10 Books: #7 Harry Potter

On Thursday, 12, July, 2018 By leiossIn amazing authors, Fantastic books, inspirationLeave a comment

All of them. For so many reasons.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter and All Of The Things

J K Rowling

A friend lent me the first three HP books when he was heading off on an overseas trip. The fourth one was due out whilst he was away, and he promised me I’d have bought it before he got back. I had resisted reading them until then, thinking “Surely they can’t be all that.” Well, yes. Gregg you smug bastard.

What a comprehensively wonderful story world lives in these pages. This book (by which I mean the entire series), more than any other, encapsulates for me the idea of the story world as a character all on it’s own. I don’t re-read this so much to re-live Harry’s adventures as to just immerse myself in the world, explore Diagon Alley, hang out with Hagrid in his hut, try & find the Room of Requirement, open up the Marauder’s Map to find out who is sneaking around Hogwarts after hours…

Confessions of an unashamed Harry Potter tragic

On Saturday, 13, January, 2018 By leiossIn Fantastic books, Fun stuffLeave a comment

Following Bloomsbury’s announcement the other day that the whole HP series will now be released in house colour editions…

We’re also thrilled to confirm that the remaining five books in the #HarryPotter series will be issued in these highly collectable House Editions (dates to be revealed!).
Pre-order your #ChamberofSecrets House Editions today:https://t.co/4IsLPyZz39 #HarryPotter20 pic.twitter.com/KGI52n64PD

— Bloomsbury UK (@BloomsburyBooks) January 10, 2018

…I spent a chunk of time this morning* working out which books I’ll get in which house colours.

1. Hufflepuff. That’s me. (Already got it, so I figure I’m committed.)

2. Slytherin. COS is all about Slytherin.

3. Gryffindor. Two generations of Gryffindors in this one.

4. Hufflepuff. Coz Cedric Diggory.

5. Gryffindor again. OOTP is all about Gryffindors.

6. Ravenclaw. Given all that biz about the tiara.

7. Slytherin. This is a pretty Slytheriny chapter in the HP story.

What do you reckon, fellow Harry Potter tragics? How are you going to play it?

*I was out, having brunch with my other half, so, NO, I wasn’t procrastinating.

Eriovixia Gryffindori

On Tuesday, 13, December, 2016Tuesday, 13, December, 2016 By leiossIn castle-in-the-air, inspiration, writing goals4 Comments

Here’s a new castle-in-the-air goal. Have a newly discovered species named after a character in one of my stories.

Meet Eriovixia Gryffindori, the spider named after the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.

Discovered by Harry Potter geeks (and, as it happens, research scientists) in Western Ghat, a mountain range in south-west India. On a slightly more disturbing note, apparently they’re hanging out to find a species they can name after Aragog.