Extra Credit

From The Washington Post: When one of the books on your summer reading list is almost 900 pages long and weighs around three pounds, shouldn't it count as more than one book?

Book Review

From the San Fransico Chronicle, Neva Chonin reviews Order of the Phoenix:
"Come here, boy," a wizard known as "Mad Eye" Moody tells Harry Potter in the third chapter of "The Order of the Phoenix." "I need to disillusion you."

Moody means he's going to cast a concealing charm to protect HarryContinued...

Jim Dale Talks Potter

Our Jim Dale interview is up at last! Some quotage for you:

TLC: You've done work with Disney - how do you feel J.K. Rowling's and Disney's treatment of children differ?

JD: Look at life, life's a lot harder these days. Just look around, children are being indoctrinated with things that we never even heard ofContinued...

HP PoA Film Footage

Attendees of Comic-Con 2003, July 17-20 in San Diego, will have an opportunity to see footage from Warner Brothers' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Thanks to Matt for the link!

Harrius Potter

Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis - the Latin translation of the first book - is now available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Thanks to Wyly for the tip.

German Potter Fans Told To Stop Translation

Newsround reports that German Harry Potter fans are being told to stop translating the English version of OotP into German. The German version will not be published until November 8, 2003.

Harry Potter Leads to $10,000 Reward

Madeline Vaughan has won $10,000 worth of school books for her school with her winning review of Harry Potter.

Potions Leads To A House Fire In Madrid

A woman in Madrid managed to set her house on fire while attempting to produce a potion like Harry Potter.

Bloomsbury Posts Royal Albert Hall Transcript

Bloomsbury has just posted a very thorough transcript of the Royal Albert Hall event, including pictures of the inside of the Hall during rehearsal of the show.

On Richard Harris

Richard Ouzounian of the Toronto Star talked to Richard Harris about his life and career in September 2001; when the interview was published, Ouzounian was told to "play up the Harry Potter angle and forget about the rest". In his just published book, Ouzounian recounts the entire interview.
Harris, suddenly tired, lookedContinued...

Summer Reading

The Washington Post's Bob Levy comments on a summer of reading that starts with Potter.

What is it with Harry?

College senior Natalie Burg offers her thoughts on why Harry is so gripping, and blames him for a less than stellar performance on her math final:
Had I not spent the last three days before my final at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I would have been well-prepared for my math exam at boring ol' MSU.

Card on Rowling

Hugo & Nebula award-winning author Orson Scott Card briefly comments on the latest Harry Potter book, and its non-appearance on the New York Times bestseller list.
(Editor's Note: This editor very much recommends Card's novel Ender's Game.)

Thanks to Lee for the link!

Countering Byatt

Charles Taylor for Salon.com comments on the A.S. Byatt New York Times piece we linked to earlier this week. Says Taylor:
The problem is that her argument has nothing to do with the experience that anyone I know has had reading the Harry Potter books.

(Editor's Note: Registration is required to read the entire article. Salon.comContinued...

A Commentary on Rowling & Tolkien

A Commentary by Malcolm Burgess in the Evening Standard compares JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien.