Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of the New York Times’ “100 Notable Books of the Year.” HBP is in company with books by Dave Eggers, E. L. Doctorow, Gabriel Garcí Má, Joyce Carol Oates, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Cormac McCarthy (great name). Congratulations, Jo! Thanks to Mrs. McClaggan and ndc1980.

Daniel Radcliffe is the first actor to be confirmed as a guest star for the second season of “Extras”. The date that the episode will air has not been announced, but we’ll keep you posted! Read more here. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Our latest joint podcast with MuggleCast, The Leaky Mug #5, is now available for download. It’s our little wrapup of the live NYC podcast from last week, giving some info about what went on behind the scenes that weekend…with some celebrity surprises. Also, we announce our next LIVE podcast, to hit Vegas in 2006! If …read more!

Thanks to our fantabulous Transcription Elves (Alex, Doris, Tim, Pascal, Kyle, Dawn, Gina, Mark, Jules and Joel) as well as MuggleNet’s lovely Jess and Micah, the transcript of the live NYC PotterCast is online right here! Also, the transcript to PotterCast 12 is right here and #11, right here! Thank you, Elves! PotterCast #14 is …read more!

The Snitchseeker.com has some new scans from a day- by-day calendar that show some scenes from Goblet of Fire that were not included in the final theatrical version of the new Potter film. One of these scenes includes Snape and Karkaroff outside in the snow at the Yule Ball, in what looks like an intense …read more!

Business Wire reports that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was screened for the crew of the International Space Station, thanks to a special arrangement with Warner Brothers. “International Space Station Commander William McArthur got a very special viewing of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ this week. McArthur, a NASA Astronaut, is …read more!

Straight from WB, see the first official hi-res photo of Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort right here – enjoy! And now, a clip from WB: QT (Low) QT (Med) QT (Hi) Real Player (Low) Real Player (Med) Real Player (Hi) Real Player (Super) WMV (Low) WMV (Med) WMV (Hi) WMV (Super)

Richard Griffiths, who portrays Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films, ordered a woman to leave Wyndham’s Theatre because her cell phone rang several times during a matinee performance of “Heroes.” It was during the penultimate scene that Griffiths, 58, addressed the woman directly from the stage. He said: “Could the person whose mobile phone …read more!

In the December 2005/January 2006 issue of Premiere magazine, GoF actors Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes are profiled. Brendan Gleeson is highlighted as a “Scene Stealer” on page 34. “When Brendan Gleeson was 34 years old, he came to a crossroads: He could continue teaching at a Dublin secondary school or pursue his lifelong dream …read more!

While Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has just been released in movie theaters, the campaign to promote the film for possible nomination for an Oscar Award has already begun. Ads are now appearing on Ebay, taken from movie trade publications, promoting the new Harry Potter film for consideration for awards given by the …read more!