Win a Weekend with Beedle the Bard!

[NatCh]

Amazon Contest Offers A Chance To Spend Some Time With One Of The Seven-Of-A-Kind Book The Tales of Beedle the Bard

It caused quite a stir around here when Amazon bought it for not one, but two big boxes of galleons. Now Amazon is offering a chance to spend some quality time with its copy of the artificially rare The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Here's the nutshell version: They're offering a trip to London for you and your very closest friend (win it and see just how many of those you never knew you had!) to spend "a weekend" with the book and its personal security retinue. Oh, yeah, and a nice pair of white gloves each.

The contest is open to residents of twenty-four countries (dunno which ones), aged thirteen and up. It's an essay contest, and the specified topics are:

• What songs do wizards use to celebrate birthdays?
• What sports do wizards play besides Quidditch?
• What have you learned from the Harry Potter series that you use in everyday life?

Full details are available here, along with a list of FAQs and the official rules.

If anyone here wins it, we will be expecting a full report.

No word at this time on whether you get to keep the gloves.

[delphidb96]

Now why would I do that?

Derek

[NatCh]

Do what? Keep the gloves?

[yvanleterrible]

No, sing wizard birthday songs.

[Megatron-UK]

I don't get all the fuss over her or her books. ???

[HarryT]

We all have different tastes. I think the books are wonderful stories, personally, and anything that gets teenagers to READ (as her books have, without question, done) has GOT to be a Good Thing.

[Megatron-UK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

We all have different tastes. I think the books are wonderful stories, personally, and anything that gets teenagers to READ (as her books have, without question, done) has GOT to be a Good Thing.

That I understand. What I don't understand is why adults go ga-ga over her stuff.

Case in point - in the office where I work there is a 30 year old woman, the last HP book that was released she stayed up until midnight or whenever it was released and then proceeded to read it immediatley right through to the end.
The same day.
Without sleeping.

[astra]

HP is one of the best series I have ever read in my life.

However....all this fuss about a book written by a mere mortal woman just like my neighbour next door?
Then again, I have never understood any type of fuss risen about so called celebrities or famous people while they are just the same or maybe worse than anyone around me...

[axel77]

Now after she finished the line there is a lot of HP sidekicks? HP and the search for yet more money?

Whatever "the beetle and the bard" is supposed to do, this venture is *NOT* to get kids reading.

BTW: Why do people go ga-ga on the books? Becaues they offer a nice little closed universe thats different to us, one you can escape into if you get enough of our universe.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Megatron-UK

I don't get all the fuss over her or her books. ???

Me neither. I thought the first book was ok, but the series declined as it went on.
The stories are fine, but the writing is nothing special.
I wonder if they're the type of books that suit faster readers . I'm a slow reader, and don't find HP books very immersive (if I'm honest, they seem rather boring at my plodding pace).

Also, I do think that J. K. Rowling (like Richmal Crompton before her) demonstrates that women writers can't often write convincing young boy characters.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Me neither. I thought the first book was ok, but the series declined as it went on.
The stories are fine, but the writing is nothing special.

To offer a contrary opinion, I thought that the series got better and better as it went on; the last book I thought was superb. I queued up at midnight at the local book shop for the last THREE books in the series. Great fun .

Also, I do think that J. K. Rowling (like Richmal Crompton before her) demonstrates that women writers can't often write convincing young boy characters.

What did you find "unconvincing" about it? Seemed OK to me!

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What did you find "unconvincing" about it? Seemed OK to me!

Very much a female view of what boyhood is like imho - boys are silly, ineffectual and immature (e.g. Weasleys, Hagrid, Nigel), they just can't cope without strong female guidance (Hermione, Mrs. W).
As an ex-boy, I couldn't relate to them (and HP is just a bore - no wonder they kept him under the stairs! ).

[JSWolf]

I'd enter just for the free trip to London. Forget the book.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Very much a female view of what boyhood is like imho - boys are silly, ineffectual and immature (e.g. Weasleys, Hagrid, Nigel), they just can't cope without strong female guidance (Hermione, Mrs. W).
As an ex-boy, I couldn't relate to them (and HP is just a bore - no wonder they kept him under the stairs! ).

Seems reasonably realistic to me. Looking back to my teenage years, I think that boys generally ARE a lot less mature than girls at that age.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Very much a female view of what boyhood is like imho - boys are silly, ineffectual and immature (e.g. Weasleys, Hagrid, Nigel), they just can't cope without strong female guidance (Hermione, Mrs. W).
As an ex-boy, I couldn't relate to them (and HP is just a bore - no wonder they kept him under the stairs! ).

i'm not a boy myself so obviously i'm probably only going to add water to your mill by saying this, but a lot of the boys i knew when i was that age were pretty silly ineffectual and immature...

in fact, a lot of the "boys" i know *now* are still pretty immature ! (not all of them, luckily !!!)