Reading Harry Potter Again: New Critical Essays Review

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(More customer reviews)I came across this book in the fall of 2009 as a recommendation from a professor when a fellow student and I were researching for a Harry Potter course to be taught to college sophomores the following semester. The project fell through, however the reading was still informative and fun for me as a fan.
This book, a sequel to "Reading Harry Potter," provides several follow-ups to the essays presented in the first book. A few essays of particular note to me were "Potterverse and the Pulpits Beyond Apologia and Banning," "Happily Ever After: Harry Potter and the Quest for the Domestic," and "Doubling Transfiguring, and Haunting: The Art of Adapting Harry Potter for Film."
The first essay I listed explores how preachers are using Harry Potter to teach Christian lessons during church. One particular preacher noted that he asked those who had yet to finish "Deathly Hallows" to leave the room if they did not want to be spoiled about the ending. It was touching and pleasurable to read about a relationship between religion and Rowling's work that wasn't antagonistic.
"Happily Ever After" follows "Cinderfella" from the first book in which the authors look at gender issues and "masculine" and "feminine" choices. This time the writers focus on Nymphadora Tonks, Dolores Umbridge, and Bellatrix Lestrange. The piece is insightful, and the authors did well in choosing three side characters rather than focusing on characters like Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.
"Doubling, Transfiguring, and Haunting" focuses on the adaptation of "Prisoner of Azakaban" to film. This was my least favorite of the movies, and yet this essay made me like it a little more. The writer notes the nuances and subtleties in the film and how it relates to the readings.
All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to someone looking to delve a little deeper into Rowling's world. During my research, I came across collections of essays that were poorly written and even more poorly fact-checked (Hermione being a half-witch, James and Voldemort being the same age to name a few), but this was perfectly edited, and its essays a joy to read. While one may want to read "Reading Harry Potter" first, this book will stand on its own with its insightful commentary.

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As was argued in Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays (Praeger, 2003), interpreting the underlying messages and themes of the Harry Potter series is vital for understanding the ways in which we perceive and interact with each other in contemporary society. The novels and corresponding film adaptations have broken records with their astonishing sales and widespread acclaim. They have also generated a plethora of writing-by critics, academics, and fans. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books could easily be called this generation's most formative narratives, and thus certainly warrant critical attention.



This new volume of essays covers the entire seven-book sequence. Contributors consider myriad themes from a variety of perspectives. Areas addressed include religion, morality, race, magic, and other themes popular in discussing the books. With this book in hand, fans of the series-indeed anyone interested in the Harry Potter phenomenon-will better appreciate and understand Rowling's work and the impact of her stories on our culture and on our times.

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The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon Review

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(More customer reviews)Whited's work is a thought-provoking collection of essays and critiques of J.K. Rowling's highly successful and popular, yet frequently criticized, Harry Potter series. Whited, along with a number of the contributing authors, address the overall questions of: (a) are the Harry Potter novels, marketed primarily to children to date but highly successful with adult readers as well, worthy of critical study and acclaim, (b) are they destined
to be classics or are they merely a passing popular phenomenon, and (c) is there any merit to charges by critics such as William Safire that the HP books are a waste of adult reading time? Not surprisingly, the conclusion seems to be "yes," "yes," and "no."
The books consists of 16 articles/essays by scholars in diverse fields. Many of the contributors take issue with the criticisms of Safire, Bloom and other critics that the series is not worth adult attention, and notes that as the characters age, the series
becomes even more complex and adult. Several of the contributors compare and contrast HP with various literary antecedents, but almost uniformly conclude that Rowling's works are fresh and worthwhile for children and adult readers.
Professor Mary Pharr views the series as a bildungsroman, a hero's journey and spends time examining the role each principal character plays in Harry's development (the Potters as the
foundation, the Dursleys as the counterpoint, Dumbledore as mentor and guardian, Sirius as the family tie and Ron and Hermione as friends). Professor Grimes makes an effective case for HP as a truly cross-generational series: Harry is a fairy tale prince to young readers, a "real boy" to adolescent fans and an archetypal hero to adult readers.
Farah Mendlesohn takes a close look at the structure of authority within the universe of the HP books, concluding that Rowling advocates a traditional and conservative hierarchial system that maintains the status quo. While this piece is without question the most critical of the HP series in Whited's book, it is thought-provoking and worthy of further discussion. In the opinion of this reviewer, though, many of Mendlesohn's arguments are undermined by her misinterpretations of the text or reliance on factual inaccuracies.
In evaluating gender issues in the HP series, Professor Eliza Dresang begins her critique of the treatment of gender in the HP series by tracing the various "Hermiones" of mythology and literature, concluding that all of Hermione Granger's literary antecedents are strong, intellectual and resilient individuals. Dresang notes that Hermione has played a decisive role in all the key events of each novel in the series and she sticks to her principles. Dresang believes Rowling has depicted a realistic view of gender that mirrors that of the current muggle world, though she reserves some criticism for Rowling's desciptive language as applied to the female characters.
Professor Philip Nel evaluates the "translation" of British English to American English in both HP and other books. He argues that in many cases, the *meaning* was changed and that the assertion by Scholastic's Levine (and confirmed by
Rowling) that the intent was to ensure that American children had the same reading experience as British children is flawed. Nel is particularly critical of context changes (bogey changed to booger), equivalent word changes (motorbike changed to motorcycle) and onomatopoetic word changes (splutter changed to sputter).
I found all of the essays to be immensely interesting and would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in examining a scholarly angle to the HP series. I should note that it probably isn't going to be interesting reading to younger fans, though interested parents or educators should certainly consider it. It will probably be most valuable to academics and adult fans with a strong interest in what scholars are saying about HP.

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: A Deluxe Pop-up Book Review

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(More customer reviews)My 3 year old "loves" all things Harry Potter, especially since big brother does. Have been looking foward to something that was more on his level for him to enjoy. The book is very nice. He enjoys the pop up and action tabs. The artwork is nice. I was very disappointed that it has no words at all! A little story would have been nice. He does, however, enjoy the book and is very proud to have is "own" Harry Potter book.

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God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novels Review

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(More customer reviews)As a fellow pastor AND fan of the Harry Potter novels, I picked up this book with much interest. The introduction was intriguing enough, so I proceeded with the book. There is no doubt in my mind that evangelicals will dismiss this book as blasphemous. Harry Potter as Jesus? Dumbledore as God the Father? Fawkes as the Holy Spirit?? While I recognize the merit of Killinger's basic argument--that many of the themes in the Potter books are themes that have a Christian basis (if not an outright Christian character--I felt that his comparisons are exaggerated or altogether too weak to stand.
Of course, like others, I am totally embarrassed by the Christians who have dismissed the Potter books as "evil." I was hoping this book might be a reasonable, substantive argument against those accusations. Alas, it is not. In fact, it reads more like a synopsis of each of the Potter books in print with some theology thrown in to boot. Killinger's admiration for the Potter books stands out more strongly than any argument he makes for the books not being anti-Christian.

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Selected Themes from the Motion Picture Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Flute : Solo, Duet, Trio (Instrumental Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this for my daughter as a bday gift. She loved it! This is her first year playing the flute, and I was hoping the music wouldn't be too hard for her to play. It has songs that are for every "talent" group, from beginning to advanced. This was definately a great buy!

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This instrumental series contains selected themes from the box office sensation Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Playable by any combination of instruments -- large ensembles, small ensembles, or solos --the arrangements capture the wonderful sounds from the movie.

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Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets (French Edition)Junior Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)A great Harry Potter book that's really fun to read in French. It's not always easy to understand the vocabulary, and it's in that crazy tense that looks like future but is actually sort of past and is only used in literature ..... but get a good dictionnaire and you'll be fine. Bonne chance!

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Harry Potter Divination Sticker Kit: With Crystal Ball Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this item from a Borders book store near me. It's pretty cool. The crystal ball is solid glass and it comes with a neat little elephant stand to put the ball on. It's pretty small but it's still really neat. It also comes with Prisoner of Azkaban related stickers.

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Among the eight sheets of stickers in this Harry Potter Divination Sticker Kit, you will find images of Divination Professor Sybill Trelawney, Harry Potter, and other students from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Re-enact Divination class scenes from the Harry Potter films with your own crystal ball!

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Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.k. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon Review

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(More customer reviews)As an adult fan of the Harry Potter series, I am fascinated by Ms. Rowling and her talent as a writer which brought this magical world to life. When I purchased 'Muggles and Magic,' I looked forward to reading more about the author and the pop culture surrounding this phenomenon.
After reading Beahm's publication, I have to say that I'm disappointed. Essentially, this book is a collection of articles highlighting Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling facts that have been featured elsewhere. (I.e. newspapers, magazines, online, etc.) While some of the articles have good information about Rowling, there were times where reading them made me feel uncomfortable. I wondered how Ms. Rowling, a famously private person who is not afraid to speak up to defend her character, would feel about the clippings that delve into her painful past. She makes a point to dissuade such stories on her personal Web page, and reading them in this "fan" book seemed more like reading gossip than fact.
Other articles in the book simply have fraudulent and outdated information that Beahm hasn't bothered to research and update, such as that Dan Radcliffe has bowed out of all of the films after 'Goblet of Fire' (he hasn't, and is telling the press he's signed on for 'Order of the Phoenix'), and that J.K. Rowling's Web site doesn't feature a F.A.Q. (it does, here: http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/faq.cfm).
Another problem I had with this book was the higgledy-piggledy way it seems to have been put together. There's no real rhyme or reason to the selections, and the collection doesn't flow but rather jerks, such as from an article about owning owls as pets to another about Joanne's involvement in a cancer charity.
Beahm is clearly a fan and I can tell he had fun putting this little book of Potter/Rowling odds and ends together. Had a little more research been done and a bit more time spent on fashioning the information together, this would be a fleshed-out companion worthy of the world of Harry Potter.

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Selections from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Piano Solos Review

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(More customer reviews)I haven't played the piano in a long time, yet I found it pretty easy to start playing the pieces in this book. It is simple enough for someone with some prior experience in playing piano to enjoy as well as not being too simple to get boring or too simplistic. However, that could also be a bad thing for beginners, for whom I think Big Notes Piano has published a simpler version.
Hooper's soundtrack for this movie was very good, and the sheet music here arranged sticks to the tune of the pieces. I'm able to play these songs that sound quite similar to the actual soundtrack, so that's a big plus.
The only thing I find wrong is that it's a selection of pieces, not sheet music of every track. I would have liked that because I like some music on the soundtrack that was not included in this book.
Otherwise, this is a great purchase for anyone who wants to play Harry Potter on the piano.

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Containing four pages of color photographs and music selections from the much-awaited sixth movie from the Warner Bros. Harry Potter series, this songbook features music by Nicholas Hooper, the composer of Order of the Phoenix and includes songs such as ""In Noctem,"" ""Ginny,"" ""Wizard Wheezes,"" and more. Titles: Dumbledores Farewell * Farewell Aragog * The Friends * Ginny * When Ginny Kissed Harry * Harry and Hermione * In Noctem * Slughorns Confession * The Weasley Stomp * Wizard Wheezes.

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Harry Potter Locket Horcrux Kit and Sticker Book (Mega Mini Kits) Review

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(More customer reviews)This a wonderful Harry Potter cosplay item for the cosplayer on a budget. It is based upon the Horcrux locket used in the Half-Blood Prince film not the Slytherin locket the trio found in the Deathly Hallows.
The chain is made of metal and locket is plastic. I would personally use this locket only for cosplaying and not to wear everyday due to the fact that it is made out of plastic. You want to hold on to this for sometime without getting it broken. I wouldn't recommend giving this to children who's like 14, because lets face it, little children like to play rough with their toys and this would get broken instantly that way. An older teenage would probably appreciate this better.
The locket actually opens so you can place a photo (or a note by the one who has tried to destroy your Horcrux, you only have to worry about this if your Voldemort though, hahaha). The sticker booklet has about eight stickers with photos from the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Including photos of Hermione, Ron, Voldemort and Harry.
I recommend this to any Harry Potter cosplayer or Harry Potter collector. Again, this is not a `toy'. It can be broken easily. Even though the manufacture recommends this for children 6 and up, I don't. It would be broken in minutes. A absolute must for any Harry Potter collector.
Hope this review helps.

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This deluxe kit will be on sale in time for the highly anticipated release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, in July 2011. In the movie, Harry and his friends are on a mission to seek and destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. This kit contains a replica of the elusive Horcrux locket and a book of photographic stickers highlighting elements of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's journey as they track down and destroy Slytherin's locket.

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Hebrew) (Hebrew Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)My daughter is a rising 5th grader in a Jewish day school, I bought this as a sneaky way to get her to keep up with her modern Hebrew in the summer. She knows the book by heart in English and surprised herself with her ability in Hebrew. Another spell cast by Harry Potter.

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Harry Potter Et le Prince de Sang-Mele (Harry Potter (French)) (French Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a perfect, faithful translation of the original English text. This is rare, indeed, as many series that have gained fame of massive proportions often bring with them devoted followers who declare that any translations simply "aren't the same." This book IS the same as the English text; indeed, the only differences I found were with name choices, which I viewed to be a positive because they are clever representations of the characters just as JK used Latin to represent the characters with their English names. If you are looking to improve your French grammar, reading ability, or simply looking to reexperience the Harry Potter phenomenon, this is the book for you.
That being said, the price is steep. Let me recommend this. Look on amazon.fr or amazon.ca to buy the French version from either France or Canada. You may pay a bit more on shipping but depending where you live (I live near DC), I've found that you can often get a dramatic reduction on the price, which is, of course, unreasonable at this rate, even for a translation.
On the whole, this is highly recommended!

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Harry Potter Und der Gefangene Von Askaban (Harry Potter (German)) (German Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)Preface: I am not a native German speaker and I read the book in English before reading it in German.
While reading a book about flubberworms and magic potions is difficult from the standpoint of new vocabulary, it is so exciting and satisfying when you realize that you are enjoying the story and not just the struggle to understand a foreign language. This is definitely a good way to maintain or add to a good, but not perfect facility with German as a second language.

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The End of Harry Potter? Review

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(More customer reviews)My goodness, this is certainly embarrassing! I'm the first one to review this book, and I'm a spry young lad of 40. Isn't this supposed to be for fanboys and fangirls? (Whatever those are...)
It should be obvious that I'm getting my geek on. With Book 7 coming out in less than three months, and having reread all the books, I found myself craving something "Potter". I don't care much for discussion forums because an awful lot of ridiculous theories get mixed in with intelligent discussion, so I thought this would be fun.
It was.
The author, David Langford, is a 27-time Hugo Award winner. Those are impressive credentials. He's a very bright, funny guy, and knows the Potterverse well enough to be a more than able guide. Some theories I'd seen, others I'd thought of, but he did manage, more than once, to slip something in that took me by surprise. For example, when discussing Dumbledore's trust of Snape, he opined that perhaps Dumbledore does NOT trust Snape in the way we think he does. He discusses Rowling's ability to fool us in depth, like a magician waving a rabbit in front of our faces but convincing us that we can't see it. She's a master at that. What other kind of trust might Dumbledore have? He might trust that Severus Snape will do exactly as he expects him to, play the part Dumbledore wants for him, and go back to Voldemort's side. So, when he says that he trusts Severus completely, he's saying that he trusts him to be untrustworthy.
I'm not sure that I believe that, but it was a new thought, a very valid one, and made me sit up and pay more attention.
If you're tired of discussion forums, this is a terrific place to turn.


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The publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, is probably the most eagerly anticipated event in the history of publishing. Even the smallest hints from author J. K. Rowling about what may happen to Harry and his friends have been major news stories.In The End of Harry Potter?, David Langford--Potter fan and award-winning writer--delves into the many mysteries which remain unsolved. Is Albus Dumbledore really dead? Whose side is Severus Snape really on? What are the remaining horcruxes, where He Who Shall Not Be Named has stashed his soul? Does Harry bear a part of the Dark Lord's soul in his scar, and is this why he understands Parseltongue?J. K. Rowling is the only person who knows the answers to these questions. But in this highly entertaining book, Langford uses his deep knowledge of the six published Harry Potter novels to explore these and other mysteries, and to present a selection of possible outcomes.Only the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will lay these questions to rest, but in the meantime, fans of the series will find David Langford's book entertaining and thought-provoking, and a perfect way to refresh their memory of the first six books in readiness for the last.

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Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens Review

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(More customer reviews)"Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens" is the German translation of the second Harry-Potter-book. I think I don't have to tell you anything about the story - see the reviews of the English version for details (besides: who wants to read more about the content of such a book than the back page offers - it would spoil some of the fun since the Potter books are in part a crime story!).
The translation is - judging from my reading experience - well done and worth reading. The language is not too complicated so the book qualifies as reading stuff for a foreigner wishing to practice his German reading skills. I didn't find any translation mistakes - the language sounded genuine German and was vivid and fun to read. The names (always a problem when translating) are not altered, so some of the flair that comes with the nicely selected names of the original is lost to the non-English reader. But this second book shows that this is the right way to go: there is a name-letter-puzzle which plays a key role in this book and translating that one would have been a very hard task indeed.
So the translation receives 5 stars, all well earned for the content as for the translation.
My final note goes to the discussion if this book is for adults as well as teenagers or not: anyone waiting for deep insights into the society, mankind and the world we live in will be disappointed when reading this book. But it is by far the best youth book I ever read, 350 fast pacing pages and I never regretted that I bought it. Nobody whants to read Joyce all the time. And when I turn too light reading stuff, I expect quality as well. Here is where this book has its place in the adult market.

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Harry Potter Et la Chambre Des Secrets (Folio Junior) (French Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having read all the books in English, I picked this up to see what I could make of it. It is extremely well-edited; it keeps the important plot points and preserves all the flavor of the original book. Reading it in French, I noticed some subtle (and really adorable) things that I missed in English, simply becuase I had to read more carefully. I kept my dictionary close at hand, but it really is written on the level of, probably, a 9-year-old.

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Asked And Answered: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Review

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(More customer reviews)The ultimate Harry Potter question and answer book with over 4000 questions on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This book is divided into two sections beginning with Dip Your Toe in that has 10 over all questions about each chapter. The second section Jump In is for the fans who really want to prove they are an expert on Harry Potter, this section goes page by page asking from 46 to 250 questions on each chapter. All the answers are in the back of the book including the page number of where you can find the answer in your copy of Deathly Hallows. You will be able to amaze your friends, host marathon quizzes, even use this with your favorite board game. There is no other trivia book like it for Harry Potter fans. Coming soon Movie vs. Book and also the other 6 Harry Potter titles. Asked And Answered is also working on the ultimate quiz book of the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. .


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All the answers are in the back of the book including the page number of where you can find The answer in your copy of Deathly Hallows. The ultimate Harry Potter question and answer book with over 4000 questions on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This book is divided into two sections beginning with Dip Your Toe in that has 10 over all questions about each chapter. The second section Jump In is for the fans who really want to prove they are an expert on Harry Potter, this section goes page by page asking from 46 to 250 questions on each chapter. You will be able to amaze your friends, host marathon quizzes, even use this with your favorite board game. There is no other trivia book like it for Harry Potter fans. Coming soon Movie vs. Book and also the other 6 Harry Potter titles. Asked And Answered is also working on the ultimate quiz book of the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

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