The Potterhead´s Guide: What to read when you know all the HP books by heart

For 20 years, I have been a dedicated Potterhead. I like to pride myself in the fact that I was a Potterhead before the nickname was even invented. I remember the moment when I got The Philosopher´s Stone from my parents, I was six. Seeing the size of the book and thinking about all the letters I learned just a few months ago, I thought to myself, “how on earth am I going to do this?” Not wanting to disappoint my mom and dad, I accepted the challenge and I couldn´t be more grateful for it now. One Bachelor thesis and one Master thesis dedicated to the Potter-verse later (and working on my PhD at the moment), I can proudly proclaim that I have built my career on that challenge. Siriusly…

All those years ago, I fell in love with the boy who lived, watched him go through his challenges sa if they were my own. As I grew older and decided to re-read the books, I found much more than just a story about a boy and his friends; I discovered connections to mythologies from all around the world, stories that notably resembled events from the “muggle“ history, or the meaning behind some of the charm-incantations.  The research for all of my academic theses led me to discover numerous publications dedicated to the world of Harry Potter; from fan fiction websites to encyclopaedias, from companions to serious academic titles. In this post I would like to introduce you to some of my favourites. But first, disclaimer: some of them are not written by J. K. Rowling and some of them might be of a more academic nature, which of course, doesn´t mean they are not worth reading! So, let´s begin…

The Hogwarts Library by J. K. Rowling

So let us begin with something that many Potterheads consider a canon for many reasons, one of them being that it was written by Jo herself, and magnificently so! The Hogwarts Library is a collection of three books with which every Potterhead should be familiar: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through Ages and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.  It´s an easy read and I love it because these little books give you a deeper insight into the world of magic we grew to love so much. What is more, I consider this collection to be a special one; the Fantastic Beasts are written in a form of the Hogwarts textbook and just like a textbook of any student (muggle or not) its pages are decorated with funny notes from Harry, Ron and Hermione. The Tales, on the other hand, are enriched with some wise additional notes by Professor Albus Dumbledore. If that´s not enough for you, this one has to convince you – from every sale of the Hogwarts Library, the Scholastic publishing house will donate 20% of all the sales to the Lumos, a charity founded by Jo herself that works to end the institutionalization of children and The Comic Relief, a charity that strives to create a just world free from poverty.

The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, a Treasury of Myths, Legends and Fascinating Facts by David Colbert

The Times call this piece “Irresistibly dippable” and “glorious tribute to Rowling´s work” and they are telling the truth, for sure. David Colbert focuses on many references made to history, legends, literature and allusions that are hidden in the names of many characters; from alchemists to wizards, magical beasts and spells, the book is definitely something I have been looking for a long time. And it´s not only me, I would bet my sock on it…

The Sorcerer´s Companion, A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter by Allan Zola Kronzek and Elizabeth Kronzek

Similarly, this one focuses on the world of wizardry and the folklore, history and mythology behind the story of Harry´s fantastic universe. Almost all of the elements in Rowling´s masterpiece are rooted in legends, literature and history events dating back hundreds or maybe thousands of years. And these two dedicated Potterheads, a dad and his daughter, offer a way for every one of us to look up anything magical in their companion. I certainly did, many times…

The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials by Steven Vander Ark

This is the only Harry Potter-related book I have in the Slovak version. Normally, I wouldn´t buy it in any other version but the original one, but the story of how I came across this book is quite remarkable; me and my mom saved it from shredding – we found it in a furniture shop atop a pile of destroyed books that were waiting for its unfortunate destiny in a giant shredder. I am quite proud of myself, because I saved this book´s life and what´s more, it came in handy numerous times while my research. It is a paper version of a website that is visited by 25 millions of people every year. Due to its form and the alphabetical order in which all the entries are arranged, I consider it to be an ecyclopaedia, and a very useful one! It became very popular among us Potterheads and is suitable for readers, students, librarians, and experts.

The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

Although this one is not primarily connected with the world of Harry Potter, it may come in handy when talking about Harry and his challenges and perils he has to overcome during his years at Hogwarts. As a history lover and a former student of literature, I always though about this book as the most read and the most important one. Once you read it, everything starts to make sense; Campbell´s study traces the story of the hero´s journey and transformation they have to go through on their quest. Not only for Harry, but for every hero either in fantasy books or in mythologies from all around the world, there is a journey to which they are destined. Along the way, they meet numerous characters like the wise old man (Dumbledore anyone?), the helpers (Ron and Hermione), the trickster (the Weasley twins), the vilain (Voldemort) and many others. Try to apply this to any other book you´ve ever read and you´ll see that Mr Campbell was a genius.

So, what do you think? I hope I didn´t terify you with the amount of books related to my favourite topic. Believe me, there is far more. But for a good old bookworm, it shouldn´t be a problem, right? 

As you can see, I love the Harry Potter world. In many ways, reading the books over the years saved my life and it taught me to love literature, which, at the end, became my passion and profession. And what´s more, carrying a book in my bag is my favourite fashion accessory.

Until next time, 

čauko, Lenka 😊