Six fan-theorists attempt to unravel the clues of THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. Joyce Odell of Red Hen Productions, Daniella Teo of Mugglenet, Sally M. Gallo of The Leaky Cauldron, Wendy B. Harte and the mysterious "Swythyv" - along with editor, John Granger (author of Hidden Key to Harry Potter, etc.)- provide Harry Potter readers with exciting and insightful ideas of what happened and what will happen based on their close reading of the texts ... ideas that will challenge and engage readers everywhere. Travis Prinzi, creator of THE SWORD OF GRIFFYNDOR website, writes that these essays "will stand as a monument to the kind of guesswork we were all involved in as we awaited the final Harry Potter book."

Who Killed Albus Dumbledore?: What Really Happened in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Six Expert Harry Potter Detectives Examine the Evidence.

Joyce Odel

Wendy B. Harte

Teen & Young Adult

Unlocking Press

UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER gives you five essential keys for understanding the HARRY POTTER series. Not just who will live or die in DEATHLY HOLLOWS, 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 is the only book to examine in depth the importance of what Rowling said in an interview from 1998, that "to invent this wizard world" she had to learn about alchemy "in order to set the parameters and establish the stories' internal logic." - . - . - . - . - Here's what other HARRY POTTER authors and experts have to say about UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER: - . - . - . - . - "I got so hooked I had to stop everything else and just read, read, read. I carried it around the house, read it while using the excercycle, I hid in rooms away from the action of daily life so I could take it all in. I haven't had that reaction to a book since, well, THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. A spectacular read for all serious fans of Rowling's works. Compelling, well-argued, fun and funny. Engaging. Thought provoking. Erudite." - Tom Morris, author of IF HARRY POTTER RAN GENERAL ELECTRIC and PHILOSOPHY FOR DUMMIES. - . - . - . - . - "John Granger peels back the layers of Rowling's stories and sees patterns the rest of us miss - and he never forgets to be a fan, engaging in fun speculation about what will come in the finale. Once more Granger has shown himself to be second to none among Potter commentators and literary sleuths. Some books are meant to be ingested quickly. Not this one. Serious fans of HARRY POTTER will relish it." - David Baggett, editor of HARRY POTTER AND PHILOSOPHY.

Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader

John Granger

The fastest-selling book in publication history, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was a critical success and is loved by fans around the world. In THE DEATHLY HALLOWS LECTURES, John Granger reveals the Potter finale's brilliant details, themes and meanings. Even the most ardent of Harry Potter fans will be surprised by and delighted with the Hogwarts Professor's explanations of the three dimensions of meaning in DEATHLY HALLOWS to include why Ms. Rowling chose to make Lily's eyes green, why Harry buried Moody's eye where and when he did, and why Ollivander prefers the three wand cores he does. Ms. Rowling has said that alchemy sets the "parameters of magic" in the series; after reading the chapter-length explanation of DEATHLY HALLOWS as the final stage of the alchemical Great Work in THE DEATHLY HALLOWS LECTURES, the serious reader will understand how important literary alchemy is in understanding Rowling's artistry and accomplishment. The other seven chapters explore, among other things, the five writing tricks Ms. Rowling uses to work her story magic, the deciphering of the "Triangular Eye" symbol for the three Hallows, Harry's "struggle to believe" in Albus Dumbledore, why Ms. Rowling revealed that she "always thought" of the Headmaster as gay, and the more than 25 echoes of her first book, PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, in DEATHLY HALLOWS. Did you wonder why Fred died in the end? Why Harry went underground seven times in Deathly Hallows? Granger explains how Ms. Rowling's story formula required these twists - - - as well as two trips to King's Cross and two meetings with Albus Dumbledore at story's end. John Granger, the Hogwarts Professor, has spoken about the meaning and magic of Harry Potter at major universities from coast to coast and as a Keynote Speaker at fan conventions in the United States and Canada. Enjoy these lectures to learn the ins and outs and fascinating depths of DEATHLY HALLOWS - - - information unavailable anywhere else!

The Deathly Hallows Lectures: The Hogwarts Professor Explains the Final Harry Potter Adventure

Literature & Fiction

Granger, John

History & Criticism

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga has taken the world by storm. The four novels that tell the paranormal romance of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are international bestsellers that readers everywhere are discussing and re-reading again and again. But WHY are the books so popular? Critics have dismissed them as "Harlequin trash" and "literary junk food" but book lovers obviously disagree. Is there more to Twilight than a love story for teen girls crossed with a cheesy vampire-werewolf drama? ~.~.~.~.~.~ John Granger, author of Unlocking Harry Potter: Seven Keys for the Serious Reader, explains in Spotlight the literary backdrop, the themes, the artistry, and the meaning of the four Bella Swan adventures. Twilight readers will learn here: * Why the Book Covers are Black, White, and Red; * How Edward Can Read Thoughts and the La Push Wolf Pack Can Have a Shared Mind; * What Influence the X-Men, Night of the Living Dead, and Plato's Republic had on Twilight; * Why the Volturi live in Italy and Hate the Cullens' "Lifestyle Choices";* Why Bella's "empty chest" is mentioned thirty seven times in New Moon; * Why so many Key Twilight Saga Scenes take place in Mountain Meadows; * What Role the Quileute "Protectors" play in Meyer's Re-Telling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; * How Carlisle's Birth in Sixteenth Century London Explains Why the Cullens are "Vegetarians";* Why the James and Bella Confrontation in Twilight takes place in a Ballet Studio; * Why Jacob and Edward are described consistently as Bella's Sun and Moon; and * Why Books and Films about Bella Swan and Harry Potter are such Blockbuster Hits. ~.~.~.~.~.~ Spotlight unveils layer-by-layer the meaning of the books and the artistry of their composition so Twilight lovers can see how the books work and why we love them the way we do! Spotlight is the only book that explains Twilight-mania and is the perfect gift for serious Twilight readers wanting to learn why the books they love are so good and have become as popular as they are.

Spotlight: A Close-Up Look at the Artistry and Meaning of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga

'Harry Potter Smart Talk' is a Greatest Hits Collection from the Potter Pundits. the three literary mavens on the wildly popular PotterCast of The Leaky Cauldron. Four transcripts of Harry Potter fandom's favorite podcasts along with two talks each from James Thomas, Travis Prinzi, and John Granger make this a reading experience that will delight the casual Hogwarts reader and 'wow' even the most serious Potter maniac. From the secret code of Harry Potter names - why all those doubled letters and initials - to the real world Muggles and Seekers of the English Civil War that are the historical backdrop to Harry's adventures, with sidetrips to discuss Christmas at Hogwarts and the esoteric meaning of Luna Lovegood's lovable lunancy, 'Harry Potter Smart Talk' is a must-have guide to the world's best selling books by three geeks who love to laugh almost as much as they love a great book. The Perfect Gift for your favorite Potter-phile! As Melissa Anelli, author of 'Harry, A History,' wrote in the Foreword to 'Smart Talk,' "here is the Ivory Tower in Hagrid's Hut!"

Harry Potter Smart Talk

Who would have believed it? Studying Harry Potter at Yale University? To learn about Christian theology? 
 But it happened! 'God and Harry Potter at Yale' is the story of the controversial course, 'Harry Potter and Christian Theology,' its teacher, the Rev. Danielle Tumminio, and what she taught and learned from her brilliant undergraduate students. They explored the heights of theology and literature for answers about eternal questions of faith, revelation, salvation, and what it means to be human. Come to the American Hogwarts in New Haven to join these Ivy League Seekers and their guide as they examine the stories of the Chosen One and Dark Lord for a greater understanding of the Potter novels and life's mysteries.

God and Harry Potter at Yale: Teaching Faith and Fantasy Fiction in an Ivy League Classroom

Tumminio, Danielle Elizabeth

Religion & Spirituality

'Harry Potter for Nerds' is a collection of the most exciting ideas from twelve Hogwarts Professors about the world's best selling books. Travis Prinzi, author of 'Harry Potter and Imagination' and webmaster at The Hog's Head, has tapped his Potter Pundit friends in Fandom and at better universities around the country for their insights about the literary magic of the seven novels, from their ring composition to the symbolism of the planets, from the Dante, Spencer, and MacDonald echoes to exploration of the meanings of magic and technology. Profound and far-reaching as these ideas are, the essays are all written in accessible style and tone. Serious readers of Harry Potter will delight in the conversation each chapter offers with another lover of the Hogwarts Saga and its greater depths.

Harry Potter for Nerds: Essays for Fans, Academics, and Lit Geeks

Obama is inaugurated. Russians are intent on restarting the Cold War. The boundaries between fantasy and reality are blurred in this prophetic book. is the murder of the last Romanov a key to the future? What happened to Anastasia? Do we forget as much history as we recollect? If so, this book tries to help Americans remember.

Chasing Shadows: Back to Barterra

Reynolds, J.M.N.

Christian Books & Bibles

In Ravenclaw Reader, an international gathering of scholars debate the literary merits and demerits of the Harry Potter series. Each chapter is conversation, with the main argument followed by a reply from another critic. Representing a wide range of critical and cultural voices, the discussion includes questions about the portrayal of education in the book, the role of Snape, the landscape around Hogwarts, the structure of the series, the Wizarding World as dystopia, the problem of the Dursleys, and the canonization of Neville Longbottom. Perceptive, incisive, and thought-provoking, this in-depth conversation will engage fans, students, and academics alike. Ravenclaw Reader sets a new standard for Harry Potter criticism. Developed from the historic St Andrews University Harry Potter Conference, Ravenclaw Reader features contributions by Jessica Tiffin, John Granger, Amy Sturgis, Maria Nilson, Vinita Chandra, Joel Hunter, Travis Prinzi, Gabrielle Ceraldi, Joshua Richards, Amy Sonheim, and more.

Ravenclaw Reader: Seeking the Meaning and Artistry of J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts Saga, Essays from the St. Andrews University Harry Potter Conference

Harry Potter for Nerds II Occupy Hogwarts! Do you see the revolutionary potential of Harry Potter? Where would you stand in the Battle of Hogwarts? Readers who appreciate J.K. Rowling's messages about political and social repression, and about the empowering qualities of empathy, invisibility, and transformative love, will discover inspiration in the latest compilation of essays from editors Kathryn N. McDaniel and Travis Prinzi. Fans of the first Harry Potter for Nerds will find this second volume packed with literary studies of favorite characters, like Remus Lupin, Dobby, Nearly Headless Nick, and the Weasley Twins. And they will also encounter political, economic, and philosophical analyses that explore the problems of our world and point to Rowling's belief in the "power of the powerless" when it comes to solving them. From Squibs to house-elves, from ghosts to young wizards-in-training and even wands and Snitches, the authors in this volume find power in unexpected places. Most of all, they demonstrate the power of expert readers to apply fantasy to the real world in ways that liberate, delight, and inspire.

Harry Potter for Nerds II

McDaniel, Kathryn

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