Am I too old to read Harry Potter?

[Mummy2022FT]

In my twenties. Never read books nor seen the films... feel like I've missed out!

I was in my twenties when they first came out. The first 4 passed my by completely. I remember I went down from Leeds to London to visit a friend, so came into Kings Cross, and saw some blond woman hanging off the front of a red steam train waving a book to a crowd of photographers and only much later worked out that it must have been the goblet of fire press launch.

Shortly after that, my boyfriend at the time and I went to visit his parents, and his Dad (who would have been in his 60s at the time) recommended I try them. He lent me Philosophers Stone and I read the whole thing in one sitting. I then devoured the entirety of the first four books, and eagerly awaited Order of the Phoenix.

I remain a ridiculously massive fan to this day (now mid 40s), and reread regularly.

I was at a friends wife’s 40th, and stayed up all night. The next day I was snoozing on a sofa and picked up the first Harry Potter book belonging to one of their kids, and I was hooked! I read the whole thing and then all the others straight away. There’s no age limit on them….anyone can enjoy them.

A good book is a good book, no matter what age it is aimed at. I prefer the later ones in the series as they get more complex.

I'm in my 50s and just read the Percy Jackson series for the first time. I love mythology and am thoroughly enjoying the story and the way the author uses old myths in modern ways.

I’m currently re reading for the millionth time. I’m in my 30’s!

I read the first one many years ago, though not as a child as it only came out when I was 23. I only recently read (and enjoyed) the others, partly because my daughter has been constantly listening to them on Audible, so I wanted to read them in the right order

I'm nearly 40 and still read them 😊 so I say NO your not to old

I’m mid thirties and reading them for the first time. Well, I’m actually reading them to my son, but I’m certainly enjoying them too.

Of course not. I wouldn't bother with the films though.

@Mummy2022FT How are you going with the reading? So exciting to read it for the first time.

Get the Stephen Fry audio books. Much better than reading them!

I can't abide the way SF does girls' and women's voices. He does a sort of squeaky, high-pitched thing which is largely identical for everyone from Hermione to Bellatrix Lestrange to Petunia Dursley (Tonks is only distinguishable because he makes her sound like a Wurzel, and Luna because she sounds stoned).

I mean, I get that differentiating women's voices is an issue is you're a male reader voicing a huge cast of characters and trying to give everyone a slightly different 'sound', but it makes admirable female characters sound silly.

As a slight aside I've just listened to Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the films) read Terry Pratchett's Moving Pictures and he is brilliant really good vocal range, what got me with the Stephen Fry audio was how he appeared to get Gilderoy Lockhart identical to Kenneth Branagh before he was cast in the role.....(I'm pretty sure the audio book predates the film by a few years).

He's a good actor. I saw him on stage in a Pinter revival years ago, and thought he was excellent.

Absolutely, Stephen Fry did play Lockhart as Kenneth-Branagh-playing-Lockhart!

(Though maybe, if you're right about the timings of the audiobook release and the making of Chamber of Secrets, Kenneth Branagh was using elements of SF's characterisation of GL in his approach to the role? Personally, though I love KB, I would have cast Hugh Grant, who has shown himself to be very good at that kind of comic villain in recent years...)

I got the first four books in a set for when I started my maternity leave. Ds arrived in an emergency half way through Chamber of Secrets. I bought the rest of the books as they came out and can remember waiting in line at midnight for the last book.