I recently promised I’d collect my thoughts on the new Disney+ series WandaVision, and I was planning to wait until the final, ninth episode airs, a little over a month from now. However, I’ve been thinking about how some viewers love the show, while there does seem to
be a group of malcontents who don’t seem to like/understand it; it occurs to me that some of the tools that make watching this show both enjoyable and thought-provoking are tools familiar to close readers of the Hogwarts adventures and Strike series. So it seems like a good time to go ahead and share some mid-point ideas about how those of us who are long-time Rowling readers may have some super powers that give us a headstart on seeing the magic in this new MCU short-run. Be warned, the following conversation is for those who have already seen the first four episodes, as well as the pertinent MCU films, so proceed if you dare, and see how a world filled with wizards and witches is great place to learn about how to navigate a world of one particular (Scarlet) Witch, Wanda Maximoff. [Read more…]
Slow-Reveals, Interior Reality, and the Power of Symbols: Why Smart Potter-Pros Get WandaVision
News of Possible Potter Television Show: Secret Plans or Just Rita Skeeter Rumors?
Yesterday, we were absolutely pummeled with notes about The Hollywood Reporter’s “Exclusive” news release regarding meetings with 
HBO Max for a planned Wizarding World live action project. While the report was extremely vague, only using facts and figures for verifiable points like the amount of money the previous Potter films have made, it set off a flurry of ripples. [Read more…]
Farewell, Walter Hooper, Protector of C.S. Lewis’s Literary Legacy
When C.S. Lewis died in Oxford in late November, 1963, there was very little international furor, because the man who invented Narnia had the great misfortune to pass from this earth within the same twenty-four-hour period that saw Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate President Kennedy in Dallas (Aldous Huxley also died that day, also with little fanfare). Ironically, yesterday, December 7, 2020, Walter Hooper, secretary to Lewis and editor of many of his works, passed through the Stable Door and into the real Narnia. And I almost didn’t hear about it.
Hidden (and obvious) Treasures on the Robert Galbraith Website
One of the great benefits of the sales numbers of the Strike novels, including Troubled Blood, is that there are some nice resources available for both casual fans and serious readers. And one of the wonderful aspects of the “old days” of Harry Potter excitement was the delightful Rowling website where we discovered her inspiration sketches and outtakes by watering virtual plants or making calls on a 
virtual flip phone and where forthcoming books titles were revealed in Christmas decorations. While the “grown-up” Robert Galbraith website does not have quite as many (literal) bells and whistles (really, I tried my best to make those R and G type pieces spin or turn into something else), it does have some nice little tidbits that are both fun and useful for our serious reading adventures. If you have not already, you can sign up for the newsletter here as well. Join me after the jump for a review of some of the site features as well as a few wishes for forthcoming offerings at the online home of our Denmark heroes and their pseudonym-wielding creator.
Graham Norton Welcomes Rowling to Discuss The Ickabog this Saturday
Britain’s Radio 2 and Graham Norton welcome J.K. Rowling on this Saturday’s show.
On November 14, J.K. Rowling joins Graham Norton on his BBC 2 show. She’ll be discussing The Ickabog, which is being released this week in a tasty hardback after being enjoyed in dainty online bites over many weeks. Both those who have yet to dig into the fairy tale and those who savored its Dickensian serial-release process can enjoy the bound edition, which is illustrated with art created by young readers whose work was submitted through the competition headed by Rowling’s team of international publishers. The proceeds of The Ickabog will go to charity, specifically Volant, which is aiding in Covid-19 relief.
If you’d like to hear Rowling chat with Graham Norton (and some other fun, book-related conversations, too!), visit the BBC2 website at 10 am (5 am EST for folks in the the U.S. Sorry) Saturday
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