I can't believe I haven't read this before. 
 I started reading one of the books once, when I was very young - I was ill and probably cranky and I didn't really like it, so I put it away and spent the next decade and some convinced that the Harry Potter books just weren't it for me. And then I confessed this fact to a friend, who started yelling at me that I HAD to read them now because they are SO GOOD, and I caved and got myself an audio version of the first Harry Potter book. And I loved it. 
 I don't believe it would be very helpful for me to briefly describe the plot here or to mention all the things I liked about it - those books are so popular for a reason, after all. This first one is charming, funny, and full of mystery and suspense at times. I am definitely going to read the rest of this series. Better late than never!