The mp3 of JK Rowling’s Harvard Commencement speech came on to my iTunes as I was shuffling through the library.  I have spoken before about how much this speech touched me and how it is full of wonderful lessons for people of all ages. When listening again just now, I came to the following portion:

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

I can’t help but compare this to the lesson taught in the Beedle the Bard Story, “The Hairy Heart.” The Moral of the story is that if you don’t allow yourself to be vulnerable you will never truly live. The wizard in the story specifically closed his heart away and he was never able to love or live properly and his heart ended up becoming something of a beast- killing his one chance at love.  As I mentioned on the last podcast, I think that the moral of this story can be compared to the song, “The Rose” by Bette Midler. After hearing JK Rowling’s Harvard commencement speech again I can only be even *more* certain of this.

Here are the lyrics that sum up this story best in my opinion:

It’s the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance
It’s the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It’s the one who won’t be taken…
who cannot seem to give
and the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live

Failure and vulnerability are hard lessons to deal with.  However, I agree with JK Rowling (and Bette Midler) that unless you try, and even if you open yourself up to the possibility of failure, you will never truly live.

A lot has been going on since Beedle came out last week. Here’s what we’ve got:

• Cinemablend.com reports that there is a possibility that Warner Brothers is looking into turning The Tales of Beedle the Bard into a movie. Could be interesting, but I don’t see it happening.
• The Telegraph has reported that Beedle has become the fastest selling book of 2008:” It has sold almost five times as many copies in its first few days after publication as its nearest rival, Guinness World Records 2008.
  The success of the 109-page collection of short stories, which Rowling did not originally intend for publication, underlines the powerful hold she continues to exert over readers – and the book industry.
  The Tales of Beedle the Bard – mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the latest book in wizard boy series – sold 367,625 copies in the first three days after publication on December 4.”
• Beedle the Bard has taken the Number One spot on USA Today’s Best Seller List

All of these news items are exciting to hear. Once again, these pieces of news beckon us to ask how a brand new complete book or series by JK Rowling would fair. I think we can assume, pretty well.

If you thought there were no more Harry Potter books…THINK AGAIN! We got our hands on The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and made our way through it just about as quickly as possible. The first thing we did, of course, was sit down and put a podcast together.  There’s really not much else to say, just download and listen already (but watch out: this podcast is full of spoilers)!

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

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Reuters is reporting that JK Rowling published “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” (which is available to purchase today) because of fan demand.

“The idea actually came from you, by which I mean Harry Potter fans,” Rowling told around 200 primary school children gathered at Edinburgh’s Parliament Hall for a tea party that officially launched Beedle the Bard.
“There was quite a lot of high feeling from Harry Potter fans that only someone who had two million pounds could afford to read the book. I thought ‘fair point’, so I thought ‘I’ll publish it and then the charity can have that money too’.”

I wonder if we can get her to publish an eighth Harry Potter book too?!?

This is just a friendly reminder to all of you that Beedle the Bard has officially come out!! I haven’t picked my copy up yet but I will be going to  Barnes and Noble soon to get it.

We can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts on the book. Please feel free to leave comments or send us emails to let us know what you think!!

Penny

p.s. If you are getting Beedle from Barnes and Noble, make sure to give them the HPEF Book Fair Code so you can help a great Non Profit organization out!!

For our pre-Beedle the Bard release episode, we couldn’t think of a better person to talk to than Travis Prinzi, from the Hogs Head. As you may (or may not) know, Travis is an expert on fairy tales and he spoke to us about why Fairy Tales Matter and why they shouldn’t be dismissed. We also spoke about the concept of having a fairy tale within a fairy tale: specifically Beedle the Bard in Harry Potter. Travis had a whole lot of interesting information and we can’t wait for you to hear what he had to say.

Travis has a book coming out in several weeks titled: Harry Potter and Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds. It is now available fore pre-order, so make sure you check it out!!

We also discussed the results of our Beedle the Bard Contest, which we wrote about in the last blog post.

And make sure you check out the information on helping out the HPEF while making holiday purchases (including Beedle the Bard!) at Barnes and Noble during the beginning of December.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or dowload it directly as an mp3.

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BBC News is reporting that JK Rowling will be reading excerpts from the Tales of Beedle the Bard at a tea party at the National Library of Scotland, hosted by The Children’s High Level Group, the charity that Jo Rowling co-founded . The Party will take place on December 4, 2008, the same day that the Tales of Beedle the Bard hit the shelves.

Local school children will be invited to attend the special charity launch. Net proceeds from the sale of The Tales of Beedle the Bard will fund the charity’s work with vulnerable children across Eastern Europe. To celebrate the launch, children across the UK and those visiting from further afield, will get the opportunity to see one of only seven original copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard on display at the National Library of Scotland.
The month-long Beedle display will take place from 5 December to 4 January….There will be the opportunity for 10 local schools to each bring up to 20 pupils, aged 8 to 11, to the Beedle tea party.
The tickets will be allocated through a random ballot, to be run by the Edinburgh Evening News, from Wednesday 5 November 2008.

So, what about children who aren’t “local school children?” Well, Schostic, the US publisher of the Harry Potter series has announced a children’s essay contest, with five grand prizes of trips for two to Jo’s Beedle the Bard tea party in Scotland.

In order to enter The Tales of Beedle the Bard essay contest, fans are asked to write an essay of 200 words or less describing how they have helped others.

Good luck to all of the children (or parents of children) who enter!!

Hey everybody!  We’re back for another exciting episode of HPProgs!

We don’t have much to talk about this week.  It’s October which means we have to announce the winner of our September Beedle the Bard YouTube contest.  And we do, in the podcast.  So take a listen!  Also, we were at the New York City Wizard Rock Festival (which, after typing that out, I now know why everyone referred to as NYCWRF).  It was awesome, we got to hear lots of amazing bands, and meet lots of amazing people.  If you were there, let us know what you thought of it!

And that’s about it!  Stay tuned we’ve got some good stuff coming in the next few weeks.  And make sure to check out HPProgs on YouTube, and enter the Beedle the Bard YouTube contest, if you haven’t alraedy (or even if you have, enter again!).  You could win a copy of the deluxe edition of the new Beedle the Bard book coming out in December.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

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If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter books and J.K. Rowling, and were alive during the month of April of 2008, you probably heard about a little law suit over a book called “The Harry Potter Lexicon.”  The author of that book, Steve Vander Ark, is also the creator and editor of the Harry Potter Lexicon website.  We got a chance to talk with Steve about the lawsuit, the fan reactions, his new book and, of course, we talked a bit about Harry Potter (you know, the books about this boy wizard…oh never mind).  It’s a fascinating interview, hope you enjoy it.  We here at HPProgs believe in hearing all points of view, and hope that you will feel free to voice your opinions in the comments, while remaining respectful and rational in the process.

A big thanks to Steve for taking the time to talk with us.

Check out Steve’s new book entitled In Search of Harry Potter.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

Don’t forget to get your entries in for the Harry Potter/Beedle the Bard/YouTube Contest!  You can win a free copy of the Deluxe edition of the new Beedle the Bard book (that’s the $100 fancy version).

You can listen to the episode with the player below, or download it directly as an mp3.

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We always get comments about how when they listen to our podcast, people feel like they’re getting a glimpse into our lives. They usually follow up with a statement about how they love the rapport the two of us have. Well, for those of you who like HPProgs for the intimate way we welcome you into our lives then this is the episode for you. After we discussed the new Twilight Book, “Breaking Dawn,” Greg and I proceeded to have a general potpourri episode with some content and a lot of personality (pseudonym for annoyance at each other). We also discussed an exciting new contest that is in the works!

NOTE: There are “Breaking Dawn” Spoilers on this episode so if you haven’t finished the book yet, you might want to listen to the first few minutes and then skip to minute 20 or so not to hear them.

As always we can’t wait to hear your thoughts: on the Breaking Dawn review, the Beedle the Bard News and contest, our short fandom discussion and everything else we talked about. You can leave comments here on the blog or call our voicemail at 206-337-0357 in the US or 07092899490 in the UK. Please make sure to keep the message as close to one minute as possible and try to speak loudly and clearly.

Make sure to check out our channel on the new Odeo. Subscribe, rate, review, it’s all good, check it out.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

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This just in:

In December 2007, J.K. Rowling unveiled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very special book of five fairy tales illustrated by the bard herself, embellished with silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. Amazon was fortunate to come into possession of one of the original copies, and it was our privilege to share images and reviews of this incredible artifact. Now J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with these new editions of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, available December 4, 2008.

Beedle the Bard Standard Cover

Beedle The Bard Deluxe Edition

You can pre-order the special Collector’s Edition of Beedle The Bard for $100 or the Standard Edition for $7.79.

All proceeds go to The Children’s High Level Group charity.

The biggest question for me is: Will Jim Dale narrate the “Tales of Beedle The Bard?”

(Hat tip: thehogshead.org)

We were almost the only HP fansite that didn’t acknowledge the one-year anniversary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I tried not to think about this. Not because I am in denial, but more because I try not to make too big of a deal out of seemingly arbitrary dates.

But then I started to think about this past year. And about all that has gone on in relation to Harry Potter, the fandom, and HPProgs in general.

So now, please join me on a stroll down memory lane to remember the Harry Potter Happenings of the past year:

• Hundreds of news outlets and mainstream press published articles related to the upcoming release of HPDH. Several newspapers (including my local paper, the Baltimore Sun) made the egregious error of spoiling the plot for fans and still haven’t been forgiven by many loyal Potter fans.

• My final emotional post right before Deathly Hallows came out. I still get tears in my eyes when I re-read it.
• HPProgs podcast immediately following our first reading of the book. I was a mess and cried for the first few minutes. It is a gem of a memory (yes that is sarcasm).
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows exceeds sales speculations and sets new records.
• July 24, 2007: JK Rowling announces to the delight of her fans that she plans on writing an Encyclopedia of characters, places and back stories as a compendium to the Harry Potter Series.
• August 2-5, 2007: We attended our first HP Symposium: Prophecy 2007: From Hero to Legend. The post-Potter excitement at this conference was palpable and there will probably never be another gathering of HP fans that is as exciting and momentous as this was.
• Snape fans everywhere  feel validated and begin to post youtube videos, fanart, and fanfiction about our favorite (or not) greasy potions master.
• August 2007: filming for “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” movie commences.
• September 2007: JK Rowling and Scholastic announce Open Book Tour to take place in select cities in October of 2007.
• October 2007: Harry Potter is the final Wizard of the Month on JKRowling.com.
• October 17, 2007: Jo causes a stir by discussing religious symbolism in Harry Potter at the LA stop on the Open Book Tour (we didn’t know what we were in for yet).
• October 19, 2007: Jo shakes the fandom by stating that she “always thought of Dumbledore as gay,” when asked if he ever “found love.” Ironically, the fandom was less shaken when she alluded to the fact  that Aberforth did in fact have  inappropriate relations with goats during his lifetime.
• Fans (including us) question whether Jo’s revelations after the books “change canon.”
• October 31, 2007: the lawsuit between JK Rowling/WB and Steve Vander Ark/ RDR Books is announced.
• November 2007: JK Rowling is named Entertainment Weekly Magazine’s Entertainer of the Year for 2007.
• December 2007: Amazon.com wins the Sotheby’s auction of the “Tales of Beedle the Bard” for $4 Million.
• December 2007: JK Rowling is named the 3rd runner-up for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2007.
• December 2007: Fans get to see footage of JK Rowling completing Deathly Hallows on ITV’s “A Year in the LIfe” special.
• January 2008: JK Rowling/WB file a full injunction against Steve Vander Ark and RDR Publishers to stop the HP-Lexicon from being published.
• March 2008: After much speculation, it is announced that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie will be split into two parts. Once again, fans are in an uproar.
• April 2008: Fans learn more than we ever wanted to know about the “Fair Use Doctrine” as the JK Rowling/Steve Vander Ark trial takes place in New York.
• April 25, 2008: “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” is announced.
• May 1, 2008: For the first time in 10 years, Harry Potter is NOT on the New York Times Best Seller list.
• May 2008: Fans see copies of the JKR/SVA trial transcript. Some decide to re-enact the case.
• May 20, 2008: Scholastic announces special 10th Anniversary version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to be released in September 2008.
• June 5, 2008: JK Rowling is the guest speaker at the 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech.
• June 11, 2008: JK Rowling writes 800 word Harry Potter Prequel for charity. She states that she has no intention of writing more of a prequel, fans hope otherwise.
• July 10-13, 2008: Portus 2008 takes place in Dallas Texas. Most attendees agree it is one of the best Potter conferences ever. Jim Dale makes a special appearance.
• July 18, 2008: Fans who have been eagerly waiting for the Half Blood Prince Teaser Trailer are dismayed at the 15 second non-teaser they get prior to the Imax showing of “Dark Knight.”
• July 21, 2008: Fans everywhere celebrate the 1 year anniversary of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. They use this day to celebrate, reminisce, hope for more, and make a plea for social change.  They are once again united in a way that only Harry Potter can unite a diverse group of individuals.

Amazon has announced the semi finalists for the Beedle The Bard Ballad Writing Contest.

• Vote for your favourite in the 13-17 age group
• Vote for your favourite in the 18-and-over age group

Through May 11, 2008, Amazon customers are invited to vote for their favorite submission in both age groups. Each winner will receive a $1,000 Amazon Gift Certificate, as well as the opportunity to square off in another round of customer voting–beginning May 13–to determine the Grand Prize winner of the trip for two to London, England and a weekend with The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

In order to vote, you must be signed in to a valid Amazon.com account (account holders for amazon.ca, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, and amazon.de should automatically qualify). Make your choice carefully and vote just once–your first vote is the only one that will count.

The top bidder in the auction for the seventh handwritten copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard has been announced.  It’s Amazon.com!  Amazon has always been one of my favorite companies and web sites (I do all my online shopping there, if I can help it), but this makes them even more awesome.  Not only are they going to take the book on tour so that everyone can get a chance to see it, they are posting copious amounts of information on their web site.  It’s so amazing that Amazon has chosen to share this with so many Potter fans.  Thanks Amazon.

Check out the Amazon page for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and make sure to check back, as Amazon is promising to post additional information, pictures and more.