Pottermore (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
How did I spend my Saturday night? Definitely geeking out over Pottermore, which is finally open to the general public! Many of us Potter devotees have been waiting since the summer, so this was a thrilling moment.
Now that I have seen Pottermore, I still find it hard to describe what it is, exactly. The official description is “a unique and free-to-use website which builds an exciting online experience around the reading of the Harry Potter books.” But is it a social networking site? A video game? So far, it seems to be a little of both. I have made friends with Dana Huff, and and I have dueled, made potions, and collected Galleons that I can use to buy schoolbooks or potion ingredients. But while I’ve enjoyed collecting Galleons and other items as I made my way through the chapters, that is not the main appeal for me. The times when I’ve felt so excited that Pottermore is finally open are when I’ve seen the gorgeous illustrations, heard the sounds,and most importantly, gotten to read the J.K. Rowling exclusive pieces. Ever wanted to know more about Mr. Ollivander? Professor McGonagall? Why toads are unpopular pets to bring to Hogwarts? There’s so much to read and learn, and all of it is rewarding for any HP fan. Of course, it was wonderful to be sorted (Ravenclaw, which I’ve always felt a real affinity for), and to purchase my own wand from Ollivander’s (cypress, with unicorn-hair core). But getting to delve deeper into this beloved world, and learn more about some of my most favorite characters, is truly special.
There’s a ton of fan-created art throughout the site, which I think is also really special for kids like my students, who love to imagine their favorite characters and worlds. The official Pottermore Insider blog does a really nice job of highlighting many of these examples as well. I’m also glad that the fan art is not dominant, however, but viewable in separate galleries. I’m not very good at making potions or dueling, but to be fair, I’m using a trackpad mouse and have not put very much effort into getting good (yet).
My main concern at this point is that only the first book exists on the site so far, and I’m already craving more! I have to admit also at feeling tantalized by what has been made available and longing for more; for example, you can collect rare books in the library, but you cannot read them! I’m hoping to be more satisfied once the long-awaited Harry Potter encyclopedia appears.
Related articles
- Pottermore throws open Hogwarts doors to all (slashgear.com)
- Checking out Pottermore (omnivoracious.com)
- Pottermore Opens Its Doors To Muggles And Magic Folk Everywhere (video) (geeky-gadgets.com)
- Pottermore leaves behind the beta tag, now open and available for all (technologytell.com)
makes for a funny, sexy, gritty and feminine addition to the category. It might sound funny to use the word “sexy” to describe a story in which the author loses five toenails and doesn’t shower for weeks on end, but even without the sensual interlude Strayed does find along the trail, she describes plenty of other sexual episodes with Joe, her heroin addict ex-boyfriend, and the confidence she gains through each daunting section of the trail. I found the book easy to connect to on personal levels, as Strayed and I share some similarities, but I think it’s also so easy to connect to the narrative because Strayed has such a distinctively honest and intimate voice, so that you feel like she’s talking directly to you.
. If you haven’t been a fan of Sugar’s, I can’t recommend her work highly enough, and if you are a fan, you’ll find Wild a great read as well.
(please buy a copy of that if you don’t already have it, whether you use my link or not). The value of the shitty first draft is overcoming procrastination and perfectionism and getting something down on paper without worrying about whether it’s good yet or not. According to Lamott, every good writer has to do these drafts before you get to the good drafts, and I think I’m not alone in finding this reassuring. There’s a version of this sentiment at work in 
as soon as possible, pre-ordering it for my Kindle and then reading it as quickly as I could (though my grades were also due last week, which put a cramp in my reading plans).
or 
, two of my favorite novels. Goodbye features a male hero very similar to men Tyler has shown us before: a crotchety kind of guy who adheres to rigid routines and a cranky outlook on the world, regardless of his age, but who ends up being drawn to women who are flightier, feminine, without always realizing what warmth and richness the women in his life bring to it. There’s not much here that we haven’t seen before from Tyler, and the novel has a roundness, an “happily ever after” aspect that Tyler usually doesn’t have, the kind that’s more often the province of women’s fiction authors like 
, from my daughters’ favorite TV show, as well as doubling up on Taylor Swift with 
and 
. We also listened to 
on CD, a book we read together years ago but that my girls didn’t remember completely clearly. If you’re a fan of audiobooks like my girls are, this recording is done by Emmy/Tony winner 
, and I didn’t know it, but a new chapter of my life was about to be born. I consider it a great honor to teach today at the school she attended as a young girl, and mourn her loss deeply and truly.
