Pottermore

Back in June, Harry Potter fans were all a twitter (can we still use the word "twitter" like that?) at the news that J.K. Rowling was going to make a big announcement.  Of course those "in the know" were expecting her to make an announcement about "Pottermore" which she did.  Never challenge nerds in the know.  Pottermore is an online reading experience for Harry Potter fans who will have access to an interactive, illustrated companion to the books. All 7 books will be available as e-books for the first time ever via the site.  Some people are calling Pottermore a social networking site for Potter fans, but according to Pottermore Insider (their official blog) it isn't.  "Pottermore isn’t trying to compete with sites like Facebook or the Harry Potter forums and fan sites that are already out there. Once you’ve signed up to Pottermore you’ll be able to find and invite your Facebook friends (if you're over thirteen) and leave comments in your house common room and the Great Hall, but Pottermore isn't a social networking site where you can share personal information or chat in forums."

Pottermore will be open to everyone in October, but they've let 1 million fans in early as beta testers.  These beta testers had to play a little game last week.  Each day a trivia question was released at a certain time on the Pottermore site.  You had to be able to answer the question to get in and search for the magical quill.  For a complete list of the questions asked, just head over the the Pottermore Wikipedia entry.  On the first 3 days the question became available in the middle of the night and we missed it.  But on the 4th day the timing worked out and Tim and I got the answer right and finally got in!  My username is SnitchFeather144!  Fun, right?

So far we haven't actually been able to access the site.  They are only letting certain numbers of beta testers on at a time.  I feel very lucky to be one of these beta testers.  I also feel a small amount of guilt as I haven't actually read any of the books.  I mean, I still consider myself a Harry Potter fan (not as much as Tim of course) because I've seen all the movies and really do love them.  I also absolutely love the Harry Potter section of Universal Studios in Florida!  But, when I tried to read the first book earlier this year I just didn't finish it.  I kept imagining the movie which would then distract me from reading.  Eventually I just sat down and watched the first movie again because that's what I really wanted to do every time I picked up the book.  But Pottermore may inspire me to hunker down and actually read the books!  I'm sure they paint a much more detailed world than the movies and once I get past the first couple I won't be able to stop.  :)