The ultimate guide to re-reading Harry Potter

We're amping up the voltage with commentary from The Ringer

There are at least three people that I know of on my Audible account exclusively to re-read Harry Potter during the holidays and/or when things get tough. One friend tipped me off to the Harry Potter series on Binge Mode, a podcast on The Ringer, and it’s a completely new and incredibly indulgent way to revisit the enchanting story two decades later. Dare I even say it’s an experience second only to the first time around? *Definitely do not listen to this podcast while you read if this is your first time around.*

The hosts of Binge Mode are delightful, funny, smart, and very invested, and they did an entire series breaking down HP by chapter, each episode covering five or less chapters of the books. If you’re a serial reader of Harry Potter, doing it alongside Potter Binge Mode is a must. I’m breaking it down into a few ways you can do it:

1. A Lite Binge

A simplified way to dive in would be to listen to episode 1 of Binge Mode to lay the groundwork, then listening to the very last episode for each title once you finish that book. It will focus on the last few chapters of the book, but they reflect on the book enough that I think it would still be a fun way to re-read if you don’t want to listen to every episode. I’m lining them up for you here:

Book 1: Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone
Final podcast episode: Binge Mode Harry Potter Book 1: Chapters 15-17

Book 2: HP and the Chamber of Secrets
Final podcast episode: Binge Mode HP Book 2: Chapters 15-18

Book 3: HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban (my fave!)
Final podcast episode: Binge Mode HP Book 3: Ch 16-22

Book 4: HP and The Goblet of Fire (anyone else remember standing in line at Barnes & Noble at midnight for the release of this one?!)
Final podcast episode: Binge Mode HP Book 4: Ch 35-37

Book 5: HP and the Order of the Phoenix
Final podcast episode: Binge Mode HP Book 5: Ch 37-38

Book 6: HP and the Half Blood Prince
Final podcast episode: Binge Mode HP Book 6: Ch 29-30

Book 7: HP and the Deathly Hallows
Final podcast episode: Binge Mode HP Book 7: Ch 36 & Epilogue

2. The Movie Edition

Part of this podcast series includes an episode for each of the Harry Potter movies as well. They reference the differences between the books enough that it’s still very relevant to your reading. If you only want one high-level coverage of the whole book, I would listen to each movie episode as you finish the books.

All the movie podcast episodes:

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone
HP and the Chamber of Secrets
HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
HP and The Goblet of Fire
HP and the Order of the Phoenix
HP and the Half Blood Prince
HP and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
HP and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2

3. The Full Monte

The most obvious and indulgent way to do this is to follow the podcast as intended by reading the chapters divided up by The Ringer and listening to the subsequent podcast episodes as you go. Here’s the all-up page to the full podcast. I’ll also link each book and chapters with the episode below.

Book 1: Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone
Podcast episodes:
Ch. 1-5
Ch. 6-10
Ch. 11-14
Ch. 15-17

Book 2: HP and the Chamber of Secrets
Podcast episodes:
Ch. 1-5
Ch. 6-10
Ch. 11-14
Ch. 15-18

Book 3: HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Podcast episodes:
Ch. 1-5
Ch. 6-10
Ch. 11-15
Ch 16-22

Book 4: HP and The Goblet of Fire
Podcast episodes:
Ch. 1-5
Ch. 6-10
Ch. 11-15
Ch. 16-20
Ch. 21-26
Ch. 27-30
Ch. 31-34
Ch. 35-37

Book 5: HP and the Order of the Phoenix
Podcast episodes:
Ch. 1-5
Ch. 6-9
Ch. 10-14
Ch. 15-19
Ch. 20-23
Ch. 24-28
Ch. 29-33
Ch. 34-36
Ch 37-38

Book 6: HP and the Half Blood Prince
Podcast episodes:
Ch. 1-2
Ch. 3-7
Ch. 8-11
Ch. 12-15
Ch. 16-19
Ch. 20-23
Ch. 24-26
Ch. 29-30

Book 7: HP and the Deathly Hallows
Podcast episodes:
Ch. 1-3
Ch. 4-6
Ch. 7-8
Ch. 9-11
Ch. 12-14
Ch. 15-17
Ch. 18-19
Ch. 20-22
Ch. 23-25
Ch. 26-28
Ch. 29-30
Ch. 32-33
Ch. 34-35
Ch. 36 & Epilogue

Enjoy!