[Gertie Kindle]

I always go for the free super-saver shipping, so my copy isn't shipping until 12/8.  That's why I'm going to WalMart tomorrow to pick it up. 

I read the synopses of the Tales on Amazon not long after they acquired the original.  My favorite is The Fountain of Fair Fortune. 

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Come on, you gotta tell us now.

Yeah, we all love a good BJ story.

You mean there are actually stories in it? lol, I feel so bad. I bought it b/c it was pretty. I wish I was joking.

Did you get the $100 one? I haven't even looked at the cover of the paperback. I just love Potter. WB is having a sale and I got a Sorting Hat for half price. See, it has this hand puppet insert so you can make the mouth move, which I think is really neat. That's my excuse.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I did. What? It was pretty! lol, I picked my last 8 boyfriends on the same principle. Some call me an optimist. Some use a word that is far less kind.

Somehow I knew you got that one.

You have a sorting hat?! Cool!!!! I would never get anything done around the house if I had one.

I can't wait to get it. I'm going to use it in the HP Book Club I'm running at the school. Then it's coming home with me to a permanent spot on my HP shelves.

But I did buy a wand from Allivan's wand makers.

I know about Alivan's, but I got my wand from Whimsic Alley. They have a lot of great stuff. I also got my Dumbledore's Army bag, my Weasleys Wizard Wheezes sweatshirt, and my Hogwarts patch from them (I made my own robe).

From Amazon, Gryffindor's Sword, Golden Snitch 20 Questions and the SS Chess set. I love playing chess with this set. It's a lot of fun.

I think I'll stop, now. I've got so much HP stuff, I don't have time to play with it all.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

LR made some hand-knitted Gryffindor scarves for some friends of ours in Europe a few years ago.

That's so nice. I'm a Ravenclaw with Slytherin leanings. That means when I want to be really nasty, I read a book instead.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I picked up a copy at WalMart this morning. $7.44. It's the same type of hardback as Harry's School Books.

Here's the back cover blurb.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers' attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger's new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J.K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot," "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," "Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump," and of course, "The Tale of the Three Brothers." But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter.

It's really quite beautiful. Robin, post a picture of your collector's edition if you can. I'd love to see it.

Off to read. Won't take long. I'll report back.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Having now read the full stories plus Albus' commentary, I still say The Fountain of Fair Fortune is my favorite.

We hear from Brutus Malfoy, and find out the origins of Lucius' enmity toward Albus. We also find out that Aberforth's favorite tale (not contained in this book) is

Spoiler

Grumble the Grumpy Goat.

Not surprising.

The Warlock's Hairy Heart is a dark tale with its own obvious moral.

I'll be reading these tales to my HP Book Club. I think they will enjoy them. I certainly did.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Is it the biting one?

No, it's not the Monster Book of Monsters. Hagrid holds the copyright on that one.

I shall take pictures and bore everyone to death with them. You are deputized to go read and issue a full report.

My report is above. I didn't want to say too much, cuz I know y'all (I can say that to you, right?) will be reading yours shortly. There are some tantalizing tidbits, such as how many remaining limbs Professor Kettleburn has.

What kind of HP book club do you have? And do you have members by correspondence?

Fifth and Sixth graders only.

The kids will be sorted into houses, earn house points, play HP related word and trivia games, and I'm planning a Tri-Wizard Tournament.

I'm also working on a Quidditch Card Game. I know there is one available, but everyone complains about the instructions being too complicated. I've download the new, supposedly easier instructions, and they are nearly as ridiculous. I'm going to base the cards on the fanart I did of Harry's first year Gryffindor team. Not that I'm at all artistic, mind you, I'm just very creative. I have maybe three months to work it out. Hope I can do it. In the meantime, I'm keeping that one to myself.

I'd love to do a Muggle Quidditch league with the 7th and 8th graders, but I'm afraid I'm already overwhelming the volunteer coordinator. I also work with the chess club and I have to wait a while before I suggest a live chess game as the finale for our end of year tournament.

You may have noticed I tend to go a bit overboard. The school authorities haven't noticed yet, and I'm trying to work them into it gradually. I want to get my other grandchild into this school, and I don't want them to think if they accept her they'll be stuck with the crazy Grammy for another eight years.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Gertie: No Arkansas Baptists or AOG (the two main groups calling for the banning of HP books from schools and their members' homes) at your school?

Guess not ... lucky me. When the principal found out I was a Pottermaniac, she told me in no uncertain terms that she wanted me to form a discussion group and right away. The books are in the library and a lot of kids have read them. I didn't get as many kids signed up as I wanted to, so I guess a lot of parents are closet anti-Potterites.

There are also groups that want to ban the Judy Blume books, but I think they're wonderful for teens and pre-teens. Geez, there are 13 year old kids reading Twilight and they want to ban Harry, who just happens to be a kid who can do weird things with a stick and constantly battles evil.

Go figure.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

So, I just finished reading my Collector's Copy of Beedle. I loved the presentation and the stories, and thought it was well worth the money. However, the editing was horrid! I found three obvious errors in my copy, and was wondering if everybody's copy had these errors. Here are the errors I found, page numbers are for the Collector's Edition.

Pg. 40 - Dumbledore's Commentary on Hopping Pot - The word "flames" is repeated (ie. 'flames flames') for no apparant reason.

Pg. 78 - Dumbledore's Commentary on Fountain - Armando Dippet is misspelled, spelled ?rmando Dippet in my copy. (Not sure what the first letter is, its definitly not a capital A, see the beginning of Malfoy's letter on the opposite page to see what a capital A should look like.)

Pg. 156 - Tale of the Three Brothers - "Tnd so Death took the second brother for his own." They misspelled "and"? REALLY SCHOLASTIC?!?!?!?!

So, if you have the Collector's Edition, could you tell me if you had these errors, and if you have the Standard edition, could you tell me if these errors are present in your copy? It would be greatly appreciated. (I wonder if mine is the only copy with these mistakes....it could be worth a lot!)

None of those errors are in the standard edition. You're right, if yours is the only one (doubtful), it could be worth a lot, sort of like a register error in a sheet of stamps.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I don't really think mine is the only one. Thanks for reporting back on the Standard Edition. Now if only I could hear back from someone else who has the Collector's Edition...

Robin is probably reading hers as we speak.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Robin, it's gorgeous. I may yet have to get one. On my HP Board, one person said she's never going to read her collector's edition. I hope she got the standard edition to read.

Here's a link to The Telegraph with a review and a video of the release party at Waterstone's.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/12/04/bobeedle104.xml

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Thanks Robin, I really knew mine wasn't the only one. I just had that glimmer of hope I had a super rare copy...

I never considered the fact it might be a word for word copy from the original, but it seems like those spelling errors are so trivial they might as well just change it.

Are you going to return it (silly question) or ask them to replace it with a good copy?

 

[Gertie Kindle]

What were they angry about?

L

Probably the three errors. What should be "flame" is "flame flame," Armando Dippet is spelled PRmando (or something like that) Dippet, and there is an "and" spelled "Tnd." That's only in the $100 collector's edition. The Standard Edition is fine. I'm guessing they used two different typefaces, so each edition was done separately.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Robin, I certainly agree with you about things being "worth something someday."  Maybe if you want to leave something for your great-great-grandchildren to have something of value, and that's only if everyone else throws theirs out, it might be a good philosophy.  Of course, that rarely happens, and as you say, we won't be around to see it.

The last I checked, my Ginny doll (with original headband and tons of original clothes) was only worth $75, and that's because the redheads are rare. 

If I bought the CE, it would be to put a beautiful book on display.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy my standard edition. 

 

[Gertie Kindle]

You have an original Ginny? Cool! I like the Ginny dolls, myself. But I bet for $75, you wouldn't part with yours. I mean, that's a nice return, but it couldn't replace your....idk, childhood memories, maybe?

Mine is over 50 years old. I got the second edition for my daughters. They are completely different. The only thing they have in common is they are 8" dolls.

You're right. I wouldn't part with my Ginny for anything.

Mom has a Shirley Temple doll that she feels the same way about. The $100 she could maybe sell it for would be a scarce replacement for a doll she's had forever. And honestly, for something to bring in big dollars, it pretty much has to be in unplayed with condition still in a box that hasn't seen daylight in nearly a century. And what's the fun in that? (Barbie collectors think I am a complete heathen b/c I take mine out of the boxes. But why have something if you can't enjoy it? Also, I still like to play with dolls. So nyah.) But many people don't realize that. I had a woman crying in the store one night, trying to get us to pay her $1000 for her original Barbie. She said she really needed the money, and she was sure that her doll was worth that much. While I certainly sympathized with her, I was still obligated to point out that the doll had no shoes, and her original ponytail had been cut off (wow, I can't believe how many kids get to play with scissors and dolls at the same time.), and she appeared to be wearing a Malibu Barbie bathing suit. So, indeed, while collectors guides do say that original Barbies can be worth a mint, condition is everything. I was quite gratified to hear an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow say much the same thing one night in appraising a Barbie collection. It still didn't stop people from bringing their dolls in, but at least we could quote experts.

I watch Cash in the Attic (BBCA) a lot, and even 200 year old rare dolls don't seem to bring in much.

Also, I have found that CE books read just as well as any other edition (book collectors pretty much think I'm a heathen too. I read my first editions.).

I've only got one first edition, Men of Albemarle by Inglis Fletcher. I got it used on Amazon Marketplace. I really doubt it's worth anything.

As for my HP books, I buy the hardbacks because I want the book as soon as it comes out. I have the paperbacks for rereads. Easier to handle.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

It sure would be nice to have them in Kindle version for rereads - much easier to handle.

Yeah, but we all know JKR's thinking on that. Too bad she doesn't realize that she would have more control over e-book distribution if she allowed authorized publication.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I wrote to RDR Publishing about the possibility of the HP Lexicon book being published on Kindle.  Here's his reply:

Thanks for your note.  We will definitely look into this.  The book itself will ship right after the first of the year and after we've met all the demand we will certainly look into Kindle, something we are doing for other books.  Take care.

Roger Rapoport

I asked him to let me know as they Kindleize books.  Some of their list looks intriguing. 

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Yes, they are getting quite battered. I have even had to doctor a couple when the spine broke from the weight.

If only, JK would see the light. Then, I could re-read to my heart's content without doing any damage to the book.

Maybe that's her plan. As we continually reread, we have to buy new books.

I've been holding off since I want to read SS with the kids in my book club, and I don't want to read HBP before the movie comes out so I won't be disappointed.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Really. I don't know how much I've spent on multiple copies of all the HP books, plus the CDs. And I'd buy the whole series again if I could get it for my Kindle.

L

You and me both, except for the CD's. I keep buying SS and giving it to kids to read. JKR keeps coming up with different excuses as to why she won't allow the books to be digitized, but I think, based on a lot of her actions, it's just a matter of control with her.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Here's an interesting idea from the L.A. Times.


What to do onscreen with J.K. Rowling's 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'
01:46 PM PT, Dec 16 2008

Bard It's already become the fastest-selling book of the year, so it's no surprise to hear that Warner Bros. is interested in making a movie out of J.K. Rowling's latest book, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," a collection of fables set in the (pre-"Harry Potter") world of wizards and muggles Rowling knows best.

The titular Beedle the Bard wrote five tales, each accompanied with commentary from Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' now-late headmaster who met his end in the penultimate "Potter" novel, "The Half-Blood Prince."

For those, like myself, who've already zipped through the vignettes more than once, it's hard to imagine crafting a single movie out of any or all of them, however much we'd like to indulge in another big-screen adaptation of Rowling's magical characters. Each story exists separately from the other, and each averages 10 pages (in a double-spaced, large-font-ed-children's-book way).

Though the author packs "Tales" densely with the sort of attention to detail that brought the wizarding world -- with its quidditch, house elves, horcruxes, and dementors, etc. -- to life, each story is little more than a morality tale told in a few pages (spoilers start now): "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" warns against the evils of prejudice in a story about a wizard whose negligence of his neighboring muggles manifests into one horrid pest of a pot. "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" concerns a trio of sisters searching for a magical fountain to cure life's troubles, but find that the right attitude is the best cure. "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," which would surely frighten young children, tells the story of a literally heartless warlock whose vanity ends in tragedy. "The Tale of Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump" cautions against the disregard for the laws of magic. And "The Tale of the Three Brothers," Dumbledore's favorite of the five, teaches that trying to cheat death will always result in disappointment. Throughout, Dumbledore peppers the narratives with backstory, personal asides and a rather saucy sense of humor.

So what to do with the Bard's tales? How best to bring them to life? A few suggestions:

Make a "Potter" prequel using Dumbledore's commentary. We follow a new batch of wizards and muggles in the 17th century, when anti-Muggle sentiment was growing and the witch hunts for pro-Muggle wizards began. We've already got the era's "fruity epithets" from Dumbledore: "mudwallower," "dunglicker," and "scumsucker" and a lead villain in Brutus Malfoy, a distant relative of Draco, who's mentioned as a vocal opponent of the non-magical. It could be darker, to be sure, but we'd get to see how and why the magical world went into self-concealment.

Expand "The Warlock's Hairy Heart" -- and don't fuss with the ending. The darkest of the stories is also the most ripe for fleshing out into a two-hour movie, should Rowling be interested in picking the unconventional fairy tale back up. We'd need to see the Warlock before he decided to stow away his heart, lest we watch the selfish wretch for two hours straight, it'd be kind of gory, and without a happy ending. But there are directors who know a thing or two about dark fantasies. ("Pan's Labyrinth" anyone? Looking at you, Guillermo del Toro.)

Ask Rowling to write a few more fables and spin off an animated TV series. Think "Wallace & Gromit." Think "Creature Comforts." So much said in just 12-15 minute episodes. The same could be said for the Bard's cautionary tales. Also, while the "Harry Potter" movies were able to pull off dazzling feats of magic using special effects, wouldn't Rowling's shorts be just as adaptable -- if not more so -- using CGI animation or claymation or hand-drawn cartoons? Kids, not to mention their parents, would be grateful for the addition to children's TV lineup.

Make the greatest "Harry Potter" DVD extras ever. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" doesn't come out until July, and there are two more films after that (remember "Deathly Hallows" was split into two), so there is plenty of time to whip up five shorts as DVD features. Live-action, animated, it doesn't matter as long as they're there. And hey, Pixar gives us fun shorts all the time without us even asking.

Other ideas and suggestions? Leave a comment below. Between us, we can figure a way to bring these stories to the screen.

-- Denise Martin