Books

The Official Harry Potter Book Club Is Here In Time For Summer Re-reads

by Kerri Jarema

The Harry Potter books are probably some of the most re-read books in history. Or, at least, that's how it feels whenever I pick up my books again for the tenth time. In high school, I re-read the books every summer...and sometimes every winter break, too. Of course, that was back when there were only four, and then five, and then six, making it far easier to swallow the whole series in one gulp. Since the seventh book was released in 2007, I confess that I have re-read them less and less.

Especially with a job in books for the past three years, I have been uber-focused on new releases and different genres, trying to tackle that ever-growing TBR list. But that doesn't mean I haven't wanted to dive right back in from Book 1 several times, ignoring every other book on hand to recapture that summer re-read magic. And now, it looks like I've got the perfect excuse to do it: Pottermore's Wizarding World Book Club.

Starting today, the book club will be re-reading each of the seven Harry Potter books, diving deep into the stories and exploring various themes connected to them. Is Dumbledore actually a villain? Is Malfoy misunderstood? Is Neville the real chosen one? Pottermore promises to get to the bottom of all of these questions, looking at the way love, mortality, jealousy and friendship are written within the series. The current read is, of course, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and themes that will be discussed pertaining to it include "Magic and the Muggle World," "First Impressions," and "Friendship."

If you've ever wanted to get lost in the world of Harry Potter again, but this time with millions of people doing it right along with you, head over to Pottermore to sign up and then take part in the weekly discussions on Twitter. I can't think of a more magical way to spend a summer of reading.