Would be interesting to get a full ranking from folks. My 2nd favorite is sort of up in the air between OotP and DH. I need to re-read DH.

I'm also curious about least favorites. I'd do it myself, but. Well. You know. :P

(PS: OMG I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN BE BEST FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE POA THE MOSTEST.)

PoA NO CONTEST!

This was a tough one cause I actually liked the bloodbath that was Deathly Hallows as well but... thinking on it and assessing my feelings of merriment upon finishing the book... PoA still wins as my favorite HP book.

That was harder than I thought. I'm sure I could sit and ponder on why I chose OotP and then come up with another one being my favorite. I almost wanted to say SS on the pure fact that it started all the fun! I could argue with myself on this for a while haha.

I picked PoA, but HBP is a close second. The books in between seem to sprawl, as if the author put in everything that occurred to her without any self-editing; PoA and HBP are both tighter.

I also have a mini-collection of SS in various languages - it's become my thing-to-get when we travel (some people collect spoons...). I've only actually read the Latin and French versions, but I started the Ancient Greek version recently (no, I didn't visit Ancient Greece, it was a prezzie from my sister a few Christmases ago). I have to admit, it's been a very good re-read every time.

I have a very, very hard time picking my favorite because of all the things i love about each one, but since my first instinct was HBP, that's what you get. :)

I started thinking about why I liked HBP more than the others, and in the end realized that there wasn't really a rationale. It's like trying to decide between flavours of ice cream or songs to play or colours to wear.

The first one's the best, IMO. It's also not 700+ pages. I've got a short attention span. :D

Azkaban and Goblet fight for the number one spot all the time with me but today Azkaban is number one. If you're interested:

Azkaban
Goblet
HBP
OotP
Sorcerer's Stone
DH
Secrets

But it was a close call between Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban. It's just that I've never been a big Sirius fan, that's why Chamber of Secrets won (and I can't believe that so far I'm the only one who picked that.) I do love the structure of Prisoner of Azkaban, though, the whole idea of turning the time back. I also love Goblet of Fire, but I miss the normal "school stuff" in that book. And I absolutely love Order of the Phoenix, for its darkness and the Snape/Harry interaction. But again, not a big Sirius fan, so I didn't pick that one.
Of the others, Deathly Hallows is probably my least favourite. Not because I don't like it, but because it is the last one, and that's just no fair! :-)

Tough choice, but since I haven't read Deathly Hallows as often as Goblet of Fire, I'll have to go with the fourth book.

I, surprisingly even to myself, went with Order of the Phoenix. I HATE HATE HATE Harry's Ode to All Caps that pervades the whole book, but I really feel like this (and the end of GoF) is when the shit starts to get real and this is the pivotal point of the whole series. Plus, there's the twins and the trashing of the Great Hall.

honestly, i am completely baffled when people choose one that ISN'T those three as their favorite. well, maybe DH. i've still only read it once so it's hard to say. but seriously. the prospect of having to reread HBP has kept me from rereading the series since it came out.

(i chose OOTP, but GOF is a really close second. i think i might even like GOF more as a book, but OOTP is all fandom-y and characters i love and and so, as an experience, it's #1.)

You know, I think I'll need to reread them someday to make this decision.