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Monday, April 16, 2012

Muggle Monday (20): J.K. Rowling Confirms Harry Potter Encyclopaedia

It's time for Muggle Monday, in which I post a quote, a video, or a significant piece of news from the Harry Potter franchise. This is somewhat inspired by the Mundane Monday posts by The Mundie Moms.

But let's be real as to why I made up this meme: I just want the opportunity to post something about Harry Potter.


Somehow in all this news surrounding the reveal of the title and blurb of Jo's strange new book and Pottermore finally opening to the public, no one is talking about what I feel was actually the most exciting HP-related news revealed this week - Jo has confirmed work on her comprehensive encyclopaedia of the Harry Potter Universe:


For a long time I have been promising an encyclopaedia of Harry’s world, and I have started work on this now – some of it forms the new content in Pottermore. It is likely to be a time-consuming job, but when finished I shall donate all royalties to charity.


Ever since Jo had strongly indicated in her announcement of Pottermore that the Potter Encyclopaedia was not going to happen and in its place, she would be using Pottermore as a means of releasing background information about the HP Universe, I was saddened. Partly because Pottermore ended up being a pretty big disappointment, but also because as cool as it is to get this information for free on the internet, I would rather have a thick and shiny hardback of the encyclopaedia on my shelf to be able to refer to easily. I would happily pay for that ability (and especially since all royalties of the encyclopaedia will be going to charity, as is Jo's way). And as excited and intrigued as I am to read her new book, The Casual Vacancy, nothing will ever get me as riled up as new HP-related writing from her does.

What do you think? Are you excited to read the Potter Encyclopaedia? Or are you not an insane Potter Addict like I am and don't feel the need to read or own an HP Encyclopaedia?

30 comments :

  1. YAyy! I want that thick, shiny hardback too. Harry Potter forever!! And I am really excited about Casual Vacancy as well...

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  2. I'm hoping the Encyclopedia will have content that Pottermore doesn't. Maybe that's hoping for too much, but I'm really excited to read it too!

    Jessica @ Books: A true story

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    1. No, I don't think that's hoping for too much. I think the idea is to make it as comprehensive as possible.

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  3. Ooooo this should be really interesting! I'm sure there are a million little things mentioned in the books that I didn't pick up on, and I'm sure they'll all be listed in the encyclopedia. Hopefully it will give us a reference too - let us know in which book the person or thing appeared in. Thanks for sharing Aylee!

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    1. Yeah, I really hope it's like a actual textbook, very elaborate. That is one textbook I would not be bored once while reading.

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  4. While I think it's totally cool, I'm not sure I'll read it. Thanks for the news though. :)

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  5. I'm very excited about the encyclopedia too.
    I didn't ended up liking Potter more either, I had the early entry thingy but I could only manage to get in a handful of times... and it took forever to find the new cool info.

    So encyclopedia sounds so good! :D

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  6. This is really exciting news :) I definitely want a copy too and I am glad she finally decided to write the encyclopedia :D

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  7. Yay! Happy news for all recovering Potter addicts, eh? I feel the same about Midnight Sun. Sure there are free copies floating around on the net, but I would much rather have the hardback on my shelf. *sighs* I'm still holding out hope!

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    1. Me too. I know I would not enjoy it if I were to just read a half-completed draft of Midnight Sun. I want the real deal!

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  8. I definitely want a hard copy of that encyclopedia too! I was also let down by Pottermore, I just signed up this weekend and am not really blown away with it. I love this feature! Thanks Aylee! :)

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  9. I didn't even hear this news till now. The extra info is the only thing that really interested me in Pottermore, and it would be much better to have it in book format than in a few windows on a website. Always. (and I hope there is loads of new stuff.)

    One of my bookish dreams would be to get free access to JKR's study (presuming all her Harry Potter paperwork, outlines, plans and drafts are all in one place.) That would just be AWESOME.

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    1. Exactly. I love free things and all, but I want it in book format over anything as well.

      And OMGosh I would DIE to get that chance. Just to read all of her notes that she made early on in writing HP. I hope they include scans and stuff in the encyclopaedia!

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  10. I was definitely excited to hear the news of the encyclopedia. If it ever comes out, I will absolutely buy a copy. I was hugely disappointed in Pottermore as well but really enjoyed the new information she provided for the site. So if the encyclopedia is anything like those stories, I'll be very happy.
    Lori

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  11. It's such a coincidence that you posted this today and yesterday I was watching a documentary on her. I love HP, Aylee, but I'm not an addict like you so I'll probably borrow it from the library just so I can read some of the more interesting stuff.

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  12. I am insanely excited about a HP encyclopedia. Definitely worth paying for, and queuing up for. Gonna be so awesome, and seh really is amazing, giving so much to charity. :D

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  13. You aren't the only one.lol I would love to own the HP encyclopedia! That would be really exciting to read. I'm wishing that one of these days she would write Hogwarts: A History.

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    1. Brilliant! I never understood why Harry and Ron refused to ever read that - it sounds really interesting!

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    2. I know! If I lived in that wizarding world, I would most likely be like Hermione reading about EVERYTHING.

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  14. This is super exciting!!! I'm totally with you and would love to have something I can flip through and look up famous wizards or crazy lookin creatures.

    I thought the giant HP movie book that came out around Chrsitmas time was surprisingly well done, and if her encyclopedia is anything like that, I think it'll be a big seller :)

    Thanks for the scoop!
    Lauren @ Hughes Reviews

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    1. Yeah, I was a huge fan of HP: Film Wizardry. I loved the interactivity of it - the removable Hogwarts letter and Marauder's Map and stickers. I don't need interactivity with this one, but it sure is fun to have that.

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  15. That's an amazing news !!! Thank you so much for this post Aylee :)

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  16. I think more HP is great news, even if it's not in the form of Harry Potter: The Adult Years. :)

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    1. It's true, I would most definitely not turn my nose up at an HP Adult book.

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  17. Ahh I typed out a comment earlier on my phone but Blogger is sort of wonky on it! I'm so excited for this to come out, I can't wait to learn new things and delve back into the world of HP!I remember being so excited and anxious for Pottermore. Once I got sorted and played around with it for a few days, I forgot it existed. In fact, I didn't even realise it was officially open until people stated to talk about it.

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    1. Yeah, same with me. It's kind of fun seeing people get so excited about getting sorted again though! And then I anticipate that they'll also get bored and move on...

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  18. Thank goodness! I was worried that I would be stuck having to go through Pottermore to find out all those nuggets of information she didn't think to give us in the books... I just find Pottermore to be way too confusing and disappointing to do that.

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    1. Yeah, I really want a good reference book with a table of contents and an index for easy lookup.

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