"Beedle the Bard" available for Christmas ...

[Matilda]

On December 4th, the "Beedle the Bard" Collector's Edition will be
released for sale. Here's part of the blurb from Amazon:

"Tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library, the Collector's Edition includes an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction, as well as 10 additional illustrations not found in the Standard Edition or the original. Opening the case reveals a velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature, in which sits the piece de resistance: your very own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, complete with metal skull, corners, and clasp; replica gemstones; and emerald ribbon. As a special gift for fans, the Collector's edition also includes a set of 10 ready-for-framing prints of J.K. Rowling's illustrations, enclosed in a velvet-lined pocket in the lid of the outer case."

More here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0956010903/ref=amb_link_7232452_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=auto-sparkle&pf_rd_r=16P2H2XMCGSYQ6APNW56&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=449016301&pf_rd_i=Harry%20Potter

It really looks impressive, and would be a wonderfull gift for - well, people
like me.

There will also be a Standard Edition released at a considerably more modest
price.


Then there is "Harry, a History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His
Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon" - this one is written
by Melissa Anelli (of "The Leaky Cauldron"), assisted by J.K. Rowling.
This one came out in November, and it seems to mainly for either really
hard-core fandom members, or perhaps somebody who hasn't read the books
and is trying to understand what the fuss is about.

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-History-Wizard-Inside-Phenomenon/dp/1416554955/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227923983&sr=1-12


And from left field we have Steven Vander Ark (yeh, he's bounced back
from the court case, as dedicated and passionate as ever), with
"In Search of Harry Potter" - Vander Ark's attempt to track real places
in Britain that give the best idea of what Rowling's imagined places
could have been like.

"What I wanted to find were places that reminded me of the places in the books, places which had a sense of magic about them. When I went looking for Grimmauld Place, for example, I knew I wasn't going to find one particular square that Rowling had chosen. Instead, I wanted to walk into a square in the right area of London according to the Harry Potter books and be surprised, to have a sense that this was the place..."

http://www.hplex.org/in-search-of-harry-potter.html


I noticed yesterday that my local bookstore has just got in a whole shelf
of Harry Potter hardback and paperback books - you tend to forget that there
are always more potential fans coming along every year. It may never end.


Edit to add: I did a search to see whether the Collector's Edition of "Beedle
the Bard" will be released in Australia, and learned that it will be a limited
edition (100,000) and available only from Amazon.

[XemaSab]

1. I thought of you day before yesterday

My new dog is named Maddy/Matty.

I thought it should be spelled with a d, my mom thought it should be spelled with a t.

Her new name: Madeline Matilda. :bounce:

[Matilda]

2. What a gorgeous name - it does flow nicely, doesn't it?

And guess what -I've ordered "Beedle the Bard" from Amazon. It was
about $50 cheaper from the U.K. - their pound must be falling faster
than the Aussie dollar, because that wouldn't have been the case a few
months ago.

I figure that perhaps one day it will be a real collector's item, if
only 100,000 are printed. That's my excuse anyway.

i probably should go and iron my fingers for that piece of extravagance.

[XemaSab]

3. I started a reread a couple days ago

Best line from chapter 2, book 1:

"The only thing Harry liked about his appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead..."

[Matilda]

6. I just finished my fourth read-through (third for DH).

I'm now beta-reading for HP fanfic, so I need to get as much canon in my head as possible.

Book 7 is the weakest link, IMO - it's not as well-structured as the earlier ones - I think the
best scenes are the those around the "death" of Harry - they really are quite powerful. Snape's
death was well-written, but when you stand back from it, it really doesn't add up. If Arthur didn't
die immediately after he was bitten, why did Snape die so fast? And as an antidote was discovered
for Arthur, it's hard to believe that Snape wouldn't have been able to replicate it, with his skills
at potions, and knowing he was always treading a fine line with Voldemort.

But it makes it very credible to resurrect Snape for fanfiction, and some writers are very creative
in the way they do it.

[XemaSab]

9. I have gotten enough space from book 7 to be able to whinge about it

I think she bit off WAY more than she could chew with the searches for both Hallows and horcruxes. Having to figure out the wand, the cloak, the ring, the cup, the locket, the diadem, the snake, and Harry himself put an almost plodding pace into the book.

Scenes that should have been EPIC, like the raid on the ministry, the escape from Gringotts, and the destruction of the room of requirement wound up being kinda dull. This is compounded by the fact that she really doesn't write action scenes very well, so stuff like the whole switcheroo scene with the wands was hard to follow.

All the previous books had weird ups and downs and side plots and red herrings that gave the books a lot of ebb and flow.

I also think she made a mistake introducing new stuff into the last book. I've heard the words "deus ex machina" bandied about with regards to her work, and I don't agree that it was a fair commentary on the earlier books, but in book 7 I think it applies.

Things that she threw into book 7 that annoyed me were:

*The beaded bag (why doesn't everyone have one?)

*The Gray Lady (who was only previously mentioned in passing) as well as the rest of the Ravenclaw back story

*The Hallows (yeah, they told us the cloak was A Big Deal, but nothing more than that)

*The whole bit about wands and switching wands (she could have put some of that into earlier books)


Finally, one of the things that made the earlier books so terrific was the rich interplay between the characters. We didn't see much of that in 7, and I think it held the book back in some parts. The characters are hers, so characters acting "out of character" I will refrain from commenting on. :P

[Matilda]

10. Sometimes it appeared that she didn't know how to draw all the threads together.

As you said, Horcruxes and Hallows all around were a bit of a mess. There was way too much focus on
camping out and achieving nothing, then everything happening in a rush in the last third of the book.
That's one reason for the lack of interaction with other characters - it was so much focused on
the Golden Trio and their wandering.

As for Ron "speaking" Parseltongue to open the Chamber - if it was that easy, why wasn't everyone
doing it?

And one "Epic" scene that fell flat for me was the final duel between Harry and Voldemort - lots of
talking from Harry, a switching of wands, and Voldy's dead. Even if the Elder Wand didn't really
belong to Voldemort, he still could have done some pretty powerful magic with it, and I expected
lots of fast footwork from Harry, aided by his friends, to get out of it. It was all a bit flat
in the end. (And I couldn't help thinking how Snape would have HATED to have Harry yell out the
details of his personal life in front of the school - it would have been worth a thousand points
from Gryffindor, at least). Actually, I quite expected that it would be during the final battle
that Snape would reveal his true loyalties, and meet his end then, courtesy of Voldemort, and I'm
really sour that Rowling didn't give him that dignity. (Although it has left the way open for
his credible resurrection and lots of stories in fanfiction.)

[XemaSab]

11. Rowling didn't give a LOT of people much dignity in book 7

In some cases it was appropriate, in other cases notsomuch.

[Matilda]

12. No - she didn't.

Remus and Tonks - no last scene for them, nothing to let us know how
they died. Just "collateral damage".

And poor Hedwig. That was cruel. Didn't like that at all.

[davidinalameda]

13. the only ghost that readers really knew about was Nick

and only because he was introduced in the first book

and of course Peeves

as for the other three ghosts, we don't know anything about them because they're not affiliated with any of the main characters

[Matilda]

14. Moaning Myrtle got some space, because of the Riddle Connection.

I thought Peeves was a waste of paper; could have done without him. I
didn't find him a bit funny.

We never learned a thing about the Fat Friar though; he was only ever
mentioned in a group with the other ghosts. He might have been quite
jolly.

[davidinalameda]

15. I can't believe I forgot about her!

[Matilda]

16. Because you were initially thinking only house ghosts.

But you were right; she only got attention because of her direct
connection to a major character.

[XemaSab]

21. I think she put Peeves in there

as sort of a magic loophole.

He's not evil or directly threatening, but he's able to get the kids into a lot of trouble if he so chooses.

The themes of power and powerlessness are strong in the books, and Peeves is someone that Harry has no power over. One could even argue that Peeves is the ONLY someone that Harry has no power over.

[LWolf]

4. I bought the standard edition (preordered)

for my grandson for xmas. It's only $7.14.

The "collectors" edition is $100.

Of course, I'll have to read it before I wrap it. ;)

[Matilda]

5. I'm finding it a little hard to justify spending the money,

but I just wanted the embellished one.

It was actually $40 cheaper, including postage, from the U.K., but it would have been even cheaper
if I hadn't bought it at all!

It does sound beautiful - I just hope it lives up to expectations.

There's a reason they call this the silly season ...

[LWolf]

7. Yes.

If I were thriving financially, I would have been tempted by the special edition, too. ;)

The grandboy will just have to make do with the standard version.

Shhh...

I just won't tell him about the other.

:hide:

[Matilda]

8. My guilt has been taken away ...

my son is going to pay the cost of the book. He'll take the package when it arrives, and give it
to me on Christmas Day.

He won't have to traipse around the stores looking for a present for me, and I'll get something I
really want. Everybody's happy!

[LWolf]

17. Great!

I just finished reading the grandboy's xmas copy.

When you get yours, let me know what's "missing" from his.

:hi:

[Matilda]

18. Okay!

My son has the package now.

Ten more sleeps! I haven't looked forward this much to getting a Christmas present since I was a
child.

[Matilda]

20. Disclaimer: at this point, I've only read one of the stories,

"The Tale of Three Brothers". It's been hard to find a quiet moment to
sit and read carefully.

My copy is in good condition - there have been complaints on Amazon that
on some copies, the metal mountings aren't straight, and some even move
around; also that some clasps don't line up with the centre piece. Mine
are all perfectly aligned and quite firm, although the clasp feels a bit
weak and I'm afraid that in time it may break off, so I'm being extremely
careful with it.

There are ten pen-and-ink illustrations of the stories in an envelope
tucked inside the front cover of the box, which I understand were not
part of the original seven copies. The book comes in a red velvet bag
with gold ties and J.K. Rowling's signature embroidered on the front.
The book itself is bound in bonded leather with silver mounts at each
front corner and in the centre of the book, each with a fake emerald (the
colour is quite wrong for an emerald, and looks more like aquamarine).

Each story has an afterword by Albus Dumbledore. It was interesting that
in the afterword to "Three Brothers", Dumbledore appeared to deny the
existence of any of what we now know are the Deathly Hallows - as we
know that he possessed the Elder Wand since he defeated Grindelwald and
also knew of the existence of James Potter's genuine Invisibility Cloak,
it's quite amazing to read that he believes the Hallows to be a myth.

The paper is a good thickness, but some people have expressed their
disappointment that the edges aren't uneven, as they would be in an old
hand-made book. For me, the worst aspect is the smell of the paper,
which makes it impossible for me to read more than a few pages at a
time with any comfort - it's very strong, and makes my nose block up
after a few minutes. I hope the smell will dissipate with time.

All in all, I'm delighted to have it and it makes a wonderful addition
to my Potter library.

[MrCoffee]

19. Hey cool! I got the standard (read: cheap) edition for Christmas

It's an interesting read, and a fun little addition to the Potterverse.

[XemaSab]

22. I finally got it and read it

The back stories on some of the characters are pretty fun. :)