Hogwarts Professor

What a weekend! Mary and I taught our Friday evening/all day Saturday, three classes, meals and cooking classes “Way of Communion” seminar at the Episcopal Church of the Mediator here in Allentown. I really enjoy writing and talking with friends about Harry Potter, but I live to eat and talk about good food and eating as an extension of the Eucharist. It was a delight and enlightening, as always (and I think the folks who joined us got a lot out of it, too).

Anyway, prepping for that intensive course left us pretty light on posts here last week. I’ll try to catch up this week, which, except for a trip to New Haven to talk at Yale Divinity School on Wednesday, is a “stay-at-home-and-update-Unlocking” week.

I’ve read about a fascinating Reading Challenge on Dr. Sturgis’ site, at Sword of Gryffindor, even at its point of origin. Let me add my voice to this chorus of thoughtful readers recommending the Mythopoeic Award Challenge for calendar year 2008. Simply choose seven titles from the Mythopoeic Society’s list of Award winners and read them all by midnight 31 December. There’s an edifying, mid-February not-quite-so-New-Year’s resolution.

I ask for your recommendations to put on my list or thoughts about the books you’d like to read. And be sure to tune in to Dr. Sturgis’ interviews this month! The first one is tomorrow…

The Writers Strike is Over! Hurrah!

Why do I care, teevee and movie know-nothing-and-care-less kind of curmudgeon that I am? Because Janet Batchler, beloved HogPro AllPro and author of What Will Harry Do?, has been on the picket-line for months. There is no word yet at Quoth The Maven blogspot about what she thinks of the deal; I hope she’ll check in here and let us know if the good guys won or were just worked over.

Readers in Spain have their copies of Deathly Hallows today — and an intriguing interview with Ms. Rowling in El Pais magazine, to boot. SnitchSeeker has the first “complete transcript translation” I’ve been sent [hat-tip, Bob Trexler!], but, alas, we know it isn’t complete because in previous reports on this interview from the same source we read about her comments on Neville Chamberlain as a model for Cornelius Fudge and about her ex-husband not being in the books (I tell you, the guy in lavendar is Philip Pullman…). And those notes aren’t in the “complete transcript.” Nothing yet at our best source for JKR interviews; if you didn’t think the quiet demise of Accio Quote was going to be painful, this is your moment to reflect and reconsider.

Two quick comments on what we have in this interview and my favorite parts before opening the gates for your comments about your favorites: [Read more…]