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That Potter Story Has Legs

July 26, 2007 admin 0

Since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released last Saturday, it’s felt as though editors everywhere have been saying “If it reads, it leads.” Who can blame them? After a decade of ever-escalating stories about the boy wizard and his Titian-haired creator, reporters are looking at a hole where Harry used to be. Best to fill it while there’s still a story to be told. Though the Harry Potter story certainly has legs, some […]

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

July 22, 2007 admin 0

With the end of the embargo on the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, January Magazine contributing editor Sue Bursztynski got right to work. As a children’s librarian and the author of several books for young readers, Bursztynski can see the flaws in Rowling’s final installment. However, she’s quick to point out that they’re not fatal flaws: she came away feeling satisfied that most of the loose bits had been tied […]

What’s That You’re Reading?

July 21, 2007 admin 0

I confess, I picked this lead up from Duane Swierczynski at the Secret Dead Blog. The brilliant and brash contributors to a Web site called Pointless Waste of Time have concocted a variety of manly looking book jackets for those folks who want to read the new Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but don’t want to be seen doing so in public. Some of the specimens offered are pretty outrageous, and […]

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A Little Touch of Harry in the Night

July 21, 2007 admin 0

I know it’s been “All Harry All The Time” this week at January Magazine. And, perhaps like you, I’m getting weary of the hype. It certainly didn’t help matters that I spent nearly 10 hours today in U.S. airports trying to fly home from a business trip, and heard endless CNN reports about Pottermania on both sides of the Atlantic. I’ve never cracked open a Harry Potter book, so I can’t speak personally about the […]

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Final Countdown to P-Day

July 20, 2007 admin 0

I know I said we were done reporting on Harry Potter stuff. But as anticipation for the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling’s series works its way into an exquisite frenzy just hours before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it’s hard to think about anything else. And, Ali Karimic grumblings aside, it’s also difficult not to be swept up in an excitement this vast. We’re all about books and reading […]

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Ali Karim, Shut Your Eyes or All Pottered Out

July 19, 2007 admin 1

Warning: This is January Magazine’s obligatory 11th-hour Harry Potter post. This piece should be sprightly and interesting but, frankly, enough already. Even though (forgive me, Ali) I’m as much a fan of the magical orphaned imp as anyone (well … maybe not anyone) the media saturation of the past week has left me wishing for the good ol’ days when we just complained about too much Paris Hilton. Heck: right this second, Hilton feels like […]

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Potter 7 Closes In

June 14, 2007 admin 0

I have to choose my words carefully. Despite several attempts, I am not a follower of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. The final one is almost upon us — due to be released at midnight on July 21st. Writing for The Independent, Danuta Kean reports that, from a commercial perspective, Potter 7 — as it is referred to in the “trade” — is causing problems for booksellers: Millions of readers around the world may be […]

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Potter Cover Art Ready to Roll

March 29, 2007 admin 1

It won’t be long before you’re seeing it everywhere but, for the moment, you can see it right here: the cover art for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling’s astonishingly successful series. Here we have the new cover in three flavors: (from left) U.S., UK adult and UK junior. (And, incidentally, the UK covers are also the Canadian covers.) I must say, I’m a little disappointed by […]