I'm kind of mad at JK. Not personally, but I'm a traditionalist in the sense that I really wish she would leave the cannon alone, or at least quit switching media. So, to preserve this mentality, I don't really keep up with the HP news. I don't care about Dumbledore's sexual orientation, or what house Harry's son was sorted into, and I'm super irritated that if I want to learn more about the world I have to subscribe to a (confusing) website, fly to London to see a play, or sit through a film trilogy. I prefer that if we add to the cannon, we do it as more books.
Anyway, I attribute this apathy for HP news to the fact that I completely missed the pre-order for the illustrated edition of the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone and had to wait two weeks past release for my copy to arrive. Well, it was worth the wait. When I opened the box my heart fell from my chest and my eyes welled with tears. I'm not kidding, its that amazing. (P.S. This is the reaction I was expecting to have from A World of Ice and Fire, which fell short). The book itself is almost coffee-table book size, the construction is sturdy and the pages are heavy and glossed. Every page has some sort of illustration, at the least in the form of water marks, and most are lavishly decorated. This book is a must have for any Harry Potter fan. I recommend you grab your copy before they are gone. Amazon is already out of stock, but you can get the US edition from Scholastic and the UK edition from Bloomsbury, directly. I'll leave you with some teasers.
As of now, the plan is to release one illustrated book per year for the next six years so yea, thats flipping awesome! Although, I can only image how gigantic books 4 and on will be.
The Math:
Baseline Assessment: 7/10 (aka. my expectation)
Bonuses: +2 for exceeding expectations with its sheer beauty, +1 for being reasonably priced
Negatives: none
Nerd Coefficient: 10/10
Disclaimer -- I generated this score based on the Illustrated Edition of the first installment in the greatest, most heartwarming, and most beloved tale ever told.
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Posted by: Tia
Reference: JK Rowling & Jim Kay. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Illustrated Edition [Scholastic, 2015]
