Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I have very little to add to the glowing reviews that JK Rowling's Harry Potter series has generated, but again, I found this book much more entertaining than the movie and worth the read. In this second novel, the world of Harry Potter again bridges the gap between fantasy and reality in breathtaking ways, yet it is still somehow grounded in its details -- Hogwarts feels like such a real place in the novels, with its recognizable personalities and slight exaggerations of people types. Rowling is almost Dickensian in her ability to skewer people's vanity or self-absorption, while still letting most of her characters get off lightly enough for comedy. The adventure is really pretty stirring, even if a reader knows the plot from watching the movies. There are enough telling details that are changed for the movies to keep one's interest alive. And again, the experience of the book is much different, with imagination working instead of just the eyeballs. I certainly wouldn't have figured out the mystery without having seen the movie, but I don't think her stories follow the rules of mysteries. They break genre, too. Plenty of adults will enjoy these books.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I have finally gotten around to reading this book, JK Rowling's first Harry Potter novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even after seeing the film about 100 times. The book is much, much better than the movie, and I enjoyed picking out the ways in which the novel differs from the movie and seeing how much of an improvement each change is. For example, having Neville go with Hermione and Harry into the Forbidden Forest instead of Ron makes for a much more interesting, dynamic scene than the one in the movie, with its focus on the three main "stars." I love the satire embedded in the portrayal of the Dursleys -- "normal" people whose main concern is appearing normal and accumulating things, rather than on treating people kindly. We so often lose sight of what's important when those concerns creep up on us. The magical world is better when imagined, rather than seen, so I hope I can get caught up on the book series before the next movie comes out. I will see the movies, because I'm curious about the whole process of turning a book into a movie, but my expectations are much higher for the final installment of the books, due out in July.