Muggle Monday: Fantastic Beasts Audiobook Review

It's time for Muggle Monday, in which I highlight 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 feature: I just want the opportunity to post something about Harry Potter.

This week, my thoughts on the updated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them audiobook:

Publisher: Pottermore
Published: March 14, 2017
Pages: 128

A set textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since publication, Newt Scamander's masterpiece has entertained wizarding families through the generations.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an indispensable introduction to the magical beasts of the wizarding world. Scamander's years of travel and research have created a tome of unparalleled importance. Some of the beasts will be familiar to readers of the Harry Potter books - the Hippogriff, the Basilisk, the Hungarian Horntail ... Others will surprise even the most ardent amateur magizoologist. Dip in to discover the curious habits of magical beasts across five continents …

When it was announced that Newt Scamander actor Eddie Redmayne was going to record the audiobook of the updated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them novella, I knew that was something I needed to experience. I absolutely loved Eddie as Newt in the Fantastic Beasts movie and so he has very much become the voice of Newt for me. It was fun to have him narrate this while in character - every mumbling, beast-passionate bit of him. Extra sound effects are added into this audio (beast noises and the like), which, while unnecessary, are nevertheless fun.

In this updated version of the classic Wizarding World novella, an intro from Newt himself has been
added (providing some curious tidbits about his backstory), as well as a handful of new creature descriptions not included in the original book (primarily the Ilvermorny House Beasts). Sadly, gone are the original scribblings by the Trio throughout the novella (the original book was presented as though it was Harry's actual textbook), which were brilliantly in character and SO fun.

A sample of the Trio's scribblings from the original Fantastic Beasts novella (2001)

If you already own the original book that was released in 2001, then I can't say it's entirely worth it to buy this new edition as it is almost entirely the same (and also, I suspect that this won't be the absolute final edition of this novella... Newt himself reveals that there may be more beasts to be revealed later), but I would still recommend checking it out from the library to read the new bits. And if you do wish to purchase this edition, then at least you'll be supporting Jo's human rights charity Lumos as 15% of the proceeds will go to the foundation.

Muggle Monday (18): Pottermore Review

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.


This week, I'm posting my review, the pros and cons, of Pottermore, the interactive online reading experience.

Let's start with the good then, shall we?

Pros:

1. The new exclusive content written by J.K. Rowling. This is by far the best part of the site. Jo has written 18,000 words of new and fascinating information, all written with her signature wit and whimsy. Though I am pretty disappointed that it seems as though we will never get a comprehensive, printed encyclopedia, I am happy that this information is being made available for free online.

2. Getting Sorted. There are a ton of fan created sorting quizzes, but this is the first that Jo has created herself. It's pretty cool to find out officially what house I would be sorted into after years of speculation (Hufflepuff! No surprise there). I am a bit dubious as to the legitimacy of the quiz though... it seems suspicious that there would be an almost even number of students in each house (at the moment, approximately 165,000 students across the board). What are the chances?

3. Getting a Wand. This is another fun quiz that you take to find the best wand for you. Jo has written up descriptions of the qualities of each wand core and every wand wood that is available. Incredibly interesting. The descriptions of the personalities of my core (Unicorn Hair) and my wood (Rowan) sound very much like me, which is cool.

Cons:

1. There is no replay value. And I know a lot of people agree with me on this. Once you've completed all the chapters, you're done, and there's not much to keep you coming back afterwards or reviewing the chapters again. It was exciting going through it all the first time, but I won't be returning to Pottermore until Chamber of Secrets is released.

2. I think I'm too old for this. This is very surprising to me because I have a pretty immature personality for someone my age. I'm usually very much into the sort of games that are available on Pottermore. If Pottermore had been released years ago, I probably would have been very much into brewing potions and wand duelling, but I think I've reached my limit now. I'm a proud Hufflepuff, don't get me wrong, but I just don't care about earning house points. And I especially have no interest in waiting 80 minutes for my friggin potion to finish brewing!

3. No music or sound effects. The new pictures created to represent each chapter are truly gorgeous but there is a noticeable lack of any sound. I think it would have added a bit to the experience.


Overall, I recommend Pottermore to people who are more than just casual Harry Potter fans, as you would probably have no interest in getting sorted and getting a wand otherwise. If you are a big Harry Potter fan, I do recommend going through each chapter (or "moment" as they are called) at least once just so you can read all the amazing new tidbits from Jo. You can probably get through the entire site in about 4 hours. You can try your hand at potion brewing and wand duelling a few times and I'm sure that'll satisfy you.

So yeah, pretty disappointed. I just want my encyclopedia!! I can't believe Twilight got its encyclopedia before HP. Like I said, I won't be returning to Pottermore in any great capacity until Chamber of Secrets is released, but if you want to add me as a friend, my username is FlightOwl209 (Also, let me know in the comments what your username is if you're sending a friend request or else I won't know who you are!).

Pottermore

It's just past 5:00am for me but I needed to see Jo make her announcement live. And what an announcement it was. A free online reading experience like no other. eBooks finally. Some additional information that Jo has been hoarding from us (more than 18,000 words). Interactivity: we'll get to have a wand choose us in Diagon Alley (one of 33,000 possible combinations) and be sorted into a Hogwarts House. Freaky cool figures coming out of books. Forgive me if I'm not thinking straight as I'm very tired. She also confirmed that she will never write another Harry Potter book (Aw! But understandable). According to Pottermore.com, a lucky few will be selected to enter the experience early starting on July 31 (Jo's and Harry's birthday). Everyone else has to wait until October 2011. The Chamber of Secrets storyline will debut 2012. I must follow the owl.

(Click to enlarge pictures)