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[SolVanderlyn]

SPOILERS AHEAD

Nor have I seen the movies, despite following the series closely back in the day.

Spoilers that I already know:

-Snape is the Half-blood Prince
-Snape kills Dumbledore
-Harry beats Voldemort
-Horcruxes are basically the Zelda formula of "find this many treasures to beat the big bad" adapted to Harry Potter's world (?)
-But also not really because you don't know what they are until you figure it out (phrasing this badly)
-George, or Fred, die
-Lupin dies
-Seventh book is all outside Hogwarts, Death Eaters take it over
-Malfoy + others finally turn "fully bad" when Voldemort returns

I stopped reading because my favorite character (Sirius) died, and I figured with all of the spoilers that I know the rest of the series wouldn't be enjoyable at this point. Am I wrong?

 

[Ryan242004]

No just watch the movies

 

[-COOLIO-]

absolutely. they're fantastic.

 

[Soodanim]

No just watch the movies

1st post definitely did not nail it.

Book 7 is possibly my favourite, because there's a lot of back story that you don't get anywhere else in the series (ignoring Tom Riddle's boring diary story).

 

[WrenchNinja]

Spoiler

-George, or Fred, die

See I've read the books and watched the movies and even I'm not sure which one died.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

You'll get decent closure by reading the rest, not because Harry is all that interesting and not because of the foregone conclusions of who wins and who loses, but because the last two novels do some serious digging into the world of Harry Potter before the first book and it's extremely rewarding.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

If you enjoyed the last books, then there should be no question and you don't sound bothered by knowing what happens in it already.

 

[Ryan242004]

1st post definitely did not nail it.

Book 7 is possibly my favourite, because there's a lot of back story that you don't get anywhere else in the series (ignoring Tom Riddle's boring diary story).

lol I haven't read a book in 10 years, sorry

 

[StoopKid]

No just watch the movies

Lol that's what I did.

I remember my parents buying me all of the books for Christmas years ago didn't read one page lol.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

Yes. Why not? If you liked what you've read and seen of the series, you might as well finish it.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

I really really liked HBP. And the movie. Should do both for that one.

Deathly Hallows is whatever though.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

No just watch the movies

Read them, OP. You get good back story on Voldemort.

 

[DrForester]

Read the books. Sixth and seventh book give some excellent backstory on Voldemort and Dumbledore that the film just glossed over. The movies just kind of did everything OK, but the books did many things much much better.

 

[akira28]

best ones.

I'd like to shock a kid by giving him this first, second, 6th and seventh, and tell him it's the entire series.

 

[Jonnax]

lol I haven't read a book in 10 years, sorry

Then how are you even qualified to give your opinion? OP wants to know if they should read the books, you haven't.

 

[Soodanim]

The books are much better than the films. If you could convince yourself to give them a go, you'd be doing yourself a favour. That's assuming you like the Harry Potter universe at all.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

best ones.

I'd like to shock a kid by giving him this first, second, 6th and seventh, and tell him it's the entire series.

3 and 4 are her best books. by a pretty wide margin.

 

[Seesaw15]

Read them if only to see how big of an asshole Dumbledore is. The movies really never got to go into depths of how big of a piece of shit Dumbledore is like the books did.

So yes read them.
Or listen to the audio books if you're a Jim Dale/Pushing Daises fan

 

[GameGuru59]

Better than the movies by a country mile.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

3 and 4 are her best books. by a pretty wide margin.

I feel like the tone started to change with 4, but I still really like Goblet of Fire. The fifth one dragged at times.

 

[DrForester]

Do the audiobooks. The UK versions are read by Stephen Fry and he is excellent.

 

[Monocle]

Yeah, those are some of the best in the series, with 6 being my personal favorite (along with 3). Ignore the people who tell you to just watch the movies. What a joke. They're great but they leave so much out.

Do the audiobooks. The UK versions are read by Stephen Fry and he is excellent.

Not a bad idea.

 

[Zebra]

The seventh book is the best book in the series, it's absolutely worth a read. The two-part movies did their best to capture it, but the book is still the superior experience.

Edit: I take that back. I can't decide if I like 7 or 6 more. They're both so good, and definitely the best of all of them.

 

[woolley]

Books are way better. And you can read the big fight scenes that were never in the movies.

 

[S-Wind]

The fifth book is the worst in the series. It was in serious need of an editor who had the balls to cut out 1/3 of it.

You should DEFINITELY read the remaining 2 books! It would be very much worth it and they are better than the movies.

 

[tokkun]

They are better than book 5, but not really great. If you have other stuff to read, I wouldn't bother.

 

[jtb]

yes, read them. sounds like you know the plot to the 6th book, but not the 7th. hell, read them even if you know everything that's going to happen—they're good books regardless, with or without the shock value.

 

[B-Dubs]

See I've read the books and watched the movies and even I'm not sure which one died.

I'm not entirely sure they're sure.

 

[The Technomancer]

-Horcruxes are basically the Zelda formula of "find this many treasures to beat the big bad" adapted to Harry Potter's world (?)
-But also not really because you don't know what they are until you figure it out (phrasing this badly)

Horcruxes are basically phylactories and Voldemort is basically a lich

 

[Ryan242004]

Then how are you even qualified to give your opinion? OP wants to know if they should read the books, you haven't.

I assumed he meant books vs movies, obviously I am biased towards the movies and I expressed my opinion. I have all the books if that counts for anything. They look good on a shelf.

 

[cooljeanius]

See I've read the books and watched the movies and even I'm not sure which one died.

One got their ear chopped off, and the other died, so if you can remember at least one of those, you should be able to remember the other as well...

 

[Dénouement]

Well, you haven't been spoiled on, imo, one of the best reveals in the last book, so I guess just for that: read them.

If you didn't watch or like the previous movies, I wouldn't bother watching the final three, though.

 

[robochimp]

Halfblood prince is worth reading as the movie is a pretty barebones adaptation.

 

[DrForester]

Halfblood prince is worth reading as the movie is a pretty barebones adaptation.

Yates: "OK, we can put in cool backstory for the series antagonist, or we can cram in as much teenage angst and hormones as we can!"

 

[gnarlyxcharlie]

Definitely worth it. I've read the entire series too many damn times to count, and the movies pale in comparison

 

[Tambini]

Half Blood Prince is the best book to me, dat voldemort backstory. Although Dumbledores past in Deathly Hallows is also nice to read about. The films, especially HBP, do them no justice, read them!

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Yates: "OK, we can put in cool backstory for the series antagonist, or we can cram in as much teenage angst and hormones as we can!"

None of that can sustain a movie. He made the right choice.

 

[akira28]

3 and 4 are her best books. by a pretty wide margin.

point is to have some little kid discover he's a wizard, and then he's thrust into a magical dystopia full of wizard fascism and monsters and all his friends are dying.

 

[Monocle]

Half Blood Prince is the best book to me, dat voldemort backstory. Although Dumbledores past in Deathly Hallows is also nice to read about. The films, especially HBP, do them no justice, read them!

Yeah, the backstory really sets those books apart from the films. Great stuff there.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

point is to have some little kid discover he's a wizard, and then he's thrust into a magical dystopia full of wizard fascism and monsters and all his friends are dying.

lol funny that. 1 and 7, 2 and 6 are pseudo companion pieces anyway.

 

[Edwardo]

Yes absolutely.

 

[Frog-fu]

Absolutely, yes.

I've read all the books many times over and, while the fourth and fifth remain my favourites, the sixth and seventh books are excellent (just ignore the shitty romance in book six) and are so worth reading.

 

[Clegg]

I'd definitely go ahead and read them.

The sixth is one I never appreciated when I first read it. Was 16 at the time and just wanted to get to the cool stuff. Wasn't expecting a more in depth character exploration. Although the one thing I still have problems with the lack of fallout in regards to (character spoilers)

Spoiler

Sirius' death.

 

[brandonh83]

absolutely. they're fantastic.

Co-signed.

 

[mcfrank]

Of course you should read them. The Harry potter books are almost universally loved for a reason.

 

[aznpxdd]

Yes you should, they are really good read even if you know all the details in the OP.

 

[Frog-fu]

It's really a shame you've been spoiled on so much, OP.

The final two books were particularly devastating to read at the time.

 

[arts&crafts]

The books are far far better than the movies. Especially since they split the last book into 2 movies just a lot of filler.

 

[Kwixotik]

lol I haven't read a book in 10 years, sorry

 

[Clegg]

Lupin's death was unnecessary imo. Felt like it was tacked on just to force a parallel between Harry and Sirius.

I didn't have a problem with the prophecy and Horcrux stuff which some seem to have. There was some stuff planted in previous books which were dropped in HBP and DH. Kind of wish they were expanded upon instead of cut out completely though.