Pottermore

So, Pottermore. As one of the biggest fans of Harry Potter out there, naturally I was jumping up and down when I found out that there was something called Pottermore and we were going to find out what it was very soon. I kept a close watch on the countdown and got up at 6 A.M. to watch the above video be presented. I can tell you that I'm still excited, but I'm not quite sure what to think.

I was touched that Jo had put together this effort as a way to say thank you to her fans and to provide them with more Potter just as the final movie will end the book/movie legacy that began with the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 1997. But there are a few things that I'm not so jazzed about.

First of all, we have to wait until October to even get into the site, unless we are one of the lucky people who get in early (we'll find out how on July 31st). It's fine that Pottermore won't be ready until then, but it's unfair to build up the hype four long months ahead of time. I wish the announcement would have been made much closer to the release of the site.

I'm also very confused as to what exactly the site IS. The video itself is very vague, claiming an "interactive reading experience." What is that, exactly? I've heard from many other sources that we will be learning about subplots that never made it into the books, which is very exciting. However, I've also had it from other sources (including my local newspaper) that it will include a "role-playing game and a digital encyclopedia with social networking and an online store." I have heard rumors of a sorting test hand crafted by Jo herself, as well as an activity where you are given a wand based on your personal characteristics with thousands of variations available. So what the heck is it? Is it one of those things? Is it all of them? Is is none of them? I guess we'll just have to wait until October to find out.

The article in my newspaper talked about the one thing that we're all certain about as well: the electronic forms of the books becoming available. I guess your opinion on this depends on your opinion of eBooks. Although the audio versions of the books will be available on the site, what most people are talking about it the release of the series in electronic form for use on eReaders such as the Amazon Kindle the Sony Reader and the iPad. Until now, JK Rowling has refused to allow her books to be published in this format. Booksellers are less than thrilled about this. According to Jo, however, "You can't hold back progress, e-books are here and they are here to stay."

Overall, I'm still very excited for Pottermore, and you can bet I'll be fighting my hardest to be one of those people who gets in early. But I'm a bit frustrated and I think it's left us all a bit confused. I don't really care one way or the other about the transition to e-book either. But I want to know... what do you think about it all?