Harry Potter reading order

A plan for the whole series

7 volumes, 3,946 pages, about 70 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• Readers scored volume 5, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, below its predecessor (8.6 after 8.8). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 6 the form returns.

Stages

5 stages, with 4 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around February 24, 2027, about 3 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 119 habout 4 weeksby November 24, 2026

   • 1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone1997 · 303 pages · 6 h
   • 2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets1998 · 341 pages · 6 h
   • 3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban1999 · 416 pages · 8 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 3, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 212 h16 daysby December 20, 2026

   • 4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2000 · 672 pages · 12 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 23, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 316 habout 3 weeksby January 14, 2027

   • 5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix2003 · 870 pages · 16 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 412 h16 daysby February 3, 2027

   • 6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince2005 · 640 pages · 12 h
8. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by February 7, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 513 h17 daysby February 24, 2027

   • 7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows2007 · 704 pages · 13 h
10. The end of the series

    February 24, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (8.5) below the ending (8.8). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8.8, 7,473 ratings). Weakest: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (8.4). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.8) scores close to the series average or above it.