Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. RowlingMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A staple from my childhood and arguably one of the first books that got me into reading, the Harry Potter universe is so imaginative, creative and is just a nice place to be, that this was always going to do well, regardless of how annoying JK is being on any particular day.
As fun as it is it's not without it's faults on rereading as an adult. Her descriptions and vocab are limited - everything seems to be emerald green and the word said crops up far too much. I also think that this first entry could've been much longer, padding out Harry's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to really make it absorbing.
That said, it hasn't failed to make me smile and to feel mighty envious that we live in an ordinary muggle world. Reading about quidditch is particularly enjoyable though I feel I remember reading much more about the matches first time around than is actually present. Descriptions seem to be over all too quickly and I crave the meatiness of something akin to The Dark Materials books that just isn't here.
This doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed coming back to Hogwarts, and what I think I've learned from my adult venture to hogwarts is that I'm severely looking forward to reading this to my kids some day, as I know they'll love it as much as I did even if it's that much harder to appreciate as an adult who has well and truly fallen down the sci-fi and fantasy literature rabbit hole.
Not quite as magical as it once was perhaps, but worth revisiting for the nostalgia hit alone, and to complain about how much is missing from the films.
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