Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
This is the first time I’ve read this book since I read it in a crazed four hour sprint on the day of it’s release.
Obviously since then I’ve seen the films they made of it a couple of times so I had a decent memory of the plot.
What surprised me with a more leisurely reading is how powerful certain passages of the book were. In particular the entire sequence of Harry facing Voldemort in the forest and of course the chapter inside Snape’s memories.
The book also wraps things up in a much more satisfying way than the film. I loved that the only thing Harry uses the Elder Wand for is to repair his own original wand.
Despite the pacing issues (a wee bit too long is spent with the lead trio hiding in the countryside) this is actually one of the strongest books in the whole series. It’s certainly a satisfying denouement.
So this wraps up the project of re-reading all the books having seen the films.
Overall my verdict is that the books are better than the films. A couple of the films are downright bad. Even the weakest of the books (Chamber of Secrets, Goblet of Fire) are entertaining where the worst film (Half-Blood Prince) is a total waste of time and talent.