I'd like to join.

I'll add everybody to the club list tomorrow. :) Got some preparing for the Ball to do tonight! Mwahahaha...

Okay guys, time to put it to a vote! I'm hoping we can pick something by Friday so we have some time to read and discuss before term ends.

Here's our choices:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard
• Quidditch Through the Ages
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages AND Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

I'm also going to put my vote in for the first book, I think. :) I think it's short enough that we can finish it in time.

Okay guys! It seems that we have a majority of votes for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, so that's where we're going to start! Feel free to start discussing.

It's not necessary to put anything behind spoilers since I'm sure most of us are re-reading the book rather than reading it for the first time. Please mention in your post what chapter your observations/questions/etc are from though! Or alternatively, let us know how far you are in the book so that we can keep track.

Happy reading!

Not too late at all. :)

Also here's my first observation for you guys. I'm currently on chapter 9, but this is from the earlier chapters.

I never noticed this before, but I don't think Harry ever uses the word "family" to describe Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley. It's always either "my aunt and uncle and cousin" or by their names or "The Dursleys". It's really a testament on how much he felt disconnected from them that he doesn't refer to them as his family. He knows they are technically, but never emotionally. It's really no surprise how attached he gets to the other adult figures in his life now that he's part of the wizarding world.

I agree that Dumbledore should've kept in contact with him, even if he didn't specifically tell Harry anything about being a wizard or who he was. I know that the Dursleys never would have allowed it though. I can't believe that he wouldn't have at least checked in on Harry and tried to intervene when seeing that he was being treated so poorly. It's like he just dropped him off them 10 years later went "Oh right, I better have Minerva send that kid a letter."

I missed the part about the "unknown relation" -- that's a good point! Also it's sad to know that even though he had the "nuclear family", he still has the same thoughts and feelings that you'd expect from a child in an orphanage.

Oh my gosh you are so lucky! I don't know if I can justify getting the illustrated copies... maybe for Christmas!

I've got another thinker for you guys today from the chapter where Harry and Ron are on the train.

Ron says he has ~500 Chocolate Frog cards... how the heck much pocket money do you think that took?! He probably could've bought 12 wands with all that. Unless his brothers didn't want to collect them and gave them all to him. But still! Wow.

Really good point! It could be an exaggeration. Especially if you stop and think if he has about 6 of Morgana and he's complaining, then maybe it's not quite 500. Unless there's really that many varieties of cards... if so, who the heck would try to collect them all?!

Great to have you!

Anyone else have any observations/questions to pose to the group?

Dang girl! Jealous!!

I suppose it could be a little bit stifling! But it's comforting to know that they aren't the only qualities that the students possess! We know Hermione is clever, but she is also really hard working, and I think it is good for Ron and Harry to be around. Harry also is incredibly kind and always treats everyone equally (when first meeting them at least! He may have even liked Draco if Draco hadn't shown himself to be a douche!)

Plus you have to consider the personality/qualities traits that aren't even considered when putting students into houses!

You're right, it does make it difficult to look at Slytherin as anything but a load of evil ninnies when the characters in the forefront are ones like Voldemort, Draco, and Snape. Though we all know Snape's backstory now, for students like Harry in the first book... They don't know it. They don't see that he's more than just that. They just see the prejudice, unfair side of Snape.

I have more to say on this topic (mainly on Quirrell), but as most of my arguments are from the end of the book, I'm going to hold off on it until more people catch up. :)

Snape is one of my favorites as well! Again, reasons are not in this book so I'm going to hold off... but yeah, totally love it.

Okay, guys, I have another observation/question for you today.

This is from Chapter 15 (The Forbidden Forest). When I was listening to this chapter (I listen to the books on audiobook while I'm at work), I was trying to listen pretty carefully to what the centaurs were saying... They vaguely mention what they've "seen in the stars". What do you think they were predicting? Do you think they foresaw that Voldemort would eventually "kill" Harry? Do you think that's why the other centaurs were so angry with Firenze for intervening that night? That maybe it was supposed to be that night? I'm hazarding a guess that if they DO see that Harry is to be "killed" by Voldemort, that they probably don't exactly know when. What do you think?

One time, I did a listen through and wrote down every mention of food... I wish I could find the list! I was going to tally everything up.

Sending a ping to everybody in the group! I'd love to hear where you all are in the book! We only have a few days left in the term, though since we started so late, I am very open for keeping the Book Club going over the 2 week break. What do you think?

Self insert characters can work well as long as you move past them the more you write. All though Hermione might have started off that way, I can safely say that JK developed her in a way that makes her her own person.

This always perplexed me too! If they had stuck together, sure, I can understand them being in the forest. But to split them up so that they are only with a dog? ....FIRST YEARS? They barely even know how to send up sparks at this point, let alone defend themselves. They are really lucky the centaurs interfered.

I have two more observations for everybody today. Since term is over, I am going to dive right in to the end of the book. If you're there, awesome, if not, you can wait to answer if you'd like.

1: Knowing the "enchantments" guarding the stone--because really, they're not enchantments, they are obstacles--why is it that for at least half of the school year, the best defense against the stone is kept hidden in a room near the library? The mirror is most definitely the best, except maybe apart from Fluffy, defense for the stone. Did Dumbledore actually want Harry to find the mirror first? Or do you think he didn't think to use the mirror until he and Snape saw that Quirrell was close to finding out how to get past the dog? ...If they relied on Fluffy so much, were the other enchantments put in just to slow an intruder down?

2: I really, really don't see how the flying keys was supposed to be Flitwick's enchantment and McGonagall's the chess set. There are already wizard chess sets available out there, wouldn't it just be an enlargement charm? And the keys say McGonagall more to me. She loves Quidditch, plus adding wings to keys is definitely a transfiguration move. Thoughts?

Excellent point! I hadn't thought about that. Otherwise they'd have to have someone check the room every so often. Speaking of which, do we think that Quirrell left some of the potion in the bottle before going through the flames? Wouldn't have drinking the whole thing have been better? Or do we think it refilled itself? If it refilled itself, then wouldn't it have been smart for Hermione to wait for it to refill, then go through and help Harry?

Unrelated note and going back to the beginning of the book... Why isn't there a disguised witch or wizard helping muggleborns onto the platform? Or do we think not telling Harry how to get onto the platform was just an oversight by Hagrid and they usually make sure to tell them how to get to the train?