All in all i've kept my Great Harry Potter reread off the shelves because, well, it Is a reread nevermind the fact that i've never actually Read the Harry Potter books in the original english before. Yes, it makes a huge difference. OotP is going to get a place in my read in 2015 shelf though and that's mainly because it's so Different from what i remembered.
The first time I read this book i was almost ten years old, and me and my mom (also an avid Harry Potter fan) were going to the theatre to see "Iphigenia in Aulis". The new Harry Potter book was due to be released at midnight of that day and I was obviously too young to go to the midnight release and this annoyed me TERRIBLY but anyway. We walk past the neighborhood bookstore and the lady who owns it already has the display ready and, because i was such a good customer, she opens the door and lets us buy a copy. Now for little tiny me that was a miracle, and I glided to the theatre like walking on clouds.
But actually reading the book was, well, disappointing. I wasn't scared by the length, i'd read longer books and liked them but the fact is that I just found it, well, BORING. I didn't understand Harry's attitude, the mood swings, the anger. I didn't understand Umbridge other than to know I disliked her, and I distinctly remember that the entire bit at the Ministry of Magic left me disgusted and unimpressed. This, well, this wasn't my experience this time around.
Harry's capslocking anger at being locked away from everything at the beginning, the people from the Order, standing up to Umbridge even in secret, the madness of OWLs, the lessons with Snape, Dumbledore's attitude, EVERYTHING made a lot more sense than I remember it making. And the scenes at the Ministry with everyone running around and fighting death eaters? Fuuuuuck. So good. (also i would like to thank jkr for that Uranus joke Ron makes. Thank you jkr) And finally the reason this book got rounded up to 4 stars when it's a solid 3.5 to me, the aftermath of Sirius' death and Harry in Dumbledore's office. I got chills, I teared up the whooole shebang. The portait of Phineas mourning for the last surviving Black? Harry calling Dumbledore out when he starts being all "But Snape has my complete trust and Sirius shouldn't have let him get riled up" at him, HARRY POTTER CARING SO MUCH THAT IT'S TEARING HIM UP INSIDE. HARRY POTTER IN GENERAL LIKE. Child I was so unfair to you everyone is so unfair to you can you ever forgive me?
"People don't like being locked up." That very simple thing that Harry has to say to the old and wise Dumbledore who thought he was "helping keep Sirius alive" remains one of the greatest things I've read so far in this reread.
So to sum up: Yes Rowling should have cut and polished this one more but damn this is a good book. And if a greek person read this far please, love yourselves, grab a copy of this in english today.