Books About Harry Potter

I own 11 out of the above listed. I’m missing Granger “Hidden Key” & “Who Killed DD.” I don’t have Mulholland, Colbert, Duriez nor the Great Snape Debate, although I see it can be had cheap on Amazon for a penny plus shipping. I also at one time had Batchler’s WWHD but don’t know what I did with it. I think I bought the pdf of it.

I have the 7 American editions of the HP series. HPPS & COS in the British editions. I have all 7 audiobooks. The first three done by Fry and the last four done by Dale.

I may or may not have HPSS & GOF in ebook format.

All in all, a total Potter geek, as my wife likes to say.

It’s a little disturbing when I stop to take inventory on my Harry Potter bookshelf, which has spilled onto a place on my desk because they won’t all fit on just one shelf.

I have the 7 HP books, hardback and paperback (well, not DH yet as it hasn’t been released in the US – I’ll get it when it comes out). I have an extra copy of COS because Laura lost the dust cover and I wanted that one. I have an extra copy of POA, GOF and OP because my first ones fell apart. And I have the UK of PS, brought to me by my sister-in-law who saw it in a book shop in Germany. (I’m glad she realized I’d want the UK one and not a translated German version, which I couldn’t have read.)

And I now have all seven of the audio books, read by Stephen Fry.

And here’s the rest of the list:
Sorcerer’s Stone (10th Anniversary edition)
Order of the Phoenix, deluxe edition (from ebay)
Half-Blood Prince, deluxe edition (from ebay)
Deathly Hallows, deluxe edition (bought when I bought the regular one at midnight)

Fantastic Beasts
Quidditch Through the Ages
Tales of Beedle the Bard (bought three and gave one to each daughter)

by John Granger:
Looking for God in Harry Potter, 2004
Looking for God in Harry Potter, 2006? (found it in paperback at Amazon or somewhere – John was surprised I’d found a copy)
Hidden Keys
How Harry Cast His Spell
The Deathly Hallows Lectures (two copies, one was apparently mistakenly released early, and they are different)
Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys. . .

Harry Potter and Imagination, by Travis, which I’m quite enjoying and wish I’d been jotting down notes.

The Gospel According to Harry Potter, Connie Neal
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, David Colbert
Harry Potter and Philosophy, ed. Baggett and Klein (never finished it)
The Wisdom of Harry Potter, Edmund Kern
A Charmed Life, Francis Bridger
What Will Harry Do?, Janet Batchler
Harry, a History, Melissa Anelli

Traditional Symbols, J. C. Cooper (not HP, and written in the 1970s, but I bought it specifically because of HP and because I wanted something that wasn’t influenced by HP)
. . . as well as some basic books on mythology, since my knowledge was definitely lacking

And then there is the shelf that has “stuff” that I have collected or been given by family members who shake their heads at my HP obsession. Included there are:
-the tiny water globes that came out with the first film
-Christmas ornaments
-the goofy HP glasses
-a wand hand carved and painted by my talented son-in-law and daughter -when we went to Lumos 2006
-the collector’s stones (I finally bought the golden snitch one since I couldn’t get it by buying them at the store)
- the stones are in a cauldron-like goblet that my daughter etched with “Harry Potter”
-stamps my hubby ordered from the UK
-a small Hedwig, a wand from Allivans given to me by my Day Camp co-site director when we had a Harry Potter themed week
-framed picture with the first 4 movie posters and cells from the films (not huge, and it was a gift from daughter, son-in-law and their friend – we had all gone to all of the midnight movies – not something I would have bought, but . . . )
- a throw with a scene from HP and SS movie – crossing the water to Hogwarts (not on the shelf)

Oh, and a LOT of HP book marks, some of which say Bloomsbury on them instead of Scholastic – I’m not sure how those found their way to my B&N in Washington state, but there they are. I also have HP mugs, one for each of the houses and one (gift) of Hagrid with Norbert. I have a couple of movie posters from the first movie that were free at Sears and a poster from B&N for the HBP release. Then there is the potions poster that was given to Laura that she stuck on her bedroom door (now my computer room) with what must have been a permanent sticking charm, as it’s still there after 8 years.

There’s more, but that’s definitely enough to list. Oh, except the HP watch that Laura gave me that I still sometimes wear – with potions bottles on the face (just looks pretty and most people don’t know it’s HP), but not with the blue band. I switched that to a silver one a long time ago so it isn’t so obviously a kid’s watch.

Like I said, I find myself “a bit scary” sometimes. I try not to scare everyone else quite so much by keeping it all contained in my computer room where they don’t have to see it every day.

Having just recently purchased your book, but not received it yet, I am not sure I can include that in the list of books I have about Harry Potter. I do own The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the World of Harry Potter by Tere Stouffer which I purchased mainly from interest generated in the great wizarding war trial over the Lexicon. It is in fact an idiot’s guide, btw. I own the Duriez book “A Field Guide…” I own “The Lexicon” by Steve Vander Ark as well as well as “In Search of Harry Potter,” which I reviewed on Amazon. I have Prejudice in Harry Potter by Karen Brown in digital format. Last but not least in the non-fiction category, I own The Plot Thickens which has some interesting essays, a few done by a friend that were interesting reads.

The only fiction related guide I own is the recent “Tales of Beedle the Bard.” I am not sure why I never bought the Quidditch school book or the Fantastic Beasts, perhaps I will get around to it one day.

So, the Lexicon was published? I thought that had been blocked. I don’t plan to buy it. I used to check things out on the Lexicon (on-line) and read all the essays that interested me. It didn’t sound like those were the things included in the book, so . . .

I think the Lexicon is probably the most useful reference book. I think the book is very well done and there was a good deal of work put in the revision. It is interesting, though, that the changes seem imperceptible. The listings for Fantastic Beasts and Quidditch through the ages were eliminated, this was the thrust of the judges ruling. In some listings the wording was changed so there is less overlap to the actual wording from the series. There is additional commentary added and character descriptions such as Harry Potter are notably shorter. The manuscript in contention at trial was not a completed work so I found it sad that it was subjected to such scrutiny and rather over zealous annihilation by fans believing they were charged to save JKR. I wouldn’t describe that trial as a proud moment in the fan world by any means.

Travis, from all that I have heard publishers are expressing some relief that any book about the Potter series doesn’t automatically generate a Cease and Desist order. I believe the ruling does clear a path for fans of any publishing or other media phenomenon to offer a lexicon for fellow fans. I studied t he law and the ruling carefully and believe the ruling offers good guidelines for those interested in such a fair use publication.

Sadly, the actions of the big time fan sites seem to speak for themselves. While this does not surprise me, I do find the silence of such sites to be a bit of a two-edged sword. Any companion work, yours included, that promotes continued discussion of the books over divisive controversy seems to be a win for all, at least in my opinion. Having studied the law and the case closely, I strongly support the efforts of those who wish to promote the continued discussion of the series in publishing their insights. I look forward to receiving your new book and will gladly post a review as well. Congratulations to you!

Pat, I consider what JKR said at Carnegie Hall last year, “I think that’s it’s a very healthy message to pass on to younger people that you should question authority and you should not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth,” relevant here because I do believe there was a good amount of distortion in the coverage in this case. What I have found from my investigation is that SVA believed he was competing against Mugglenet who intended to put out quite a similar publication. While Mugglenet agreed to discontinue work on the book, it was much further from publication than SVA’s who was by then under contract and several parties involved stood to lose money. While SVA must surely regret some statements I have a hard time imagining what I might have said had I been under such enormous scrutiny. When I became aware of the case and followed it the only image that came to my mind was the stoning of the woman in the Gospel of John. In my opinion the treatment SVA has endured because he attempted to publish a book is completely out of proportion to the supposed crime .

Secondly, there are four authors who put in a solid six months of revisions in the current book, I believe this makes it something more than a list. I don’t expect you will change your opinion but I do wish that fans would stop to consider JKR’s advise about questioning what has been reported in the matter and that she has stated through her publicist she is happy with the resolution.

Sorry, I just read Pat’s comments, and that’s essentially how I feel. Maybe “moral obligation” was the wrong choice of words.

revgeorge: I agree partly with what you are saying about fansites idolizing her, but, that’s kind of the point of the site I think. I mean, she wrote the books right? Perhaps it’s just a level of respect bordering on the proverbial pedestal.

I wrote the opening essay for the collection of essays called The Plot Thickens which is still available at Amazon.com: here.

-Mary

In addition to 2 set of the books, I own Travis’s book, 1 John Granger, The Great Snape Debate, Who Killed Albus D?, The Plot Thickens, Mugglenet.com’s What will happen in HP 7?, A Fandom of Magical Portions, Harry, A History, Tales, the “school books, HP 1 in Spanish (even though I don’t speak Spanish), and anHP cookbook. I tried to purchase The Lexicon the other night, but the one copy my Borders was getting was still in transit. I might pick up a HP Knitting book soon, too.

I don’t have a knitting book, but I did knit a tiny black and yellow scarf for my small badger and one for myself – not tiny. I’m not talented enough at knitting to do anything that would be in the book. I think some of the patterns are fairly complicated.

Pat

May I humbly suggest my own little book, Bring forth the best robes: a spiritual understanding of Severus Snape? It has gotten a few kind reviews (including one from Edmund M. Kern, the author of The Wisdom of Harry Potter, who wrote , “I see a largely secular ethic at work in the Potter series, even though I happily concede that it can open itself to what I call the ’spiritual values of a profound faith.’ In this book, readers will find exactly that. As an agnostic (or even an atheist) who sometimes senses both the divine and the first stirrings of faith in persistent uncertainties, I found Logospilgrim’s reading of the potions master very moving” -this review can be found on my website).

My dear Travis,

thank you so much for your kindness… I am terrible at promoting my own work! I hesitated for a while before I thought I would mention my very little book.

Apart from Mr. Kern’s book, my favorite Potter related books are yours and John’s I also loved “A Charmed Life” by Francis Bridger.