10 Books About... Harry Potter
This is the first in a series that tries to identify the ten best books about a given subject.
Here, we look at books about Harry Potter. That is to say, not the original books, but those by fans and critics that look at the Harry Potter phenomenon.
Another way of looking at it is that these books deliver for those that can't get enough Harry Potter!
By all means suggest some that I have missed and I'll be more than happy to review them and perhaps include them. You can leave your suggestion in the guest book at the end, or add it to the plexo.
The Book of Harry Potter Trifles, Trivias and Particularities
by Racheline Maltese
Rating: 10/10
This is the first of three books in an exciting new series,
It is designed to delight and challenge Potter fans of all ages. Its nine quests, each built around a different aspect of wizardry, contain questions in three skill levels: Salamander, Phoenix, and Dragon. These magical creatures increase in size, just as the questions increase in difficulty.
All are associated with the element of fire, which is said to govern leadership, enthusiasm, and competitiveness, making it an ideal theme for question difficulty. An answer key at the end of each quest allows readers to check their answers by question number, with the source of the answer cited according to book and chapter number.
Scattered throughout, hints and intriguing trivia tidbits, including little-known historical facts referenced in the Potter series, keep readers informed, engaged, and entertained.
The Book of Harry Potter Trifles, Trivias, and Particularities
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 10/11/2008)
This book will feed any Potter hunger - child and adult alike. Although it can be read on it's own, it is obviously much more fun when there is a group attempting the questions, perhaps in competition.
A well written book that had enough detail to keep true fans happy, without drowning them in a sea of obscure trivia.
Who is Your Favorite Character from the Harry Potter Books?
Yeah Harry is great, but one of the things about this series is the rich characterization. So who else is your favorite? Why not add another character?
Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader
John Granger
Rating 9/10
UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER gives you five essential keys for understanding what Harry Potter is about. Not just who will live or die in Deathly Hallows, but how J.K. Rowling created the most successful books of our times. To understand the story behind the stories, John Granger, author of THE HIDDEN KEY TO HARRY POTTER and editor of WHO KILLED ALBUS DUMBLEDORE?, introduces the themes and patterns Rowling uses to write books that resonate with readers of all ages.
This book is for "serious readers" but Granger writes in a very entertaining style. If you never understood the term "postmodernism" or how "literary alchemy" is used by great authors from Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling, then this is a fun way to learn.
Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader
Amazon Price: $12.91 (as of 10/11/2008)
Is you want a serious book about Harry Potter then this is for you.
Looking for God in Harry Potter
by John Granger
Rating 9/10
Granger, a homeschooling Christian father of seven, initially resisted when a friend encouraged him to read the Harry Potter books. But Rowling's novels, sprinkled with literary allusions and strong biblical values, won the classicist over quickly, and he became an avid spokesperson for the series.
This book transcends the responses of some other Christian writers to offer a serious literary and Christian appraisal of the first five books.
Granger begins with the thesis that all humans are "wired" to respond to "stories that reflect the greatest story ever told," including that of Harry's struggle against evil. The best part of the book is Granger's lucid commentary on Rowling's use of language-the insights into character names alone are worth the price of admission-and his keen awareness of word play.
Although some arguments are a stretch, and there are a few tiny mistakes, this is obviously a painstakingly researched book. It is easily the best examination to date of the spiritual legacy of "the boy who lived."
Looking for God in Harry Potter
Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)
Granger applies his intellect once again to Potter producing a book that would be anathema to anyone 9th grade and below. It is, though, a detailed well researched book.
Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter
by Alison Hansel
Rating: 9/10
You'll soon be knitting enchanting things you didn't know were within your powers. Charmed Knits offers dozens of patterns for items that evoke the mystique of Harry Potter - a Wizard Robe, an Invisibility Shawl, a Quidditch Sweater, Ron's Ragg Raglan, a Clock Blanket, Harry Christmas Ornaments, and more.
Easy-to-follow patterns, color photos of the finished projects, and illustrations of special stitch patterns and design elements make it easy for all knitters - from beginners to those at Mrs. Weasley's level - to work knitting magic. Charmed Knits whisks you away on a wonderful journey.
Along the way, you can pick patterns inspired by the Weasleys, stock up at Diagon Alley, show your house colors, conjure up gifts, or create pieces to help you feel at home in the magical world of Harry Potter.
CharmedKnits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 10/11/2008)
I would never have come up with a knitting book about Harry Potter in a million years! An unusual subject for a Harry Potter book, but a marvellous one all the same.
And it's not a bad thing to learn how to knit you know!
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter
by Tere Stouffer
Rating: 9/10
This is an entertaining and easily referenced presentation of insider information to the world that J.K. Rowling has created in her spellbinding series of novels. It explores all aspects of the wizarding world and explains factually in terms of their relationship to historical, literary, religious, scientific, or mythological roots.
- In-depth information on the facts behind all seven books in the Harry Potter series
- Covers all the relevant influences for the Harry Potter series, from religion and mythology to science and literature.
- Can be read from cover to cover or used as a quick-reference guide
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 10/11/2008)
A comprehensive reference book that is accessible. A must for the serious Harry Potter fan, or an idiot (like me).
The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived (Psychology of Popular Culture series)
Rating 8/10
Leading psychologists delve into the world and characters of Harry Potter in this revealing look at J. K. Rowling's constructed universe, using the characters and their puzzling situations to offer insight into real-world psychology.
Designed to appeal to both fans of pop culture and students of psychology, this unique blend of scholarship and contemporary criticism consists of essays by professional psychologists hailing from schools and clinical practices throughout the world. Every major area of psychology is covered as the contributors tackle such heady questions as:
- Is Harry a cranky adolescent or suffering from real post-traumatic-stress disorder?
- Is Voldemort evil incarnate or a misguided boy now twisted beyond recognition?
- Is Snape treacherous or struggling for redemption?
The Psychology of Harry Potter: An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived (Psychology of Popular Culture series)
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 10/11/2008)
Only a psychologist could come up with a title like that.
A technically sound book, does what it sets out to do. Stay away if you are a casual reader!
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts
edited by David Baggett, Shawn E. Klein and William Erwin
Rating 8/10
Harry Potter has put a spell on millions of readers, and they all want to find out more about the deeper meaning of his adventures. In Harry Potter and Philosophy, 17 experts in the field of philosophy unlock some of Hogwarts' secret panels, uncovering surprising insights that are enlightening both for wizards and for the most discerning muggles.
Individual chapters look at such topics as life revealed in the Mirror of Erised; the ethics of magic; Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick, and the relation of the mind to the brain; and the character of Hermione as a case of "sublimated feminism."
Also examined in this witty collection are how Aristotle would have run a school for wizards; whether the Potter stories undermine religion and morality; how to tell good people from evil ones through the characters in these novels; and what dementors and boggarts can teach readers about happiness, fear, and the soul.
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 10/11/2008)
We've had the psychologists, now we have the philosophers. Who's next? The stand up comedians?
The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works
Rating 7/10
British science writer Highfield (The Private Lives of Albert Einstein) takes on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series "to show how many elements of her books can be found in and explained by modern science."
The result is an intelligent though odd attempt to straddle the imaginative worlds of science and fiction. Using Harry's magical world to "help illuminate rather than undermine science," Highfield splits the book in two: the first half a "secret scientific study" of everything that goes on at Potter's Hogwarts school, the second half an endeavor to show the origins of the "magical thinking" found in the books, whether expressed in "myth, legend, witchcraft or monsters." This division is an obvious attempt to duplicate the method and the popularity of his Physics of Christmas.
Here, however, as intriguing as the concept is, the author isn't quite able to engage or entertain as he explores the ways in which Harry's beloved game of Quidditch resembles the 16th-century Mesoamerican game Nahualtlachti or how, by using Aztec psychotropic mushrooms, Mexican peyote cactus and other types of mind-altering fungi, even Muggles can experience their own magic.
While interesting, the book reads more like an obsessive Ph.D. dissertation that fails to satisfy either of its target audiences: the children who read the books or the parents who buy them and often read them themselves.
The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 10/11/2008)
Put it next to the "Science of Star Trek" book.
The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices
Rating 10/10
Since the 1997 release of J.K. Rowling's first novel--HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE--no series of children's books has been more incredibly popular or widely influential. How do we explain the enormous appeal of these stories to children? Should parents welcome this new interest in reading among their kids or worry, along with the critics, that the books encourage either moral complacency or a perverse interest in witchcraft and the occult?
In this original interpretation of the Harry Potter sensation, Edmund M. Kern argues that the attraction of these stories to children comes not only from the fantastical elements embedded in the plots, but also from their underlying moral messages. Children genuinely desire to follow Harry as he confronts a host of challenges in an uncertain world, because of his desire to do the right thing. Harry's coherent yet flexible approach to dealing with evil reflects an updated form of Stoicism, says Kern. He argues that Rowling's great accomplishment in these books is to have combined imaginative fun with moral seriousness.
Kern shows adults how much they can gain by discussing with children the moral conundrums faced by Harry and other characters. The author outlines the central morals of each book; considers the common critiques of the books; discusses Rowling's skillful blend of history, legend, and myth; and raises important questions for guiding children through Harry's adventures.
This fresh, instructive, and upbeat guide to Harry Potter gives parents a wealth of useful and educational information for discussing the moral implications of this continuously popular series of books with their children.
The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices
Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 10/11/2008)
Snooooooooore.
I know it's got a rating of 10 but it's just not my cup of tea.
The Ivory Tower And Harry Potter: Perspectives On A Literary Phenomenon
Rating 9/10
The Ivory Tower and Harry Pottter is the first book-length analysis of J. K. Rowling's work from a broad range of perspectives within literature, folklore, psychology, sociology, and popular culture. A significant portion of the book explores the Harry Potter series' literary ancestors, including magic and fantasy works by Ursula K. LeGuin, Monica Furlong, Jill Murphy, and others, as well as previous works about the British boarding school experience. Other chapters explore the moral and ethical dimensions of Harry's world, including objections to the series raised within some religious circles. In her new epilogue, Lana A. Whited brings this volume up to date by covering Rowling's latest book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
The Ivory Tower And Harry Potter: Perspectives On A Literary Phenomenon
Amazon Price: $22.45 (as of 10/11/2008)
In depth review of Harry Potter and what he's about.
10 Books About Harry Potter
Here are the ten books highlighted. Please vote them up or down! You can even suggest your own!
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Do you have any better suggestions?
Please highlight them here and/or submit them to the plexo above.
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xtnshun
You're welcome Racheline. Thanks for visiting! Posted February 14, 2008 |
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racheline
Thanks for your kind words about the book! Posted February 14, 2008 |
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