SHOPPING HOME
      >  The Books Store   <<<   YOU ARE HERE

Shopper's Delight

The Books Store
Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys For The Serious Reader


Image: Shopper's Delight: The Books Store ~ Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys For The Serious Reader
 
 

Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader

 
 
Average Rating:    out of 22 Reviews
Price: $14.99
Sale: $12.95
 
Manufacturer: Zossima Press
EAN (European Article Number): 9780972322126
Number of Items: 1
 
 
Binding: Paperback
Author: John Granger
Publisher: Zossima Press
Dewey Decimal Number: 809
Publication Date: 2007-03-01
Reading Level: 312
 
 
Description: UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER gives you five essential keys for understanding the HARRY POTTER series. Not just who will live or die in DEATHLY HOLLOWS, but how J.K. Rowling created the most successful books of our times. To understand the story behind the stories, John Granger, author of THE HIDDEN KEY TO HARRY POTTER and editor of WHO KILLED ALBUS DUMBLEDORE?, introduces the themes and patterns Rowling uses to write books that resonate with readers of all ages. This book is for "serious readers" but Granger writes in a very entertaining style. If you never understood the term "postmodernism" or how "literary alchemy" is used by great authors from Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling, then this is a fun way to learn. UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER is the only book to examine in depth the importance of what Rowling said in an interview from 1998, that "to invent this wizard world" she had to learn about alchemy "in order to set the parameters and establish the stories' internal logic." - . - . - . - . - Here's what other HARRY POTTER authors and experts have to say about UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER: - . - . - . - . - "I got so hooked I had to stop everything else and just read, read, read. I carried it around the house, read it while using the excercycle, I hid in rooms away from the action of daily life so I could take it all in. I haven't had that reaction to a book since, well, THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. A spectacular read for all serious fans of Rowling's works. Compelling, well-argued, fun and funny. Engaging. Thought provoking. Erudite." - Tom Morris, author of IF HARRY POTTER RAN GENERAL ELECTRIC and PHILOSOPHY FOR DUMMIES. - . - . - . - . - "John Granger peels back the layers of Rowling's stories and sees patterns the rest of us miss - and he never forgets to be a fan, engaging in fun speculation about what will come in the finale. Once more Granger has shown himself to be second to none among Potter commentators and literary sleuths. Some books are meant to be ingested quickly. Not this one. Serious fans of HARRY POTTER will relish it." - David Baggett, editor of HARRY POTTER AND PHILOSOPHY.
 
order Shopper's Delight: The Books Store ~ Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys For The Serious Reader
 
 
 
 

Customer Reviews
 
Worst Reviews Latest Reviews Best Reviews
 
Review Summary: Brilliant......thoroughly equips you to become a serious reader! Date: 2008-12-11
 
Details: There is not much more I can say about this book that hasn't already been said. This book is definitely in my top ten books to recommend to anyone who wants to read and understand all the varying levels and depths of Harry Potter. There is definitely more there than meets the eye, which most readers get some sense of, but which can be teased out with careful examination and analysis. John Granger gives you the tools to do just that in this remarkable read!!
 
Review Summary: If you are not J.K.Rowling... Date: 2008-11-02
 
Details: IF YOU ARE NOT J.K.ROWLING THEN STOP WRITING ABOUT HARRY POTTER. THE ENTIRE SERIES OF BOOKS WERE BORN IN HER BRAIN, IN HER IMAGINIATION AND NOT ANOTHER LIVING SOUL ON THIS PLANET HAS THE RIGHT TO EVEN EXPLORE HARRY POTTER FOR PROFIT OR LITERARY RECOGNITION. I AM SICK TO DEATH OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO THINK A WORK OF FICTION, FICTION PEOPLE, DO YOU GET WHAT FICTION IS?.....NEEDS SUCH EXPLAINTATIONS OR IN DEPTH DISECTION. IF A WORK OF FICTION CAN SHAKE YOUR FAITH THEN YOU HAVE NO FAITH TO SPEAK OF. LEAVE HARRY POTTER AND J.K.ROWLING ALONE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
 
Review Summary: Amazing Erudite Work Date: 2008-05-13
 
Details: This is not always an easy read and there's some hard thinking required to keep up with John Granger's fascinating views. Likewise, I'm sure there are simpler books which roll around in the Potter mythos more completely. On the other hand, I cannot imagine a more thoughtful and though provoking analysis of the bigger historical movements and context that informs, flows within and, sometimes, drives the Potter series.

If you are someone for who learning is a pleasure and discovering new areas of learning to explore is a delight, this book is for you. Buy it right now, it is a great joy.

One note: this book was written before HP7 was published so it is somewhat dated in that respect. I would be curious to see a newer edition which encompasses the last book. But, having said that, it was very interesting to read this book knowing what Granger did not, the contents of the last book. His views stand up quite well and the honesty of this 'blind test' is comforting and fascinating.
 
Review Summary: Unsat Date: 2007-09-08
 
Details: I purchased this for my grandson, who at 91/2 is an exceptionally bright boy.
Neither he nor his father were able to make heads or tails out of this purchase.
 
Review Summary: I'm a much more serious reader now Date: 2007-08-17
 
Details: Very early in the book John Granger recalls Professor Moody's trunk with 7 locks. Each time Dumbledore inserts a key into a different lock the trunk opens and contains different items. This book is exactly like that trunk! I have read or listened to every Harry Potter book (except Phoenix) more times than I can count and yet each time that Granger brings out a new key my reaction was "I didn't know that that was in there!" I even understand now why I didn't enjoy re-reading Phoenix (the alchemical "black" stage of the series)as much as the other books.

I didn't read this book until after I had read Deathly Hallows and I still truly enjoyed reading Granger's predictions. Some of them were spot on, while others weren't, but the premises on which they were based were solid. I had to laugh at one point, when a reference was made to the sun/Sol and moon/Luna coming together as part of an alchemical wedding. It wasn't precisely a prediction, but in Deathly Hallows Luna certainly did arrive at the wedding wearing brilliant yellow, "sun colors."

The best part is that I can reread the entire Potter series one more time, with a new perspective, and be assured of appreciating details that I have missed before.
 
More Reviews
 

Similar Products
 
  Who Killed Albus Dumbledore?: What Really Happened in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Six Expert Harry Potter Detectives Examine the Evidence.
 
  The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition
 
  Harry Potter Schoolbooks: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them / Quidditch Through the Ages
 
  The Deathly Hallows Lectures: The Hogwarts Professor Explains the Final Harry Potter Adventure
 
  Looking for God in Harry Potter
 

This Product is similar to and may be found in the Following Categories:
 
 

General AAS Qualifying Textbooks
Custom Stores Specialty Stores
Books Children's Literature Guides
Literature Children's Books
Subjects Books
Paperback Harry Potter Books
Fantasy & Adventure Series
Children's Books Subjects
Books General
Criticism & Theory History & Criticism
Literature & Fiction Subjects
Books General AAS
Criticism & Theory History & Criticism
Literature & Fiction Subjects
Books General
British World Literature
Literature & Fiction Subjects
Books General AAS
British World Literature
Literature & Fiction Subjects
Books Literary Theory
History & Criticism United States
World Literature Literature & Fiction
Subjects Books
Education Theory Administration
Aims & Objectives Assessment
Classroom Management Comparative
Contemporary Methods Decision Making & Problem Solving
Discrimination Economics
Educational Psychology Educational Reform
General General AAS
Gifted Students History
Leadership Non-Formal Education
Organizations & Institutions Philosophy & Social Aspects
Physical Education Reform & Policy
Research School Management
Sociology Statistics
Education Nonfiction
Subjects Books
Popular Culture Social Sciences
Nonfiction Subjects
Books History & Criticism
Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy
Subjects Books
Paperback Mass Market
Trade Binding (binding)
Refinements Books
Printed Books Format (feature_browse-bin)
Refinements Books