I have been awaiting the release of this book for over a year now. The reason: my Harry Potter collection is featured in it!  I was asked by the author to take photos of my collection to help with his book.  Finally the book has been released and you can buy it here on amazon: Harry Potter Collector’s Handbook.  Now on to the review!

The book, by William Silvester, is made up of 270 pages FULL of Harry Potter collectibles that will make any Potter fan excited.  While the book doesn’t contain EVERY item (that would be plain impossible) it gives a great overview of most of the items you can own.  It goes through action figures by brand, books, calendars, costumes, bookmarks, figurines and so much more!  If you are a Potter collector, or just a collector of anything this book is great to hand.

For each item there is a description and the average price you can expect to pay for it.  There is also an item number if it is available.  So if you ever need to find an item, this will be your go to book. Just go to that section and look through the photos until you find what you need and all the information is there waiting for you!

That’s really all I have to say about the book.  It’s a wonderful resource for Potter fans and collectors of all ages.  You can find anything you ever dreamed of owning in the book. So, that’s it, now go buy it!

A preview of the upcoming book, Harry Potter Film Wizardry, released on October 19th, has been released and you may watch it below thanks to SS!  We see promotional photos, interviews and more!

You can order the book here on Amazon.com: Harry Potter Film Wizardry

This weekend The Intrepid Traveler kindly sent over a copy of Universal Orlando 2011 so I could check out their new 16 page chapter on The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  This book also contains a ton of great information on all the other Universal Theme Parks & is a definite must read if you plan on visiting any of the parks.

As someone who has not been able to visit the theme park yet (depressing!)  I excitedly opened the book right up to the Wizarding World chapter to read all about it. The  section begins with a short introduction on the park noting some pros and cons.  Then they get into each ride and rate them, say how long they take and even have some tips and notes such as, “There is a small pouch in the back of each rider’s seat, just big enough for your keys, wallet, and cellphone or compact camera. Don’t forget your belongings when your journey ends!” Everything is very descriptive and gives you a good idea of what to expect when entering the park.

At the end of the chapter the authors tell readers about the food and shopping in the park giving prices for some of the items.  This will definitely be helpful for the fans that are trying to decide how much money they need to save before visiting the park.

For those of you that want to know more about other parks as well you can read about Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, CityWalk and the Resort Hotels.  The book also lets you know where to stay if you don’t want to stay at a resort hotel.  There is also a list of all the places you can eat and where they are located.  You will definitely want to get this book before making a trip to the parks and to take it with you to use as a guide.

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If you are interested in purchasing this book, I suggest you do it before Labor Day since the book is HALF OFF with free shipping until then, so you will pay $7.98 rather than $15.95!  Head over to this page to order it!  You can also pre-order the book on Amazon.com.

Last week the publishers of The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy kindly sent me a copy of their soon to be released book for me to read and review.  I read half of it on Saturday, then life took its toll so I wasn’t able to finish until tonight.  This book explores many of the themes that are present in the Harry Potter books, such as morality, choice, freedom, racism, love and the soul in a fun way by relating them to Harry Potter.

I pretty much enjoyed the whole book. There were, however, a few chapters that I did not enjoy that much only because I felt like the author was trying to make a whole chapter out of something that did not really need explanation. For example, the chapter entitled Sirius Black: Man or Dog?” seemed a bit unnecessary, but I will let other readers decide that for themselves. On the other side of the spectrum there were a few chapters that I absolutely LOVED.  One of these such chapters was “Choosing Love: The Redemption of Severus Snape.” Snape is definitely a favorite character of mine and this chapter did a great way of showing all that he did for Harry and the reasons why he did it.  Another chapter I enjoyed was “Dumbledore, Plato, and The Lust for Power” because it shows us how Harry has qualities that even Dumbledore didn’t have.  I won’t say much more than this because I want you all to be able to enjoy the book for yourselves, but I definitely recommend it.  It has earned its place in my Harry Potter collection.

I will point out that if you don’t like philosophy, religion and other political issues then this book is not for you.  But if you don’t mind reading about other peoples views on controversial topics you will definitely enjoy this book.

The book even pointed out a few things that I, a Harry Potter encyclopedia as some friends call me, had never noticed before.  So that is definitely a bonus!  Most of the contributors for this book definitely know their Potter and it shows in their understanding and love of JK Rowling’s wonderful world. There are a lot of Harry Potter companion books out there and a lot of them don’t know a hippogriff from a flobberworm, but these authors (for the most part) know what they’re talking about.

The book will be released this September and you can pre-order it over at Amazon.com, and I recommend that you do!

Today, July 31st, is a big day for those of us in the Potter world! We get to celebrate the birthdays of two amazing people.  JK Rowling, and her wonderful creation, Harry Potter!  I know I would be a totally different person if it was not for Harry Potter, so I thank JK Rowling for helping me find my true passion in life (graphic and web design).

JK Rowling is celebrating her 45th birthday today and Harry celebrates his 30th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY AND JO!!!!