Book Review - Harry Potter #3 and #4

After years of resistance, I finally decided to read the Harry Potter books.  The first and second book were just okay, but I had decided to read all 7, so I somewhat reluctantly continued.  Here are my thoughts on books 3 and 4.  For the 2 people left in the world who haven't read these, there may be some spoilers, but nothing too terrible (Harry is a wizard!  WHAT?!).

The Prisoner of Azkaban started out very slow.  It was basically the exact same intro as the first 2 books.  Harry is sad because his mean muggle relatives don't like him, and they don't let him do magic, and they ignore his birthday, and then something ridiculous and magical happens and they get really mad, and then he leaves for wizard school.  These chapters just felt very tedious to me, but I have to remind myself that her target audience is children, and they may have more patience for the exact same introductory chapters.

That said, about halfway through the book, I got really interested.  Good thing I was on vacation and was able to finish it in about 2 days!   

After really enjoying the end of book 3, I was excited to read book 4.  Then I had a pile of books from the library that I had to fit in, and then I had to return book 4 before I read it.  So then about a month later, I finally got to it.

The Goblet of Fire starts the story right away.  I was hooked from the beginning, because there was more action, and everything seemed to be relevant to the story, and not just intro filler.  I really loved book 4 and just wanted to read it all the time.  (FYI, this book is large and was very awkward to read while on the exercise bike at the gym.  I know people were giving me funny looks!)

There's probably nothing new left to say about these books, but as a first time reader, a few random thoughts:

•  Harry has anger issues - or maybe Rowling just really enjoys using words like "furious."  
• Trust no one!  I've learned that the people who seem evil probably aren't, and the people who seem trustworthy probably are actually evil.   I'm not really surprised when the truth is revealed, but I would never have guessed the endings. 
• Note - this is embarrassing, but I had read on Wikipedia that David Tennant plays Barty Crouch in the movie, and I like David Tennant, because he was Dr. Who, and very nice/trustworthy.  So when Barty Crouch was introduced, I kind of liked him, even though he's not a very likable character.  Now that I've finished reading, I noticed that Tennant actually plays Barty Crouch Jr, which changes everything.  But I admit I am biased by ridiculous things.  
• Ron and Hermione are so obviously in love with each other.  Don't tell me if I'm right, but I suspect they will get married or something. 

Book 5 is on request from the library, so hopefully I will start it next week!  I'm hoping each book will be better than the previous one, because that's the rumor I have heard!  

Have you read Harry Potter?  Fan or not?  Anyone out there like me who still hasn't read them or seen the movies?