We've heard of Harry Potter dissenters, but here's some religious support for the Harry Potter series, as a Benedictine monk is publishing "Baptising Harry Potter: A Christian Reading of Harry Potter."

"I do not think there is any intelligent view out there that says these books are evil. They are the sort of objections that come from people who have not read them.

"What are they suggesting we do, ban everyone who turns up at a children's party to do a few tricks," said Fr Luke.

"I don't feel at all that the books were leading children away from Christian spirituality.

"They are full of Christian themes of love and sacrifice," he said.

Check out the full article here.

Thoughts?

Here's some great, bittersweet news. The cafe where JK Rowling started writing the Harry Potter books - with baby daughter Jessica by her side - has reopened. The cafe had closed and turned into a chinese buffet a few years ago, but a new owner has changed it back:

Owner Moira McFarlane, 42, says she’s more than happy for customers to escape the cold and spend the whole day reading, writing or chatting with friends.

She said: “It’s a big space, so we need to make it cosy – we will welcome people to come along and sit all day – and write books if they like. ”The businesswoman, who already owns the Spoon Cafe in Old Town and runs the Storytelling Centre coffee bar on the Royal Mile, says the cafe is unlike any other.

Read more, including the owner's thoughts on the cafe's popularity thanks to JK Rowling, at this link. I want to visit! Don't you?

Looking forward to Halloween, Entertainment Weekly has released a list of "17 Characters Who Are Charming -- But Deadly."

Lord Voldemort - and Ralph Fiennes' portrayal - is one of the characters they list.

Others on the list include Dexter, Jack the Ripper, and Sweeney Todd. Read the entire list starting right here. Thanks to Jake for the tip!

The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, in cooperation with the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health, has announced twelve libraries will host "Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine," a new small format traveling exhibition.

The exhibit will run for a four-week period between September 2009 and November 2010 and present at least two public programs on the exhibition themes. All showings of the exhibition and related programs will be free and open to the public.

The exhibition explores Harry Potter’s world, its roots in Renaissance science and the ethical questions that affected not only the wizards in J.K. Rowling’s books, but also the historical thinkers featured in the series.

Click here for complete information on the traveling exhibitions and the list of public libraries it will be visiting. Thanks to Tori!

Over the last several weeks, various news outlets have explored and critiqued Harry Potter and its effects on its readers. Now, we have a new article from the Boston Globe that looks at how the series has won over some religious critics as of late.

“When stories become as popular as the Harry Potter stories, they no longer simply reflect the religious views of the author, but become artifacts of the culture, and they say something about the culture that has embraced them,” Dalton says. “And that is certainly the case with Harry Potter.”

Thanks to Annie and Makenzie for the tip!

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has topped National Public Radio's poll of the 100 Best Beach Books Ever!

Here are the top ten books on the list:

1. The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
3. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
4. Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
5. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells
7. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg
10. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

Thanks to TLC!

UPDATE: The two new covers can be seen here and here. They will be released on July 31st!

The Bookseller is reporting that Bloomsbury, the UK publisher of the Potter series, is set to re-release Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages:

The relaunched titles will again raise funds for the charity with 1.15 pounds from each 4.99 pound title sold going to Comic Relief.

The print run for the new version has yet to be confirmed. A spokesman for Bloomsbury said: “There are always new Harry Potter readers coming to the series each year who will be looking for other exciting things to read.”

If new covers are released for the books we'll be sure to bring them to you.

Early last month we told you that the Harry Potter series had been nominated in the "Favorite Book" category at Nickelodeon's 2009 Kids Choice Awards.

As of today, voting has started at this link. The Kids Choice Awards air on Saturday, March 28th at 8 PM EST. Thanks to Renee for the tip!

On the same day Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released in paperback, Scholastic will be releasing a complete paperback series box set. As you can see from this picture found on Barnes & Noble and Amazon, the box enclosing the books uses the Deathly Hallows deluxe edition cover.

The books also appear to sport some new colors. Other than those details, that's all we have right now. If more details become available closer to the release date, we'll let you know! In the mean time, you can pre-order the set on Barnes & Noble right here for $58.67. Thanks to Leaky for the news!

Harry Potter has consecutively been nominated in Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards, and this year is no different. He's been nominated in the "Favorite Book" category against the Twilight series, Diary of a Wimpy, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself.

Voting opens on March 2nd and the award ceremony takes place on Saturday, March 28th. Thanks to Tim for the tip!

The Telegraph is reporting today that Harry Potter was borrowed 109,000 times last year, making it the most borrowed book:

The Government-funded Public Lending Right - which pays authors for books taken out in public libraries - said choices had been influenced by Richard and Judy, the husband and wife TV presenters. Five of the books named in the top 10 had been featured in their Book Club slot as part of their chat show.

The PLR, which tracked figures between July 2007 and June 2008, also said books for children and young adults represented a third of loans nationally.

Following rumors about the possibility of a Harry Potter musical, JK Rowling's agent has said that "there are no plans for a Harry Potter musical, full stop."

Dan Radcliffe also commented on the rumors, saying that a Potter muscial "wouldn't have [his] blessing."

Thanks to those who emailed!

We're a little late on this, but at the end of October USA Today compiled a list of the best-selling books in the past 15 years.

Unsurprisingly, the Harry Potter books took 7 of the top 10 spots. Here's how they ranked:

1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2) Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution
3) The Da Vinci Code
4) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
6) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
7) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
8) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
9) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
10) Who Moved My Cheese?

Read the full list right here. Thanks to Emily for the tip!

Our friend Melissa Anelli of The Leaky Cauldron is about to have her very first book released on Tuesday, November 4th. Harry, a History is a testament to the Harry Potter fandom, as Melissa details the series from the very beginning to the Deathly Hallows release.

On her book's website, Melissa has posted numerous bits of an interview she conducted with JK Rowling for the book. The latest part is Jo's reactions to the Order of the Phoenix field incident where guns were involved:

"I remember there was a journalist, a TV journalist, who said at the time, very flippantly, 'Ha, ha, it's all publicity, isn't it?" It just felt so out of control at that point, just felt so out of control that the manuscript had suspiciously turned up in a field, that this guy who had supposedly found it just thought, 'Oh, well, the best thing I can do here is phone some newspaper. ... And then of course we hit book six and we think we've seen the most out-there attempt to get a Harry Potter manuscript early, and of course we haven't come close because the we get the guy with the gun. That was pretty serious, that really was not funny. Fiddy told me and I thought it was a joke. I thought she was making a joke.

You can read the rest of Jo's thoughts on spoilers here, and other bits from Jo here, here, and here.

A new article in The Telegraph reports that Potter readers are split into four types based on the Hogwarts houses:

His research found 'Hufflepuff' readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.

'Gryffindor' readers are eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to new things.

'Ravenclaws' are subversive and take the stories with a pinch of salt, while 'Slytherin' readers are not fussed about the books.

Scholastic's official website has been updated with a very nice new "Quick Quotes Quill" section. It holds interviews with several key members of Scholastic's Potter team. They all discuss how the Potter books are created, promoted, and much more.

As an example, Francine Colaneri, VP of Manufacturing and Corporate Purchasing, discussed how much paper it takes to create Beedle the Bard and Deathly Hallows:

Q: How much paper did you purchase for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? What's the typical amount of paper purchased for a non-Harry Potter book's first printing?

A: 16,700 tons or 33,400,000 pounds. The typical amount of paper for a non-Harry YA first printing ranges from 10,000 to 200,000 pounds.

Q: Since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, which Scholastic book have you purchased the most paper for? And how does that compare to the amount for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?

A: The Tales of Beetle the Bard requires 2,222,000 pounds; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows required 15 times as much paper.

Check them all out right here. Thanks to Lauren and Arcangel24 for the tip!

In celebrating 10 years since Potter hit store shelves in the United States, MTV has asked some celebrities what they think of the series. Everyone from Robert Pattinson to Shirley Manson was interviewed:

Robert Pattinson (Cedric in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Edward in "Twilight"): "Does it make me a traitor? 'Harry Potter' was what made me become an actor. I credit 'Harry Potter' with everything else that's come since for me. I didn't know what I was doing before that. I hadn't read the books before doing the movie, so at first I read it just as an acting exercise. But I really enjoyed it! But I think Edward would kick Cedric's ass, to be honest."

Read all of the thoughts from celebs right here.

UPDATE: A picture of show holding her new award can be seen right here via The Telegraph.

According to a recent report released by BBC News, author J.K. Rowling will receive the Edinburgh Award at a ceremony tonight in Edinburgh, the city where she created the famous Potter series.

"So much has happened to me both professionally and personally since I moved here nearly 15 years ago, that to receive this recognition is particularly meaningful and special," Rowling said.

A panel of judges from the fields of arts, business and science unanimously voted her the 2008 winner.

Congrats to Jo on yet another impressive award!

As many of you know, Scholastic will be holding a special event next Tuesday, September 23 in conjuction with the official release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: 10th Anniversary Edition. Fans will get the opportunity to read from the novel while sitting in the same chair author J.K. Rowling used during her post-Deathly Hallows appearance at Carnegie Hall last October.

This morning Scholastic has updated their blog to let fans know that various celebrities will be on hand to read, as well as released a video last night previewing the event.

Don't forget that if you can't make it to the store in downtown New York next week you can view the event online. Thanks to Molly for sending this in!