new to HP books -- suggestions ???

[Zara]

Mistress Mina:
> I'm not sure if the HP series is really something I'd like.... What do
> you all think? And where should I start, if I decide to read these?
> 

zgirnius:
Well, obviously I will join the chorus of people urging you to try. 
FWIW, I liked the early Vampire Chronicles books (the later ones sort 
of got repetitive for my taste).

Unlike those, HP has only one principal character, and describes seven 
consecutive years of his life. (There is an abundance of other 
interesting "main" characters in HP, but it is not like the Vampire 
books which are actually about different vampires's lives.) For this 
reason, the first book chronologically is the best place to start, 
which is "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (Philosopher's Stone, 
outside the US).

That said, I read that book, and its sequel, and liked them OK (as 
opposed to being obsessed, amazed, and eager to read the sequels). It 
was the third book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" that 
really hooked me. However, reading that book first would spoil certain 
aspects of the earlier books.