J.K. Rowling

The Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

This is a rare event for Bjorn and Sven: we get to participate in a full-fledged media frenzy! This children's fantasy book is selling out all over the globe, so I am jumping in with my two cents. The astute among you may be wondering what I, your resident cheapskate misanthropic ogre, is doing reading a hardback children's fantasy story. Well, to start with, I got my hands on the book by waiting until my dad bought a copy for my little brother, then swiping it when he left the room.

So once I had the book, why not read it? After all, like most fantasy junkies I have a portion of my personality which persists in being 12 years old and loves this sort of stuff. I started reading. Two hours later I was done. (Remember, this is a children's fantasy book.) And I liked it. A lot. The story is definitely a children's story, with relatively simple characters, motivations, and plots, it is very well written and fun. The story is tight, the plots are clever, and the characters are likable. For a two hour diversion for an adult, or a good book for kids, I will jump on the bandwagon and endorse Harry Potter.

OK, everyone and their mother (literally) has read these books, so I just have this to say: They really are as good as everyone seems to think. Read them. (That, and that the movie is going to make an absolutely absurd amount of money.) The scary thing is, they're actually getting better as the series goes along.

As an added anecdote for those who bothered to come to the page, book 4 actually came out while I was in Indonesia, and I made a trip to Singapore which was, if I am being totally honest with myself, almost entirely for the purpose of getting my hands on it since you couldn't get it in Jakarta. These damn books are addictive.