30 Day Book Challenge Day 4: Favorite Book of Your Favorite Series

Hi Everyone!

We are back with the next day in the 30 Day Book Challenge.  Today is "favorite book of your favorite series".  As previously discussed, Harry Potter is my all time favorite series.  After writing the post on Tuesday, and finishing Up Country on Wednesday, I decided now was a good time to start the series over again.  The Sorcerer's Stone always starts out slow for me.  Until  Harry gets to Diagon Alley I have a hard time.  But I'm past the Dursley's and am officially at Hogwarts.  So it's all smooth sailing from there. 

In high school I remember having discussions about everyone's favorite Harry Potter book.  Let's be real, they are ALL great.  It is pretty hard to choose just one.  I remember everyone choosing Prisoner of Azkaban.  And I didn't get it.  Not that I don't love that book.  Yes, we meet Sirius Black. Yes you spend the entire book thinking his is a really bad dude out to get Harry for his buddy Voldemort.  And then there is the crazy plot twist where "innocent" Scabbers turns out to be the real bad guy.  And there is a professor that is a werewolf.  All very cool.  But it was never my FAVORITE.  My favorite is. . .

I've always loved getting to this point in the series. All of the challenges are just fun to read about.  Come on, stealing an egg from a dragon!  Fighting mermaids for your best friend!  And then a creepy maze with all sorts of mini challenges along the way.  All very cool. You also are trying to figure out how exactly Harry's name got in the Goblet of Fire.  Who at Hogwarts (or the other schools) wants Harry to die (as that was most likely going to be his fate, except he's Harry so we know that couldn't happen)?  I also love that a Hufflepuff is selected as the Hogwarts Champion, and that he proves why Hufflepuff's are awesome.  It's such a shame that Cedric had to encounter the fate he did. And guys, I'm gonna say it.  I kind of like that Voldemort returns for real at the end of the book . Not because I think Voldemort is great.  But because now Harry has a real enemy to face. This guy has been haunting him for his whole life and sending other people to do his dirty work.  Now Voldemort is back and Harry has a tangible enemy to go after instead of just the idea of someone that may or may not be alive.  I also like that, in my opinion, Goblet of Fire is when the books are less "childish" and more grown up.  Harry is getting older and the challenges he encounters are getting more "adult".  J.K. Rowling wrote for her audience, and her audience was getting older too. Goblet of Fire felt less like a kid's book and more appropriate for a teenager (and now almost 30 year old) to read.

It's hard to put in to words why a book is your favorite.  I just know that when I read it I can't put it down.  I thoroughly enjoy this book, and enjoy it just a little bit more than the others.  So there you have it.

I need some help.  Do I read Harry Potter exclusively or do I try and read another book as well?  This is always my problem when I approach reading Harry Potter.  I don't need to focus on the books as much because I've read them 4687078676305676029027502 times (a slight exaggerration, but I've read them A LOT.  I can't even count how many times, but probably at least 20).  If so, what should I read?  Let me know what I should do!

Until next time,

Happy Reading