Owl Post: Bringing you the best in Harry PotterThe Official Newsletter of LeakyNews.com! |
|||||
Entertainment Weekly Names J.K. Rowling "Entertainer of the Year"Entertainment Weekly has named J.K. Rowling their "Entertainer of the Year" for 2007 (cover of new issue with JKR, here). The magazine says the reason they selected the Harry Potter author as their top entertainer was "because she did something very, very hard, and she did it very, very well, thus pleasing hundreds of millions of children and adults very, very much. In an era of videogame consoles, online multiplayer "environments," and tinier-is-better mobisodes, minisodes, and webisodes, she got people to tote around her big, fat old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet."Praising the timelessness of our favorite author's works, the article continues: "As it turns out, the Harry Potter books are much richer than their progression from lightness to darkness, from childhood to adulthood, from the episodic simplicity of chapter-books to the heft and sweep of epic novels, and in their constant, book-by-book recalibration of what their readers were prepared to absorb, they've proven unlike anything else in a century of children's literature. Can there be any remaining doubt that Rowling meant every word when she said, some time back, that she planned every aspect of her story "so carefully I sometimes feel as though my brain is going to explode?" The planning clearly paid off, not only in the blossoming of the books into a worldwide cross-cultural phenomenon but in the widespread declarations that greeted the July publication of volume 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, that Rowling had created something timeless, a tale that children would read 25 and 50 years from now." ... "Rowling's writing is distinguished by its great and sustained generosity- toward her readers and her characters- and the books she spent so long creating are entertaining enough to satisfy anybody who reads them in order to flee the cares of the everyday world, even if what looks like a chance to disapparate ultimately lands us in a universe very much like the one we were trying to escape. As odd as it may sound, Rowling is a realist. Even when the incantations are flying (not to mention the people), she stays focused on the humanness of what she's writing about: the cost of pride and stubbornness and vanity, the toll of living in fear, the ache of loss, the search for home, the pain of holding a lifelong secret, the need to be loved, the quest to find out who you truly are." Hear hear! The new issue of "Entertainment Weekly" featuring JKR on the cover is on newsstands now.
|
Beedle the Bard, Up Close and PersonalThis week TLC got a treat when we had the opportunity to preview one of the precious seven copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the handwritten book author J. K. Rowling Sotheby's will be auctioning for charity on December 13, 2007. Proceeds from this auction will benefit The Children's Voice charity, while six other copies of the book will be presented to individuals by J. K. Rowling. Our report which details the book, its design, contents, illustrations, and craftsmanship is now available to read on Leaky. Here is a brief excerpt from the report:The book is about 4 x 6", and has the look of a diary. A Scottish jeweler has hand-wrought the silver pieces that adorn the item's front; the four corners each have a tiny engraving of one of four illustrations: a foot, a fountain, a tree stump and a heart, representing each of four of the stories . The middle piece, the large silver skull, represents The Tale of the Three Brothers, the fifth story and the one featured in Deathly Hallows. A small silver clasp closes the book. Each edition is also set with different types of stones; the charity edition is the moonstone one, which, Jo notes, is associated with "mothers, lovers and the power of dreams." The gems look clear or bluish depending on the angle; as has been seen in pictures, a stone sits in each of the skull's eye sockets and on each corner. The Deathly Hallows sign is not on the skull. All proceeds from the sale of a preview catalog (available via this link) and the auction of this special “Tales of Beedle the Bard” book will benefit The Children's Voice charity. More Big News...Dan, Rupert, and Emma Talk "Half-Blood Prince" and Beyond in New Interviews "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" a New York Times Notable Book of the Year Report from OotP Train Exhibit in Switzerland
Jingle Spells: Leaky's Sixth Get A Clue Fundraiser Now Open
|
What's HOT in the Leaky Lounge
New from PotterCast
The latest in HP essays!
New and featured items
Leaky's sixth JKR Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year
MTV Exclusive: A Walk Through The Hall Of Prophecy
Reader E-mails
Dear Leaky Cauldron,
What's the difference between the adult and children's editions of the books? Am I missing out on additional text if I buy the children's version?
-A Devoted Reader
Dear Devoted Reader,
Relax - the text is the same in both editions. The adult version has one difference - the cover. While attractive in a film noir sort of way (supposedly to appeal to adult commuters who may not want their train-mates to realize they're reading a "children's book"), we here at Leaky tend to prefer the colorful artwork of the children's (original) editions.
-Kristin for TLC