Two Ball State University professors use Harry Potter quotes and connections in their classes. With that in mind, Vasicko added, quoting Harry Potter to start a lesson becomes a perfect hook to grab students’ interest.

If you look at the picture of Cuaron and Emma Watson, you can see the Time Turner’s gold chain around Emma’s neck. Also, the Daily Prophet page that Rupert has in front of him in the Leaky Cauldron pic has a two-word headline, the second word being “Egypt.” I can’t make out the first (though …read more!

A lit professor looks at the ‘epic stew’ that is Harry Potter: “Looting” these great authors, Rowling enters their company and takes with her all the 9- to 90-year-olds who devour her books. Older readers enjoy in them a glimpse of the scaffolding beneath her mind, while younger readers can look forward to the moment …read more!

Remember the Newsweek pics? We’ve got them for you in hi-res, without the captions and headlines splashed across them. Cuaron and Emma Gambon as Dumbledore Hermione and Harry Cuaron, Rupert and Daniel (in The Leaky Cauldron?) Daniel and Cuaron on the Hogwarts Express In the Shrieking Shack The Trio Have fun, don’t crash us!

Sylvia sent us this article from The Atlantic Online in which literary critic Harold Bloom again spouts off about Harry Potter, calling it “rubbish”. A quote: I went round to the Yale bookstore and purchased an inexpensive paperback copy of the first volume. I could not believe what was in front of me. What I …read more!

A short article from Fredricksburg, Virginia’s Free Lance-Star on the use of Latin in the Potter series. Editor’s Note: Probably nothing here new for TLC readers who regularly comb the Lexicon, but possibly something you didn’t know if you’re a newer fan. Thanks to Geoffrey for the link!

From the Tampa Tribune, a short review plus commentary from readers, including fifth-grader Austin Sigl, who finished the book the Tuesday following its Saturday release: “I would’ve finished sooner, but my mom made me put it down and go play.” Thanks to AJaKe for the link.

A children’s author reveals what it’s like to be hailed as ‘the New J.K. Rowling’ – even for a short time: Apart from a simple-minded desire to be your own self rather than a new anyone else, the question remains: why would anyone want a New JK Rowling? The old one works perfectly well. I’m …read more!

A church in Greenville, Michigan organized a Harry Potter book burning. Thanks to Becky for the link.

From Reason Online: When the current generation of American children looks back on the first decade of the 21st century, it is possible that the three names it will most readily recall will be not Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and George W. Bush but Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, and Luke (or Anakin) Skywalker.