitting end to the series. I loved how many references there were to earlier books and loose ends.
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This one was a very close-call between this and my #5. What pushed this one very, very slightly ahead for me was remembering how genuinely creepy it was when I first read it and even when I re-read it after a while. In retrospect, I also really like how what seemed like a one-off story actually became very important later on.
5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I still keep going back and forth between this and COS, so in reality they're probably tied more than anything. To be fair, I was a little biased against this one from the start because a friend of mine read it before me and made some negative comments about it ("It reads like poorly written fanfiction" because of all the relationship stuff), that kind of put me off. But I really loved getting to explore Dumbledore's memories and the backstory it gave about Voldemort. Something did "feel" a little different about this book though, I can't quite place what it is.
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I really loved this book when I first read it, so I actually think the problem for me is that I over-did it and read it too many times, too often at first. It's definitely an important book in the series and it really turns the tables a lot. I liked the tournament tasks and reading about Harry trying to figure out his plan each time. It's not a bad book, at all. At this point, I just prefer most of the others.
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
This one is definitely a victim of over-reading for me. I actually never intended to read Harry Potter in the first place because it was so over-hyped, but I got hooked because of my school's former librarian doing a book talk where he read the first few pages to us. It's an excellent start to the series and a great introduction to the wizarding world. I love this book, but the rest of the series is so much stronger.
Rachel wrote: "Definitely a tough question, and I really struggled with this, but I think this is my final ranking. I absolutely love all of the books and it is by far my favourite series, so even the "low" ranki..."While I stand by my ranking, I do agree with a lot of what you said about The Order of the Phoenix.
While it is on the bottom for me, I have come to appreciate it more with subsequent readings. I agree that it is perfectly realistic for Harry to behave the way that he does, I just want to throttle him when he does it. (Might be flashbacks to my son's teen years, lol) Especially the part where he's telling himself how he's done all this stuff on his own...
I also agree with you about Umbridge. She is terrible, but she is an excellent villain. I love to hate her!
Yes, even though I understood why Harry needed to be angsty, it doesn't mean I enjoyed reading it - not the first time, anyway. On re-reads, when I knew it was coming, I found it easier. And Umbridge ... I wish I could love to hate her, but I just hate her. Like Joffrey in GoT. :)
Exactly Jody! It's like you know that GoT wouldn't be the same without Joffrey but you still want to beat him to death with your shoe. Angsty Harry and the events of Order of the Phoenix are necessary to the overall story but they're still kind of a drag (to me, at least). Umbridge manages to suck everything lovable out of Hogwarts. I guess, if anything, I've got to give J.K. Rowling snaps for making me feel as miserable as the Hogwarts students must have felt that year losing all their privileges. I felt their pain. I wanted the magic back!
Umbridge really is an excellent vilain, I think the only character I hated as much is Joffrey Baratheon ;)Edit : haha I posted my comment before refreshing the page and seeing what Jody and Emm wrote ;)
I think it's interesting that even compared to a guy who is basically Wizard Hitler, a racist, power-hungry bureaucrat is the most hated character in the series. By far. It seems she may be one of the most hated characters in all of literature.Do you think it's because she is a more realistic type of evil than Voldemort?
Emm wrote: "Exactly Jody! It's like you know that GoT wouldn't be the same without Joffrey but you still want to beat him to death with your shoe. Angsty Harry and the events of Order of the Phoenix are necess..."For me, that was exactly what made Order of the Phoenix so good. Umbridge really did suck the life out of everyone and everything at Hogwarts, and it was easy to side with the characters and hate her. Her sole purpose was to make Hogwarts the kind of drab place that the Ministry would approve of, and she definitely did that. Plus getting to see Snape and McGonagall dealing with her was hilarious.
I think Beth is onto something -- Umbridge is so widely hated because she is so real. I think a lot of people could think of a teacher/boss/co-worker/etc. who has some similarities to her, and it made her that much more of a powerful character. Voldemort was definitely a huge threat, but almost in the vague kind of way of a distant but imminent threat. Umbridge's brand of evil was very real and very immediate. The characters felt her presence and influence on a daily basis.
Beth wrote: "I think it's interesting that even compared to a guy who is basically Wizard Hitler, a racist, power-hungry bureaucrat is the most hated character in the series. By far. It seems she may be one of ..."I agree... about her being a more realistic villain. But I think the thing that always really set my teeth on edge with Umbridge is her sickeningly sweet persona. I mean, no bones about it, Voldemort is a bad guy. But he didn't care about being right or wrong, he cared about power. Yes, Voldemort believed that muggles were inferior but I think that had more to do with his daddy issues than a sense that the world would be a better place without muggles. Power doesn't mean much if you don't have subordinates.
I feel like Umbridge's vision of the world was black and white. Things were right or things were wrong. She believed she had the moral high ground so she was willing to rationalize doing bad things for "the greater good." All with that cheery disposition. She was evil wrapped in glitter and bows and pink! She's the worst!
PS: This is turning into a really good discussion!
My order would have to be:1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
This has always been my absolute favourite of the series. The Quidditch world cup, the Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort, all the drama with Barty Crouch, the Yule ball, the first real impacting death in the series (as in, the first one shown which was an indicator of the things to come and showed that the series was about to get darker). There was just so much to love about this one, in my opinion.
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I'm joining Rachel on the unpopular opinion because Order of the Phoenix has always been one of my favourites too. I agree that it's very long but I personally didn't mind that. I liked that we got slightly more 'filler' moments as I always enjoyed those parts in the books, seeing them in their classes etc. I loved Dumbledore's Army, I loved that it brought in very mature themes about governments and cover ups and media. I liked that the book portrayed a teenage hero in a very realistic way. Too many books featuring teenage heroes tend to paint them as golden and flawless and I liked that this showed Harry for the teenager that he is. I love that this book gave us who I (and I'm sure most people) consider to be one of the greatest literary villains of all time. We got more badass McGonagall moments. Overall, I just really loved this one.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I loved the fact that we could tell that this book was leading us up to something big. I loved that we found out more about Voldemort's past which helped him to become a more three dimensional villain and gave him some depth (not that it excuses anything he's done but at least we get some kind of understanding about the character). I liked that we saw Draco battling with his inner turmoil over the fact that he was trying to do what would make his family proud but he wasn't actually like that deep down or strong enough for it. I liked the reveal of the Half Blood Prince. I thought this book was excellent.
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
An incredible book and finale to the series. The entire search for the horcruxes. Ron and Hermione finally getting together (my OTP for life!). The Snape reveal (I still don't particularly like Snape but I did like that we got that moment and that we got to see his past). The only thing that knocks this down further than the others is due to all the deaths that I still can't get over! They are more unforgivable than any of the unforgivable curses!
5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
One of the best starts to a series ever. This book just feels me with gooey nostalgia every single time.
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I loved the parts with Sirius and Remus and I loved that Harry got to discover more about his parents and their past, but overall as much as I loved the book it was still one of my least favourites. It just didn't quite get to me the way it seems to have gotten to other people.
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Again, I still love it but I just felt like it was the weakest in the series. Although I still think the Tom Riddle reveal was excellently done.
You know, I was just thinking about how people cite Harry's angst in Order of the Phoenix as being wearisome but no one seems to care about Ron being all angsty in Goblet of Fire - first about Harry being in the tournament and later about Victor and Hermione.
I think it's because Ron was a little angsty/jealous/resentful in general, whereas Harry's seemed to come out of nowhere.
Emm wrote: "You know, I was just thinking about how people cite Harry's angst in Order of the Phoenix as being wearisome but no one seems to care about Ron being all angsty in Goblet of Fire - first about Harr..."I have to disagree on this one only for the fact that as a Ron fan, I've noticed a lot of people that definitely do care about Ron getting angsty in GoF and it's one of the things people use against his character as reasons why they don't like him. So I feel like, if anything, people were a lot harder on Ron for his bad moments than they were for any of the other characters. I wasn't fussed about either Harry or Ron's angsty moments, though, to be honest. I felt like they were both justified in their reasons for being angry/annoyed/angsty when they were and I actually felt like those moments made them stronger and better characters because they showed them both as three dimensional, realistic teenagers rather than just perfect heroes who can do no wrong.
Actually, justified is probably the wrong word in Ron's case. Understandable works better. His feelings were understandable even if they weren't justified, but Harry's were justified considering everything he's been through. The only thing that annoyed me with Harry in OOtP was when he got really annoyed by Ron being made a Prefect and not him. Like, he knows how much Ron has always felt less than everyone else and how much that probably meant to Ron and yet he still gets annoyed because he feels like it obviously should've gone to him (even Hermione didn't even try to hide her shock that Ron had been made Prefect and made it obvious that she never thought he'd get picked, which I thought was also really out of order, and people wonder why Ron is always so insecure). That was the only time I got annoyed with Harry but besides that I was always fine with him.
I completely agree, Francesca - I could always completely understand why Ron was the way he was, always living in the shadow of his older brothers, and then Harry.
I can understand why Harry was annoyed that Ron was made prefect instead. They both got into trouble about the same amount, and had relatively equal grades but Harry probably thought he deserved it more given all the dangers he's had to overcome, and especially after the end of the Triwizard Tournament. He probably felt it was owed to him both because of all he's accomplished compared to Ron (even if that is a little arrogant), and to "make up for" being abandoned the whole summer plus everything else. Keep in mind, he was only 15 or 16 at the time and had spent the past several years of his life being the centre of attention (whether he wanted to or not). No one expected Ron to be chosen.
They have an interesting relationship, Harry and Ron. I always thought they were perfectly suited to being best friends. Harry had wealth and notoriety which were things I think Ron craved growing up in a large family where he was always eclipsed by the accomplishments of his elder siblings. Harry, being an orphan and growing up with the Dursley's who couldn't stand the sight of him, craved the love and support only a family brings like what Ron has.
Rachel wrote: "I can understand why Harry was annoyed that Ron was made prefect instead. They both got into trouble about the same amount, and had relatively equal grades but Harry probably thought he deserved it..."I understood why Harry felt put off by it and I do like that it felt realistic for a 15 year old but I still found it a bit annoying. He couldn't just be happy for Ron actually getting something of his own. I felt like McGonagall (I always thought it was the heads of houses who chose the Prefects but I may be wrong) made the right choice and knew exactly what she was doing. She probably saw how overlooked Ron always felt due to his brothers, sister, Harry, and Hermione, and she gave him his own moment to shine.
Emm wrote: "They have an interesting relationship, Harry and Ron. I always thought they were perfectly suited to being best friends. Harry had wealth and notoriety which were things I think Ron craved growing ..."I agree. I think that was what made their friendship so special. They gave each other what they were looking for and what they needed. Their friendship is one of my favourite things about the books. (And their friendship with Hermione of course)
On a slightly different note, does anyone else find it weird to think about all the things that probably would have been different if Lily and James hadn't been killed?
I can't rate them, and I'm probably unusual in that I won't re-read the series. I think. I read them when they first came out, so my hindsight rating of each is five.The reason I'm posting is Umbridge. I think I've never hated anyone as much as I have her in non-normal books (sci fi, fantasy, etc.). She is the type that sucks out all your happiness by being in close proximity, and she can talk normally to you in one moment, but in the next it is like a monster roar, huge gaping mouth next to your head, razor teeth and seriously bad breath, all ready to chop your head off. And after a second she has that sickeningly false smile on her stupid face again, whilst she moves on to destroy the next person. I love Rowling for making me feel this alive in every single cell, because it is a fabricated character. Or is she?.... dun dun dun dun...
Francesca wrote: "On a slightly different note, does anyone else find it weird to think about all the things that probably would have been different if Lily and James hadn't been killed?"Sometimes people need to die for the real story to happen :(
I actually saw a really interesting Tumblr post earlier today about the Umbridge/Voldemort as villains topic. They basically said the same thing that many of us suggested -- Umbridge is seen as much more of a villain because she's so real and so immediate. She reminds us all of a horrible teacher/boss that we've encountered in real life, whereas Voldemort is the more distant, although much more serious, threat.
Aglaea wrote: "Sometimes people need to die for the real story to happen :( "I know, I just find the alternative weird to think about. Harry could be (and probably would be) completely different. He might not have ever become friends with Ron. His personality might be different. It's just strange to think about.
Francesca wrote: "Aglaea wrote: "Sometimes people need to die for the real story to happen :( "I know, I just find the alternative weird to think about. Harry could be (and probably would be) completely different...."
I actually don't think he'd be ready to stand up to Voldemort, had he not had such a tough upbringing with no parents, under-the-stairs, no friends, and all that. Sometimes the only place true courage and determination grow from is hardship.
Aglaea wrote: "Francesca wrote: "Aglaea wrote: "Sometimes people need to die for the real story to happen :( "I know, I just find the alternative weird to think about. Harry could be (and probably would be) com..."
That's very true but also if his parents hadn't been targeted and he hadn't been attacked as a baby then it wouldn't even be him that would have to stand up to Voldemort. It would probably be someone else. The battle against Voldemort also wouldn't be so personal to him.
Jody wrote: "Very true! [spoilers removed]"
That's who I was thinking of. :D It would've been very interesting seeing the story with him as the 'Chosen One' especially as it took him longer than Harry to realise his full potential and to build up his courage.
But I wonder if that was because he didn't have to realise his full potential as quickly as Harry did?
Jody wrote: "But I wonder if that was because he didn't have to realise his full potential as quickly as Harry did?"Very good point!
I love all of the Harry Potter Series as well. However I rank them in this order:Chamber of Secrets, Goblet of Fire, Prisoner of Azkaban, Half-Blood Prince, Sorcerer's Stone, Order of the Phoenix, and Deathly Hallows.
Yeah! I just finished reading the series, it was one of my goals this year, and now I can rate them.This may be a little controversial as the ones I like best do not seem to be well received so far.
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The fact that Harry, a teenager, is going through PTSD in this one makes it my favourite. It also has the reactions of his friends being understanding, then not so much later on.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Wow what and ending. It was long but worth the read. The movies do not do it justice. They just seem to be random scenes pieced together. We will be watching the movie for this one soon, so I will see if reading the book changes my mind about the movie.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Rowling was just starting to develop her characters with more depth at this point. It made the series more interesting.
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Who does not want to be a wizard and rescued from a family that does not understand you.
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (other topics)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (other topics)
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I'm ranking from 1-7 with 1 being my favorite and 7 being my least favorite.
1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
This one is, hands down, my favorite. You get more back story about Harry's parents and Snape. I adore Lupin! And, c'mon, Sirius Mutha!@#$% Black! This is also where the series starts introducing some darker elements.
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
A whole lot of dark, twisty Snape action. I love me some Snape. Plus, we all know how this one ends. #heartbreaker
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
There are so many explosive things happening in this book that it deserves recognition. And that ending, man! But it is so far removed from Hogwarts (for most of the book) and everyone that makes Hogwarts special. That was a real downer.
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Quidditch World Cup! Fantastic! Who doesn't love to hate Rita Skeeter? More magical Weasley family fun! We get a glimpse at the world of magic outside the UK. Foreigners are great!
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Great opener! Filled me with a sense of wonder and really drew me into the world. But not a lot of depth in comparison to other books in the series.
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
It just didn't really do it for me. I wasn't mystified by the chamber as much as I would have liked to be. Plus, uhm, teen angsty diary Voldemort is the worst Voldemort.
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry's teen angst. No Quidditch. Delores Umbridge. Just eww.