Showing posts with label J.K. Rowling. Show all posts

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Personalized House Editions of the Harry Potter Books

You can now have your Harry Potter books match your house!

Juniper Books released the entire Harry Potter book series with special designed covers to represent each house of Hogwarts. The designs are beautiful and classy, and I hope to get my hands on some soon!

They come in all houses - Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff for $275.

Take a look:

Happy Birthday, Hermione Granger!

Happy Birthday to the Brightest Witch of Her Age

Ms. Hermione Jean Granger Weasley

Born: September 19, 1979

Celebrating 34 Years of Her Life Today

Without Ms. Granger...
We wouldn't know that there are more important things in life - like friendship and bravery.

We wouldn't have considered a Basilisk as the culprit, or known how to escape Devil's Snare during a stressful situation.

We wouldn't still have Buckbeak around.

We wouldn't have the foundation of S.P.E.W. (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare).

We wouldn't have had the formation of Dumbledore's Army, or have Harry as the leader.

We would still see Ron and Lavender together as a couple.

We wouldn't have all of Voldemort's horcruxes destroyed, we'd have the trio would still stuck in the underbelly of Gringotts, we'd have Harry killed by Nagini, we'd have snatchers would have identified Harry on the spot, we'd have the trio would discovered on their quest, we wouldn't have Harry knowing the tale about The Three Brothers...

...and we wouldn't have the Wizarding World as the way it stands today.

More Harry Potter Updates! The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Expansion slated for a Spring 2014 Opening!

Just when you thought things couldn't get any better - THIS happens!

From www.leakynews.com:

Just when you thought today couldn’t get any better for the Harry Potter fandom, THIS happens.

Steve Burke, President and Chief Executive Officer of NBC Universal, has confirmed that the Diagon Alley expansion at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando will be opening Spring 2014. SnitchSeeker also reports that Burke mentioned that Universal’s new Cabana Bay Beach Resort hotel will open prior to Diagon Alley. Because the hotel is scheduled to open on March 31, 2014, we can speculate on an April or May opening for the attractions.

In the interview with Yahoo! Finance, Burke spoke about the separation between the expansion, which will be located in the Universal Studios theme park, and the current WWoHP area housed at Islands of Adventure. You guys, we really WILL be taking the train to Hogsmeade.

The second attraction is in the other gate and the way you get from one gate to the second gate as you take a train and the train is the Hogwarts Express. And so, the actual transition or the movement from one gate to another gate is part of the attraction which is never been done before and it’s a wonderful creative idea, that opens next spring.

Are you still with us HP fandom? It’s okay, we’re hyperventilating too. Which part of this expansion are you most looking forward to? Let us know below. And, in case you missed it, check out the news that broke earlier about J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut here.

It's definitely a Harry Potter Week!

I know I am late to the game in posting this, but OMG - A NEW HARRY POTTER MOVIE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED!!!

See below:

JK Rowling has signed a deal with Warner Bros. to write the screenplay for a new fantasy film based on parts of the Harry Potter novels.

The author announced the news on her Facebook page and explained it isn't a prequel or a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but more an extension of that world.

The film will be based on Harry Potter textbook and spin-off book, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and follows the adventures of it's fictional author Newt Scamander.

"Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world," Rowling said.

There will be some familiar faces though, as the film will involve various magical creatures and characters that have featured previously in the Harry Potter books.

"The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry's gets underway."

Talking about how the idea came about, Rowling said: "It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult.

"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood."

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be the first in a new film series, so we can probably expect the usual run of video game tie-ins and merchandise along the way too.

Rowling’s adult novel The Casual Vacancy is being turned into a TV serial by the BBC. More than 450 million copies of her seven Potter books have been sold and the films made stars of Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.

This is fantastic news, and I can't wait to see what's in store for this film and the series to follow! :)

(Thanks to Evanna Lynch for this great capture)

Purchase the original book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling here!

Sharing is Caring - Videos: J.K. Rowling's Graduation Speech at Harvard University

I stumbled upon this video while reading BuzzFeed's "10 Graduation Speeches That Will Inspire and Move You", and thought it was very well done. And hey, anything by Jo is worthwhile in my book ;)