When the Lord of the Rings movies came out, I started reading Tolkien’s books at the same time. For the first two movies (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers), I watched the movie first and then read the book, which was pretty cool. I loved how the book would give extra descriptions, extra scenes, extra characters when compared to the movies.

Then I made the mistake of reading Return of the King before I watched the movie. What a letdown. I mean, the movie was still cool and everything, but it departed from the book in some key ways (especially regarding the demise of Saruman and the scouring of the Shire). It was more fun to watch first and read later.

During the time I was reading Lord of the Rings, my uncle tried to get me interested in the Harry Potter series. I picked up the first book and tried to start reading it, but I just couldn’t get into it. I think it was mainly a timing issue. It’s hard to put Rowling up against Tolkien and not choose Tolkien (at least it was for me). So, I went on immersing myself in Middle Earth and never made the trip to Hogwarts.

So, what do you all think? Should I give Harry Potter another shot? Is the series a good read? Also, what do you think of the movies? Are they good representations of the books? Or should I watch the movies first and then read the books?