Actually, the third book was my favorite.

One of my summer goals that will probably go unfulfilled was to reread all of the Harry Potter books before the last movie comes out. I just finished The Prisoner of Azkaban, and although I finished it in record time (I started it at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday and finished it about 15 minutes ago), I attribute that fact to the lesser fact that the third book was always my favorite, and probably still is. 

I remember when the fourth Harry Potter book came out.  It was ginormous, and much like the Twilight fad of High School, many simple-minded readers felt proud to carry a large book around and consider themselves literary.  I enjoyed the fourth book, of course--the action-packed tri-wizard tournament was enough to engross any young mind for hours on end (I think it took me eight days to read it the first time in fifth grade...).  But there was something about the third novel that captivated me.

I still think it has a lot to do with the fact that the third novel has very little to do with the Voldemort plot line.  He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named never makes an appearance in the third novel, and the only connection to him occurs in the last few chapters, but is mainly overshadowed by the fact that Sirius (ultra-cool new godfather character) is introduced. 

I loved the third book due to its focus on the wizarding world.  Rowling goes into much more classroom depth, Hogsmeade is introduced, and there is very little "action" in the first 350 pages, besides the occasional, "What's that big black dog over there doing?" and "A dementor!  I fainted!"  The wizarding world is what I enjoyed most about the novels as a child.  I remember getting frustrated with Harry, Ron, and (especially) Hermione, every time they poked their nose into something much larger than themselves.  I probably could have happily read about them going to Potions class for seven novels.  Rowling really develops the wizarding world in the third novel, which captivated me at all ages.

Oh, yeah, there was one other reason that I loved the third novel so much: Hermione's overachieving is really emphasized.  Oh, dear, how I drooled over Hermione when I was younger.  She was my fictional hero.  I admired how she was a diligent student, loyal, brave when she needed to be, and wasn't a girly girl (she still may be kind of a role model.  Reading about Hermione these past couple days made me sad I wasn't in school anymore.  I loved how, in the third book, she signed up for so many classes that she needed a Time Turner to attend them all).

Although the action-packed Harry Potter novels are fun, and really emphasize the good versus evil rivalry, I stick to my nine year old guns and still consider the third novel my favorite for its lack of adventure.  I enjoy the descriptions of sugar-tipped quills and secret passages; chocolate medicine and boggarts in the closet; Divination and Firebolts.  It's those intricacies that really brought the wizard world to life for me, and still does.