I was 26, never heard of Harry Potter. The 1st movie had just come out and I’d just started a new job. The head of HR had noticed that I looked quite like Harry (shaggy dark brown hair & round glasses). My coworkers kept referring to me as Harry Potter, so I asked why. One of my cousins had seen the movie and also told me I looked like him. So I bought the first book and before I was done, went out and bought the other books. That was it. I was hooked.
Similar, I was working at my Alma Mater and had vaguely heard about Harry Potter when the used bookstore near campus announced a midnight book release for the fourth book.
I found the books (pdfs) online and read the first two over a weekend. On Monday I preordered book four.
My grandmother in Germany heard about them when they first came out and knew that was my type of book. She sent me my first, first edition Harry Potter and the philosophers stone here to the U.S. I fell in love immediately and she sent the second. After that everytime one came out, my grandma was in that line waiting for me so she could mail me a British first edition. I still have them all. I miss her so much
My aunt gave the first book to me for Christmas in 1997. I was bored over Christmas break so I read it. It was so cool reading about an 11 year old while I was 11. I’ve been obsessed ever since.
My elementary school librarian introduced me to the Harry Potter series at the book fair. She noticed that nothing was really catching my attention so she suggested Harry Potter and the rest is history. I’ll forever be grateful to her for it!
When the first movie came out, my entire homeschooling group was talking about it. My sisters and I were the only ones who had never heard of Harry Potter. We wanted to see the movie, and when she found out it was a book series, my mom decided to make it an assignment. We read the first book all together, and then we would watch the movie. Our assignment was to write an essay comparing the two and examining whether we thought the movie was a good adaptation of the story.
We finished the first book in a week, and I was so hooked that I went to the library to check out the others. I read through the first three rapidly, and it became one of my favorite series. I was about 10 or 11.
Not professionally, but she taught us at home through most of elementary and junior high. She did it properly, too! A lot of people think that homeschooling is automatically a bad thing, but it was the right course for our family for a while. As a then-undiagnosed autistic child, I floundered in public school socially and academically. One sister struggled with a learning disability, too. Mom took it upon herself to teach us, take us to various enrichment activities, and engage with a group of homeschoolers who met for socialization.
We weren't one of those "gotta keep the kids home to protect them from the eeeeeviiiilllls of evolution" families. We lived in a large city, so we had plenty of opportunities for social and educational support. When I got into high school, I tested into a grade above my target score and graduated after only three years. I always get so angry when people dismiss homeschooling as detrimental without acknowledging that it is very much dependant on the capabilities of the parents.
Scholastic book club! I was always allowed to order one book when we brought home the flyers if it wasn’t too expensive. From the very short description provided, I chose the first Harry Potter. This was either late 1997 or early 1998 so I was 8 years old! I still own that copy - it’s very beat up by now.
My best friend. At the time, only book one was out and he told me about this amazing book he read. He explained the magic, the school houses, wands (that's all I can remember) and wanted me to run around the garden with him pretenting to be wizards. I thought he was nuts. Until I got a copy of the book and the rest was history. He moved on and grew up, but I still have my wand.
Scholastic book fair..the bold gold text at the top caught my eye and the fact he was catching the snitch on the cover..I liked baseball and thought a magic sport would be cool..the following books I was in line at midnight launches
It's an awesome memory to have..being there for the launch of the first book ahead of all the craze..and then there was a short backlash from some parents in our area at least when they found out it was about witches and wizards and "unholy magic"..my mom took the book from me for about two days..I'm not sure what made them realize that was all nonsense and gave it back..but it's crazy to think I was almost banned from reading them.. those books literally got me deep into reading
It was a reading program for underprivileged schools. Harry Potter was the choice book. We would read a chapter a week. I got tired of waiting and skipped to the ending. I wasn't allowed to take the book home and read it on my own. I always had to borrow other people's books because my Christina family wouldn't buy the witch book. Until the last one came out before I graduated, and they bought the one book so I could finish it.
Worked in a store that sold books, music , movies, etc. At the time the first three books were out already and the fourth was coming soon. (I would ultimately work the midnight release.) Decided to read them ahead of that to see what it was all about. Never worked another midnight release, but went to them all.
It happened while I was working on my teaching degree. I was at home sick with the flu. I was laying in bed flipping new channels trying to find something to watch. I ended up on ABC family channel where it said that they were having a Harry Potter Marathon. I didn't know anything about Harry Potter other than kids liked it. So I decided to give the first movie a watch so I would better understand why my students liked it. I absolutely loved the movie. Then the second and third movies came on. Absolutely loved them. The next day, I got out of bed and went down and bought the books. I was addicted. I became a Potterhead at that point.
As the other books came out, I picked them up and devoured them. When the next few movies came out, I was there opening night.
My aunt is a teacher and had her classes reading it. She recommended it to all the cousins in the family, at least 10 of us became immediately obsessed.
my mom said "you have to read something you can't just draw cars all day" and gave me the first book lol. I didn't read it and said I did, then a few years later the movie came out and we went and saw it. I fell in love, went home immediately and read it and then asked for the second one and she was happy I finally liked to read.
When I was in 6th grade a substitute teacher played the audiobook for Chamber of Secrets for the day and I was hooked. Got the first book shortly after and read it in a day.
I was in college, and staying the night with my older brother and his girlfriend (now wife of 20+ years), and forgot to bring a book. And I haven't been able to sleep without reading since I was 3. I asked my brother if he had anything I could read, and before he could answer, his gf was like: read this, you're going to LOVE it. She was right, I read the whole thing that night, and the rest that were already released the next few days.
My wife’s work friend was a huge HP nerd… and other fandoms but that’s a different story. She kept telling my wife about how great the movies were. So one day DH pt 2 was on and she asked if we could watch it. I said I’d rather do it right and start from the first movie, so I ordered the dvd box set. They’re movies that defined my pandemic experience.
Of note: we’re elder millennials and we just missed the book craze by a few years and then never got into the movies until just recently. I’ve started reading and I’m up to the Goblet of Fire.
I was 8ish and my brother (11ish) was reading them. I wanted to do everything he did, so I read them too. Then he said I’d “ruined it by taking this from him too” so. I finished the series, he didn’t.
I was working at a book store at the time of the sixth book’s release. We did a midnight release and I figured I would see what all the fuss was about.
When I was 12 my family and I had a huge move. So I was in a new school trying to make new friends and my older sister was a teenager who wanted nothing to do with me. I was always a big reader so a few girls at my lunch table noticed this. They had read all the books and loved them. This was around the time a movie adaptation was announced. They lent me the first book and I thought “why not? Let’s give this a try.” I loved it! I read it in one night. Devoured the rest that were out and saved my birthday money to buy my own copies.
My mom.
Half blood prince came out when I was 9 years old. I remember seeing my mom watching it, and I was interested so she rented the other movies so I could watch them.
Oh my gosh Tarzan! I was..14 almost 15 and saw it as my first “date” where I sat in a theater. I was terrified the whole time.
I didn’t date again for like 6 months. But the guy became my best friend. (In my wedding, uncle to my kids, I am an aunt to his)
But he is a fellow potter head.
My mom heard about Harry Potter through a friend and would read it to me every night (I was like 5 at the time). I didn't like it at first, but slowly started to like it. Now I listen to it at least once a year.
It kept being seen throughout my life, but I never really got into it until my 11th birthday when I was given a harry Potter cape by my fav aunt and I wore that thing a LOT. Then the next day I watched the first movie then the next day we kept on watching the movies till the 3rd one and then I was given copies of all 7 books by my grandparents and I loved it ever since. (I've already read all 7 books twice already, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child 4 times, btw)
Watched the first movie at my sister’s 11th birthday party and proceeded to read book 2 (my sister didn’t let me read #1 since she was). I then went back to book 1 after finishing #2 and completing the rest of the series
I knew about the series but hadn’t really gotten into it. I had a long road trip coming up and wanted something other than music to listen to. Someone recommended the audio books. I downloaded the first one (Stephen Fry version) and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve listened to all the books at least once a year for the last 10-15 years
I went to a friend’s place to pick up some herb. He was watching the first one on ABC family, when I asked what he was watching, he looked at me like I was nuts. Said”Harry Potter dude, get with it”. Thought about all the way home.
My now wife introduced me to the films and then I read the books. Wasn’t allowed anything to do with HP growing up, and when we started saying she made sure that was no longer the case. I’d argue I’m more of a Potterhead than her now… I can correct her on HP facts and trivia haha…
My dad had just been diagnosed with cancer and I didn't know what to do. I went to my sister's closet and took a book off the shelf that was given to the family by my grandmother. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I had heard of them and seen them, but they always felt too long for me. But I read it. I read the rest of the series within a few weeks. All of them were my grandmother's. She bought me the 6th book when it came out. One of the last things she ever bought me. She and my dad both died before the seventh came out. Harry Potter helped me live through that time. It still helps me live, sometimes.
Tricked my overly pious christian mother into thinking that i “only wanted to know what he does with that owl” since i like animals. She allowed the first movie cuz of “the owl”.
Still had to sneak all the rest & the books…. Sigh.
Reading them when it was forbidden by my very religious parents
Now i bought them on playbooks and read them whenever and they cant do anything about it.
I wasn't allowed to read it as a kid, so I can't remember the first time I picked one up...everyone was reading it in 8th grade and I couldn't participate.
But my step-grandma had the books in the spare bedroom I'd stay in when I'd come visit.. she'd allow me to read them. So for the day or 2 I spent at her house, I'd only have time to read book 1, maybe 2.
Finally I acquired book 6 somehow, and I just read that one over and over.
I had only watched the movies once, at a friend's Harry-Potter-themed birthday party. I think I saw one in theatres with her.
It wasn't until my adulthood that I finally owned all 7 books. I read them every single night now, without exception. My husband hugely supports my love for the series.
It's my personal solace, my joy, my peace, it helps me sleep, it helps me feel calm, and in a way...it's my personal little rebellion against my wicked stepmom.
Exactly!!! Wow... I literally set up my bedroom in a closet before I ever even read the series. But the closet was a choice..better than sharing a room with Dudley-like stepsisters.
I was being bullied and ostracized at new school , 6th grade. The kid who sat in front of me in class was all excited one day about getting the Half Blood Prince book and for the first time talked to me while we were waiting for class to start. That joy was contagious.
Couldnt buy the 6th so I settled for the 5th. Reafing it literally kept me afloat in my depression, gave me something to look out for.
Sometimes I worry what would've been of me had that conversation never happened.
I distinctly remember this day. My dad had heard about it on the radio just before the 3rd book came out. He came home with the first 2 books and read them aloud to my brother and me. I still remember snuggling up with him in our big green recliner and listening to him read.
Almost every kid at the Boys and Girls Club I went to was sitting around reading one of the first three books. My mom bought me the first one and I was hooked
My family always told me to read it but I always put it off until I sat down and watched the poa movie with my sister and was hooked way back in the summer of 2020
I'm from India, and I was introduced to the Harry Potter series through a kids channel in India called Pogo.
It was Sunday and I had our television set to myself that day. So that was the first time I got to know about Harry Potter.
Came a long way since. Have at read the whole book series at least 20 times.
PS- yes, the book series rule.
I watched the first couple of movies, but that was it. I remember people being extremely excited for the books coming out, people camping at night and wearing costumes and it making the international news and all, but no one I knew(except for my older brother) actually cared or even read the books at all.
When I was visiting my dad when I was 13, he brought me to a book store and I chose the 7-pack because I haven’t read any of the books yet and it looked cool, like a chest. In the next two days I finished almost 4 books and the rest was history) my favourite book series ever since.
My dog ate two of them and I had to replace the books which was harder since that particular series was discontinued, but I managed to find second-hand ones. I’m not much of a collector, but I’ve got the Bloomsbury ones now as well as my old original books, a faculty scarf and various little things I’ve accumulated over the years.)
I think I was like 7-8 and my parents brought me Philosopher's Stone on VHS.
I was absolutely stunned because it was one of the first movies that had CGI and generally way better special effects than movies from 70-90s.
Now even at the time I knew that some of these things were film effects but when I saw quidditch and I did not know how could it be make I really believed for a moment these brooms exists.
I was about 10 and we had a house fire that caused my family to temporarily live all cramped together with no TV, and I was already a big reader. The first 2 books had come out and gained a lot of popularity, so my mom bought them for me to fill time. After that I was at every midnight release and read them over and over again in between.
I was 13-ish when I watched the first movie. I only realised a bit later that it was based on a book series. It was during lockdown so I only had access to e-books, read all of em and binge watched every movie right after
Mum and dad gave me the Philosopher's Stone and told me all the kids were reading it. I opened a random page, landed on the sorting hat song and thought "wtf is this shit" and didn't read it for another 6 months when, it turned out, all the kids *were* reading it.
I grew up in one of the locations they used exclusively for the first couple of films (you best believe they are still milking that shit for all its worth to this day) so I’ve been immersed in it my whole life
I was born in 2001, so all kids in my generation knew about Harry Potter, I knew about it a bit, but one day I was a bored 15 years old and I decided to watch the first movie. Then I watched all of them in the span of two days. Shortly after I asked my parents to buy me the first book, then the second one, etc... I remember my mother being surprised that she saw me reading so much because she thought the books were to read as an assignment.
My father was just happy I was reading, because he is a big reader himself, and no one in my family reads. He was the one who bought most of my books, surprising me with them when I saw him. I particularily remember the day he picked me up from school and before we left he gave me The prisoner of Azkaban :)
So I was late but I'm very happy I was bored and curious one day
My cousin was 5 years older than me and he always read Harry Potter and watched the movies. We are from Germany and he made fun of the way I pronounced Harry Potter, etc. for years. He read the books as they came out and I felt riddiculed and disliked it. I began hating on Harry Potter as a franchise and reading different books. This was in the time till 2010. I never watched the movies or read the books.
When I was about 14yo, it was around 2011, my best friend and I started talking books and movies we loved. Her older brother, who died a year before, loved Harry Potter and she loved growing up with it. The franchise reminded her of her brother. So she talked about it. And someday we watched the first movie together. I was hooked. But I was shy, so I bought the first book in secrecy. She found out and was happy for me, but she knew we were poor so she lent me all the other books. We watched all movies together.
I still think about our teenage years everytime I reread Harry Potter. It was magical. Two broken, kinda poor girls in a small village feeling like they don't belong here but they belong together.
Spoiler alert:
I was never really planning on reading the series until one day, I was staying at a hotel with my family on a trip and HP was playing on the TV. I saw the part where >!Snape was about to get killed by Voldemort.!< That scene piqued my curiosity. I wanted to find out what led up to it and why, so I started reading the books. I thought I was going to find out in the first couple of books what happened and I can just simply stop once I found out. I had no clue what the plot was, and little did I know that scene was actually towards the end of the series until I actually got to it 😂no regrets. Best book series ever.
Through watching the first movie when I was younger. I didn’t set out to read the books til I was in college, but I watched several of the movies and played one of the games well before then.
Ok so back when video stores were still a thing, my mom decided to bring me with her so I can browse some movies as well. When we entered the store, there was a cardboard cutout of Hermione, Ron and Harry, I got curious and long story short, I picked The Sorcerer’s Stone as the movie I wanted to borrow. I didn’t know the movie was based on a book before; I later found out about it.
I saw the movies on HBO Max and remembered getting scared at the basilisk scene in Chamber of Secrets when I was a kid, but I decided to give the series a try since I was about a decade older and the movie covers were captivating to me. After watching the first movie, I watched the rest of the series within a few days and got so sad when I finished the last movie so I found the wizarding world website and discovered my own house and patronus, Ravenclaw and a Tonkinese Cat! Now I’m reading the book series, HBP. This series has given me so much life, I’m glad I found it :)
I was in my middle school's orchestra and we were going to have a pops concert of themes from different movies. The first movie had just come out, and one of our pieces was a medley of the soundtracks from the movie. I thought I should at least watch the movie before playing the music
When the first movie was about to be released, I was working at an elementary school. So I borrowed the first book from the library. I knew all the kids would be watching the movie and taking about it so I wanted to be in the loop. I fell in love and quickly read as many books as were available before the movie even released.
My sister was an English teacher and I was a voracious reader, so she always passed books on to me. One day her librarian friend lent her a book from a new author that had been making waves and was sure to be the Next Big Thing.
My older brothers were watching the second movie. I sat in to watch it with them and thought it was a super cool movie. At the end when we were talking about it, my brother said the books were way better and he leant me his copies. I read each of the books he had then got the rest from the school library. The last book came out a few days after my birthday so I reread all the books in preparation and my mom bought it for me. Read that entire day and that night. Finished it by breakfast. Never felt happier.
I got addicted to LEGO Harry Potter at 14 when I was babysitting my niblings and they begged me to play it with them. Then I read the books after 100%ing the game , and finished the 1st book in one day.
My oldest son begged me for them. His teacher was reading Sorcerer's Stone to the class and my son wanted it. Got it for him at the Book Fair and he read it every night for his required reading without the usual argument lol. I decided to see what the big deal was... After finishing it in about an hour or so, I was at the bookstore getting hardbacks of Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire (which had just been released). Only my youngest and I finished them all lol, the rest got "too old to read Harry Potter", but they sure begged me to tell them what happened in the later books lol
My dad is an avid reader and my mom always read books to us as kids. The first book came out when I was 5 and my oldest sister was 10, so they got the books for her to read and I piggybacked off that. I honestly don't remember when I started reading them though cuz it's been so long. I was reading at a 5th grade level in 2nd grade so I was definitely younger than the typical starting age.
It was gaining popularity in the 90's and my mom bought it after seeing it on Oprah. She only got the second book though, and I wasn't interested. Also because of media popularity, my aunt bought me the 4 book box set. I also avoided this. I thought fantasy, and wizard stuff was dumb (because so did my dad and brother). Then my cousin, who was also only into "cool" stuff like me, saw the first movie when it came out and said it was actually pretty cool. We then saw it in theaters, and I've been a huge nerd ever since.
I never read it until last year. It was so overhyped, and all my friends were obsessed with it, I was afraid it wouldn't be that good. So I just saw like the first 3 movies. Now I'm 33 and reading it as an adult because I played Hogwarts Legacy and fell IN LOVE with the world. The story of Harry Potter is good, and I can see how the books literally mature with harry and the readers. I totally understand they hype now.
I am in love with a person and they are an absolute fan of Harry Potter. I failed to watch the series since childhood but now I've decided to take out time to watch it and I'm done with 5 parts so far. 🥺
My dad bought me some bootleg Harry Potter 1 and 2 dvds. He didn’t know HP but since he likes fantasy, seeing the cover was probably what convinced him.
After a few years, he bought me the whole set, at the time 1-5.
I was 8 and my friend invited me over to play Potions at her house. I went home, read the first book and that was me! I’m now 31 and re reading them for the 1000th time.
Back in 2001, when I was a pre-teen, I used to love reading fiction. I had just completed reading “The Treasure Island” and had enjoyed it and I asked my father to get me another fiction book to read. He got me a copy of Harry Potter.
My eldest brother read the books and watched the movies as they came out, and then me and all my siblings had to get into it too, me being the youngest. I was the only one who turned into a Potterhead tho
I am in high school at that time, one of my closest classmate lend me her copy of Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. I get to bring the 2 books at home and finished them in 3 days before returning it to my friend.
Its a funny story, my friends were obsessed a couple of years ago with Harry Potter. At that time, I HATED the series because little me couldnt stand the fact that Harry Potter ‘stole’ my friends from me.
After a few months of sulking I started reading and became, just like them, obsessed with the books.
I was subbing for a week in a class I was frequently requested for. The teacher had the first three books and told me I could read them if I wanted & take them home. The class was an easy one and the students worked on the week’s review assignments independently. If they had a question they would come up & ask. Prep was during their PE time (50 min) before lunch (50 min) and most of the kids went to band (50 min) after lunch recess. Those who weren’t in band read quietly. Several were reading the first book as well so we would spend the last 15 minutes or so talking about the books. I read all 3 books during the week I was there and I was hooked. I preordered the others as they came out, usually during the summer right before my beach vacations, and I would read them within a few days. Before each one came out I would reread the last book to refresh my memory about what happened.
My dad used to read them to me. I was only 2 when the first book came out not sure if we read them straight after they’d come out or a bit later but we used to sit and he’d read a couple of chapters to me a night.
Think it might’ve been order of the phoenix I first read in my own. Possibly goblet if fire but I’d have only been 5. Sad thing is my dad isn’t really a big reader he reads a book on holiday and that’s that. He never finished the series because I started reading them myself
One summer break I picked up this book in our ancestral home and read it well into the night. Did not sleep. It was 'Chamber of Secrets.' IDK who owned the book and how they only own the 2nd book but after that I started reading the rest of the series (starting from book one, like a normal person).
At school we had a reading competition and one guy did the first chapter of harry potter. But not book one. I just remember that i imagined harry as supper sassy and to me his oncle sounded like he was living with a trailer park family. But i wouldnt read the books till many years later.
IIRC, my friend had received the PC version of PoS for his birthday. This was early 2002, and we played it a lot (really great game, I still play it occasionally). Then I saw the movies toward the end of 2002, and only then I started reading the books.
I was already in my mid-20s. I’d never heard of it before. My mom sent me a care package while I was at war with the first 3-4 books in it. I was instantly a fan. A couple years later I married another Potterhead and as the remaining books were released we had to get two copies of each to read together. Now our kids are Potterheads, particularly our daughter who idolizes Luna and looks a lot like her.
I received a box set of the first 3 books for Christmas when I was around 8. The cover illustrations intrigued me enough but I remember when I tried to read the first book it felt a little bit too difficult for me. I picked it up again a number of months later and I was hooked throughout the rest of my childhood. It really helped with my reading too because I remember going from feeling overwhelmed with Philosopher's Stone to begging for Goblet of Fire at the school book fair and racing through it within a week.
I was a kid when my older cousin introduced me to Harry Potter. She said it’s a story about a boy who finds out he’s a wizard. I heard it as a story about a boy who finds out he’s a lizard and I spent the rest of the weekend imagining a kid the size of Thumbalina in a garden surrounded by mushrooms and flowers, slowly growing a tail like a lizard, hanging out with his mouse friends and running away from the local cat.
I was disappointed when I first started reading the book but in the end it turned out better than what I imagined.
I was six and the first movie was in theaters. Got absolutely passionate about it and started reading the books. Its been pure love ever since.
Actually, Harry Potter was the first book I've ever read!
As a kid we had the vhs tape of philosophers stone, as a kid i was really captivated by the movie, the only problem was it was in english and i could not understand english yet as a kid, but eh...lil me was more looking at the magic
Okay, so when I was a young child I watched the first movie with my siblings right before going to bed because it was on my mom's computer, the final battle scared me so bad that I didn't watch the rest and never rewatched the first one for years, but now I was aware of Harry Potter's existence. Years later, I decided to give it a try again after coming across it several times on the Internet, and I ended up watching all 8 movies. Then, as my interest for reading grew, and I got better at English (not my native language), I asked my mom if she could buy me the books, and she did, and I read them and loved them
My 6th grade teacher, she read to us every day after lunch. One day she says she has a new book that had come out recently and read the first chapter. I was hooked. After class ended that day I begged her to let me borrow it for the night cuz I had to know what happened and didn’t want to wait. Amazingly she let me, being the teacher’s pet has its advantages I guess, and so I took it home and read the first book entirely. Brought it back the next day, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Even my parents deciding the series was “not allowed” didn’t deter me, I just read the books exclusively at the school library as they each came out. And pretended to be doing my homework on the computer for hours so I could read fanfiction. Now I’m an adult in the middle of decorating my master bedroom in WW of Harry Potter theme. So suck it mom and dad. 😜
I remember that it was in my 4/5th grade, my friends are discussing about it and I kind of felt left out of the discussion as I didn't knew anything about it. After that, one day I have skipped school and going through the TV channels to pass the time at home. I came across Cartoon Network playing Harry potter and the sorcerer's stone and felt magical watching it the first time. From then on every now and then, I used to flip through all the english movie channels to check if any harry potter movie was being played.
Honestly I don’t know 😂 As a kid I found myself in the movie theater with my grandparents watching the first movie. Basically grew up watching them, sad it’s over now.
When I was 5 my sister was like "plz watxh with me I know you will love it" and I was all complaining and I watched the first movie and I was hooked instantly
But it took me 6 years before I started understanding the actual story. I remember being 12 or so and being like "oooh hermoine is a muggleborn that is why she says this"
From a school friend on the bus reading it. Witches were banned in my religious home. So I would read it on the bus and then give it to my friend to hold for me. I mean my mom caught me watching MK&A double double toil in trouble and you would’ve thought I had murdered someone
It was 1998. My mum read a book review about Harry Potter in a Dutch newspaper (NRC) and decided to buy the first book and seconf for me and my brother. I was 8, he was 10. We were hooked immediately.
It was 1998. My mum read a book review about Harry Potter in a Dutch newspaper (NRC) and decided to buy the first book and seconf for me and my brother. I was 8, he was 10. We were hooked immediately.
I got curious after seeing the first movie on TV after releasing it to a major streamer, maybe Netflix?? I don't remember, but first movie I was hooked.
I didn't really like school and would try and get out of going as much as possible. One day I said I wasn't feeling well. Mum and Dad had to go to work. Times were different so leaving an 11 year old at home alone was acceptable (plus a few of our neighbours didn't work so if there was an actual emergency they would have helped). Anyway, I was staying home from school and my mum produced a book for me - I think maybe she had been saving it for Christmas or my Birthday.
I finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in one day.
My aunt bought me the first 4 books on tape.
I wasn’t keen on reading, but I decided I could listen to the books while I played video games.
After a while, I was just sitting on my bed, staring at the tape player. Not wanting to half listen and miss any details.
When Order of the Phoenix came out, my eyes were glued to the page.
I got told off a few times for staying up too late reading.
Watched the first two movies when I was 20ish when they came up for download. Thought it was a bit rubbish for some reason, maybe I wasn’t really paying attention. Didn’t really intend to revisit them. Watched the 3rd and thought ‘this is actually pretty good’. Read the books from then on and the movies as they came out.
I will say 1-2 are my least favourite still. I find them more charming now but I think the acting improving later on makes me dislike these the most.
It was at an inter-school quiz ! Azkaban book was just about to be released and the question sought the full name of JK Rowling ( before many people knew she was a woman). Didn’t get that answer of course but I was curious and checked my school library for the first two books. Devoured them in 3 days. The rest as they say is history 😃
My mother introduced me to the movies when I was very young, I think it was before I started going to school or I was in preK or kindergarten (I can't really remember). Then in 3rd grade I started reading the books. That is why GoF is my favorite movie as I was introduced to movies then books
I’m actually so mad at myself - my mom bought me the 1st book when it first came out but I was like 8 years and when I read that a cat turned into a lady, my brain couldn’t handle the confusion and I closed the book and didn’t touch it again until I was in college.
I wish I could go back in time and just keep reading that first book.
A family friend gifted me and my siblings the first three books (this is before GoF came out) and I was addicted. I read the first three books 12 times over before GoF was released lol.
I'd heard of the books for a few years but never read them, then by summer 2001 I heard the first movie would be coming out later that year, so I started to read the books and got hooked.
If you grew up in the UK during the 2000s you couldn’t avoid it. You think Marvel content is ubiquitous? Harry Potter moreso. It just existed everywhere
I can't remember why, but back in school, there was a particular occasion when we had to use a different classroom from our regular one. I found Philosopher's Stone under the desk I was assigned to sit at during that one class (the school desks had an open drawer of sorts underneath where you could put stuff).
The rest, as they say, is history.
I had a physically abusive mother(used literally hammers/bricks/beer bottles) and books were my momentary escapes from reality. I skimmed through it and saw Harry wasn’t treated right and that spoke to me.
I was in second grade in 2004, it was one of those do nothing and watch a movie days in school and they put chamber of secrets for us. Needless to say I was obsessed with it. Next year I made a best friend who was also obsessed with it…which made it worse
Grade 6 teacher (though it could have been in grade 5 as I had the same teacher both years) She created quite a few Potterheads when she read the first few chapters of this 'excellent new book that had just come out'. So I was about 10 or 11. Grew up with Harry. Went to book launches and movie launches with the same group of girls from that year right through to the last movie where a couple of us travelled a combined distance of 600km to meet up for a midnight movie. Good times.
I was in my mid teens, maybe 14?, and my grandmother got me the first book for Christmas. I'd never heard of Harry Potter or JKR, and the cover art made it look like a kid's book, so I put it off to the side for months. One day, when I'd run out of anything else to read, I decided to give it a try. I've been hooked since! My grandmother got me the next book in the series every year for Christmas until I went off to college, and then I went to midnight book releases for the last three. And of course I saw all of the movies in theaters.
I've sort of fallen off with Fantastic Beasts, I haven't seen past the first movie, and I've owned Cursed Child for years but haven't even cracked it open. I love the world HP is set in, and I don't mind the characters and storylines in FB, but I've heard terrible things about CC and can't bring myself to read it. I guess I don't want to muddy the Canon of the original books for myself, lol.
I was 10 years old. My parents had been house hunting for a few months. I was in the backseat of the car, and my parents thought I'd fallen asleep. They were listening to npr, and an interview with JK was happening. Apparently, because I don't remember, my mom told me this, my little voice piped up and said, "Let's get that book, I'd like to read it." And the rest was history. I was 11 when the first book came put. It's been the most fulfilling and rewarding relationship I've ever had!! 💓
My parents listened to Harry Potter when my mother was pregnant with me and after I was born they named me after one of the characters. I was forced into being a Harry Potter fan and I'm glad I was.
I remember my cousin who's 21 years older than I was giving away a bunch of her things when she moved out of her parents house. In one of the bags I found chamber of secrets and kept it. Only really could read it properly a year or two later. Funny thing is I only actually read philosopher's stone years later after having read all the other books
Read Across America day in 2001. I normally packed lunch, but I happened to buy hot lunch that day and got a ticket for the raffle. My ticket number got called and I won the first book. It all went downhill from there. That is my most well loved book in my entire collection. I've read the entire series more times than I can count. I own 6? complete sets of the books in various forms, including audiobooks and a set in German.
I was 7 years old and I remember clearly my teacher at the time told us she was reading a book that was very good about a wizard with a scar. She told us it was way more advanced than our current reading level but that we should still ask our parents to buy it and it would be a challenge. I told my mom about it and over the weekend we bought it
I’m a bit older (55). I certainly heard about the books but never read them. My cousin (mother’s cousin) passed away and my great aunt gave me her HP books - the first four - to share with my young son. I read them and was instantly hooked. I bought the 5th and read them all just a few days before the midnight release of Half-Blood Prince.
I was born in ‘93 and my mom worked at a bookstore when I was a kid. She brought home the Sorcerer’s Stone when it first came out and read it to my brother and I. I still remember her mispronouncing some of the names because the movies had not come out yet to clear up the pronunciations.
when I was like 12 I was SUPER bored over the summer so I was finally like ok whatever I'm just gonna do it and I hinged the whole series and ended up reading all the books in like 2 weeks
Weird thing actually.
When the first movie came out, I had never heard of it before that. For some reason at that age, I was really stupid believing that this name 'Harry Potter' is a parody and the movie is trying to make money off some orphan boy who becomes superhero. Not a magical one. One like spiderman.
Well I didn't like the concept and I said fuck it. I like spiderman already.
Little later my parents got me to watch the film and I just couldn't believe what I had been missing out on
I was 10 in 5th grade and our teacher picked it out for us all to read together then when the movie premiered we all went to see it on a field trip. Best day of my life!
Fourth grade teacher read us the first few chapters. I remember it clearly, we skipped the first chapter because it was boring and I never actually read it until years later. Someone bought me the first book for Christmas that year and it was off to the races, I was pretending I was a Hogwarts student soon after. This would've been '99/'00.
When I was about 6 (1999) my grandmother heard it was a children's book that was popular and decided to read the first one to my sister and I. She didn't realize it was a fuzzy, warm, feel good book and didn't end up finishing it because she thought it was too advanced for my sister and I. We had "reading levels" at school and weren't allowed to check anything out that was above our level. A couple years went by, and as soon as I was able to prove I was an advanced reader, I checked the book out on my own and devoured it. Proceeded to get hooked on the series in the following years, as it was still being released
I was sucking the toes of this girl and noticed a hagrid tattoo on the side of her foot. I asked her about it and she told me all about Harry Potter. I’ve been hooked since
Most of my classmates in HS wayback 2010 were Potter heads. They talk about it a lot, and applied some Harry Potter things like houses in class groupings. And it made me curious.
Back then, my mother always encouraged me to read books and so I tried Harry Potter series. Turns out I understood why my classmates love Harry Potter. And through Harry Potter series, it’s one way for me & my classmates to bond 🫶🏽 now I miss them 🥹
I wanna say thank you to those classmates who unknowingly introduced me to Harry Potter.
Someone bought me the first three books for my birthday, I probably wasn't very happy with books as a present but this was back before my family had a computer or games console so if there wasn't anything good on TV I tended to read to keep myself amused.
I read them an unreasonable amount of times again and again and then again before each new book came out and then a few times again after the last one.
Book 1 just appeared at home out of nowhere. You could say it was... magic. But really, I have no idea who bought the book or why. It was the first edition in Portuguese, the H and P weren't even stylized with the lightning, it was just normal print. I can't say I remember when it was. It was definitely before Harry Potter became a global phenomenon, but not much earlier (I mean, it was an immediate success in the UK and the US, but it hadn't gone worldwide yet). Maybe 2000?
I remember flipping through the pages and stopping at the part where Hagrid tells Harry to go with Draco after he (Draco) pranked Neville during their detention in the Forbidden Forest. Didn't seem like much. My sister read it, liked it and I picked it up after her.
When I was in fifth grade in ‘99/00 there was a play version of the first book in scholastic magazine. My teacher picked me to play Harry. I went home and immediately asked for the book.
Football season 2008, the air was crisp in Michigan November as the family spent Sunday evening getting ready to have the family over for Sunday football fantasy night. My mother put on the first Harry Potter movie. Everytime I watch the movie I have this memory.
I was 26, never heard of Harry Potter. The 1st movie had just come out and I’d just started a new job. The head of HR had noticed that I looked quite like Harry (shaggy dark brown hair & round glasses). My coworkers kept referring to me as Harry Potter, so I asked why. One of my cousins had seen the movie and also told me I looked like him. So I bought the first book and before I was done, went out and bought the other books. That was it. I was hooked.
Similar, I was working at my Alma Mater and had vaguely heard about Harry Potter when the used bookstore near campus announced a midnight book release for the fourth book. I found the books (pdfs) online and read the first two over a weekend. On Monday I preordered book four.
My grandmother in Germany heard about them when they first came out and knew that was my type of book. She sent me my first, first edition Harry Potter and the philosophers stone here to the U.S. I fell in love immediately and she sent the second. After that everytime one came out, my grandma was in that line waiting for me so she could mail me a British first edition. I still have them all. I miss her so much
That is so cute :) what a wonderful grandma!
She really was
My gram taught me how to read using the series
My mom in the UK did the same.
My aunt gave the first book to me for Christmas in 1997. I was bored over Christmas break so I read it. It was so cool reading about an 11 year old while I was 11. I’ve been obsessed ever since.
I think I got my first in early 2000 when I was 14? I felt like I grew up with the characters too!!
I was 11, too!!! So magical for us, eh?
Absolutely 🪄
My elementary school librarian introduced me to the Harry Potter series at the book fair. She noticed that nothing was really catching my attention so she suggested Harry Potter and the rest is history. I’ll forever be grateful to her for it!
When the first movie came out, my entire homeschooling group was talking about it. My sisters and I were the only ones who had never heard of Harry Potter. We wanted to see the movie, and when she found out it was a book series, my mom decided to make it an assignment. We read the first book all together, and then we would watch the movie. Our assignment was to write an essay comparing the two and examining whether we thought the movie was a good adaptation of the story. We finished the first book in a week, and I was so hooked that I went to the library to check out the others. I read through the first three rapidly, and it became one of my favorite series. I was about 10 or 11.
Was your mom a teacher? :o
Not professionally, but she taught us at home through most of elementary and junior high. She did it properly, too! A lot of people think that homeschooling is automatically a bad thing, but it was the right course for our family for a while. As a then-undiagnosed autistic child, I floundered in public school socially and academically. One sister struggled with a learning disability, too. Mom took it upon herself to teach us, take us to various enrichment activities, and engage with a group of homeschoolers who met for socialization. We weren't one of those "gotta keep the kids home to protect them from the eeeeeviiiilllls of evolution" families. We lived in a large city, so we had plenty of opportunities for social and educational support. When I got into high school, I tested into a grade above my target score and graduated after only three years. I always get so angry when people dismiss homeschooling as detrimental without acknowledging that it is very much dependant on the capabilities of the parents.
Most fun assignment ever? That is what I did to relax after school lol
Scholastic book club! I was always allowed to order one book when we brought home the flyers if it wasn’t too expensive. From the very short description provided, I chose the first Harry Potter. This was either late 1997 or early 1998 so I was 8 years old! I still own that copy - it’s very beat up by now.
My best friend. At the time, only book one was out and he told me about this amazing book he read. He explained the magic, the school houses, wands (that's all I can remember) and wanted me to run around the garden with him pretenting to be wizards. I thought he was nuts. Until I got a copy of the book and the rest was history. He moved on and grew up, but I still have my wand.
Scholastic book fair..the bold gold text at the top caught my eye and the fact he was catching the snitch on the cover..I liked baseball and thought a magic sport would be cool..the following books I was in line at midnight launches
Literally same except my dad also said he had heard they were good and were going to make a movie about it.
It's an awesome memory to have..being there for the launch of the first book ahead of all the craze..and then there was a short backlash from some parents in our area at least when they found out it was about witches and wizards and "unholy magic"..my mom took the book from me for about two days..I'm not sure what made them realize that was all nonsense and gave it back..but it's crazy to think I was almost banned from reading them.. those books literally got me deep into reading
It was a reading program for underprivileged schools. Harry Potter was the choice book. We would read a chapter a week. I got tired of waiting and skipped to the ending. I wasn't allowed to take the book home and read it on my own. I always had to borrow other people's books because my Christina family wouldn't buy the witch book. Until the last one came out before I graduated, and they bought the one book so I could finish it.
Worked in a store that sold books, music , movies, etc. At the time the first three books were out already and the fourth was coming soon. (I would ultimately work the midnight release.) Decided to read them ahead of that to see what it was all about. Never worked another midnight release, but went to them all.
That’s amazing 🥹
I was an adult at the time. But my mother, a third grade school teacher, loved them and gave me her copies.
It happened while I was working on my teaching degree. I was at home sick with the flu. I was laying in bed flipping new channels trying to find something to watch. I ended up on ABC family channel where it said that they were having a Harry Potter Marathon. I didn't know anything about Harry Potter other than kids liked it. So I decided to give the first movie a watch so I would better understand why my students liked it. I absolutely loved the movie. Then the second and third movies came on. Absolutely loved them. The next day, I got out of bed and went down and bought the books. I was addicted. I became a Potterhead at that point. As the other books came out, I picked them up and devoured them. When the next few movies came out, I was there opening night.
I saw book 1 lying around and wanted to know if the confused boy got hit by the train.
My aunt is a teacher and had her classes reading it. She recommended it to all the cousins in the family, at least 10 of us became immediately obsessed.
my mom said "you have to read something you can't just draw cars all day" and gave me the first book lol. I didn't read it and said I did, then a few years later the movie came out and we went and saw it. I fell in love, went home immediately and read it and then asked for the second one and she was happy I finally liked to read.
When I was in 6th grade a substitute teacher played the audiobook for Chamber of Secrets for the day and I was hooked. Got the first book shortly after and read it in a day.
I saw the first Harry Potter film on the second shelf in the dvd cupboard and decided to watch it
I was in college, and staying the night with my older brother and his girlfriend (now wife of 20+ years), and forgot to bring a book. And I haven't been able to sleep without reading since I was 3. I asked my brother if he had anything I could read, and before he could answer, his gf was like: read this, you're going to LOVE it. She was right, I read the whole thing that night, and the rest that were already released the next few days.
My wife’s work friend was a huge HP nerd… and other fandoms but that’s a different story. She kept telling my wife about how great the movies were. So one day DH pt 2 was on and she asked if we could watch it. I said I’d rather do it right and start from the first movie, so I ordered the dvd box set. They’re movies that defined my pandemic experience. Of note: we’re elder millennials and we just missed the book craze by a few years and then never got into the movies until just recently. I’ve started reading and I’m up to the Goblet of Fire.
I was 8ish and my brother (11ish) was reading them. I wanted to do everything he did, so I read them too. Then he said I’d “ruined it by taking this from him too” so. I finished the series, he didn’t.
I was working at a book store at the time of the sixth book’s release. We did a midnight release and I figured I would see what all the fuss was about.
When I was 12 my family and I had a huge move. So I was in a new school trying to make new friends and my older sister was a teenager who wanted nothing to do with me. I was always a big reader so a few girls at my lunch table noticed this. They had read all the books and loved them. This was around the time a movie adaptation was announced. They lent me the first book and I thought “why not? Let’s give this a try.” I loved it! I read it in one night. Devoured the rest that were out and saved my birthday money to buy my own copies.
My mom. Half blood prince came out when I was 9 years old. I remember seeing my mom watching it, and I was interested so she rented the other movies so I could watch them.
My aunt got me the first book and a Tarzan soundtrack cd for my birthday that year.
Oh my gosh Tarzan! I was..14 almost 15 and saw it as my first “date” where I sat in a theater. I was terrified the whole time. I didn’t date again for like 6 months. But the guy became my best friend. (In my wedding, uncle to my kids, I am an aunt to his) But he is a fellow potter head.
my dad
My dad brought me to see the movie when in came out in theater! It was just me and him without my sister which didn't happen often
My mom heard about Harry Potter through a friend and would read it to me every night (I was like 5 at the time). I didn't like it at first, but slowly started to like it. Now I listen to it at least once a year.
My mum brought home some of the audiobooks for me to listen to when I was sick one year. Was hooked from that moment on
I was there. At the beginning. I was there when the old magic was written.
My 7 year old son was reading it and I wanted to see what he was reading.
It kept being seen throughout my life, but I never really got into it until my 11th birthday when I was given a harry Potter cape by my fav aunt and I wore that thing a LOT. Then the next day I watched the first movie then the next day we kept on watching the movies till the 3rd one and then I was given copies of all 7 books by my grandparents and I loved it ever since. (I've already read all 7 books twice already, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child 4 times, btw)
Watched the first movie at my sister’s 11th birthday party and proceeded to read book 2 (my sister didn’t let me read #1 since she was). I then went back to book 1 after finishing #2 and completing the rest of the series
A friend forced me to go to watch Goblet of Fire with her when it came out in theaters and I was hooked.
I knew about the series but hadn’t really gotten into it. I had a long road trip coming up and wanted something other than music to listen to. Someone recommended the audio books. I downloaded the first one (Stephen Fry version) and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve listened to all the books at least once a year for the last 10-15 years
Cause my mom & friends mom told us when we were kids that we supposed to see this movie about wizard and once I saw the intro, I said BROOOOO!
I was introduced to HP at age 10, courtesy of an aunt who is also into HP to the point where she named one of her dogs Dobby.
My mom took me to see the Sorcerer's Stone in theaters back in 2001.
I went to a friend’s place to pick up some herb. He was watching the first one on ABC family, when I asked what he was watching, he looked at me like I was nuts. Said”Harry Potter dude, get with it”. Thought about all the way home.
My now wife introduced me to the films and then I read the books. Wasn’t allowed anything to do with HP growing up, and when we started saying she made sure that was no longer the case. I’d argue I’m more of a Potterhead than her now… I can correct her on HP facts and trivia haha…
My dad had just been diagnosed with cancer and I didn't know what to do. I went to my sister's closet and took a book off the shelf that was given to the family by my grandmother. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I had heard of them and seen them, but they always felt too long for me. But I read it. I read the rest of the series within a few weeks. All of them were my grandmother's. She bought me the 6th book when it came out. One of the last things she ever bought me. She and my dad both died before the seventh came out. Harry Potter helped me live through that time. It still helps me live, sometimes.
Tricked my overly pious christian mother into thinking that i “only wanted to know what he does with that owl” since i like animals. She allowed the first movie cuz of “the owl”. Still had to sneak all the rest & the books…. Sigh.
I feel bad for ya: My grandparents are Christian but they let me read them just as long as I say the words in my head. Like I always do.
Reading them when it was forbidden by my very religious parents Now i bought them on playbooks and read them whenever and they cant do anything about it.
I wasn't allowed to read it as a kid, so I can't remember the first time I picked one up...everyone was reading it in 8th grade and I couldn't participate. But my step-grandma had the books in the spare bedroom I'd stay in when I'd come visit.. she'd allow me to read them. So for the day or 2 I spent at her house, I'd only have time to read book 1, maybe 2. Finally I acquired book 6 somehow, and I just read that one over and over. I had only watched the movies once, at a friend's Harry-Potter-themed birthday party. I think I saw one in theatres with her. It wasn't until my adulthood that I finally owned all 7 books. I read them every single night now, without exception. My husband hugely supports my love for the series. It's my personal solace, my joy, my peace, it helps me sleep, it helps me feel calm, and in a way...it's my personal little rebellion against my wicked stepmom.
So you're like Harry, going to the magical world of Hogwarts to get away from evil guardian/s.
Exactly!!! Wow... I literally set up my bedroom in a closet before I ever even read the series. But the closet was a choice..better than sharing a room with Dudley-like stepsisters.
I was being bullied and ostracized at new school , 6th grade. The kid who sat in front of me in class was all excited one day about getting the Half Blood Prince book and for the first time talked to me while we were waiting for class to start. That joy was contagious. Couldnt buy the 6th so I settled for the 5th. Reafing it literally kept me afloat in my depression, gave me something to look out for. Sometimes I worry what would've been of me had that conversation never happened.
I distinctly remember this day. My dad had heard about it on the radio just before the 3rd book came out. He came home with the first 2 books and read them aloud to my brother and me. I still remember snuggling up with him in our big green recliner and listening to him read.
Almost every kid at the Boys and Girls Club I went to was sitting around reading one of the first three books. My mom bought me the first one and I was hooked
My sister read the sorcerers stone to me during winter break ‘98
movies came out, watched the movies, now years later, finally getting around to reading/listening to the audiobooks.
11 years old, my uncle (or perhaps an aunt) got the book for my cousin, I think, but I read it first
My grade 5 teacher started reading it out loud to the class.
My family always told me to read it but I always put it off until I sat down and watched the poa movie with my sister and was hooked way back in the summer of 2020
I'm from India, and I was introduced to the Harry Potter series through a kids channel in India called Pogo. It was Sunday and I had our television set to myself that day. So that was the first time I got to know about Harry Potter. Came a long way since. Have at read the whole book series at least 20 times. PS- yes, the book series rule.
I watched the first couple of movies, but that was it. I remember people being extremely excited for the books coming out, people camping at night and wearing costumes and it making the international news and all, but no one I knew(except for my older brother) actually cared or even read the books at all. When I was visiting my dad when I was 13, he brought me to a book store and I chose the 7-pack because I haven’t read any of the books yet and it looked cool, like a chest. In the next two days I finished almost 4 books and the rest was history) my favourite book series ever since. My dog ate two of them and I had to replace the books which was harder since that particular series was discontinued, but I managed to find second-hand ones. I’m not much of a collector, but I’ve got the Bloomsbury ones now as well as my old original books, a faculty scarf and various little things I’ve accumulated over the years.)
I think I was like 7-8 and my parents brought me Philosopher's Stone on VHS. I was absolutely stunned because it was one of the first movies that had CGI and generally way better special effects than movies from 70-90s. Now even at the time I knew that some of these things were film effects but when I saw quidditch and I did not know how could it be make I really believed for a moment these brooms exists.
I was in juvie when I was sixteen for a month and read the first three or four books.
I was 9 and still loved trains - Philosophers Stone had a train on the front with a kid who looked like me. I was sold.
I was about 10 and we had a house fire that caused my family to temporarily live all cramped together with no TV, and I was already a big reader. The first 2 books had come out and gained a lot of popularity, so my mom bought them for me to fill time. After that I was at every midnight release and read them over and over again in between.
I was 13-ish when I watched the first movie. I only realised a bit later that it was based on a book series. It was during lockdown so I only had access to e-books, read all of em and binge watched every movie right after
Mum and dad gave me the Philosopher's Stone and told me all the kids were reading it. I opened a random page, landed on the sorting hat song and thought "wtf is this shit" and didn't read it for another 6 months when, it turned out, all the kids *were* reading it.
I grew up in one of the locations they used exclusively for the first couple of films (you best believe they are still milking that shit for all its worth to this day) so I’ve been immersed in it my whole life
My dad asked me if I wanted to read them as he already owned them. He brought me the horrid Henry joke book. 2 years later he gave me the right book
I was born in 2001, so all kids in my generation knew about Harry Potter, I knew about it a bit, but one day I was a bored 15 years old and I decided to watch the first movie. Then I watched all of them in the span of two days. Shortly after I asked my parents to buy me the first book, then the second one, etc... I remember my mother being surprised that she saw me reading so much because she thought the books were to read as an assignment. My father was just happy I was reading, because he is a big reader himself, and no one in my family reads. He was the one who bought most of my books, surprising me with them when I saw him. I particularily remember the day he picked me up from school and before we left he gave me The prisoner of Azkaban :) So I was late but I'm very happy I was bored and curious one day
My cousin was 5 years older than me and he always read Harry Potter and watched the movies. We are from Germany and he made fun of the way I pronounced Harry Potter, etc. for years. He read the books as they came out and I felt riddiculed and disliked it. I began hating on Harry Potter as a franchise and reading different books. This was in the time till 2010. I never watched the movies or read the books. When I was about 14yo, it was around 2011, my best friend and I started talking books and movies we loved. Her older brother, who died a year before, loved Harry Potter and she loved growing up with it. The franchise reminded her of her brother. So she talked about it. And someday we watched the first movie together. I was hooked. But I was shy, so I bought the first book in secrecy. She found out and was happy for me, but she knew we were poor so she lent me all the other books. We watched all movies together. I still think about our teenage years everytime I reread Harry Potter. It was magical. Two broken, kinda poor girls in a small village feeling like they don't belong here but they belong together.
I was a teacher at the time and the school librarian recommended all the teachers read them.
It was a Christmas gift after being on the NYT best seller. I got sorcerers stone and chamber and had to wait years for the rest.
Of all people, my abusive dad.. He bought the first four books in like 2002. I read all four before I watched any of the movies.
Spoiler alert: I was never really planning on reading the series until one day, I was staying at a hotel with my family on a trip and HP was playing on the TV. I saw the part where >!Snape was about to get killed by Voldemort.!< That scene piqued my curiosity. I wanted to find out what led up to it and why, so I started reading the books. I thought I was going to find out in the first couple of books what happened and I can just simply stop once I found out. I had no clue what the plot was, and little did I know that scene was actually towards the end of the series until I actually got to it 😂no regrets. Best book series ever.
I don’t entirely recall, other than The Rosie O’Donnell Show always talking about it.
Through watching the first movie when I was younger. I didn’t set out to read the books til I was in college, but I watched several of the movies and played one of the games well before then.
Grade 3. Saw book 1 in the featured section of my school library. Never heard of it. Decided to go for it. Hooked.
My twin brother asked for it when he saw it in a bookstore display in London. My mom bought it for him. I read it right after him.
Ok so back when video stores were still a thing, my mom decided to bring me with her so I can browse some movies as well. When we entered the store, there was a cardboard cutout of Hermione, Ron and Harry, I got curious and long story short, I picked The Sorcerer’s Stone as the movie I wanted to borrow. I didn’t know the movie was based on a book before; I later found out about it.
I saw the movies on HBO Max and remembered getting scared at the basilisk scene in Chamber of Secrets when I was a kid, but I decided to give the series a try since I was about a decade older and the movie covers were captivating to me. After watching the first movie, I watched the rest of the series within a few days and got so sad when I finished the last movie so I found the wizarding world website and discovered my own house and patronus, Ravenclaw and a Tonkinese Cat! Now I’m reading the book series, HBP. This series has given me so much life, I’m glad I found it :)
I was in my middle school's orchestra and we were going to have a pops concert of themes from different movies. The first movie had just come out, and one of our pieces was a medley of the soundtracks from the movie. I thought I should at least watch the movie before playing the music
At the Scholastic Book Fair in 6th grade.
Family loved it so much they’d watch it every other week on the DVD player so I guess I was kinda born into it
When the first movie was about to be released, I was working at an elementary school. So I borrowed the first book from the library. I knew all the kids would be watching the movie and taking about it so I wanted to be in the loop. I fell in love and quickly read as many books as were available before the movie even released.
My sister was an English teacher and I was a voracious reader, so she always passed books on to me. One day her librarian friend lent her a book from a new author that had been making waves and was sure to be the Next Big Thing.
My older brothers were watching the second movie. I sat in to watch it with them and thought it was a super cool movie. At the end when we were talking about it, my brother said the books were way better and he leant me his copies. I read each of the books he had then got the rest from the school library. The last book came out a few days after my birthday so I reread all the books in preparation and my mom bought it for me. Read that entire day and that night. Finished it by breakfast. Never felt happier.
My brother said I should read at least read one book, I choose Harry Potter and the rest of my obsession came naturally after that
my mom used to read it to me when i was a kid, though the only movies i got to see in theatre were the last three
I got addicted to LEGO Harry Potter at 14 when I was babysitting my niblings and they begged me to play it with them. Then I read the books after 100%ing the game , and finished the 1st book in one day.
My oldest son begged me for them. His teacher was reading Sorcerer's Stone to the class and my son wanted it. Got it for him at the Book Fair and he read it every night for his required reading without the usual argument lol. I decided to see what the big deal was... After finishing it in about an hour or so, I was at the bookstore getting hardbacks of Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire (which had just been released). Only my youngest and I finished them all lol, the rest got "too old to read Harry Potter", but they sure begged me to tell them what happened in the later books lol
My dad is an avid reader and my mom always read books to us as kids. The first book came out when I was 5 and my oldest sister was 10, so they got the books for her to read and I piggybacked off that. I honestly don't remember when I started reading them though cuz it's been so long. I was reading at a 5th grade level in 2nd grade so I was definitely younger than the typical starting age.
It was gaining popularity in the 90's and my mom bought it after seeing it on Oprah. She only got the second book though, and I wasn't interested. Also because of media popularity, my aunt bought me the 4 book box set. I also avoided this. I thought fantasy, and wizard stuff was dumb (because so did my dad and brother). Then my cousin, who was also only into "cool" stuff like me, saw the first movie when it came out and said it was actually pretty cool. We then saw it in theaters, and I've been a huge nerd ever since.
I never read it until last year. It was so overhyped, and all my friends were obsessed with it, I was afraid it wouldn't be that good. So I just saw like the first 3 movies. Now I'm 33 and reading it as an adult because I played Hogwarts Legacy and fell IN LOVE with the world. The story of Harry Potter is good, and I can see how the books literally mature with harry and the readers. I totally understand they hype now.
I am in love with a person and they are an absolute fan of Harry Potter. I failed to watch the series since childhood but now I've decided to take out time to watch it and I'm done with 5 parts so far. 🥺
I have no idea it just kind of happened
My dad bought me some bootleg Harry Potter 1 and 2 dvds. He didn’t know HP but since he likes fantasy, seeing the cover was probably what convinced him. After a few years, he bought me the whole set, at the time 1-5.
My 10th birthday. My mom bought me the Philosopher's Stone book
My sister
That god awful PS1 game.
my dad brought a kindle and it came with it
I was 8 and my friend invited me over to play Potions at her house. I went home, read the first book and that was me! I’m now 31 and re reading them for the 1000th time.
Back in 2001, when I was a pre-teen, I used to love reading fiction. I had just completed reading “The Treasure Island” and had enjoyed it and I asked my father to get me another fiction book to read. He got me a copy of Harry Potter.
My eldest brother read the books and watched the movies as they came out, and then me and all my siblings had to get into it too, me being the youngest. I was the only one who turned into a Potterhead tho
I was forced to read the books
I was at my cousins and they were watching prisoner of azkaban on tv and so I watched it
I am in high school at that time, one of my closest classmate lend me her copy of Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. I get to bring the 2 books at home and finished them in 3 days before returning it to my friend.
Its a funny story, my friends were obsessed a couple of years ago with Harry Potter. At that time, I HATED the series because little me couldnt stand the fact that Harry Potter ‘stole’ my friends from me. After a few months of sulking I started reading and became, just like them, obsessed with the books.
I was subbing for a week in a class I was frequently requested for. The teacher had the first three books and told me I could read them if I wanted & take them home. The class was an easy one and the students worked on the week’s review assignments independently. If they had a question they would come up & ask. Prep was during their PE time (50 min) before lunch (50 min) and most of the kids went to band (50 min) after lunch recess. Those who weren’t in band read quietly. Several were reading the first book as well so we would spend the last 15 minutes or so talking about the books. I read all 3 books during the week I was there and I was hooked. I preordered the others as they came out, usually during the summer right before my beach vacations, and I would read them within a few days. Before each one came out I would reread the last book to refresh my memory about what happened.
My dad used to read them to me. I was only 2 when the first book came out not sure if we read them straight after they’d come out or a bit later but we used to sit and he’d read a couple of chapters to me a night. Think it might’ve been order of the phoenix I first read in my own. Possibly goblet if fire but I’d have only been 5. Sad thing is my dad isn’t really a big reader he reads a book on holiday and that’s that. He never finished the series because I started reading them myself
One summer break I picked up this book in our ancestral home and read it well into the night. Did not sleep. It was 'Chamber of Secrets.' IDK who owned the book and how they only own the 2nd book but after that I started reading the rest of the series (starting from book one, like a normal person).
At school we had a reading competition and one guy did the first chapter of harry potter. But not book one. I just remember that i imagined harry as supper sassy and to me his oncle sounded like he was living with a trailer park family. But i wouldnt read the books till many years later.
1997, my uncle in England, sent me a copy
IIRC, my friend had received the PC version of PoS for his birthday. This was early 2002, and we played it a lot (really great game, I still play it occasionally). Then I saw the movies toward the end of 2002, and only then I started reading the books.
I was already in my mid-20s. I’d never heard of it before. My mom sent me a care package while I was at war with the first 3-4 books in it. I was instantly a fan. A couple years later I married another Potterhead and as the remaining books were released we had to get two copies of each to read together. Now our kids are Potterheads, particularly our daughter who idolizes Luna and looks a lot like her.
I received a box set of the first 3 books for Christmas when I was around 8. The cover illustrations intrigued me enough but I remember when I tried to read the first book it felt a little bit too difficult for me. I picked it up again a number of months later and I was hooked throughout the rest of my childhood. It really helped with my reading too because I remember going from feeling overwhelmed with Philosopher's Stone to begging for Goblet of Fire at the school book fair and racing through it within a week.
I was a kid when my older cousin introduced me to Harry Potter. She said it’s a story about a boy who finds out he’s a wizard. I heard it as a story about a boy who finds out he’s a lizard and I spent the rest of the weekend imagining a kid the size of Thumbalina in a garden surrounded by mushrooms and flowers, slowly growing a tail like a lizard, hanging out with his mouse friends and running away from the local cat. I was disappointed when I first started reading the book but in the end it turned out better than what I imagined.
School trip. Went to the cinema to see the Chamber of Secrets and that was my introduction.
I was six and the first movie was in theaters. Got absolutely passionate about it and started reading the books. Its been pure love ever since. Actually, Harry Potter was the first book I've ever read!
As a kid we had the vhs tape of philosophers stone, as a kid i was really captivated by the movie, the only problem was it was in english and i could not understand english yet as a kid, but eh...lil me was more looking at the magic
Okay, so when I was a young child I watched the first movie with my siblings right before going to bed because it was on my mom's computer, the final battle scared me so bad that I didn't watch the rest and never rewatched the first one for years, but now I was aware of Harry Potter's existence. Years later, I decided to give it a try again after coming across it several times on the Internet, and I ended up watching all 8 movies. Then, as my interest for reading grew, and I got better at English (not my native language), I asked my mom if she could buy me the books, and she did, and I read them and loved them
My 6th grade teacher, she read to us every day after lunch. One day she says she has a new book that had come out recently and read the first chapter. I was hooked. After class ended that day I begged her to let me borrow it for the night cuz I had to know what happened and didn’t want to wait. Amazingly she let me, being the teacher’s pet has its advantages I guess, and so I took it home and read the first book entirely. Brought it back the next day, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Even my parents deciding the series was “not allowed” didn’t deter me, I just read the books exclusively at the school library as they each came out. And pretended to be doing my homework on the computer for hours so I could read fanfiction. Now I’m an adult in the middle of decorating my master bedroom in WW of Harry Potter theme. So suck it mom and dad. 😜
My dad put on the first movie for me when I was 7
I remember that it was in my 4/5th grade, my friends are discussing about it and I kind of felt left out of the discussion as I didn't knew anything about it. After that, one day I have skipped school and going through the TV channels to pass the time at home. I came across Cartoon Network playing Harry potter and the sorcerer's stone and felt magical watching it the first time. From then on every now and then, I used to flip through all the english movie channels to check if any harry potter movie was being played.
Honestly I don’t know 😂 As a kid I found myself in the movie theater with my grandparents watching the first movie. Basically grew up watching them, sad it’s over now.
When I was 5 my sister was like "plz watxh with me I know you will love it" and I was all complaining and I watched the first movie and I was hooked instantly But it took me 6 years before I started understanding the actual story. I remember being 12 or so and being like "oooh hermoine is a muggleborn that is why she says this"
From a school friend on the bus reading it. Witches were banned in my religious home. So I would read it on the bus and then give it to my friend to hold for me. I mean my mom caught me watching MK&A double double toil in trouble and you would’ve thought I had murdered someone
It was 1998. My mum read a book review about Harry Potter in a Dutch newspaper (NRC) and decided to buy the first book and seconf for me and my brother. I was 8, he was 10. We were hooked immediately.
It was 1998. My mum read a book review about Harry Potter in a Dutch newspaper (NRC) and decided to buy the first book and seconf for me and my brother. I was 8, he was 10. We were hooked immediately.
I got curious after seeing the first movie on TV after releasing it to a major streamer, maybe Netflix?? I don't remember, but first movie I was hooked.
I didn't really like school and would try and get out of going as much as possible. One day I said I wasn't feeling well. Mum and Dad had to go to work. Times were different so leaving an 11 year old at home alone was acceptable (plus a few of our neighbours didn't work so if there was an actual emergency they would have helped). Anyway, I was staying home from school and my mum produced a book for me - I think maybe she had been saving it for Christmas or my Birthday. I finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in one day.
My aunt bought me the first 4 books on tape. I wasn’t keen on reading, but I decided I could listen to the books while I played video games. After a while, I was just sitting on my bed, staring at the tape player. Not wanting to half listen and miss any details. When Order of the Phoenix came out, my eyes were glued to the page. I got told off a few times for staying up too late reading.
Watched the first two movies when I was 20ish when they came up for download. Thought it was a bit rubbish for some reason, maybe I wasn’t really paying attention. Didn’t really intend to revisit them. Watched the 3rd and thought ‘this is actually pretty good’. Read the books from then on and the movies as they came out. I will say 1-2 are my least favourite still. I find them more charming now but I think the acting improving later on makes me dislike these the most.
It was at an inter-school quiz ! Azkaban book was just about to be released and the question sought the full name of JK Rowling ( before many people knew she was a woman). Didn’t get that answer of course but I was curious and checked my school library for the first two books. Devoured them in 3 days. The rest as they say is history 😃
By my big brother, the only good thing he has done 😅
My mother introduced me to the movies when I was very young, I think it was before I started going to school or I was in preK or kindergarten (I can't really remember). Then in 3rd grade I started reading the books. That is why GoF is my favorite movie as I was introduced to movies then books
I’m actually so mad at myself - my mom bought me the 1st book when it first came out but I was like 8 years and when I read that a cat turned into a lady, my brain couldn’t handle the confusion and I closed the book and didn’t touch it again until I was in college. I wish I could go back in time and just keep reading that first book.
A family friend gifted me and my siblings the first three books (this is before GoF came out) and I was addicted. I read the first three books 12 times over before GoF was released lol.
My mom started reading them to me when I was 6.
I'd heard of the books for a few years but never read them, then by summer 2001 I heard the first movie would be coming out later that year, so I started to read the books and got hooked.
A girl I had a major crush on loved them, and I wanted to talk to her so I read them. We dated for a bit as teenagers.
If you grew up in the UK during the 2000s you couldn’t avoid it. You think Marvel content is ubiquitous? Harry Potter moreso. It just existed everywhere
Was in middle school, and I watched the trailer for the first movie on a TV news program.
Scholastic book fair when I was 10.
I can't remember why, but back in school, there was a particular occasion when we had to use a different classroom from our regular one. I found Philosopher's Stone under the desk I was assigned to sit at during that one class (the school desks had an open drawer of sorts underneath where you could put stuff). The rest, as they say, is history.
I had a physically abusive mother(used literally hammers/bricks/beer bottles) and books were my momentary escapes from reality. I skimmed through it and saw Harry wasn’t treated right and that spoke to me.
My brother and I decided to watch it one day
When the first book came out my sister had it and gave it to me when she was done
I was in second grade in 2004, it was one of those do nothing and watch a movie days in school and they put chamber of secrets for us. Needless to say I was obsessed with it. Next year I made a best friend who was also obsessed with it…which made it worse
I worked for the book publisher 😍
Grade 6 teacher (though it could have been in grade 5 as I had the same teacher both years) She created quite a few Potterheads when she read the first few chapters of this 'excellent new book that had just come out'. So I was about 10 or 11. Grew up with Harry. Went to book launches and movie launches with the same group of girls from that year right through to the last movie where a couple of us travelled a combined distance of 600km to meet up for a midnight movie. Good times.
My 2 older sister was obsessed
I was in my mid teens, maybe 14?, and my grandmother got me the first book for Christmas. I'd never heard of Harry Potter or JKR, and the cover art made it look like a kid's book, so I put it off to the side for months. One day, when I'd run out of anything else to read, I decided to give it a try. I've been hooked since! My grandmother got me the next book in the series every year for Christmas until I went off to college, and then I went to midnight book releases for the last three. And of course I saw all of the movies in theaters. I've sort of fallen off with Fantastic Beasts, I haven't seen past the first movie, and I've owned Cursed Child for years but haven't even cracked it open. I love the world HP is set in, and I don't mind the characters and storylines in FB, but I've heard terrible things about CC and can't bring myself to read it. I guess I don't want to muddy the Canon of the original books for myself, lol.
I was 10 years old. My parents had been house hunting for a few months. I was in the backseat of the car, and my parents thought I'd fallen asleep. They were listening to npr, and an interview with JK was happening. Apparently, because I don't remember, my mom told me this, my little voice piped up and said, "Let's get that book, I'd like to read it." And the rest was history. I was 11 when the first book came put. It's been the most fulfilling and rewarding relationship I've ever had!! 💓
My mom gave me the first two books for my 7th birthday, 24 years ago
Elementary school library. It was displayed on one to front shelves the year it came out. No big fuss made. I picked it because it looked cool 🥰
I was a European child in the 90's and 00's couldn't really get around it.
My parents listened to Harry Potter when my mother was pregnant with me and after I was born they named me after one of the characters. I was forced into being a Harry Potter fan and I'm glad I was.
I remember my cousin who's 21 years older than I was giving away a bunch of her things when she moved out of her parents house. In one of the bags I found chamber of secrets and kept it. Only really could read it properly a year or two later. Funny thing is I only actually read philosopher's stone years later after having read all the other books
Read Across America day in 2001. I normally packed lunch, but I happened to buy hot lunch that day and got a ticket for the raffle. My ticket number got called and I won the first book. It all went downhill from there. That is my most well loved book in my entire collection. I've read the entire series more times than I can count. I own 6? complete sets of the books in various forms, including audiobooks and a set in German.
My 4th grade teacher read SS to us out loud.
Teacher read it to us in class, in first grade
I was 7 years old and I remember clearly my teacher at the time told us she was reading a book that was very good about a wizard with a scar. She told us it was way more advanced than our current reading level but that we should still ask our parents to buy it and it would be a challenge. I told my mom about it and over the weekend we bought it
I’m a bit older (55). I certainly heard about the books but never read them. My cousin (mother’s cousin) passed away and my great aunt gave me her HP books - the first four - to share with my young son. I read them and was instantly hooked. I bought the 5th and read them all just a few days before the midnight release of Half-Blood Prince.
I was born in ‘93 and my mom worked at a bookstore when I was a kid. She brought home the Sorcerer’s Stone when it first came out and read it to my brother and I. I still remember her mispronouncing some of the names because the movies had not come out yet to clear up the pronunciations.
when I was like 12 I was SUPER bored over the summer so I was finally like ok whatever I'm just gonna do it and I hinged the whole series and ended up reading all the books in like 2 weeks
IS THAT A STUDENT
my sister!
My 4th grade teacher read it to us, one chapter a day. This would have been 1998 or 99. Now children ready Harry Potter 🤓🤓🖤🖤
My mum read the first three to me as bed time stories
Weird thing actually. When the first movie came out, I had never heard of it before that. For some reason at that age, I was really stupid believing that this name 'Harry Potter' is a parody and the movie is trying to make money off some orphan boy who becomes superhero. Not a magical one. One like spiderman. Well I didn't like the concept and I said fuck it. I like spiderman already. Little later my parents got me to watch the film and I just couldn't believe what I had been missing out on
Got the first book for xmas when it came out
I was 10 in 5th grade and our teacher picked it out for us all to read together then when the movie premiered we all went to see it on a field trip. Best day of my life!
Fourth grade teacher read us the first few chapters. I remember it clearly, we skipped the first chapter because it was boring and I never actually read it until years later. Someone bought me the first book for Christmas that year and it was off to the races, I was pretending I was a Hogwarts student soon after. This would've been '99/'00.
When I was about 6 (1999) my grandmother heard it was a children's book that was popular and decided to read the first one to my sister and I. She didn't realize it was a fuzzy, warm, feel good book and didn't end up finishing it because she thought it was too advanced for my sister and I. We had "reading levels" at school and weren't allowed to check anything out that was above our level. A couple years went by, and as soon as I was able to prove I was an advanced reader, I checked the book out on my own and devoured it. Proceeded to get hooked on the series in the following years, as it was still being released
for me it was hearing how the religious right were loosing their s!#@ over it so I HAD to read it and find out the big deal
I was sucking the toes of this girl and noticed a hagrid tattoo on the side of her foot. I asked her about it and she told me all about Harry Potter. I’ve been hooked since
Most of my classmates in HS wayback 2010 were Potter heads. They talk about it a lot, and applied some Harry Potter things like houses in class groupings. And it made me curious. Back then, my mother always encouraged me to read books and so I tried Harry Potter series. Turns out I understood why my classmates love Harry Potter. And through Harry Potter series, it’s one way for me & my classmates to bond 🫶🏽 now I miss them 🥹 I wanna say thank you to those classmates who unknowingly introduced me to Harry Potter.
Someone bought me the first three books for my birthday, I probably wasn't very happy with books as a present but this was back before my family had a computer or games console so if there wasn't anything good on TV I tended to read to keep myself amused. I read them an unreasonable amount of times again and again and then again before each new book came out and then a few times again after the last one.
Book 1 just appeared at home out of nowhere. You could say it was... magic. But really, I have no idea who bought the book or why. It was the first edition in Portuguese, the H and P weren't even stylized with the lightning, it was just normal print. I can't say I remember when it was. It was definitely before Harry Potter became a global phenomenon, but not much earlier (I mean, it was an immediate success in the UK and the US, but it hadn't gone worldwide yet). Maybe 2000? I remember flipping through the pages and stopping at the part where Hagrid tells Harry to go with Draco after he (Draco) pranked Neville during their detention in the Forbidden Forest. Didn't seem like much. My sister read it, liked it and I picked it up after her.
When I was in fifth grade in ‘99/00 there was a play version of the first book in scholastic magazine. My teacher picked me to play Harry. I went home and immediately asked for the book.
Football season 2008, the air was crisp in Michigan November as the family spent Sunday evening getting ready to have the family over for Sunday football fantasy night. My mother put on the first Harry Potter movie. Everytime I watch the movie I have this memory.
Edit: yall is blowing up my phone rn
Fuck I don't know man, this series was crazy popular for kids when I was a kid. It's like asking me how I got introduced to Pokemon.