Tag Archives: harry potter

GIVEAWAY: Win Harry Potter Colouring Books!

As we all know, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is now playing in London, and the book of the script is released in a matter of days. What better way to celebrate our return to the Wizarding World than by enjoying the new official colouring books?

I’m delighted to say that I have FOUR colouring books available to win – and to make things even cooler, I’m dividing these up into two giveaways – so you have two chances to win a postcard colouring book and a full size colouring book as a bundle.

Interested in winning two books from this colouring series? Simply choose which bundle you would like to win, by clicking on a graphic below – this will bring you to the tweet you’ll need to use to enter. simply RETWEET and FOLLOW in order to be entered!

GIVEAWAY 1 GIVEAWAY 2

Terms and Conditions:

1 retweet + 1 follow = one entry

You can enter both giveaways, but there will be separate winners for each

This giveaway closes on the 31st of July

Apologies, but due to postage costs this is a UK ONLY competition

I will pick a winner at random via random.org

If the winner of a giveaway does not respond within 24 hours, I will pick another winner

GOOD LUCK! 

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Book Review: Harry Potter: The Character Vault by Jody Revenson

Published 25th September by Titan Books.

26805823Goodreads Synopsis: Unlock new information about your favourite characters from the Harry Potter movies with this definitive coffeetable book profiling the good, the bad, and everything in between within the Harry Potter universe. Dive into the personal journeys of beloved Harry Potter heroes, and an insightful look at the motivations and actions of the films’ most notorious and complicated villains.

Concept art, behind-the-scenes imagery, and film stills track everyone from Harry, Hermione, and Ron to Dobby, Mad-Eye Moody, and Dolores Umbridge, telling their complete stories as they evolve throughout the film series. A comprehensive collection of the movies’ beloved characters, this beautifully designed book is the ultimate Harry Potter character overview.

My Review: I know I mostly review fiction here, but when I was offered the chance to review this from the lovely people at Titan Books, I jumped at the chance to be able to share my thoughts on this gorgeous book!output_iQj2ur

Of course, I grew up with Harry Potter, and the stories will always hold a special place in my heart. However, I recently realised I hadn’t actually read the books or watched the films in a long time. After poring over this book over a few hours, I’m really eager to get back into the wizarding world again. It’s given me some serious nostalgia.IMG_6226

The Character Vault wasn’t actually quite what I thought it was going to be; I had assumed it would be a compendium of information about the characters, like a cute fact file. It was actually more heavily focussed on the development of the visual representations of them in the films – especially their wardrobe designs. So, not what I’d expected, but it was still fantastic to read through!

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All of the artsy, behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into creating films interests me, so naturally every aspect of this book really appealed to me. Reading about how all of the iconic costumes for the main characters were developed was so fascinating – and this book takes its time to go very in-depth, into how both costume designers and actors collaborated on aesthetics and looks. Every few characters, there’s some stunning spreads of concept artwork too. Cue flailing.

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The book is split into rough sections – from school students, to professors, to the order of the phoenix. Each character has between two to four pages of movie stills, character sketches and art design details. Every page is a visual feast, beautifully presented and incredibly fun, whether you’re reading every detail or simply flicking through the pages. Also, there’s a little bonus poster in the back, aaaah!

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Overall, Harry Potter: The Character Vault has definitely reignited my love for Harry Potter and now I want to go and reread and re-watch everything! This is the perfect gift book for a fan, especially one who’s into film making, as it provides such a fantastic insight into how the most iconic characters of the world were created. It’s a gorgeous book, perfect for leafing through when you’re in a Harry Potter mood.

My Rating:

four and a half

I received a copy of Harry Potter: The Character Vault from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

TO BE (RE)READ…

As a book blogger, I read a lot of books: The many I buy in book stores, as well as the titles I’m lucky enough to be sent from publishers for review. But, as blogging schedules, deadlines and looming TBR piles have gotten more and more daunting, what I read can sometimes be a little restricted. Don’t get me wrong – I adore book blogging, and love & appreciate every aspect of it. What I read is always diverse and unique (Every new book is always a different genre). However, there are times when I look at my bookshelves and spot a title I loved recently, or a very old book I loved a long time ago. I’ll often pick the book up, reread the blurb, and maybe flick to a short scene I remember to be particularly memorable. I’ll read a short part then think to myself, I’d love to revisit these characters. 

But, nine times out of ten, I put that title back and go to my TBR pile for my next read.

As much as I’m eager to delve into a fictional worlds I haven’t experience yet, I also find myself often wanting to revisit fictional worlds I’ve loved in the past. Therefore, for every ten books or so that I read from now on, I’d like to take an old favourite and reread it! As fun & challenging as reading to keep up with reviewing can be (which hasn’t been that frequent thanks to hectic coursework things!), rereading will be so fun (and a little nostalgic in cases…) and I’m sure it’ll cure the frequent reading slumps too!

Here’s a list of the top ten books I’d like to reread soon:

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#1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

There’s not really a need to explain this one! I grew up with Harry Potter, but the last time I ever read the series was when The Deathly Hallows was released… I can’t believe that was just over seven years ago. I would love to reread the series, or at least the first book.

#2: Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

I can recall reading Northern Lights when I was a lot younger, in primary school, but I can’t remember any of the plot now – though I remember it being a completely beautiful book. I came across my old toys of the movie characters a while ago, and they reminded me how I should definitely revisit the story!

#3: Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda is just one of the many Roald Dahl books I would love to reread again – I was reminded of how magical his books were when I visited the Roald Dahl Museum again over the summer holidays. I just picked Matilda for this list, because it was definitely the main Dahl book that started my love of reading.

#4: The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

I can’t remember when and how, but recently the Magic Faraway Tree books came up in a conversation and I instantly flew back, in my head, to when my dad used to read these to Six-Year-Old-Me. I really adored them and I would love to reread at least one short story!

#5: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

As a primary school student, I accidentally picked up my first obsession when I bought Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. I wish there was a fandom for this book. *Scours Tumblr* I’m sure I destroyed the spine of my copy when I read it over and over again between ages seven and eleven. I can’t find it anywhere though, which is sad! As soon as I find my copy I’m definite I’ll be making time for it.IMG_2395

#6: Paper Towns by John Green

John Green’s books are – I’m sure most will agree – genius. Paper Towns ties with TFiOS when it comes to picking a favourite of his books. As I’ve been getting really excited about the Paper Towns movie, seeing all of the set pictures online, I found myself tempted to go back and read the book. I’m sure I will before the movie is out!

#8: The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

Another Levithan title, also read very recently! This is on the list because it’s not only a book I want to go back to again, but it’s also probably the easiest to because it’s split into short pieces, each from a different character’s perspective. It was really poetic and moving – in fact, I’ve been rereading passages and pages recently.

#7: Every Day by David Levithan

Every Day is one of the most recently read books on this list; I read it in July. Levithan’s my favourite author at the moment, I think, and that was definitely decided after I finished reading Every Day. As soon as I closed the book, I wanted to start again.  I’m not sure rereading Every Day will give me the same experience as reading it for the first time did, but it was a truly phenomenal book and I just want to revisit A so badly!IMG_2397

#9: Marvel’s The Runaways (Vol. 1)

The Runaways is a graphic novel series that I’ve raved about quite a few times on this blog. I just loved it so much! Though I haven’t actually finished the whole series (I think I’m missing two volumes) I would like to read the first volume again. To help cope with my feelings. Because I’m still crying over the most recent volume I read.

#10: Sailor Moon (Vol. 1) by Naoko Takeuchi

Between the ages of ten and twelve, I went through a kind of “manga” pghase – I was totally obsessed with drawing, manga style, and reading manga series including Sailor Moon. Naoko Takeuchi’s books are still an all-time favourite manga, though I haven’t read them in ages. With the recent release of Sailor Moon Crystal, I’d like to reread the original Sailor Moon books, then maybe try the new series!

Wow, that was unexpectedly a very long, rambling post… What books would you like to reread soon?