What is your favorite Harry Potter book?

goblet of fire, definetly- the perfect balance of humor, complications, and action.

 

It's a tossup for between Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, but I went with Azkaban. My least favorite book is probably Goblet of Fire.

 

half blood prince ....

 

Order of the Pheonix. It kept me hooked through every page. It was amazing.

 

I have a tie between Azkaban and Deathly Hallows

 

1-Deathly Hallows
2-Order of the Phoenix
3-Prisoner of Azkaban
4-Half-Blood Prince
5-Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone
6-Goblet of Fire
7-Chamber of Secrets

I love every page of Deathly Hallows. There is not one sentence in that book that isn't exactly what I needed the last book to me. I also think it's one of the funniest and most emotionally satisfying and resonant.
Order of the Phoenix is just so vast. Harry starts to need to act like an adult, and it's fascinating watching how that affects everyone around him. It bothers me when people don't like OotP because "it's just Harry whining for 800 pages." It's so much more than that!
And Prisoner of Azkaban is just the traditional favorite. The storytelling is masterful. It is also the first book that isn't self-contained. The end of the book isn't a totally happy resolution. There are still untied plotlines. That's where I think the series really gets going.

As for chapters, I really like The Leaky Cauldron from PoA; Bagman and Crouch from GoF; A Peck of Owls (mostly for Mrs. Figg), The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and Career advice from OotP; The Other Minister, Will and Won't (like twelve of the best Dumbledore lines in the series), The Phoenix Lament, and The White Tomb from HBP; and The Seven Potters, The Wedding, The Muggle-Born Registration Commission, The Battle of Hogwarts, The Elder Wand, The Prince's Tale, The Forest Again, King's Cross, The Flaw in the Plan, and Epilogue: Nineteen Years Later from DH.
My absolute favorite of all of them is actually Bagman and Crouch from GoF. For whatever reason, I just absolutely love reading about them all relaxing before the World Cup, taking in the sights, being friends.
And one of my favorite lines, and one that doesn't get enough credit, is from The Wedding from DH, specifically from Kingsley's patronus: "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming." I get chills, seriously. DH starts off with a pretty exciting battle, then it slows down for a while, and you sort of get into the rhythm of it, but then BAM that line happens and you shoot off into the awesome story.

 

1. Deathly Hallows: Finally, the main characters are out of the castle! I love how previously unimportant characters get to serve new purpose, like the ghosts of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and so forth. Even characters or items only mentioned in passing, like Aberforth or the headdress in the Room of Requirement, suddenly matter. Rather than introducing new characters, Rowling makes the most of every character mentioned thus far.

2. Order of the Phoenix: I love this book mainly because of Luna Lovegood. She's my favorite character. I really identify with her character because she come across as strange to others but is actually quite intelligent. I love how when she's taken hostage in Umbridge's office with the others, she just sort of serenely stares out the window. Plus it was so rewarding when they finally get rid of Umbridge, after all her sass.

3. Sorcerer's Stone: If only being eleven were really this special. I love this book for beginning the series and taking us on a journey to this amazing world. As a gay person, I love how Harry doesn't understand part of who he is, but then this giant comes along and takes him to a place where others like him all learn to do great things with the thing that sets them apart (being wizards, like being gay).

 

1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Deathly Hallows
4. Philosopher's Stone
5. Goblet of Fire
6. Half-Blood Prince
7. Chamber of Secrets

 

aww, why's everyone here hating on the Goblet of Fire??

 

The Prisoner of Azkaban. Great plot and great new characters (plus no Voldermort helps too, make it's feel darker oddly enough). It's unbeatable, for me.

The only one I couldn't finish was Order of the Phoenix for its ridiculous length and Harry's irritating personality in it. The Goblet of Fire is a little disappointing too simply based on its awful film adaption, but it's a little disappointing compared to the first three books. The Half Blood Prince is a great book, but has an awful film adaption.

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Deathly Hallows
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Philosopher's Stone
6. Goblet of Fire
7. Order of the Phoenix

 

The first one! Because it was the only one I read. And how come you guys are saying philosopher's stone? I thought it was sorcerer's....

 

apparently in Britain and other places, that's what they call it

 

1. Deathly Hallows (most exciting)
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Goblet of Fire (didn't have much rule breaking or kids figuring anything about the plot out. they were just going through the motions of the school year)
6. Order of the Phoenix (Harry was a whining git. only bad things happened the entire book, I know that was the point, but it made it hard for me to want to read it)
7. Sorcerer's Stone (hardly anything that had to do with the plot happened. it was mostly just introducing the wizarding world)

 

ah, I like the sound of "socerer" better, but there really is legends from elsewhere of a "philospher's stone" right? no such thing as socerer's"

 

Both my mum and I like POA best. The story's just fantastic, with a couple of excellent twists, and as Just Passing said, lack of a direct presence of Voldemort does make things darker, for some reason. It makes him seem much further away than he really is, so the idea that even at Hogwarts one of his servants is prowling around is probably more disturbing than Voldemort himself bursting into the Great Hall.

I do like COS and GOF as well, though. Those three are definitely my favourites.

Also, I think it's damn stupid they changed the name of Philosopher's Stone. That's the legend that everyone's heard of! -_-

 

I often found that the UK version had more flair because of the British writing. I love being Canadian that we get that version . As for Sorcerere's Stone...well..

""Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron" there's still a bit of the whole segregation thing right there in the extra line. Like you have to tell us he's Black, thank-you. Why not say dark-skinned or something more eloquent.

Sorry for a slight rant, but despite my being Caucasian, I still don't like even using the word Black. It's better than what use to be used, but I dunno, I almost feel like saying Black is still offensive...but that's just me...what do I know?

 

Goblet of Fire, personally.

Not really because it's the best written, or the one with the best characters, but for me, it's mainly a nostalgia thing.
It's the moment when you really get a glimpse of the wider world, and the fact that there are wizards in other countries. (Quidditch world cup and Triwizard tournament, but also countless other asides said by various characters)

It was also the first book that (for me), made it clear that Voldemort is not this silly villain that's going to be driven off everytime ("...and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you pesky kids!") He is in the game for total domination, and willing to do everything, including cold-blooded mass-murder

so yeah, maybe not the best book objectively, but it is the one that sold me on the series.

(I must confess I keep resolving to read Deathly Hallows, but never getting around to it. So it is possible it will surpass GoF in my memory)