People were raving about this game when it was released, so I bought it last year and played a little bit - but back then all my thoughts were on Spider-Man and finishing off saving the streets of New York. I did enter Hogwarts a little bit, but it’s not until recently that I’ve really managed to give the wizarding world my full attention. I’m obviously a big Harry Potter fan, having read the books and watched the films and reliving the world on a regular basis. I know there was some criticism of the game before it was released due to the original authors views, but hopefully this game can be considered separate to that.

While dreaming up ideas for potential 30 day challenges, I pondered whether thirty days of Lego would be something that could work. I love the sets they do featuring elements from popular culture - a lot of fun and nostalgia all in a handful of plastic bricks. It didn’t take long to drop the idea because have you seen how expensive these sets are? Maybe one day in the future but for now, I had to settle for just browsing the online store.

Unless you’ve been deliberately avoiding it (and you might have, because it’s troublesome these days), you’ll know there’s a Harry Potter celebration on New Year’s Day. The stars of the movies are getting back together to celebrate the 20th Anniversary ready to reminisce about what must have been a huge part of their childhoods. I’m interested to see what is revealed. But I was also super interested to see a four part quiz special hosted by Helen Mirren pop up on Now TV. The show featured big Harry Potter fans gathered in the four houses of Hogwarts doing battle to win a big trophy, and probably some Diagon Alley street cred as well.

The final book of the Hogwarts/Pottermore trilogy, and this one had a lot more slightly smaller entries - little snippets about the Great Lake, about the Marauder’s Map, about various headmasters and about how to get to and from the castle in the best way. As with the other two books, I really liked how the way it’s put together, the different elements linked and small additions and updates from JK Rowling herself. Not a lot to add, but it’s a good read, super quick to get through, and just adds to your Wizarding World knowledge.

Another of the three Hogwarts books that were a compilation of Pottermore articles written by the author and published on the website. I really liked the list of Ministers for Magic, it seemed like they didn’t last in the job very long even in the good times! But such a long list and such interesting ways that they left their position! Also, I thought the detail about Peeves was good, whilst it wasn’t so interesting to read about Slughorn - I think we knew most of that already, so it didn’t really add too much.

I was browsing through some of the shorter books on my digital bookshelf and I realised I don’t remember buying these and if I read them, I’ve forgotten what was inside. I know at the time some people were annoyed that this was writing that was also available for free on the Pottermore website, but I do think there’s a value in gathering things together in an easy package. Particularly this one, which neatly links together a few different topics.

This short book about how the play came together was, of course, right up my street. It’s a fascinating look from the producers at every corner of bringing the two-part production to life. From the early days of meeting JK Rowling and coming up with an idea, through the writing and rewriting process, through first rehearsals to tech run-throughs, make-up, costume, illusions, and finally the opening nights across the world.

Oh god, it was just so boring! I knew going into it that I had forgotten a good portion of the first film. But I thought I had enough of a hazy memory to get by. The guy who had his memory wiped, Newt and his nifflers, and Grindelwald at the end, with the kid that turned into a black scribble mess in the sky. That should do it right?

There was quite a lot of excitement surrounding the recent release of a new Harry Potter game on iOS. It was your chance to attend Hogwarts, learn lessons, immerse yourself in the magical world that we’ve grown to love. It was even touted as Harry Potter meets The Sims, which, as you can imagine, immediately got my attention. Early reviews of the game weren’t so positive though, suggesting that whilst the story is interesting enough, it’s really just one of those ‘gouge-as-much-money-from-the-user-as-possible’ games which is free to play but perhaps not so free to fully indulge in.

I recently got a chance to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the two part HP play that is currently featured in London’s West End. Around the same time, the play broke records for Olivier Award nominations and actual award success, so I was going in with some pretty high expectations. Naturally, I have to #keepthesecrets but it’s fair to say that I can fully endorse the awards for production, lighting and sound. The general production values of the entire five hour play are astonishing: incredible music, wonderful visuals and some astounding effects. We’re watching wizards, after all, so there’s some exciting stuff to behold.

It felt a bit odd watching a Harry Potter universe film that I wasn’t already totally versed in, but it was easy to get totally immersed in the world again. Eddie Redmayne was brilliant, of course, but I thought the rest of the cast were up to the challenge. And it was believable as being in the 1920s, great graphics, wonderful costumes, and perfect dialogue.

I think Harry Potter & the Cursed Child was the first book that I pre-ordered, waited for midnight for the download to begin, and started reading that very same night. I didn’t finish it in one go, but was done by lunchtime the next day, and my feelings on it veer from one direction to the next depending what mood I’m in. I did love the story, because seeing how the next generation interact with each other is fascinating, and throw in elements of time travel, and I’m on board.

It’s the first time in, perhaps forever, that I have stayed up until the midnight release date for a book, but I was so eager to see what happens in the next part of Harry Potter’s story, that I read the first act before finally admitting defeat and getting some sleep. The rest of it was read in just a few hours upon waking, and what a great story it is.

The history My experiences with Harry Potter have been something of a rollercoaster. I enjoyed the books during their first run, but wasn’t hugely passionate about them - happy to wait for the paperback version, rather than stand in line at midnight for the final book’s release. I somehow ended up owning just six of the seven physical books, so was super keen to own them as ebooks so I could a) complete my collection and b) ditch the last standing physical books I owned. JK Rowling finally capitulated and I was able to plow through them all, on my Kindle, for a second read.

From the traipsing around of part one, this finale really does ramp things up to a big old wizardy action sequence. There’s a lot that annoys me about this one, things like the fact they make a big deal about Teddy despite barely mentioning Tonks and Lupin’s relationship this whole time, but there’s also a lot to like. Neville finally getting his moment to shine is fantastic.

Hermione really levels up her awesomeness in this one, with the fantastic bag that carries everything, the fact that reading saves the day, and her loyalty to the cause even when Ron deserts them and she has to eject herself from the life she once knew. Love her.

It’s a cliche now, that these films just keep getting darker and darker, but this one really crosses the line so that we know what to expect from the final two. There are moments of brightness - Ron and his love spells, Hermione helping out with the Quidditch tryouts, and things like that, but mostly it’s angst and drama and bad times.

In all honesty, it’s at this point that our binge-watching of the Harry Potter films makes them start to blur together. It doesn’t help that this one didn’t stand out anyway, it’s very much setting everything up for the future films to come.

After watching this one, we decided it was the best so far and with the benefit of hindsight can conclude it is the best of all of them. With the kids now old enough to start being teenagers and trying to fathom the workings of the opposite sex, it really was like Dawson’s Creek on broomsticks.

Up there in the notes, I said this was the best film so far, of the three we have watched, and I think that’s true. It was starting to build the over-arching story, rather than just have the standalone mysteries and adventures for each film. It had some great casting and cameos, Dawn French and the shattered wine glass being a particular highlight.

I had anticipated making a big deal of the 500th film, picking an epic classic, but in the end I wasn’t feeling well and in those cases you just want to watch what you want to watch. So, we took in the second adventure of Harry Potter and his pals, in which the shortest book is made into the longest movie.

I bought the bundle of Harry Potter films on iTunes but have spent a very long time getting round to watching them. That’s partly because Mr C wasn’t sure and it’s a rare time I Film Watch by myself these days. It’s also because I was a bit in awe of starting what is clearly an epic series of films, and finally a bit worried about the adaptation because I do like the books and don’t want them ruined.

I found this really quite interesting, as JK Rowling fleshes out the history of the sport that has almost become a part of the conscience as any other traditional real life sport! The information about how the Golden Snitch came into being was fascinating, and I particularly enjoyed the quotes from unhappy fans every time there was a significant change in the regulations. As an F1 fan, I can understand that perfectly!

I thought this would be my least favourite of the three charity specials produced by JK Rowling to accompany the Harry Potter series. The part this plays in the final book has always been a bit weird to me, but this was only short so it wasn’t too much of an investment to take an hour and indulge in some fairy stories.

The three extra Harry Potter books, written by JK Rowling in aid of Comic Relief, were finally made available digitally to coincide with the charity event this year. I snapped them up, doing my bit for charity, and getting some extended insight into the Harry Potter universe. I love books that extend upon a series like this, and I particularly like the HP world, so it’s win win.

Over the weekend, the fabulous Stuart asked if I would be reading the new release from JK Rowling. The answer is quite simply that yes, I do think I’ll read it but no, I haven’t yet. I’m a big Harry Potter fan, but somehow this new book from JK Rowling doesn’t worry me in the way other “next projects” for beloved people do. It feels as though HP is such a phenomenon that she a) doesn’t have to write ever again and b) could write nonsense forever and it wouldn’t take away from that world. As long as it wasn’t in that world, of course.

This book, the epic ending to seven years of Harry Potter at Hogwarts, is long. It’s so long that halfway through, when our trio were wandering aimlessly around the countryside without a clue what they were supposed to be doing, I couldn’t understand why I was still reading it.

I’m fascinated by how this book is crafted. It’s almost the calm between two storms, with a brief scuffle of action at the end. We’re into the sixth book now, so we know all there is to know about the lessons at Hogwarts. This time we’re interested in the new lessons with Dumbledore, rather than the school curriculum. It’s filling in all the details and backstory that we need to know before the final installment hits.

I remembered this book as my least favourite, although not specifically. It was a vague recollection of ’the book where Harry is stroppy.’ Turns out that was this one. It’s completely understandable, given the horrors that he has already seen, the difficult summer he must have had, and the continuing frustrations around him. Plenty of people don’t believe him and those that do aren’t telling him anything. And above all that, he’s also now a stubborn teenager so you can’t blame him for that.

Harry Potter’s fourth outing was, if I recall correctly, my favourite on my first pass at reading them. On this re-read, so far, I think that is true once again. It’s also borne out by the fact the book is fifth on my Big Read list, whereas the others are nestled somewhere around twenty or so. (I’m also intrigued that only the first four are on the list, I guess people think this is the pinnacle and it went rapidly downhill after that.)

The third book in the Harry Potter series does not follow the same pattern as the ones that go before it, and it’s a very timely departure, avoiding the series becoming formulaic. It’s not so drastically different - there is still a year’s worth of lessons and exams to deal with, alongside Quidditch, and unravelling a mystery that leads to an end of year showdown, but this time it’s not about Voldemort.

Harry’s second year at Hogwarts is much the same as his first. He starts by being imprisoned unfairly by the Dursley’s before being rescued and whisked away for a taste of life with the Weasleys. This is a great introduction for us, the reader, to what life would be like living at home with a wizarding family. We’ve seen what it’s like being a wizard amongst non-wizards, and being a wizard at a wizarding school, but this is new and brilliantly entertaining.

I have read all the Harry Potter books before, and very much enjoyed them (although I vaguely recall getting frustrated with a couple of the books). Getting them on the Kindle was the step I needed to be able to read them all over again. I’ve been looking forward to this, they are part of my Big Read challenge, and all the stars are aligned for me to rattle through the series in one go.

I have been waiting for Harry Potter to be available on the Kindle since I first heard about the concept of an eBook and this crazy device from Amazon. I understood that JK Rowling wanted to do it properly, in her way, but the waiting wasn’t good for me. The Harry Potter books that I already own are some of the very few that I have kept hold of. I didn’t think I would want to read the physical copies again - reading a real book is such an odd experience these days! - but I didn’t want to get rid of them in case they really never did appear in digital form.

When JK Rowling announced Pottermore, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. The Harry Potter books are some of the few physical novels that I still own, and I haven’t wanted to dispose of them until I had an ebook copy to replace it with. It’s been driving me crazy, as I only own six of the seven books, and that gap on the shelf is hard to live with. However, I don’t want to buy the missing item, only to dispose of it later.

According to the introduction of the book that came free with The Times, Number Place is the rough translation of Sudoku. In case you live under a bridge and don’t know what this is, it’s a square number puzzle involving placing the numbers from 1 to 9 in the correct places. You know that I’m not one for faddy trends that come and go, and I try and stay away from things if the the rest of the country is going mad for it (Harry Potter? Pah, I’ll wait for the paperback). But Mr C brought this book home and settled down to do it, and I had pretty soon hijacked the pencil and was calculating late into the night. I recommend it, although the puzzles I’m working on now are supposed to be just mild ones and I’m already stuck.

The judges on Strictly Come Dancing Champion of Champions saying that they wanted Denise & Ian to win when we could all see that Jill & Darren were the best by miles. Harry Potter VI topping the best-sellers chart when it’s not even out for another seven months. I’m looking forward to it too, but I’m not that crazy. That having got bored of the Christmas songs we were allowed to play this week, people have brought in their own CDs such as Dido, Dire Straits, Meatloaf, Buddy Holly, Dido (again), Shania Twain, and Jon Bon Jovi. They’re played low so they don’t disturb anyone, but it sure as hell disturbs me that I can hear them, but not loud enough so I can figure out what song is playing. The little “Singing Scottie” that sits on a colleague’s desk and sings “Oh, Christmas Tree”. As cute and funny as it is, it’s really loud and makes it impossible and embarrassing to talk on the phone.