I have not read any of the wildly popular Harry Potter books so far, but after watching the Goblet of Fire I just needed to know what happens next. The first thing that struck me in the bookstore is that the later volumes are much thicker than the earlier ones. The next thing that becomes quickly apparent is that as Harry grows older, the story picks up steam and also becomes much darker and more serious. Order of the Phoenix, just like Goblet of Fire, ends with a wizardry showdown between He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the good guys, that leaves one of the good guys dead (and this time it is a major character) and the reader wanting to immediately dig into the next book.

So in addition to being able to enjoy following the speculations as to who will be cast to play the new characters in the upcoming movie, I am now in the same situation as with Wheel of Time: Two more books to go, only one of them written yet.