Tag Archives: Hogwarts Library

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

August 8, 2016Book ReviewHarry Potter, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Library, J.K. Rowling, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

Title: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author: J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter Companion Book
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Urban fantasy, Witches
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Fools!’ cried Babbity’s voice from the stump they had left behind.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard contains five richly diverse fairy tales, each with its own magical character, that will variously bring delight, laughter and the thrill of mortal peril.

This is my all-time favourite Harry Potter extra. It is just so sweet, and made me feel like the Harry Potter universe was a reality. Something which I always appreciate when I read fiction. It’s nice to imagine that young wizards grew up on fairy tales like us muggles. And being able to read the stories of right and wrong in that world (much like our own morality-pointing fairytales), is something that I plan to do again and again and again.

The commentary scattered throughout the book by Dumbledore helped to add a layer of reality to the book. It also helped to add context to some parts that were completely foreign to muggles – I loved this extra layer of understanding and construct.

<- Quidditch Through the Ages Review

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists Review ->

Image source: Harry Potter Wiki

Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling

August 5, 2016Book ReviewHarry Potter, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Library, J.K. Rowling, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

Title: Quidditch Through the Ages
Author: J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter Companion Book
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Urban fantasy, Witches
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2001
5th sentence, 74th page: Quidditch was well established in Ireland by the fourteenth century, as proved by Zacharias Mumps’s account of a match in 1385: ‘A team of Warlocks from Cork flew over for a game in Lancashire and did offend the locals by beating their heroes soundly.

If you have ever asked yourself where the Golden Snitch came from, how the Bludgers came into existence or why the Wigtown Wanderers have pictures of meat cleavers on their robes, you need Quidditch Through the Ages. This invaluable volume is consulted by young Quidditch fans on an almost daily basis.

This was my least favourite book in the Hogwarts Library series. I just found it a little dry to read. Although, I feel that way with a lot of history books, so that’s probably why. Sport doesn’t fascinate me, and neither does the way it evolved in the world.

Having said that, I thought that it was really well written. It actually reminded me of the PE textbook that I had to read in my first two years of high school. And the attention to detail that J.K. Rowling has in all of her books added another layer of reality to the world.

<- Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them Review

The Tales of Beedle the Bard Review ->

Image source: Amazon

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

August 4, 2016Book ReviewHarry Potter, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Library, J.K. Rowling, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

Title: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Author: J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter Companion Book
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Urban fantasy, Witches
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2001
5th sentence, 74th page: A black market in Runespoor eggs and in the serpents themselves has flourished for several centuries.

A copy of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them resides in almost every wizarding household in the country. Now Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl.

I can’t wait for this movie to come out – it’s going to be really interesting to see how people are able to change a cute little textbook into something more. I loved constantly discovering new creatures throughout the Harry Potter series, but having the text book just opened me up to a whole new world of discovery.

I thought that the creatures in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them were a great mix of well-known mythology and J.K. Rowling’s imagination. As someone who has a slight obsession with mythology and the paranormal world, this was brilliant and refreshing.

<- The Cursed Child Review

Quidditch Through the Ages Review ->

Image source: Amazon