How did you first hear about HDM?

[Stelmaria7]

I found out about HDM from a friend in March of 2005. I was in the school library and was just looking arround. I saw TGC in 2004 but didn't think much of it. I thought it looked boring, who cared about people riding on Polarbears. I was much interested in TSK because of the tiger on the front and the girl with her hand on the tigers back. My friend pointed out that TSK was the second book in the Trilogy. So I read TGC only because she told me i had to read it befor reading TSK she called the series. "The Golden Compasses" After reading TGC i found Lyra's Oxford in the Library because I became obsessed with the whole series. In 2006 I found my way onto a fan site and in 2007 I joined BTTs.

[Panalopy]

7th grade, probably around '98 in my middle school library. Read for Accelerated Reading points. That copy had an introduction by some other well known fantasy author, Terry Practchet perhaps? Anyways, AR was totally awesome because if you had excess points you could "redeem" them for stuff like cool pencils and bouncy balls. I miss middle school.

[Lucybird]

My sister read NL for a book award that was judged by teenagers, she bought me a copy for my birthday a few years later. (I judged the same book award the year that TAS was out and was pretty much the only person in our class who read the whole thing- despite telling everyone they should read it!)

[Valrad]

I'm probably one of the sorry cases when it comes to how I was introduced to HDM. Well, it basically happened on a forum where people were listing books, and I was like: "What a peculiar name for a book." At that time, which was a year ago, it did not interest me very much, but recently, people kept reminding me of it and telling me how good it is. So in the end, at 20 years of age, I did get to read it. I regret the fact that my country is not the best when it comes to books and advertising.

[Anoria]

Reading through this thread from the beginning just now was a lovely little slice of BTTS history.

I heard about HDM through a recommendation from my best friend in 10th grade (I was 14). We had a superb English teacher that year, who required monthly book reports to be presented in creative ways. One month, my friend and I decided that we'd trade recommendations: she would borrow my copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I would borrow her copy of The Golden Compass. We were both satisfied with each other's choices, but I think I ended up getting a little more out of my book than she did from hers. It was that May, while writing up a bibliography of all the books I'd read over the year, that I discovered my first HDM fansite while looking for publishing details.

More because I'm enjoying reminiscing than because I expect anyone to care, the book reports that time required us to make a presentation to our class, with the help of a paper bag. On the bag was cover art from the book (ideally original, not copying the published version), and in the bag were five objects that represented things about the story which we wanted to tell the class about. My objects included: a quarter, to flip while explaining about parallel worlds; a little plastic box full of star-shaped foil confetti, to represent Dust; and an item borrowed from the desk of my world history teacher - a tiny toy guillotine. I think there might also have been a stuffed animal to represent the daemon concept, not sure. That was... wow, a really long time ago.

[particle23]

My girlfriend, at the time, used to pop into HMV and buy books for me on occasion and amongst some brilliant classics such as Das Boot, Catch 22, To kill a Mockingbird and the like was a fairly new book called Northern Lights. I remember it so well, one of those key moments that changes your life forever, reading the back cover then the first chapter. I turned page after page after page and had to finally stop because it was 3 am and I had to get up for work at 7!

I took the book to work and read it on every break I had. When I returned home that afternoon I didn't stop reading until it was done! I went out the next day and bought The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass but took my time over these two books savouring each morsel and rereading countless passages and scenes.

As I turned pages getting closer and closer to the end of the trilogy I slowed my reading even more. I had never read a book so quickly as I did with Northern Lights and I had never taken so long to finish a book like I did with The Amber Spyglass.

Every year, at Christmas time, I read again my favourite adventure and each time I am brought magical joy in a season full of childlike wonder.

I now have two daughters of my own and my eldest is a bookworm close to the age Lyra was when she set out to rescue a friend in need, and the woman who used to be my girlfriend who gave me that book so long ago is now my wife and mother to those two beautiful girls.

[Night-san]

I can't remember what brought it up, but my mother mentioned the first book. I think it was before the movie came out. I decided to check it out from the library, and... well, here I am. :3

[brieana90]

I first heard about HDM in the summer of 2003. My Aunt had recommended TGC to me so I checked it out of the library but didn't get past the first chapter. I didn't like a sentence in there. I guess I was really picky about books at the time since I gave up on it after what I thought was a badly written sentence.
I actually read The Golden Compass in its entirety January 2009.

[cjp]

I think it was around 9 or 10 years ago that, while still a teenager, I had Northern Lights bought for me as a birthday or christmas present, I can't remember which. I enjoyed it, but I don't think it jumped out massively on its own. I'm not even sure I was aware it was a series of books at this point.

I got The Subtle Knife afterwards, but it didn't grab me in the same way initially; I don't think I was expecting a new setting and 'lead' character, and it led me to give up on it pretty early (how foolish I feel now). It took me about 3 years to come back to it when I needed a holiday book, and I didn't look back. Blasted through that, then borrowed TAS and read it in about 3 days (which caused me to originally sign up here!).

Saw The Golden Compass for the first time only last weekend, and quite enjoyed it, but I don't know how I'd have felt seeing that before reading the books. Probably confused. As it was, it was a nice refresher of what happens in NL, having been so long since I first read it.

[marshfire]

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[Melancholy Man]

Mid-2003, I was reading a Guardian (I've got better) review of NL, including the opening paragraph. What caught my eye was the word "dæmon" which I knew was chuffing well not pronounced "demon", and a few days later I grabbed of copy from a charity bookshop.

Although it was touted as a children's (or young adults') book, I was a bit puzzled when the Masters started chilling out with opium. But, no worries, Children in Need had recently promoted a song about the joys of heroin addiction.

[bethanwy]

I went to Girl Guide camp in the summer between year five and six and we had to bring a book with us to read. I picked up Northern Lights at my local library because I liked the cover and them promptly forgot about it until the last day of camp where I found it at the bottom of my backpack while packing. I then read it cover to cover while waiting for my mum to pick me up and all the way home.