This piece was originally published on the Island Books blog. Growing up, I loved getting lost in books: It didn’t matter to me if the book was adventurous, dramatic, suspenseful, or fantastical; as long as it transported me somewhere else, I was happy. I’d be so immersed in my book that I’d barely hear my …
Celebrate twenty years of Harry Potter … and twenty years of Third Place Books! Harry Potter and Third Place Books were both born in 1998: is that a coincidence? Or was something magical afoot that fateful year in Lake Forest Park? Either way, come celebrate the anniversaries of Harry and Third Place with an …
How would you describe your job to someone you just met? Whenever I tell people that I’m a bookseller at Powell’s, their eyes light up because they believe that Powell’s is the place to be in Portland. Then, a look of confusion will cross their faces, and they’ll ask me what exactly that means. I …
For those of us who love Harry Potter (and there are a LOT of us), the magic never truly ends. We re-read the books. We watch the movies for maybe the hundredth time (and I might not be exaggerating). We find camaraderie and instant connections with fellow Potterheads who also believe in love, magic, and forever friendship. …
Harry Potter is back! As a longtime fan of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I thought this was a fun addition to the already phenomenal series. In case you haven’t heard, this book is not like the original Harry Potter novels as it is a script of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that is being performed in …
The newest book with Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will be on sale at the stroke of midnight this Sunday– the very first minute of July 31– in some stores. Other stores are trying to encourage you to get a good night’s sleep before you read the script for the play that …
Here lies the beginning of Harry’s adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once you are invested in the fabulous world, magic, and characters Rowling has created, you will never be the same again. Trust me. There’s no going back. And you know what? You won’t ever want to. All I can say about …
Last week, within one six-hour shift, I had two customers I didn’t know all that well tell me that they were rereading the entire Harry Potter series—and that they did it every summer. To a children’s book buyer, who receives hundreds of new kids’ books to evaluate every month, rereading is an indulgence. For someone …
At NWBL, our kids are either too old or too young to have drawn us into JK Rowling’s world. And, while nowadays it’s customary for adult readers to read the stories of Harry, Bella or Katniss, a decade ago, when several of us were working in bookstores, it just wasn’t the case. Some of us …
