Dicuss anything about the first book here. What did you like? What did you not like?

i like the mirror of erised, i didnt like hermione.

hmmm I liked all these obstructions that they had to pass after Fluffy, that was cool!!!!

I had left the first book to dust in the corner for so long. I decided one day that the sixth book wasn't going to come any faster, so why not try and speed up the process by consuming my hours with Harry Potter? I decided to read the series over again and started reading the first book. I caught a lot of things I forgot happened in the actual book. Like how they had to pass other spells & enchantments when they were trying to reach Voldemort in the end. There were a lot more, but I've seen to have forgotten them. :?

i also loved the mirror of Erised.
and i like figuring out what it said, it was like a sixth sense when i read it that told me the saying on the mirror actually said something.
"i show not your face but your hearts desire."
my favourite part.

Mmm... I wish I could have seen the mirror... I'd probably end up seeing me flying a plane or something :oops: heh

[quote]hmmm I liked all these obstructions that they had to pass after Fluffy, that was cool!!!![/quote]

Especially the chess board and the winged keys, awesome!

I liked the stages they had to go thorugh to get to the philosophers stone and also when harry realises he is on the quidditch team and his first match is good aswell, i think its funny where it says: Harry pulled into a spectacular dive..
" Your in luck weasley, potter's obviously noticed some money on the floor."

That was hilarious so was neville attacking malfoy and getting beat up by crabbe ande goyle. lol

i like the chess game in the book!!!

i read on jk's site that the editors want her to cut the troll scean that is one of the must importnat scean in the book that is when they become fridnes with out that one mintune ron is makeing fun of hermoine and the next they are frindes i would be lost with out it

I was reading in either another forum or a message board of somesort that the Chess board hasa lot to do with the upcoming story... I don't remember the whole thing but it had a lot to do with Sirius and Ron and Dumbledore and stuff. It was very interesting... that was my favorite part of the book. I also liked the fact that Neville had the Gryffindors win the House Cup. that was great. He was so confused!!!

lol, yeh! i love it when neville gets rewarded or complimented (because it is so rare)

I liked it when Griffdor won the The House Cup
That was pretty good coz neville got points too and that was nice of Dumbledore too

Anyone else notice something peculiar in the first book... Like the part where it talks about the weird things that happen to him before he finds out about Hogwarts? Like the part where he's running from Dudley's gang, jumps behind a trashcan, and appears on top of the school kitchens? Isn't that Apparition? Isn't that some powerful magic? Oooohhh!!!

I loved the mirror of Erised, and when I re-read the book just recently I finally caught on to "I show not your face but your hearts desire"...sorry if I didn't get the exact phrase, the book's not exactly on my lap at the moment

I see that a lot of people also enjoyed the obstacles they had to get through in order to get the Stone...I especially loved the Chess game-wicked!

Someone mentioned that the Chess game has a lot to do with the upcoming books, and I think that it will...I read a very interesting theory about it...but unfortunatly, I don't remember where I read it .

Although most people probably have read all the books, there are those who haven't so I'm putting a spoiler here...just incase....I don't like heat....

SPOILERS FOR ALL BOOKS HERE>>>YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!






I've just finished reading PS/SS again...and after reading everone's theories and some really good editorials about the chess game and its possible significance etc...and I'm beginning to think that JKR knew exactly what she was doing back then, you know. Even though there's a lot of people out there who say she couldn't possibly have had the plots for all 7 books planned at that early stage when she didn't know how well PS was going to do, I think there's quite a few hints in there about what would happen in the next couple of books.

Plus, JKR has just said (at the Book Festival) that although some minor details have changed, the main thrust of the books haven't - they're pretty much as she'd always had planned.

Firstly, in PS, there's the similarity in the events where they got rid of Norbert with the events leading to the rescue of Sirius in PoA - Ron got injured so couldn't take part, the journey to the top tower, escaping via the air etc...

Then there's the centaurs...'Mars is bright tonight' - Mars is the god of war (Roman, I think...not Greek, is he?) - hence they're saying the war is coming, they've forseen that Voldemort will return....'The innocent are the first to die'...well, Sirius is their first loss, and he was innocent....

Then there's the chess game itself, which does look extremely significant to me...the faceless white chess pieces, the fact that they (ie the Death Eaters) moved first...maybe foreshadowing Ron's sacrifice to enable Harry to get to Voldemort (the King)...the loss of the knight, their first real loss, which shocked them so deeply (obviously, if the theory is right, that would represent Sirius' death too...at the hands of Bella, the white queen).

Dumbledore's refusal to tell Harry why Voldemort tried to kill him when he was a baby...she must have had the whole prophecy thing planned...

Dumbledore hinting to Harry about why his father and Snape hated each other...the introduction of quite a lot of werewolf stuff...that whole storyline had probably been worked out....

There are loads of other little things too...far too many to go into here...but it seems as though there are hints to just about all the books in there somewhere which really leap out now with hindsight. I'm sure, if we look closely enough, there are still secrets in there that might help to give us a better idea of what's planned for books 6 & 7....well....maybe not secrets or foreshadowing, exactly...but just the introduction of concepts and ideas that still have yet to be built upon in the coming two books...

It's a really good read though anyway...I haven't read the books again for such a long time, I'd forgotten just how good they really are.

Yeah, I noticed that too. Its kind of a shame they changed most of those parts for the movie...

Anyway, my favorite part of the book is the first and last chapter. The way it begins is really powerful to me...I don't know why. The last chapter is great because Harry really sees what he's up against. And he fughts it.

Does anyone else think it was odd when they read that DD wouldn't tell Harry why LV came for him? I mean when you first read the book of course. I can kind of remember, but...

to tell you honestly guys, i really love dogs!
but you know fluffy???
he's a dog right???
but i think i hate dogs once they become wild as that!
and somehow really weird............
with three heads! monstrous doggie!

Can anyone tell me if there is any difference in the Ps/SS...but don't tell me what though!

there isnt a difference at all between 'Harry Potter and the Philophiser's(spelling not right) Stone' and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone'

Thanks! I didn't know, I was just wondering.

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I liked everything.But I didn't understand how did Hermione get to know about Daigon alley??How did she get on to the platform?really wierd.

MOD EDIT: There is no need to line up all kind of smilies if there's no reason for them to be there. Please read the rules on excessive smilies, thanks.

I'm not sure if this is off topic or not - it's not a like or dislike about SS, but it is about SS, so if this is off topic, I'm making my apology ahead of time.

In the first book when harry is reading his list of what he needs for school, it states that students may bring an owl or a cat or a toad, so why, then, is Ron allowed to have Scabbers? This has bothered me for quite some time and I am just now going to say something about it.

Another thing that I noticed in SS was in Hagrid's first letter to Harry on pg. 136, Hagrid says "Send us an answer with Hedwig." Does anyone know - is this just a typo or is he referring to himself and Fang, or is it something else? I just reread the book, and it was the first time I noticed it... I don't know, I'm probably just being to critical and reading too much into a typo or something...

Someone reminded me of the Harry/Ron/Neville fight scene(or at least I think that Harry and Ron were both in it too, or was it just one of them? I can't remember...), and I always found that to be funny. Neville charging at Crabbe and Goyle...haha. It's a shame that the movie didn't show Neville as much as the book did. I also liked the ending with all of the enchantments and obstacles. The Quidditch scenes were good, too.

WEll I havent read the book in a while but I like the ending (like I do every book) where they had to get past the obstacles. But in the end I didn't like the fact that harry, ron and hermione went through all that for nothing, because DD said that only someone who wanted to get the stone and not use it could get it, so quirrel couldn't have gotten the stone after all and would've been caught without harry going to stop him. right?

My favorite part was when harry met voldemort for the second time in his life. I didnt really dislike anything in this book.

did anyone else find it weird that Dumbeldore had James Potter's invisibility cloak? I mean the note Dumbeldore gave Harry, said. "You father has left this in my possession...." So, what i started asking myself, was, why would he have left it in Dumbeldore's possession, and not Sirius's, Sirius was Harry's godfather. But the first question i asked, is why would James have left it to him in the first place?

Well i am probably reading way to much into it, but it just caught my eye, and was wondering it it caught anyone else's.

They were both in the Order, so that might be why. Also, perhaps just from Hogwarts, if he got caught with it or something.

Yeah, I just read the first book again, and maybe he left it at school for safekeeping or something. But Dumbledore probably got it from him in the Order.

~*Ozzi*~

I think was actually the best book (so far).
It was a really enjoyable 'modern fairy tale'. The later books all seem to take themselves much more seriously (more and more as the story goes on), but this one was just good fun.

SS was a really good book in general! I love the way JKR established Harrys character in a very real way. Harry was very easy to sympathize with because of all the unfortunate things that always seem to happen to him. I love how I find so many things I didnt notice each time I read the book. While I don't like the Dursleys, I enjoy reading what happens while Harry is with them. I also love Harrys first visit to Diagon Alley.

My favorite part of the first book was when Harry made the Gryffindor quidditch team! That was so awesome! The worst part was when Snape got on Harry's case from the start. My hatred for Snape started young!

I really liked the first book. I am currently going back through the whole series and when I reread the first book, I only then realized what the Mirror of Erised said! I felt so stupid! The first book was good. I also liked the Mirror scene and I have read on JKR's site that that was her favorite chapter to write. She said it really hit close to home because she had lost one of her parents(I think her father) while she was writing the book. It made me really sad to read that chapter after I knew what it meant to her and all. But overall it was a good book. It got me hooked on Harry Potter!!

I thought the fist book was brilliant as well. It is not as intense as the other books because it is basically setting the scene for the other books.

er...ok sneazes, i guess this IS a harry potter site for harry potter, and it doesnt ever really say you have to be a harry potter fan to participate, but...errr...well...nevermind...ill stay out of this one

anyways, I thought sorcerers stone was pretty good. I just recently finished reading that one, and i noticed alot throughout the book, that her writing methods and descriptions and such have changed a whole lot throughout the series. not an insult or a compliment! just noticed... also i loved snapes potion challenge. everytime i read that i sit down with my sketch pad and colored pencils and try to figure it out. although i have now come to the conclusion that it can be solved in several different ways, depending on what order and colored and shaped bottles are in, as it never gives and exact location of each one except for the one to go on through the black and the one to go back through the purple fires.

hmm..all in all i would give sorcerers stone an 8 out of 10, as it was really good, although its probably my number 5 pick out of the entire series, not because i dislike it at all, its one of my most favorite books of all time, but just because i love almost all of the other books just a wee bit more!

sorry bout the order of the phoenix long review here! (boy was THAT corny...i defenatly need some psyciatric help)

I don't know exactly why this popped into my head recently. . . but I've been dwelling on poor Neville. So, I started thinking about all we know about him. He's forgetful, yes, blundering, at times, frightened of authority, yes. . .but he's not stupid. So, when I say this . . . it only refers to the American Edition, SS. There's a part in PS when Neville mistakes Philosopher's Stone and calls it "Philological" . . . sure, philosopher's a word with a lot of icky phonets in it. Well, in SS, I guess to keep both editions the same; Neville calls Sorcerer's "Sorcerous" (or something equally as bad, I assure you). This really bothered me. Sorcerer isn't really a hard word, or as obscure. I just don't think Neville would have mispronounced it.

Phew. I feel better having that off of my chest.

one of my favorite parts is the whole diagon alley chapter all the descriptions of the diffrent wizarding items and stores. Also the when all the first years are on the boats going to the school.

I am sure this question will have been answered elsewhere, but I couldn't find anything on it.

The question is:

How does Quirrell shake Harry's hand in the Leaky Cauldron when they first meet, when he is already supposed to be possessed by Voldie. I thought, because of the possession issue, Quirrell could not touch Harry AT ALL.

This is torturing me (especially because in the movie they make an effort to make sure we see Quirrell does not want to touch Harry at all when they meet.)

thanks

I really like the first film of Hp series and the scenes of this films were really fantastic.I like the most is Mirror of Erised,Fluffy and that part of the film in which students got punishment from Professor McGonagal and they have to go to the forest

I just wanted to post that question! lol

I watched PS/SS yesterday, and I started to wonder why Quirrel looked so frightful as Harry extended his hand towards him to shake. He peered nervously at his hand as if it was something contaminated, or a dog that might just rip his head off at any moment. So that's what I want to know: why didn't he touch it? Did he know that Voldy wouldn't like it or that he would burn or what? But then again, why did he touch Harry at the end when he strangled him? He should have then already know he would burn... I'm confused...

And to top it all of, Quirrel did shake Harry's hand in the book, like Felix said. Adds more confusion!

But perhaps that was a slip-up in the movie.

So yeah, this is torture, and we need answers!

ok, i'm really sorry to pop in here and add something totally unrelated... but i have been wondering about the titles of the books. Why is it called the philosopher's stone in britain and sorcerers stone in america?
I mean, a philosopher is something entirely different from sorcerer.
A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. The word, "philosopher," literally means "lover of wisdom."
a sorcerer on the other hand is someone who practices magic or sorcery. Does the word Philosopher not exist in America? why change the name of the book anyway? it totally changes the meaning, and having people use two different titles in the same language is often confusing. sorry to just burst in, but this has been really irritating me for a while now

Clara}~

I had a question and I couldn't find anywhere else on here where someone had asked about it-

In the U.S. hardcover edition of Sorcerer's Stone on pg. 70, Harry first meets Professor Quirrell. It says-
"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."

But later on pg.299, Dumbledore explains to him that Quirrell (with Voldemort sharing his body) could not touch him because of the love that flows through his veins.

How could Quirrell grasp his hand if touching Harry is watch eventually killed him?


OOPS, SO I POSTED THIS WITHOUT REALIZING Felix HAD POSTED THE SAME THING...(I'll just leave it here since I've got pg.#'s, hehe)

My favourite bits in the Philosophers stone were Diagon Alley because it just seemed such an amazing place and it really lived up to my expectations in the film. the other bit i really liked was the bit at the end when they had to go through all the challenges to get to the stone although it annoyed me that they left bits out in the film. the other bit i really liked was the bit on the train at the start where Harry and ron first meet and you find out about all the food and when scabbers bites crabbe or goyle cant remember which one it is- classic moment

I'm not sure if this has been posted anywhere else, so if it has, terribly sorry.
BUT.
i was thinking, when LV came to Godric's Hollow and then to the Potter's house, James told Lilly to run upstairs. Why couldn't Lilly have dissapparated (sp?) with Harry. Therefore taking both herself and Harry to possibly another safe house. Because if they knew that LV was after them surely they would have had a backup plan.

I honestly don't know, but my brain just working it through so yeah, any suggestions on this theory?

Just started reading the series again, and you always notice things you never did the first time.

The last page of the first chapter, when Harry is placed as a baby in a basket on the footsteps of the Dursleys' home. A letter was also put inside the basket by Dumbledore in order to explain things.

"One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on....not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles." - pg 17 of hardcover edition.

Who did that small hand belong to? It must not be any of the Dursleys bc they didnt find him till morning.

It was Harry's hand. He was alseep in the basket and as he rolled over his hand clasped the letter Dumbledore had left. Towards the end they talk about that letter, so if it was someone else besides Harry they might have taken it and not returned it or perhaps made it public knowledge or used it to blackmail the Dursley's. So the fact that they knew about it meant that someone there had to have belonged to the hand, and since Harry was the only one on the porch it had to have been him

Hey folks! I was just taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane to when I first read the books (currently re-reading GoF) and GoF was the first book I ever read. After that it was PS and I'll never forget the first time I read it. I had already seen the film so the performances of those who starred were what I imagined while reading.

How many of you read PS before seeing the film and were therefore able to picture the characters without the influence of the films?

How many of you read PS before seeing the film and were therefore able to picture the characters without the influence of the films?


I did! It's funny thinking back now because it was so long ago. I had no preconceived ideas about the characters other than from the art work on the cover. I had an image of Dumbledore and when I saw the movie, Richard Harris was it. I pictured Snape as a younger actor but as I often do when reading, I had a faceless image in my head, no one in particular. The only actor I actually imagined in a role was Maggie Smith. A few days before I had been flicking channels and came across her in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and her voice triggered something and that was what I heard when I was reading McGonagall.

My imagination isn't that great so when I saw the movie, it was more visually magical that I ever thought. Perhaps my brain was erring on the side of caution!

Philosopher's Stone is my favorite book. I liked Hermione and also Harry's and Hermione's hug. What I didn't like was Ginny. She was so fangirly. And I've never liked fangirls.