_"Put Prisoner of Azkaban at second to last"_ Harry Potter Fandom: *"So you have chosen...death"*

Everyone doesn’t care about saying “Voldemort” but everyone calls Cursed Child “The Book That Must Not Be Named.”

Sorcerer’s Stone: Most Magical Chamber of Secrets: Most Mysterious Prisoner of Azkaban: Most Unpredictable Goblet of Fire: Most Unique Order of the Phoenix: Most Dark Half-Blood Prince: Most Romantic Deathly Hallows: Most Action

With regards to Voldemort's planning ability. He clearly cares about Harry's education because he wait until the end of the year to make his move.

When she said her favourite character is Lupin I legit had tears in my eyes because WOMAN GOT TASTE

Me: I'm sure there aren't THAT many issues with Chamber of Secrets.. Merphy: How did Nearly Headless Nick drink the potion? He's a Ghost. Me: 😦😬😐😶

Unpopular opinion: Voldemort's plan in Book 4 actually makes sense to an extent. If Harry just randomly disappeared and turned up dead, many more people would have been suspicious and Voldemort would probably have been found out. But since his plan was to keep in secret until he could build more followers and strength, it makes sense to have Harry supposedly die in a super dangerous tournament that has a history of casualties. If Voldy killed Harry in the graveyard and then sent his body back into the maze, it would look like he had nothing to do with it and Harry just died on his own. It's a little convoluted, but makes more sense than people give it credit for. The smartest thing to do would actually be to have something in the lake be a portkey, that way the body could plausibly never be found.

The Goblet of Fire is one of my favorites solely because the foreshadowing was so well done and amazing.

One thing I notice in Harry Potter rankings is that they're all very different and personal... but all have Chamber of Secrets at the bottom 😅

JK Rowling "I'm just going to destroy all the time turners and everyone can forget they're even a thing. Until cursed child when I will let them be brought back"

I just loved the parts where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were staying with the Order of the Pheonix. Even though it may have been the least exciting part of the series, it was just so awesome to see them all spending time with each other knowing that outside the door was this chaotic dark depressing world out there.

My list (excluding Cursed Child, which I've never read): 7) Order of the Phoenix - Harry's anger was 100% justified, and I really felt for him. In fact, his suffering resonated so strongly with me that it made the book tough to read at times-and that's not a bad thing! When you get right down to it, there's nothing about Order of the Phoenix that's any less compelling than the rest of the series. The Department of Mysteries is a fascinating place, and Dolores Umbridge is such an utterly loathsome character that you can't help but read on just to see what she does next. The only problem is that it's just a bit too long for my liking. 6) Chamber of Secrets - The only entry in the Harry Potter series where the movie is superior to the novel. I say this because Chamber of Secrets has some goofy bits here and there that detract from its otherwise delightfully spooky atmosphere, like the mandrake life cycle or the Valentine's Day nonsense. These don't feature in the film, and nearly every other alteration made by Chris Columbus is to the story's benefit, all while remaining faithful to the source material. Plus, Kenneth Branagh kills it as Gilderoy Lockhart. Read the book, but also watch the movie (preferably the extended edition). 5) Philosopher's Stone - A children's book at heart, there's something uniquely magical about Philosopher's Stone that the rest of the series has never been able to fully replicate. Like Chamber of Secrets, there are some things that the movie does even better than the book (Ollivander's Wand Shop being a prime example), but this is counterbalanced by the things that the book does better. The two complement each other well, and are best experienced in conjunction with one another. Philosopher's Stone would rank even higher if it didn't feel like the last several pages (i.e. everything after Harry's conversation with Dumbledore) were rushed, but as it stands, it's still a literary classic of our age. 4) Deathly Hallows - Or as I like to call it, the "year-long camping trip". I missed Hogwarts and felt bad that the trio's final year of schooling had to be sacrificed in the name of bringing down Voldemort, but it was an epic conclusion to a legendary saga. There were great and exciting moments mixed in with deep, gut-wrenching tragedies, and it made for an emotional rollercoaster of a read. Deathly Hallows earns huge points for "The Prince's Tale", my favorite chapter in the entire series and the point at which we finally felt like we understood the enigma that was Severus Snape. 3) Goblet of Fire - This book is at its best on your first read-through. A lot of the excitement stems from not knowing what's going to happen next, trying to put all the pieces together to solve the mystery of the Triwizard Tournament, and it all culminates in the second best twist ending in the series (more on that later). Goblet of Fire has a great murder-mystery vibe going for it, and it feels like every time a question gets answered, three new questions pop up in its place. It's still a fun and interesting book to revisit, but there's nothing quite like reading it for the very first time. 2) Half-Blood Prince - Something that doesn't get talked about as much when people discuss Half-Blood Prince is how eerie it is. This was the closest thing to a normal school year that Harry and his friends had yet experienced, and it was set against the backdrop of Voldemort's second reign of terror. It makes for a very uneasy juxtaposition, and the book is filled with subtle reminders of what's going on outside of Hogwarts just to make the effect that much stronger. Otherwise, Half-Blood Prince is less a sequence of big events than it is a novel centered around exposition, something that suits me just fine. Speaking of exposition... 1) Prisoner of Azkaban - It boils down to this: the confrontation in the Shrieking Shack is one of the greatest reveals I've ever experienced in a novel. Everything from the building's existence, to the Whomping Willow, to the tragedies of the Marauders and the truth about Peter Pettigrew, is explained in a way that feels uniquely satisfying and lingers in your imagination for a long time after reading it. Beyond that, Prisoner of Azkaban is the most balanced of the Harry Potter series: not too long, not too short, darker without losing the charm of the first two books, and a few ominous moments counterbalanced by a lingering optimism. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are two of the most endearing characters in the Harry Potter lexicon, and the Dementors are among the most horrifying creatures in all of fiction. Put simply, it's everything that makes Harry Potter so great all condensed into one gem of a novel.

Prisoner of Azkaban was the smoothest one to read imo. Sirius Black is my favorite character. Remus Lupin a close 2nd.

Task 1 in goblet was the dragon and task 2 was the lake 😜

Half Blood Prince is my favourite too. It took a while to figure out why, at first I thought it was because I loved just living in the world without crazy plots going on (on the surface) But I finally figured it out. It's because Harry has mastered Hogwarts at this point. He knows how to stop Peeves, he knows how to avoid Filch and where all the secret entrances are. He's spent 5 years earning that knowledge before this point and it shows. It's the culmination of his life at Hogwarts. Before of course the rug is entirely pulled out from under us and we are propelled into the end game.

Here's the proper book titles of Harry potter (in my opinion): 1) Harry potter and hagrid made a big mistake 2) Harry potter and the plot holes 3) Harry potter and the knight bus doesn't go underwater 4) Harry potter and the ugly mermaids 5) Harry potter and we love to hate Bellatrix 6) Harry potter and Dumbledore finally tells what a horcrux is but he could've told in the last book 7) Harry potter and the end but we want more

Half-Blood Prince has ALWAYS been my favorite. Its movie is disappointing compared to the book but the soundtrack is what I listen to while reading. Plus Lupin is my 2nd favorite character

"Muggles would have put cameras up all over the maze...." My Brain: *flashbacks of reading Hunger Games and Maze Runner*

"Moody could have handed Harry a pen" Wizards: What the *heck* is a pen?!?

The Order of the Phoenix has always been my favorite in the series. I think the reason is is because of the intrigue and the simmering tension of the Wizarding World about to explode into another war. The conflict was the most compelling to me as well as the dramatic moments. Which I found to be the best in the series. I say this as a long time Tom Clancy fan which lends me to believe that book five is the most similar to a Tom Clancy novel.

“This is the book where we get more Lupin, and more Sirius” and then significantly less Sirius.

I somewhat agree with your ordering of the Harry Potter books but very much disagree with your ordering of the Triwizard Tournament tasks

Am I the only one that actually really likes Chamber of Secrets? It's not my favorite (Deathly Hallows btw), but I definitely have it in my top 4.

The Half-Blood Prince has been my fav ever since it came out. The memories, the cave, the ending, I love it so much. It’s when Snape became one of my favorite characters of all time. It makes me so sad how poorly they handled it for the film. I really hope within ten years they reboot the films.

"Everybody has reeallllyyy different opinions on what the best and worse Harry Potter books are" Nah I think everyone fairly unanimously agrees that the chamber of secrets is the worst I think we're on the same pag- "-my next least favourite is the prisoner of azkaban" SAY WHAT ?!?!?

My rating: - Deathly hallows - Half blood prince - Prisoners of Askaban - Goblet of fire - Order of the phoenix - Philosophers stone - Chamber of secrets - Cursed child

Harry's anger in Book 5 gave depth to his character.

It really is amazing to me how different people's rank the books in this series. I think it shows how much the series has to offer.

Every HP fan: **Has CoS at the bottom** Me, an intellectual: Cursed Child.

I think the reason I love PoA so much is because it answers most of the questions it raises by the end of the book. I feel like every character and relationship had an arc and they all come together and resolve in a really satisfying way. And I think that was mirrored by the time travel too, in the idea of a closed loop. Plus, lupin is just the best. I really want to give some examples but it's been a couple years since I read it last and I can't think of specifics, but I just remember feeling SO satisfied with the ending in a way the other books didn't quite achieve for me.

My favourite books in order: 1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (I love seeing Dumbledore's Army work together, and I love the detail the book goes into, with more information being told about the Harry Potter world. Although my least favourite character, Umbridge is a fantastic villain, I love seeing the moments with her throughout the book.) 2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (The book is not as dark and scary and is still a lot more light-hearted, giving off childhood vibes. I also love the Marauders Map, seeing more of Hogsmeade and the characters introduced. The Aunt Marge scene is also iconic.) 3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (It is so action-packed, and I love seeing all the characters come together and fight. I feel it has to be up there because it has the finale, and all the puzzle pieces begin to fit together, but parts of the book with them all camping in the forest are not the most exciting.) 4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (This book is the most nostalgic, as it is the beginning of everything. I love discovering Hogwarts with Harry. However, it doesn't delve as deeply into the Harry Potter world, which is why I prefer the other books over it.) 5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (It is well written, and I like how it delves deeper into the Harry Potter world, and we can look at Voldemort's past. But, it's a somewhat depressing book and quite dark, although I like that it doesn't make it as enjoyable to read. But overall still a fantastic book, and it brings a different aspect than the previous novels.) 6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (I like the other schools and the Triwizard Tournament. It is one of the most exciting books in terms of Harry and the rest of the characters experiencing school life because of the introduction of other characters. I also love the Yule Ball. But, I sometimes find the Triwizard Tournament a bit boring as it is talked about for the entire book.) 7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (I love the concept, but everything is going wrong for Harry for most of the book, which kind of sucks, haha, although I wouldn't change it. I also love that Harry goes to the Burrow and meets the rest of the Weasleys, and Dobby is introduced. However, it wasn't till the end of the book that I liked Dobby. Lockhart is also the worst, but it's hilarious reading scenes with him. There's nothing specific that I dislike about it. I prefer the other books more.)

Her: Second to last is Prisoner of Azkaban Me: (breathes heavily)

chamber of secrets is my fav book but I realize almost everybody rank it as the last or one of the lasts lol

1. Half-Blood Prince 2. Deathly Hallows 3. Prisoner of Azkaban 4. Goblet of Fire 5. Order of Phoenix 6. Chamber of Secrets 7. Philosopher's Stone 3, 4 and 5 change all the time for me.

The one I didn’t realize was my favoirite until I reconsidered them all this past year was the order of the Phoenix. The sheer antagonizing force of Delores, mixed with the social commentary with the rejection of Voldemort’s return, and sprinkle on top Harry being more of a legitimate leader than ever before and the introduction of Luna who is my personal fav character create such a compelling novel.

I really like Harry potter and order of phoneix as this book give an idea of complex emotion , the stakes and very relatable character . The anger Harry shows is so genuine, no one always keep it together but overcoming it is winning a fight. I don't know why people don't like it.

"Approved by J.K. Rowling herself" that's how you know Merphy's joking because no Harry Potter fan has trusted Rowling in a while. Cursed Child, Crimes of Grindelwald and that dang tweet made sure of that.

I freaking love the chamber of secrets. It was always my favorite as a kid because I love the murder mystery feel of the story and Lockhart is 100% the best character in the series to me. Rereading the series as an adult never changed my mind, so now every time I watch a ranking video I have to watch my favorite book get put in last xD

Merphy Napier: Calls Lord Voldemort "Voldy" Voldemort: "Crucio!"

I feel like the Half blood prince doesn't get enough credit. It is one of my favorites. It gave us depth on Voldemort but also expanded relationships especially at the school. Seeing Ginny in it more is also so cool, i love it! Overall just a great book and it filled me with such a warm and fuzzy feeling. Half blood and chamber are my favs.

7:30 pretty sure she messed up the order of the tasks. First comes the dragon whose egg gives you a clue about what's to be expected of you underwater.

The funny thing is: The „Transitioning“ Book - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is my all time favourite. LOVE it so much. I love it especially because it‘s finally a book where they can do magic! They are finally able to do fun things! And it‘s also entertaining. It was the first book that gave me goosebumps and made me cry while reading. The one that caused my tummy to clench in excitement - ever! I read it the first time in my teens and was blown away. And I still feel those things while reading. I just love that one ♥ EDIT: Thank you for mentioning that I actually got that Title wrong. Haha, oh my god! 😂🙈

The Order of the Phoenix was my favorite in the series as a child literally because it has the most pages, you know more hp for me.

Finally someone sees how messy the goblet or fire is, I liked the book but I do agree that if you think about it certain parts just didn’t make sense and could’ve been fixed so easily. (I’m the only one whose favourite is the order of the Phoenix lol)

My rank would be: 1 - Order of Phoenix Why does everyone hate this book? I love the development that Harry goes through this book,, from the PTSD angsty boi that he was in the beginning all the way up to the more mature Harry of the end, when he had to stood up and continue to fight right after he saw Sirius die right before his eyes. That's a really good character arc. And how not to comment the best sequence of the entire franchise in my opinion: their visit to St. Mungus. We got to finally understand why Neville was so worried all the time and why he undergoes so much trouble in Hogwarts, and we understood how cruel Voldemort could be in that scene. And it was *so subtle.* Is just great. 2 - Half-Blood Prince Not much to justify, I agree with all that you said about the book. Great Dumbledore-Harry dynamic, I loved all the flashbacks and my god, I think that this is the book where Draco is the most interesting out of all the books. Really great book. 3 - Prisioner of Azkaban Amazing. But is below Half-Blood and Order cause it's so short! I wanted to see more Sirius, I wanted to see more Lupin, I wanted to see more of that great relationship that Harry and Sirius had! And the timeturner was just bad executed. From a guy that loves time travel when done right, this was just bad. I hate when authors go with the "eternal loop" route to explain why these convenient and weird things happened during the time before the travel and the book does just that. Ugh. 4 - Goblet of Fire This is the most fun of the seven but also the most dragged also. The Triwizard Tournament is really fun to read, but I thought that all related to Voldemort's plan (except the final revelation of him at the graveyard and fake Moody's related stuff) was boring to read. But that doesn't diminishes the quality of the good parts of the book. 5 - Deathly Hallows Harry should've died, guys, let's be real here. And why does the book drops to 5 km/h at the middle? That part after they collected the necklace and before they found the sword in the lake was boring as hell. But the Hogwarts battle is incredible. Such pity it doesn't took a bigger part of the book. 6 - Philosopher's Stone The classic that got everyone into the series. Not much to say, but the rest are better. 7 - Chamber of Secrets I agree with all you said in the video, but I still really like this book. I found the Near Headless Nick "deathday" party really cool, and I really love how the mystery around the Chamber was made. Just, the conveniences are so many that is impossible to ignore.

For me (favourite to least favourite): 1. *Goblet of Fire* - I enjoyed this the most because of the thriller element to it - Voldemort is on the rise, someone dangerous is inside Hogwarts, potion ingredients are getting stolen under everyone's nose stolen right, Dumbledore is looking at former Death Eater trials and trying to connect the dots - I loved all of it. I was on the edge of my seat when Barty Crouch Sr. made a sudden appearance out of nowhere at Hogwarts because it felt like the height of mystery that was spread throughout the book about what is happening outside the castle and who is influencing all of this. And then the other elements like finding out more about the international magical community, professional Quidditch players, and so on was really enjoyable. It had so much depth with the amount of subplots which were laid for the viewers to figure out, and how all of it tied together so brilliantly. Sirius was also pretty good with his information. 2. *Half-Blood Prince* - For the same reasons as yours, I love how Dumbledore and Harry's relationship got so further. Dumbledore deciding that Harry now needs information about Voldemort was incredible as he managed to strike a balance between Sirius' recklessness and Molly's overprotectiveness, and each Pensive chapter was so fascinating to look at, as it uncovered the mystery surrounding Voldemort and gave the audience a good understanding about the antagonist. I love how close Dumbledore got to Harry, two moments that stand out are, "He accused me of being Dunbledore's man through and through ... I told him I was", and Dumbledore's parallel lines of assuring Harry that he wouldn't get attacked to getting assured that nothing will happen to him because he's with Harry - "I do not think you need worry about being attacked tonight ... You're with me" || "I am not worried, Harry, I am with you", just amazing. And my favourite character is Snape so I also enjoyed the Potions book as it gave more depth to the character and his brilliance. Not gonna lie, the romance was really the low point of the book as Ron/Lavender + upset Hermione felt cringeworthy, and just uninteresting compared to other storylines, and I don't really ship Harry and Ginny because of how flat and perfect Ginny is with no real flaw or motive of her own other than being a perfect girl for Harry to get along with (she's in the background for four books, only for the reader to suddenly get bombarded with information like she's gorgeous to the point where even Slytherins like her, she's so popular with both spells and sports, she's fearless, her character had a microwave developement that happened offscreen which I couldn't care less about. Her only somewhat flaw of having a hot temper never lands her in any problem or conflict so it is rather played as an attractive quirk rather than an actual flaw). 3. *Prisoner of Azkaban* - Another amazing book, it really frames Harry as a loner, the adults don't explain anything to him about Sirius Black. Ron and Hermione can empathise with him but not relate, it's a book where Harry has to figure out things on his own as the people around him can't/aren't doing anything to help him understand and it was amazing. The moment where he changed his decision to interrogate Hagrid midway through, simply because Hagrid didn't need such a thing to go though when Buckbeak was getting killed, was amazing. And Sirius and Remus are such great characters with a lot of depth. It's a bit of a unique book as Voldemort takes a backseat and the spotlight is rather on other characters like the Marauders and how things would've been for Harry had Voldemort not attacked. 4. *Philosopher's Stone* - Don't think I need to say much, it's the classic where things are as good as it could ever be for Harry. It's a lot more colourful as things aren't as dark and it is a good entrance with some careful groundwork laid for later. 5. *Order of the Phoenix* - Another great book. Angsty Harry was really fascinating with how Voldemort's presence is having effect on his mind, to the point where he even enters his mind multiple times and knows what he's thinking. I wish it was in more detail than we got, but it isn't that big of a deal. It is sort of parallel to PoA with how isolated Harry was and how his friends couldn't do much and the adults left him alone with barely much explanation so he had to figure things out all on his own. Harry grew really close to Sirius and it really made things a lot more emotional for the ending. 6. *Deathly Hallows* - Honestly, it is a way better book than being 'second last' may indicate, it's just that the others are better. It's also pretty good with the fast pacing of the book and reaching from one point to another in quick period and without wasting time (except the camping with the locket). It was a pretty good way to end things. 7. *Chamber of Secrets* - It's not that it's bad, really, but nothing special. It follows the template that was laid in the first book and doesn't really add too much, other than a TON of groundwork for the later books. People say that the sixth book is the 'extra' book, but honestly, this is a more deserving contender for that title as a lot of the things aren't relevent until they become super relevent as the final two books are done. It's like a 5/10 - it does nothing really terrible but it isn't also exceptional. Keep in mind that I first saw the movies then read the books, so a lot of the likings are influenced by that experience progress (I was so happy with GoF and the mystery element that the film just dumped out and left me disappointed on the rewatch, so that could be a reason why I rate it so highly).

I love your commentary on book one. The whimsy and discovery of the series is beautiful for me. It is quite high on my list too. After all, a beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that balances are correct.

OMG YOU’RE THE FIRST PERSON THATS EVER AGREED WITH ME HOW THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE IS THE BEST BOOK!!!! i love this book so much, it just has the best combinations of hogwarts and dark voldy stuff and it was so much deeper and connected in such a great way and i loved the half blood prince twist and all the dumbledore and slughorn was so fun to read about and ahHHh i just love it so much!!

Yes! I love Half-Blood Prince! I feel like nobody else has it as their favorite, but it’s so good

7:30 I'm sure I'm not the first, but comments aren't loading for me: wasn't the dragon task 1 & the lake task 2?

Your list is sooo similar to mine!! The Half Blood Prince has always been my favorite so it is really nice to finally find someone who loves it as much as I do 😄

The lake was the second task, not the first, the dragons were the first task. The golden egg they collected from the dragon eggs was the clue for the second task. Idk if you corrected that in the video but yeah :)

Favorite Book: The Half-Blood Prince Least Favorite Book: The Order of the Phoenix. For me the pacing in 5 was too slow and filled with things I really didn't care about that much; although, the conversation with Dumbledore at the end is probably the best scene in the series. The thing is that it is directly followed by a darker, mystery filled and better written book and when you remember how entertaining this series is, 5 ends of being a dragger for me. Still love all of them as we all do.

“Who wants to watch a video over 40 minutes long?!” Me: 🙋🏼‍♀️

Surprisingly, I 100% agree with this whole list. I also love half-blood prince so much, because it shows Ron and Hermione’s relationship more in depth and it gives us Harry and Ginny’s relationship in that book as well. I just love that it shows the teens growing up and figuring out who they really like and all that.

When I was a kid, I remember watching Harry Potter and the philosophers stone and liking it but not really enjoying the others because it was abit too deep for me however during lockdown I decided to re watch all of them and since then, I have been obsessed! I then decided to start reading the books. I’m currently on my way to finishing the 3rd book and I’m so excited for the next as the goblet of fire is my favourite film. So far, I will agree that the first book is my favourite for the exact same reasons as you. I can’t wait to read them all now ✨✨

My ranking (least to most favourite) (Note: I should re-read the books to make the list more accurate to my standards): Philosopher's Stone: Boy this was hard to even decide which is the worst I love them all. Sadly I have to say this one is at my bottom simply because there wasn't anything too special that stood out compared to the other books for me. For me, this was a perfect book to introduce me to the world of Harry Potter and helped me really feel like I was a student at Hogwarts. Goblet of Fire: I enjoyed the action in this from the Tri-Wizarding Tournament to the Quidditch World Cup. Sadly there were just some things that didn't quite sink with me. Again, staring at a lake for an hour. What the hell is even the point. Although since I'm a swimmer, I'm going to give brownie points because you get to swim in the lake as a trial. However, there were just too many great things that makes it hard to even decide a favourite part, which is something you don't want. You need to have subtle and calm moments instead of nearly every scene filled with action. Don't get me wrong, action is great but too much is a problem, especially for a book. Also, everyone basically cheated for the first trial in discovering what it would be. Half-Blood Prince: The reason why Half-Blood Prince is this low is because it doesn't really stick out to me until the end. The whole point was Dumbledore was trying to use Harry to get into Slughorn's head (literally). It was nice to read along and discover Voldemort's history in that it wasn't a happy childhood and that he was born out a love potion. For me, a lot of it felt like backstory which I do not mind as I enjoy a bit of backstory. It was also interesting into knowing who this "Half-Blood Prince" might be that Harry was learning from. Dumbledore's death was heartbreaking and then the extra surprise of Snape revealed as the Half-Blood Prince was shocking. I would include Regulus Black but we don't even know who he is until the next book. Chamber of Secrets: Unpopular opinion but I really enjoyed Chamber of Secrets. It felt like a detective mystery trying to solve who had opened the Chamber and who was the heir to Salazar Slytherin. Lockhart in my eyes provided some reasonable comedic relief and every time he came up, it was "Oh, not this guy again..." not in a bad manner but you knew what was about to happen. Hey, guess what? Turns out he's this incompetent thief who plagiarises other's work by wiping their memories. My favourite part would have had to been the Polyjuice Potion. Things just started getting spicy and creative with the understanding that you can impersonate another person. I won't go to far but one thing that I always questioned was what would it be like to become the opposite gender? Better ask Hermione since she became Harry for one night. Prisoner of Azkaban: Now let's turn to page 394. This is the only book that doesn't worry about Voldemort in one form or another. The antagonist of this book is Sirius Black, which is a good mix up. I really enjoyed the creation of dementors as they embody anxiety and depression. The only way to ward them off is with happy thoughts and a Patronus Charm. Lupin was also a great addition and I love his character. I even enjoy seeing people draw/write fanfics of Lupin's terrible childhood with his werewolf curse. This is the first time we are introduced to Pigwidgeon who never appears in the movies. Forgive me if I've forgotten but I believe this is where we also get a little more in depth into animagus which I have always been so crazy about and would take up the challenge no matter the cost/difficulty. Deathly Hallows: Picking my favourite was hard out of these 2 final books but I have to put Deathly Hallows second. Why I ranked Deathly Hallows this high is because of the tragic history of Regulus Black and no one knew about his death, not even his brother Sirius got to know the story. Kreacher had seen everything and had lived in terrible regret of being the only one to know of his master's death. Regulus - the silent hero who's great sacrifice was known by almost no one. Ariana's history as well wasn't a pleasant one. My favourite part though was the tale of the three brothers. I love it when I get to read death as a person/the reaper (which is why The Book Thief is one of my all time favourites). The ending of the tale though when the third brother "greets death as an old friend" completely changed my view on death. From that moment onwards, I never and haven't been afraid of death. I accept death as part of the cycle of life, knowing that one day, my time will come. So what puts this book down from being my favourite, especially since the tale of the three brothers is my favourite thing in the entire Harry Potter universe? Well its the ending "16 years later". I do not want to talk about that. It was a nice ending but not really the greatest way to end in my opinion. Order of the Phoenix: The darkness, the suffering of ptsd, the corrupt ministry, Umbridge. I love Order of the Phoenix. Everything just goes dark. Ok, first off, lets start with Luna. She's amazing and my favourite character in the Harry Potter universe. I don't need to explain anything because she gives 0 fucks about what people think about her. The DA club is really cool and it was fun seeing Harry become the teacher. Harry punching Malfoy in front of the entire school... that was shocking yet amazing. I wish we could've seen it in the movies but I recon Tom Felton had enough after what Emma Watson gave him. Harry kissing Ginny in front of the entire Gryffindor common room, I was so happy for them. "Have a biscuit Potter" was gold and don't get me started when McGonagall stood up for Harry against Umbridge. Speaking of Umbridge, she... was... perfect (to hate). She was this Karen everybody knows (although she wasn't that entitled and just believed in the ministry and Fudge). She wore pink in a new style and I don't know how you could've of possible made her more hatable. Although through these amazing things, we have to talk about after Sirius's death. The talk between Harry and Dumbledore. It was heartbreaking. Harry was broken and mad. He was suffering badly. And Dumbledore was crying. Reading it felt worse than a dementor's kiss. Please keep in mind that Philosopher's Stone isn't bad. It's just so hard to put one as a least favourite and I love Philosopher's Stone just as much as the others. However Deathly Hallows and Order of the Phoenix definitely take the title of my absolute favourites.

My ranking from least favorite to favorite: 7: Chamber of secrets - I just don’t like it that much. I don’t like that there are students that basically miss all of their year of school while being petrified and yet move on the next year. Must be a teacher thing...lol 6: Order of the Phoenix - I love the Grimmauld Place part, I love Fred and George’s exit from Hogwarts but I HATE Umbridge so much! I also don’t really like the whole cho Chang thing. I really didn’t like the whole ministry of magic thing either, leaving school seemed soooooo wrong and then I was so mad when I read about the mirror. I mean who doesn’t open a gift? 5. Goblet of Fire - I love Hogwarts and the whole beginning of this with the World Cup annoyed me, and then there was no quidditch. I agree with what you said about it being a bad spectator sport and it almost seems pointless to have the whole school there to watch the tasks. I also really was annoyed with the whole SPEW thing...However I loved the reveal about Barry Crouch Jr. and everything that happened, kind of like a scooby reveal. 4. Sorcerer’s Stone - It’s a great beginning a great introduction and I do love this book, but I love others better. 3. Deathly Hallows - I appreciate the bits about Dumbledore’s history, wand lore, the journey of the kids looking for the horcrux’s and I read this book the first time very slowly trying to savor it because I knew it was the end. It is a good ending to the series and I really enjoyed it. 2. Half Blood Prince - Loved Dumbledore in this book, loved Tom Riddle’s history, loved Harry’s success after how horrible his 5th year was, and loved the action at the end. 1. Prisoner of Azkaban - LUPIN!, More subjects, Buckbeak, marauders, marauders map, harry learning more of HIS history, not centered around Voldemort. I just love this book so much. I love Harry learning about Sirius and I love that moment when he gets to imagine not going back to the Dursley’s. I LOVE LUPIN! I love the private patronus lessons. This is just my favorite book for soooooo many reasons! But ultimately they are all amazing! My next re-read will be the illustrated editions.

That's the first video I see of your channel, and I never thought about a personal ranking of HP books. Than I started the video, and the more you explained your decisions and show your ranking, the more I agreed with you. Another thing, I'm italian so english is not my language (you maybe see that from that comment), but I love the way you explain and it's simple enough to me to understand and learn something, so what else, you have a new subscriber.

Am I the only one that loves them all the same? Like I don’t wanna pick between all these amazing books. Nope just me? Ok.

Been waiting for this one, Thanks Merph, I would have Prisoner of Azkaban at number 1

My personal list: 1. Half Blood Prince - I love Draco's small arc, and Dumbledore's relationship with Harry. Also Harry and Ginny's relationship is spectacularly handled in my opinion, (different opinion for the movies though). 2. Deathly Hallows - I understand its flaws. but I honestly just love it. The epilogue is caring, and so are the names, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. The first 70% of the book, when they're not in Hogwarts actually was really fresh to me. 3. Prisoner of Azkaban - I love Lupin, and he's at his prime here in my opinion. I like how there's no Voldy, like Half Blood Prince, but it's more apparent here. I'm not huge on time travel either, but I like it here, because they explain that it's all one continuum and they actually never change anything (which is still a plot hole for Cursed Child). 4. Goblet of Fire - I love the expansion that this one brings. I love the task sequences, although you're right about it sucking for the audience. Voldy's plan was dumb, but I find it super entertaining, and a solid addition to the series. 5. Chamber of Secrets - Unpopular opinion, I find this better than the other two that I haven't listed yet. I love the mystery being unsolved, even though there are way too many conveniences where people definitely should've died. 6. Order of the Phoenix - This was a super long read for me, and not just because of the length. I found this one rather boring at times, but the climax is quite amazing. I also love Umbridge's comeuppance. Umbridge is by far my least favorite character in any story. Ever. But that shows good writing. 7. Philosopher's Stone - Sorry, I really love this book with all of my heart, but it's not as good as the others to me. I love the introduction to the world and everything, but the plot isn't all that great. Also, Voldy felt kind of dumb in this one. He never really felt all that threatening, but in this one, he just felt super weak. Sorry if you disagree, this is just my take on the series.

reading now! there’s been a lot of talk about these books and now I’m hooked.

I am 38 and reading the series for the first time and I am starting book 4 tonight. I am loving this series and I know it will be one of my favorites of all time.

4:40 Lupin is also my favorite character :D My second favorite character is Luna

My list (least favorite to most, though I love them all) 7. Chamber of Secrets-I loved the mystery part of it, seeing burrow, and of course Lockhart, but I agree with you on the plot conveniences thing. Also, it keeps to the tone of the first book for the most part, but without the wonder of Harry discovering it all for the first time, its just a bit less interesting. 6. Sorcerer’s Stone-I fall in love with this book every time I read it, especially the beginning. I love the way the world is introduced and I love seeing the kids’ friendships grow. That being said, it’s just not a very long book and the second half isn’t super engaging to me. Because it’s intended for a bit of a younger audience, the plot and climactic scenes just don’t do much for me. 5. Prisoner of Azkaban-I love love love the characters in this book. I adore Sirius and Lupin, and I think the plot twists are excellent. I actually liked the way time travel was handled too. The way the plot developed didn’t really hold my interest as much as some of the others though, and I think while the world building was fun, it feels a bit stunted by the smaller reach. 4. Half Blood Prince-I do really love this book. I love seeing Dumbledore and Harry interact, I love seeing the world in the middle of this war, it all just feels so real. I also love the ending. My main critiques are that I thought that the memories were a bit boring at times, and I found Harry to be quite frustrating at several points. 3. Goblet of Fire-I really love this book. I don’t love most of the movie, so I try not to let it influence my opinion much. This is just a really fun book. For me, this is when the characters start to come really alive. I also love the ending. I do think some of the subplots are a bit convoluted, but it doesn’t bother me too much in the end. 2. Deathly Hallows-This book has my highest highs and my lowest lows. I cry every time I read it. There is so much I love about this book. There are also some things that I think weren’t done justice, like some characters who deserved more (Lupin deserved an individual death scene at the very least, and Malloy deserved more development) and some of the way it wrapped up is just way too clean (the characters start to feel like not themselves at the end). I especially dislike the epilogue. Overall though, I think it’s a good ending, and a very emotional one. 1. Order of the Phoenix-So I know this book is a lot of people’s least favorite, but honestly, I just love it so much. I will say it is definitely too long. I don’t like the parts with Grawp and I’ve always found the first part with the dementors and the hearing and such very frustrating (though I think that’s how it’s supposed to be). The real reason I love this book so much is the characters. Every time I read it, I feel exactly how Harry is feeling and I feel for him so much. When he gets mad, I’m just like yes! thats exactly how I would be reacting. The characters all develop more depth to them over the book. I love the DA so much, and I love Fred and George and Luna and Ginny and Neville too. I think Umbridge is an amazing antagonist. This book breaks my heart, but that’s why I love it so much.

Hey Merph! I absolutely love your channel! Your passion for reading is infectious :) If I may, I have a suggestion for a future Harry Potter video; Favourite Character Moments. Like maybe make a list of a few cool characters, and talk about some of their best/worst/funniest/most defining moments. What gave me the idea was you talking about Umbrage, which reminded me of one of my favourite character moments in anything ever: when Fred and George leave Hogwarts. That scene had me grinning like a loon for days after my recent re-read! A re-read which made me realise that HBP is my favourite too, before I'd discovered your channel! Cool! Cheers :)

1. Chamber of Secrets 2. Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone 3. Goblet of Fire 4. Prisoner of Azkaban 5. Deathly Hallows 6. Half Blood Prince 7. Order of the Phoenix Crucify me.

7. The Chamber of Secrets 6. The Philosopher’s Stone 5. The Order of the Phoenix 4. The Prisoner of Azkaban 3. The Deathly Hallows 2. The Halfblood Prince 1. The Goblet of Fire

I agree with the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone. You just smile when you start reading it.

I LOVE YOUR HP VIDEOS THANK YOU!

Love this video. Amazing analysis. Rarely see someone express the same value to a hard magic system

my ranking (even though the last time i've read these books was like 3-4 years ago): 1)(fav) prisoner of azkaban 2) half blood prince 3) the goblet of fire 4) the philosopher's stone 5) the deathly hallows 6) the order of the phoenix 7) (least fav) the chamber of secrets i should probably re read the series lol

PoA is my favorite, and I actually like the time travel in that book because you cant really change anything, you just get more time and can be at two places in the same time. Idk, I like the first 3 books the most tbh.

I was pleasantly surprised by your review after see a couple other reviews. I agree with you almost to a T. This series it rife with plot holes but there is something to love for so many different people that if you just overlook them and enjoy the themes, the description, then you will love it.

~I don't like Time Travel~ The Cursed Child: *holds my tea*

Book 6 is my favourite too! I especially loved learning more about voldemort's past, and also seeing the more human side of malfoy (still wish he had the redemption arc he deserved, but oh well)

Book 6 is my favorite too! Whenever I reread Harry Potter I always read Half Blood Prince the fastest because I find it so interesting. I also love how you have multiple Harry Potter series books. I have the Schoolastic hardcover ones, but I want the box set of the ones you are shown holding. Also thanks for showing love to Order of the Phoenix! That’s one of my favorites and I feel it gets a lot of hate.

"So I'm just gonna break all the time turners in order of the phoenix, and pretend like they don't exist except for this one moment". Enter the Cursed Child

"Who wants to watch a video that's 40 minutes long?" Girl, I'd watch you talk about books for 5 hours 😂 I siriusly love your videos so much (get it?? Sirius - okay I'll stop)

Chamber of secrets is one of my favorite hp books...

Finally someone who loves Half-Blood prince the most, same here! Loved it

I came into the video thinking you'd put The halfblood prince at the very bottom, it was a pleasent surprise to see my favorite book at the very top. I don't often see it listed as one of the favorites outside slytherin biased circles (because yeah draco and snape content) due to it being too dark, but I really apreciate the expansion of lore, and bacstory explanation it provides, as well as the depth it brings to antagonistic characters.

My favorite would have to be book 1. It takes a lot for an author to write a first book that hooks billions of readers and maintains interest for six more novels.

I really don't know how is she able to point out so major things that everybody didn't even notice. I am literally amazed, i never thought of those things and i agree with everything she says.

"We all know an Umbridge" Yes, they are more commonly known as "Karen", though.

Not sure if you’ve already done this and maybe someone can help me out but you should definitely do a video on every book on your shelf that would be awesome!

Me at the beginning of this video: "If Half-Blood Prince is #1, I'm subscribing." *Subscribed*

Unpopular opinion: Gilderoy Lockhart is the best character in the series (Lockhart likes this)

When I read it as a kid, I remember Goblet of Fire being my favorite. I’m gonna partake in a long overdue reread very soon.

Re: Your thoughts on Umbridge. One of my best friends is a teacher who's class was next to mine for a few years. Our rooms were in a quad with two other teachers. On the first day of school our first year, the teacher parallel to us, an older woman who was our superviser but we didn't really like, came out in all pink with fuzzy trim and and a fake smile. I whispered to my friend "check out Umbridge over here." She had to walk into her classroom to hide her laughter. We still talk about it today as the moment that we both knew we were going to be good friends. A good bad really brings people together, and I think youre right that Umbridge is that.

To me, The Order of the Phoenix feels like the transitional book, not The Half-blood Prince.

My afavorite HP book is Order of the Phoenix for pretty much the reasons you mentioned: the expanding of the magical world, getting to see what characters besides the Golden Trio are doing to combat the Big Bad, a good portrayal of PTSD that isn't just the stereotypical I have flashbacks and panic attacks and that's all. And my all time favorite part is getting to see these important figures in Harry's life all come together. Like I especially love two of his parental figures, Molly and Sirius, come together and see how they both have Harry's best interests at heart, but approach it in such vastly different ways. It's just SUCH a good book. Sorcerer's Stone is a close second though due to the whimsical new magical world Harry discovers.

Half-blood Prince is my #1 too, I love everything about this book, the mystery, the romance, the plot, the humor, it's the perfect balance

Deathly hallows is my favorite because it so emotional and gets me every time

Chamber of Secrets ranked last Me: *Peace was never an option*

PoA is personally one of my favorites. Not a huge fan of the time travel part either, but everything else in the book is just top tier for me: the mysteries, the foreshadowing, the plot twists, the backstory (especially the backstory), introduction to the dementors and the map, Hogsmeade is new and exciting and I just love Lupin so much, as well as the whole marauder gang and this book was the grand introduction to them all so it holds a special place in my heart for that alone.

They gave nearly headless nick a “spritz” lol

I've said it once and I'll say it a thousand times, from best to least best: Prisoner of azkaban Order of the Phoenix Goblet of fire Deathly Hallows Half blood prince Chamber of secrets Sorcerer's stone

The worst thing that happens to me was I saw all the first four movies before diving into the books. Now I regret it everyday