I was tagged by Margaret @ Weird Zeal to participate in this very special event! Every day for the next week, I will be posting a Harry Potter related post to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK! Today is Day 2 – Ranking the Books and Movies! Here is what Margaret had to say:

I think I will rank the books and movies from least favorite to most favorite! Always save the best for last! Let’s get to it, shall we? 🙂

The Books:

*Disclaimer: I absolutely adore all of the books in this fantastic series! So, when I’m ranking them, it is basically me just being super nit-picky and extra critical of a book that I definitely gave 5 stars to. So, don’t come for me in the comments!!* 

7: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I talked about this a little bit in yesterday’s post. I just find Half-Blood Prince to be a little bit slow. I know that Harry learns a lot about the Horcruxes and goes on that epic final adventure with Dumbledore. It also has Dumbledore’s death (don’t get me started, I’m still not over it!). But other than that, I just have always found book six to be a bit boring. It feels like filler, which is necessary to get us to the final book, but filler none the less.

6: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I’m not entirely sure why, but Goblet of Fire has always been low on my list. I just don’t really care for it that much. Sooo much happens in this book (namely Voldemort coming back in physical form) that is extremely important – so I am not discounting it by any means. But, it just doesn’t really do it for me.

5: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I like Chamber of Secrets fairly well, but it is definitely not as well written as some of the others, especially some of the later ones. While there is certainly more action than in the first one, it just isn’t quite on par with Prisoner of Azkaban, so it gets diminished, at least in my eyes.

4: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Sorcerer’s Stone will always hold a special place in my heart since it is the book that started it all! Also, the world building in this book is absolutely paramount to the success of the series as a whole. It falls right in the middle for me in terms of the overall storyline of the book, as well as the quality of the writing.

3: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I love the Deathly Hallows. I know a lot of people find the first half of the book to be boring, but I always found it fascinating, as well as necessary. I know it is slower, since the trio is just looking for Horcruxes for a loooong time. But, you get a lot of backstory in that part, as well as some great revelations about the series as a whole, illuminating the brilliance that is J.K. Rowling. 🙂

2: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Up until recently, Prisoner of Azkaban held the spot for my favorite book in the series. I still absolutely love this one, and always will, as it is fantastic. This is the book in the series that completely hooked me. I was done for, and I will be a Harry Potter fan for life because of this book. Some of my favorite characters were introduced in this book, and the storyline is riveting.

1: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This is going to be a somewhat unpopular opinion, I know. When I reread this series a couple of years ago, I was not expecting to love Order of the Phoenix so much. When I originally read it (when it was released) I found Harry’s angsty teenager whining to be annoying, much like a lot of other people do. This time, however, I found the angst to be really funny. I don’t know if it is because I’m 30 now (as opposed to 16), but I just found Harry’s bursts of teenage rage to be hilarious and somewhat relatable haha. I also love the storyline of this book. It introduces Umbridge – who is the worst character (and therefore, one of the best characters) in the entire series…and that includes Voldemort. You know it’s true, don’t try to deny it 😉

The Movies:

7: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I. DESPISE. THIS. MOVIE!! I hate how much of the book they leave out of the movie. I absolutely hate all of the boys’ haircuts in this movie. I’m not really a fan of the cinematography in this movie. Also, the whole scene where Dumbledore comes in and screams at Harry, asking if he put his name in the Goblet of Fire, when the book clearly states that he asks him calmly. 😒 It’s just bad. Just. Bad.

6: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This movie really irks me, because it is my favorite book! They leave out sooooo muuuuch from the book! This really bothers me…a lot. The only thing that makes it rank one higher than Goblet of Fire for me is that the cinematography is much better in this one. And Harry’s haircut is much cuter 😉

5: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I have to say, this movie is just kind of hazy for me. I honestly can’t even remember parts of it. It was just kind of blah…kind of like the book itself (oh buuurrrnnn!!! 😉 )

4: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

I’ve always enjoyed the Sorcerer’s Stone because, like the book itself, it does a great job with the world building. Of course the acting is not excellent, but overall, it does a great job of hooking you in and making you want to see the next one.

3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Speaking of the next one, I actually have always really liked the Chamber of Secrets! I think that Daniel Radcliffe’s acting was so much better in this movie. Also, my favorite Dumbledore (rest in peace Richard Harris) was still in this one. And, let’s be real, the actor who plays young Tom Riddle in this was super hot (my little teenage heart had the hugest crush on Christian Coulson 😍)

2: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

For ease of ranking, I am lumping both of the Deathly Hallows movies into one, because I love them both equally. I explained how I really like the first part of Deathly Hallows above in the book section, so I really enjoyed Part One of the movie. I thought both of these films were extremely well done. And, this was one instance where I thought splitting it into two movies was actually necessary (I’m looking at you Twilight: Breaking Dawn Parts One and Two…not necessary). They were a great end to a fantastic series. I will say, I wasn’t a fan of how they depicted Voldemort’s death, but that was really my only problem with these movies.

1: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I will always and forever love this movie the most. The cinematography in this movie is absolutely gorgeous. It was so artistic, and I loved it! Also, the storyline of this movie was depicted so well. The acting was great. It was just so well done. Bravo!

If you haven’t joined in on the fun of Harry Potter Anniversary Week yet, what are you waiting for? Do you love Harry Potter? Do you love talking about Harry Potter? Then you should do it!! Do it!! Do it!! Do it!! …I’ll stop now. Also, if you decide to participate, please tag me so I can see your posts!!

What is your ranking of the Harry Potter movies? What about the books? Let me know in the comments down below!! 

Love and happy reading,