Harry Potter, The Best Beach Book Ever
Books
Posted by: sue
July 29, 2009, 08:49 PM
Ah sweet summer, the time when many of us take time off and head to the beach or holiday for rest and relaxation, and perhaps a fair bit of reading. As such, National Public Radio recently conducted a poll of the Best Beach Books Eve, and the Harry Potter series by author J.K. Rowling took the top spot. Out of a list of 100 books best read on holiday, the top ten choices were as follows:
1. The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
3. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
4. Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
5. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells
7. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg
10. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Thanks to TLC staffer Mysterylover Anne for the heads up! What say you: which of the Harry Potter series is your favorite to read at the beach or holiday? Have a favorite, or too tough to call? Feel free to give your thoughts below in the comments.
132 Comments
2536 Points
Order of the Phoenix… any and all would be good though. :)
153 Points
well, i wont bring HP to the beach coz im very protective of my beloved HP books. They could get smudge by all the sand and water!
310 Points
I have to save these for reading ideas. There are still five I haven’t read (maybe because I have trouble tearing myself away from HP!)
428 Points
HP of course is definitely a good beach read. Time pass by and you will not notice it because you will be engrossed to the story unfolding.
A week in the beach is not enough though, if you are reading the HP series, unless you can read each book in a day (which I have done for HP7)
594 Points
I can’t believe The Great Gatsby is on that list. :o That book is partly responsible for the fact that I didn’t read a single novel for fun for over 15 years… Until the spring of this year, of course, when I started reading Harry Potter. We had to read The Great Gatsby at school and it was the most boring book I had ever laid my hands on, so boring in fact that it completely turned me off from reading “proper adult literature” (meaning books from the other sections of the library except the teenage section).
As for which HP book I’d want to read over the summer, I really can’t choose just one. I absolutely adore the magic and the relative innocence of the first books and the time Harry and his friends spend in Hogwarts, but on the other hand, the story itself gets more complex and more intrigueing from Goblet Of Fire and Order Of The Phoenix onwards. So it’s a really really difficult decision. But if I was held at wandpoint and had to choose just one book, I think I’d still choose Prisoner of Azkaban. As much as I love all the other books too.
3845 Points
My favourite is HBP but i do occasionally feel like reading one of the 7 at random =)
1661 Points
It most definitely is the best…but I would read Harry Potter anywhere…anytime. That really is a great list though so of my other favorites like Pride and Prejudice and Catcher in the Rye are on it too!!
But it’s almost impossible for me to choose a favorite Potter book. I love them all.
Prisoner of Azkaban is the first one I ever read so it’s always special, but I love Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, and….Order of the Phoenix.
823 Points
HBP l think…..it makes me laugh!!!! DH……..ermm, probably……
49 Points
My beach book is harry potter and the order of the phionex my copy is full of sand and the binding is broken!!
363 Points
I’ve never heard of numbers 9 and 10 on the list. Can anyone tell me about them?
115 Points
i prefer to read harry potter in the winter, while the rain is pouring outside and i’m really comfy and warm in my house.. i really can get that feeling of what the common room of hp transmits me
2111 Points
I’ve read half of these books! :D
98 Points
I love em all but Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite :). All in all a great list of books.
Well, I came back from a beach holiday last week and I took OotP, HBP and DH to read with me! Only managed to finish DH after I came back but I couldn’t put it down – it’s becoming my favorite!
Order of the Phoenix… any and all would be good though. :)