Hey folks, Sirius Black here.I was just finishing watching the two movies for the how manyeth times.lol.Anyways, as I was watching, a question popped in my head as the usual.Which got you into Harry Potter: The books, or the movie?What I am trying to say is that, were you a fan before the movies were created?Or started being one WHEN the movies were created?Just curious.Bye!

I refused to read or watch anything related to harry potter. About a week before the 2nd movie came out, i had nothing to read on a long flight, so i read the first book that my brother had. I had finished the first two by the end of the trip, watched the first movie, then watched the second movie in the theaters. Been in love since.

I remember my granmother asking me if I like Harry Potter, I was like "Eew, no!" And we have these things called Accelerated Reader in elemetary school, where you take a test on a certain book and get points depending on how hard the book was and how well you did on the test. Well, I had to keep up my reputation as the geeky 4th(?) grader and I couldn't find anything else so I grabbed the first one I could find: the Chamber of Secrets! By the end of the day, I had finished and I was hooked! I read the 2nd one, then the 4th, then 3rd, then 1st.

You know the really ironic thing? My grandma started this whole thing, bought me everything from books to the "action figures" and about a year or two ago I heard her talking to my mom about how worried she is about my sudden freaky obsession...

I was into Harry Potter almost from the beginning when it hit the States. I saw JK's first appearance on the Rosie show, and went right out and got SS. Been hooked ever since.

The books are what hooked me. My sis-in-law and I were talking one day and she mentioned that she thought I'd like them. She had known about them cause she is a teacher. Well, she lent me SS and I told her I'd start reading it and let her know what I thought of it when I finished it. Later that day after she had left I picked it up and couldn't put it down. As soon as I finished it I called her up and asked her if she could bring the next three over ASAP. Two days later she came back with COS, POA and GOF in hand. The next day I told her I had finished and asked when the next one was coming out. She said she didn't know so I went online to try and find out. That's when my life became fully occupied with the world of Potter. Now I am online nearly everyday and everytime I come online, it's Potter-related in one way or another.

She is well aware of the monster she has created. On a very good note though, at least we were able to go get OOTP together. So even if we never get to go to another Midnight release together, at least we got that one. The first new Potter book released since we both had become hooked.

Since then I've been able to convince my sister to read them, and even though she likes them, she isn't as obsessed as I am. And now my mom has them all, though she has yet to pass pg. 60 in SS. She bought the first four in Paperback. When OOTP was released in paperback, I happened to be living with her and made sure she acquired that one as well.

Now if I could just get my Grandmother to read them............

i was actually against anything HP when i was in 9th grade,i.e., in 2001. one of my frineds who used to accompany me on the bus home from school daily used to read them in the bus to pass the time. i thought HP was one of those things where it is all hype and no substance. i used to scold him for reading something just because it was a bestseller and evryone speaks about it. once he got bugged and gave me SS to read. when i started i wasn't interested. to be frank, i was prejudiced against it. so i read as slow as possible. and i lost my patience before i reached the 'diagon alley' chapter. ironically, my brother who is a very voracious reader read it and told me to continue and finish the book. when i got to the part where mr. ollivander sold harry's wand to him, i don't know what happened, there was some kind of revelation inside me and i finished the book that very day!!!!!
now my friend and my brother both regret their actions for the devil they've created. even now my mom is calling me to drink something she has made and i'm turning a deaf ear to her.....no i gotta rush or i'm gonna have it!!!

I saw PS/SS at home (on one of our move-channels) and CoS (at my sis and her boyfriends) in the summer of '03 (june-july), and I got hooked. I bought the four first books and read them in two weeks (july). I ordered the dvd's in august same year. In '04 I bought OotP and all the english books, and QTTA and FBAWTFT in both swedish and english. And then it was PoA at the theaters four times, and dvd in november, and now it is HBP in july (and maybe the swedish around christmas) and GoF on the theaters in november.

A classmate told me about the PS a couple of months after it came out (don't know exactly when, maybe 6 years ago here in Spain), and i got it for Christmas.
I read it in one day.
I was amazed by it, which was difficult if you consider i read the LOTR about 3 months before the PS. But it touched me so deeply that today I still tell my classmate (when I see him) "thank you" a million times.
The CoS came quite soon compared with Ps due to the previous success, and I', ve bought all the books in the first week since their release. Well, a friend of muy parents gave me a copy of OotP before it came here, but it was photocopied and in a sort of strange mexican and english, which was quite disappointing. I got the original one later and found out how good it really is.

So the books where what introduced me in HP's world and, although all my friends are always annoying me because I like it, I'm very happy of once taking PS and began to read it.

One more thing. Reading in these forums and editorials about HP has shown me how lucky are you people to have them in English, with the words JKR exactly wrote, because certain situations and dialogues between H/R/Hr aren't the same asi they skip to many details during the translation (...eyes that shine with glee...,... briskly(all its acceptions)..., etc.). I guess one day I'll buy them in VO, but for the moment my parents aren't very willing and i haven't t too much money saved.

I didn't get into HP until the first movie was out, mostly because I'd had an image of the stories being only for kids. But after the movie, I read the books pretty much cover to cover to cover to cover, and was waiting very impatiently afterward for OotP. It was in the midst of my LOTR fervor as well, although in that case, the book had me first.

Part of me wishes I'd read the books before seeing the TSS/TPS, but if there hadn't been a movie, I might not have known what I was missing. This may contribute to my willingness to forgive the movie companies for their paring down of the stories.

But in any case, JKR has impressed me very much in her writing, which is so intuitive, accessible and unpretentious. I will always reread the books, much as I do with Tolkien's LOTR, and the Silmarillion, periodically. Hopefully, after book 7, she'll continue writing within this world she's created. It doesn't have to be about Harry, of course, because she'll likely have ruled that out, but maybe something set in the history of Hogwarts. I can dream.

I like this discussion. So warm and fuzzy. Anyway, i got addicted with both books and movies. it started when i just read COS, then i read GOF, POA and then PS. So my order was all over the place. As soon as PS movie came out, i rushed out with a friend and saw the movie. I think from then, i read from PS-GOF and was addicted. my friend on the other hand, just said he will see the movies and thats it. I'm like, thats your choice. So i'm the Potter freak and now people i go to school with are telling me to get over it.

I know its an obesssion, but a good one. Like WWW, i pulely go onto the net Potter related. Always these boards, always HPP, posting, writing up the newsletter...the works...btw, i wear a potter watch. thats how obsessed i am and i dont know if i will ever get over Potter, but if i do, i have no idea when.

You know, I don't truely remeber how I got hooked. I remember one of my teachers playing one of them on tape, but when they first came out I didn't even like reading, judging by the publication date I was only like 7 or 8 when they came out. How I got hooked is a complete blur to me. (digs through memory) I do however remember buying cos at sam's club and that is about as far back as my mind will go. so I am going to go with the teacher reading them to me.

My mum bought PS when it came out about 7 years ago I suppose. Got hooked. Thats the story..the rest is history...or present...

Okay, very long post here, but oh well...

I remember that when the HP hype first started up here, I was still very much under the impression that they were little kids fairy tales books. *blah, I'm not going to waste my time on those dumb kids books* Or so I thought....

I went to see the first movie with a bunch of friends about a week or so after it came out in November/December-ish 2001 and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that I went and either borrowed the books from the library or from a friend, I can remember which, and had them all finished by February, when I got books 1-4 for my birthday.

I didn't really get into the whole HP hype until the summer of 2003, after I'd read books 1-4, seen the first two movies and finally gotten my hands on OoTP. My friend brought it back for me from her vacation to the UK where she could get it cheaper and I sat down in the middle of her bed and began to read, without so much as a hello! (it's okay, she understands my obession!!) I finished it in 12 hours.

That summer I started reading and writing a lot of FanFiction and anxiously awaiting both the PoA movie and Book6. I eagerly went to see PoA this past Spring and found it the best one yet, despite the incongruity with the actual books. I also bought JKR's two Comic Relief books this summer along with some other non-official books about the HP world.

I started up on the boards this past November, sick of finding everything out way later than everyone else and dying to discuss my theories with other people. (My poor unclutured friends aren't as into HP as I am...) My Favorites list on my computer is almost solidly HP-related. It's quite scary really!!

So yes, that is the story of my conversion everyone!! From HP skeptic to HP-aholic. A very good conversion if you ask me!!

EDIT: To make it short, it was the first film.

i've converted as many people as possible to HP fans in my family and frineds circle. i've converted two of my aunts. one of them is well beyond 65 years old and she just loves them! she's reading OOTP now(almost finished). the other one hasread till GOF. she says it's the best till date. ahe used to call me up after every part she found very special in GOF to discuss the book with me. and she gushed over it all the way! i've converted my sis, two of my cousins(they haven't read the books, but they have me as a source of info! they say they're satisfied with the movies) and another cousin (she was reading OOTP the night before her math exam....i've accomlished something there! )
in my friends circle, quite a few. they have all read the books.

I've just recently converted my Mom to the series!! *be proud* She's seen all 3 films and has read the first 3 books as well and enjoyed all of it. I've loved being her Potter-guru and I'm trying to get her to read GoF, telling her it's the best one - but she hates Quidditch, so there goes half of the book! lol

Aww, she hates quidditch? Wait till she watches the fourth movie! I am quite proud of you HiddenFlame,

off topic, but hiddenflame did you know that guru is an indian word for teacher? just wanted to say so!

To Chimpy - I think it'll turn her of HP for a while, all that Quidditch, but thankee just the same for the applause.

To srivathsan - Yep, that's why I used 'guru'! (I've got an Indian friend at school although I think I picked up the term elsewhere anyways. I was going to say her HP 'Yoda' but that's WAY too SW to link it to Potter things...)

Okay, mods-ies, I know we're off-topic here, so I'll be shutting my mouth now and keeping it shut until we get back on topic....

Actually, Americans use guru a lot.

I actually have gotten one of my teachers to read the books.

im the OTHER siruis black... oh well... anyways..im not sure what got me into hp... i just saw it on the counter, and i took it... i never listened to anybody else to get it.... or maybe, somebody did tell me....
i dunno...

im growing old

SiriusBlack's alter ego? Harry Potter is the Fountain of Youth.

uhhh what got me hooked on HP....hmm..... well at first i hated the books i read the first page and thought it was really boring but then i had nothing else to read so i read it and got hooked! from there i have just been reading the books and eagerly anticipating (wow long word) the movies as they so slowly come out... o btw where do u get the HP scarves??? i want one!!! (btw im in canada so where you got it might not exist here)!!!

It's off topic, but I got my scarf from this website. It's an excellently made scarf and looks fabulous. The only thing is, well, they are in the original style of scarf. The ones the kids wore in the first two movies only. You may want something different.

thanks WWW they look great!

You're welcome!

Well, I was pretty young when I started HP. I don't remember when I 1st watched HP, but I got so excited and watched the whole thing with all the adults sleeping except for my mom because she had to watch it with my cousins. I thought it was pretty good, but didn't yet notice what a legend it was. I then read and watched every book and movie about HP there was once and then got hooked.

i was given PS/SS (PS in australia) and COS as a birthday present in 1999... one of the best birthday presents ever!!! and the next year i got POA for my birthday, i was well into harry potter by then!! so it was definitely the books that did it for me

Please look at the person you have quoted. This post is so old that the person you quoted probably will not answer your response. Please post in current topics and please do not post in every topic!!

i got hooked on hp by the books. my 4th grade teacher (i'm in 8th now) read HP&SS to my class before recess, and after that, i was a harry potter fanatic.

hey, that happened to me too!

my sisters friend was in england when harry potter was starting to get big there, so she sent it to my sister who read it and loved it and hten she made me read it and then i was in looovee

I don't know why, but I got a vision of you kissing a HP book! Anyway, the first time I watched it we were just scanning the Pay Per View channels and we saw Harry potter. My dad read the info and he asked us if we wanted to watch it. I was a little reluctant, but after the movie I was totally hooked.

I was in grade 2 or 3 when the first book (PS) came out in Australia. I remember mum took me to Angus and Robertsons (which is a bookshop) and told me I could get one book, any book that I wanted.

Now, as a child I read Fantasy, fantasy and more fantasy. So when mum showed me a book about wizards, spells and magic, that was the book I was determined to get. Neither Mum nor I, could know at that stage how great the Harry Potter fanominer would be, but we were both hooked from then on. Eventually (as happens at schools) everyone started reading them. I remember feeling so proud that I had read them before everyone else (I know how incredibly sad).

As it turned out that one amazing book, shortly became an international fanomina which was great for me, as other people then read them & I had other people (outside Mum and I) to talk about it with.

Yes, I was one of those fans that brought tickets to the Australian premiere of the first movie at 12:00am and yes sadly, I was one of the people that dressed up. I pre-orderd books 4-6 to make sure I got them straight away.

So in summary, I was a fan from the very first book. Yes sad, I know...

Actuall, that isn't sad. I would be really proud if I were you. I feel ashamed that I got into Harry Potter so late. I got hooked on the movies before the book. I actually wanted to be in the movie and then my friend in school introduced the books to me and I got hooked on the story.

Both actually... I heard about the first movie and I decided to read the book before I saw the movie. I became obsessed and read them all numerous times. Now, people all think I'm crazy because I talk about reading the seventh book like it's my life... I mean... It is, but that's not the point. So mostly it was the books, but the movie sparked it, I guess.

after the first book i was hooked. although it took me long enough to read it. when i was reading the first book my little sister and cousin thought it was funny to take my bookmark out. so i think that it took me 10 times to actually read the book and i was about 7 or 8 maybe. after the book came out i waited eagerly for the next book to come out and then the movie. i always like to watch how certain parts are portrayed in the movie and still i am upset that nearly headless nicks deathday party wasn't in the movie (CoS). my list can go on and on as many of yours can.

It was funny because I was also around 7 or 8 during the first movie! Anyway, I told my mom I wanted to be in the movie and we watched the second movie at the iMax and she's all, like, see now your in it! I sorta gave her a reluctant smile, but I enjoyed it all the same!

I was in the fourth grade(in, well, I guess you could say 8th) and my teacher had a little "library" in the corner. I saw SS, and read it. By the time I was finished, it was summer and I swiched schools(but that's not the point).

My mom made me read them in order. I'm glad she did! My brother(oh, dear, I'm creating a monster) is reading the 5th book. I wanted him to read them in order, but he won't! Aw, well.

So now I am the HP freak that I am.

Welcome to the craziness that is Harry Potter, but I have one question. What do you mean you were in the fourth garden(or eighth).

It started with the books for me. I found out about them shortly after the second book came out and my local coffee shop got some, I wanted to read them so bad!!! So my mom got me the first two books for christmas, and ever since then I have been hooked.

I actually started out with the movies. I saw the first 2 movies without reading any of the books, because my brother and mom had read them, and I got dragged along. Then before the 3rd movie came out I read the first book, and liked it even more than the movies, so I read the rest of them.

it has lots of action and my firend s got me in to it!!!

The books got me into HP because I was in Kindergarten when SS came out and I was a very skilled reader so I decided to give it a try. I loved it after then.

I loved the books long before the first movie came out....I started reading and loving HP 2 years before the first movie was out, and I must admin I don't really like the movies....they're not like really bad, but the books are just soo much better.
lol, and a funny thing: my mom gets pretty much ALL my obsessions as well...I watched GZSZ (german soap opera), she did the same....I watched Charmed, she did the same, I read Harry Potter, she did the same...lol, I remember when we were in Bulgaria and I got the 4th book for my 12th birthday and my Mom kept telling me I should hurry with reading, she wanted to start the book...lol, and she always says that she won't read/see the book/show I read/watch atm, but she ALWAYS does in the end

I feel pretty ashamed of saying that the movies got me hooked because I definitely think the books are better. Oh well, now I know!

i got hooked in probably the same way as everyone else. i remember the summer of 2001, not really knowing anything about harry potter but dismissing it just the same. i was away from home and asked my mum to bring me my copy of the hobbit because i was bored, but she forgot. so a friend of mine said she would lend me the first harry potter book. i said no because it was for kids, but she insisted and i was to bored so i borrowed it......... and then i couldnt put it down, and im just re-reading them now in preperation for book 7 so there all fresh in my mind. i think this is my 6th or 7th time of reading them through. has anyone read them more than that. it would be interesting to find out!

I don't really remember how, but I just remember my dad encouriging me to read PS when I was in Year 3, and I tried it, but I didn't enjoy it. Then I saw the movie and I think I got hooked. I remember in Year 6 I kind of stopped my obsession with Harry potter, becasue I was obsessed with Hayden Christensen and Orlando Bloom, but now i'm back on track with Harry Potter!!!