After unsuccesfully trying to resist the Harry Potter mania for a while, I finally gave up & bought the first book in the series: After reading "Harry Potter & the sorcerer's stone" (or "the philosopher's stone", as it came out in the UK) for about 5 hours nonstop, I realised what all the fuss was about...J.K. Rowling brings back memories of C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, & also those old-fashioned but brilliant books about life & adventures in english boarding houses. A "struggling single mother" (as the book cover mentions) turns out to be a great talent, & the Harry Potter books are destined to become children classics. The first book in the series was not only exciting & extremely imaginative. It was, most importantly, very very funny, & all in all, a rare treat.