Sunday 16 October 2016

Review: Pottermore Presents: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies - J.K. Rowling

‘Minerva was the Roman goddess of warriors and wisdom. William McGonagall is celebrated as the worst poet in British history. There was something irresistible to me about his name, and the idea that such a brilliant woman might be a distant relative of the buffoonish McGonagall.’ – J.K. Rowling

Pottermore Presents is a collection of J.K. Rowling’s writing from the Pottermore archives: short reads originally featured on pottermore.com with some exclusive new additions. These eBooks, with writing curated by Pottermore, will take you beyond the Harry Potter stories as J.K. Rowling reveals her inspiration, intricate details of characters’ lives and surprises from the wizarding world.

These stories of heroism, hardship and dangerous hobbies profile two of the Harry Potter stories’ most courageous and iconic characters: Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin. J.K. Rowling also gives us a peek behind the closed curtains of Sybill Trelawney’s life, and you’ll encounter the reckless, magical-beast-loving Silvanus Kettleburn along the way.

Harry Potter Series:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Illustrated Edition (Illustrated by Jim Kay)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: 20th Anniversary House Editions
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Illustrated Edition (Illustrated by Jim Kay)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Illustrated Edition (Illustrated by Jim Kay)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Illustrated Edition (Illustrated by Jim Kay)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Play Script written with John Tiffany & Jack Thorne)

Pottermore Presents:
Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies (Short Story Collection)
Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists (Short Story Collection)
Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide (Short Story Collection)

Incredibuilds:
IncrediBuilds: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Erumpent (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
IncrediBuilds: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Niffler (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
IncrediBuilds: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Swooping Evil (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
IncrediBuilds: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Thunderbird (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
IncrediBuilds: Harry Potter: Aragog (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
Incredibuilds: Harry Potter: Buckbeak (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
IncrediBuilds: Harry Potter: Hedwig (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
Incredibuilds: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Express (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
Incredibuilds: Harry Potter: House-Elves (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
Incredibuilds: Harry Potter: Quidditch (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
IncrediBuilds: Harry Potter: Sorting Hat (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
IncrediBuilds: Harry Potter: Stag Patronus (Deluxe Book and Model Set)
Incredibuilds: Harry Potter: Thestral (Deluxe Book and Model Set)

Other Harry Potter Books & Products:
Funko Pop 2019 Harry Potter Advent Calendar
Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts - Matthew Reinhart
Harry Potter - Creatures: A Paper Scene Book
Harry Potter Hedwig Owl Kit and Sticker Book (Model & Sticker Book)
Harry Potter: Magical Film Projections: Patronus Charm (Activity Book)
Harry Potter Talking Sorting Hat and Sticker Book: Which House Are You? (Model & Sticker Book)
Harry Potter: The Character Vault - Jody Revenson
Harry Potter: The Marauder's Map Guide to Hogwarts - Erinn Pascal (Activity Book)
Harry Potter: Winter at Hogwarts: A Magical Colouring Set (Colouring Book, Gift Tags & a build your own 3D Firebolt in a Keepsake Box)
J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World: Magical Film Projections: Creatures (Activity Book)
Metal Earth: Harry Potter Gringotts Dragon (3D Puzzle)
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter: The Official Guide

Visit J.K. Rowling's website or the Pottermore website for more information

Review:
As a huge Potterhead it was inevitable that I was going to read the Pottermore Presents ebooks, I'm not a fan of reading large amounts of text on my laptop (it kills my eyes!) so even though some of the information included in these ebooks have previously been published on the Pottermore website it was all new to me. I can't confirm how much is new and what you might have seen before but I like having it all collected together in one place so I can read it easily on my kindle so from that point of view it's worth buying just for convenience. Do I think these ebooks are good value for money? At £1.99 for around 70 pages probably not but if you're as big a Harry Potter fan as I am then you're probably used to spending a crazy amount of money to get anything with a HP logo on it so I doubt it'll stop people from buying them.

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies includes background information about two of my favourite Hogwarts teachers: Professor McGonagall and Remus Lupin. Find out more about their families, their upbringing and what brought them to hogwarts in the first place, see first hand the huge effect Dumbledore had on their lives and discover everything you wanted to know about animagus magic and werewolves. Both of their stories are bittersweet, they have been through so much, some of which we've seen in the main books and some that happened off the page but it was great to see another layer of depth added to their characters.

There are also a couple of interesting pieces about Sybill Trelawney and Silvanus Kettleburn (who, if you're like me and have forgotten the name, was the Care of Magical Creatures teacher before Hagrid took over the position). All this extra information just goes to show how much thought J.K. Rowling put into the world building for the Harry Potter series, there are backstories for characters that barely got a mention in the main books not to mention the rich history of the wizarding world and wonderful range of magical creatures that populate it. I'm excited to discover more in the other Pottermore Presents ebooks.

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails