JK Rowling Announces...

I'm still not a hundred percent sure what exactly will be happening at Pottermore, though I did catch the bit about JK sharing additional info about the world of Harry Potter that she's been hoarding for years! 

Have you seen the announcement? What do you think?

UPDATE: For more info about Pottermore, read today's Publisher's Weekly article.

I think I understand better now what will be on the new site :-)

Harry Potter and the Mysterious Website

Perhaps all you Harry Potter fans have seen this already, but just in case you haven't...

"Rowling Launches 'Mysterious' Website" is the title of an article published yesterday by TheBookseller.com. Apparently there was this "Secret Street View" challenge where fans eventually pieced together the name of J.K. Rowling's new website, Pottermore.com.

If you click through to the website (which I know you've already done, you crazy Potter fans, you're probably not even reading this anymore!) you'll see that you can click on either of the owls. And that takes you to this awesome YouTube page with owls and branches sticking out everywhere (how do they DO that?) and a clock counting down the time until...

J.K. Rowling's announcement!

Eeeeeee!

Harry Potter Blogfest - Who Would Be Your Mates?

Choose which two characters would be YOUR best mates at Hogwarts. Then, all you have to do is write a fun little piece on why and what kind of trio you would be. 300 - 350 words.

I'm a bookworm, just like Hermione. That's how we met, actually -- in the library. She had fallen asleep amidst a pile of books, her head resting upon the open pages of New Theory of Numerology. I noticed that her copy of The Monster Book of Monsters had bitten its way through the belt that bound its cover and was nibbling her hair. I grabbed Hogwarts, a History and whacked that Monster Book into submission. Hermione woke up, of course, and was so grateful I'd saved the rest of her hair that she generously offered to help me with my homework. We ended up bonding over our mutual love of ancient runes and have been good friends ever since.

Incidentally, I also met Luna in the library. It bothered me that she was reading a book upside down so I attempted to show her the right way to hold it. She informed me that she was, in fact, deciphering a hidden code! Due to my love of numbers I've always been interested in codes and ciphers, so I sat down beside her and together we deciphered the message hidden (upside down) within the pages of Flesh Eating Trees of the World. Turns out there was a major conspiracy going on where Dark Wizards sent these pot plants to members of the Ministry of Magic and the pot plants just snapped the unlucky people up in a few mouthfuls! Hermione actually helped us fix that one (we needed some super brain power to get inside the Dark Wizards' headquarters and take them down), but that is another story!

~ ~ ~

Thanks so much, Michael of In Time, for hosting this blogfest :-)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Memorable Moments

* SPOILER ALERT*

Being a huge fan of the Harry Potter books, I've been disappointed in the past by some of the movies. But I've also felt that as we go along the movies have been getting better, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One was no exception. I really enjoyed it!

• It was really moving when Hermione removed her parents' memories just before she left so that they wouldn't remember they ever had a daughter -- more so than it seemed to be in the book. I'm glad they placed importance on it in the movie; it really was a huge sacrifice she made.
• The moment in the kitchen when Harry and Ginny are kissing and George sneaks in with whatever-it-was sticking out the side of his head so he can have his breakfast and stare at them. Such a random moment! Loved it!
• Luna is hilarious. Her completely honest (inappropriate!) comments provide such humour. "Come Daddy, Harry doesn't want to talk to us right now. He's just too polite to say so."
• When Harry informed Dolores that she was lying and that one must not tell lies, then proceeded to stun the horrible hag. Hee hee hee!

• The acting of the three main characters has improved tremendously since the first movie. I noticed this especially during Harry and Ron's little showdown just before Ron left them. I could really feel every emotion there... 
• When Hermione laid a Christmas wreath on Harry's parents' grave, I found that a really touching moment.
• I loved the way they depicted the Tale of the Three Brothers. It was so not what I expected and yet it was perfect. The animation was superb! Magical!
• The snake coming out of Bathilda Bagshot's body -- seriously creepy! I knew it was coming and I didn't know how graphic or gross it was going to be so I kept kinda looking away and then peeking through my fingers, waiting for it!

• The scenery we got to see as Harry, Ron and Hermione travelled around the countryside was quite breathtaking at times. I especially loved the the snowy forest they ended up in after fighting the snake. The one Hermione remembers travelling to with her parents.
• This wasn't in the book, but it seemed to add something else to the story when Bellatrix cut the word mudblood into Hermione's arm. It brought home just how much the Death Eaters hate anyone who isn't pure blood. The whole Bellatrix and Hermione scene was really quite horrifying.
• And, of course, I had to blink really hard when Dobby died to keep my tears from falling. J. K. Rowling has incorporated just the right amount of loss into these stories to make us understand that no story can end perfectly happily and that there is always a cost when true evil is involved. Dobby died a hero.

So here's to the treasure trove of memorable moments that J. K. Rowling has left us with at the (almost) conclusion of seven of the most magical stories ever written. Thank you!

Harry Potter Movies Fuel Illegal Owl Trade

Of all the possible Harry Potter-related headlines out there, this has got to be one of the least expected! But I suppose it makes sense... Harry Potter had a pet owl and Harry Potter was cool, so now all the kids in India want a pet owl too.

Sunday Times, Nov 7 2010

Rereading Old Favourites - Harry Potter

When the first few Harry Potter books came out they weren't yet a big deal here (South Africa) and the only reason I knew of their existence was because my aunt from London had given the first two books to my little brother and sister. I thought the names sounded funny and I had no interest in reading them (after all, at the age of 13 I had far more superior taste in books!).

Then my first high school end-of-year exams came along and my English teacher used an exerpt from "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" for the comprehension questions. From that moment, sitting in a classroom tense and anxious in the middle of an exam, I was HOOKED! 

I rushed home, found the first book on my sister's shelf, and started reading. For as long as it took me to read the first two (those were the only ones out at that time) that's how long I spent tucked away in my room, pretending to be diligently studying, the books propped open inside my school file so that my mother couldn't see them when she came in to check on how hard I was working...

I recently took "Harry Potter and the Philospoher's Stone" off my shelf and began rereading it. Eleven years later, I still love it! 

It is such an interesting experience going back to the beginning of a series, after having travelled with the characters for so long, watching them grow while you yourself grow, experiencing their hardships and their joys, laughing with them and crying with them, seeing them become whoever they're meant to be... (Anyone who's read and loved this series, you KNOW what I'm talking about!)

I lay on my bed reading Harry and Ron's first awkward meeting on the train to Hogwarts and I couldn't help but think to myself.... You guys have NO idea what's in store for you!!

Have you ever tried this?  

Pick a friend you've known for years and years. 

Can you remember the very first time you met that person? What you said, what they said, what you thought of them?

I find it fascinating to think of those first few moments... knowing everything that I know now about that person...

The Book vs The Movie

What do you think?
I'm guessing that these days movies are generally more popular - especially when the book is one you're required to read for school!
However, in my opinion there really is no competition here.

For me the book is always better.

ALWAYS.

Think about the following...

• Harry Potter ~ can the magic on screen really compare to the magic in your mind? Thanks to your incredible imagination you've already created your own Diagon Alley, your own Platform Nine and Three Quarters, your own Ministry of magic. Think of all the detail you'd be missing out on if you hadn't read the books.

• Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass) ~ I travelled so far into other worlds and became so involved in Lyra's adventure that I just about lost all connection to the real world while reading this. When I got to the final sentence I could have cried out, "No! How can it just END there?" And the movie never quite lived up to that experience.

• The Twilight Saga ~ the movies are great but the books... still way better. That love story will never be as all-transcending as it was in my imagination!

Though now that I think about it, there may be one possible exception: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

NOW I know that all true Tolkien fans might want to smack me over the head with their largest copy of Tolkien's works (after all, the movies did leave out a fair amount of detail), but I have to say that I found the books a little difficult to get through, what with the extensive descriptions of the landscape and all the songs...

But I thought the movies were fabulously epic, especially on the big screen, and I have the boxset of all three DVDs - the extended editions (which are MARVELOUS!).

Having said all this, I must impress that I DO eagerly anticipate the arrival of any film adaptation of one of my favourite novels. I love to see which actors have been chosen to portray my favourite characters - and sometimes they are just perfect! And on June 30th I will be sitting in the cinema along with the thousands of other fans who have been waiting desperately to watch ECLIPSE!!