YAY! I am going to make custom book covers for my books while i read the first one :D

I'll have to get the book from the library, as I don't currently own them.

mine are on my bookshelf :), thankfully easy to get to :)

I hope it's not too late to join the club! I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts from the very beginning with the first book :)

You’re right! That's interesting, . I just finished Chapter 3, and I was thinking about how resilient Harry is. You can tell he's scarred emotionally and physically by his upbringing and not having a proper family. But he is somehow able to cope in this environment. In Chapter 2, Rowling mentions, "When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened." Even here, Rowling used the word “relation” to show that Harry isn’t familiar with “family.” It’s sad that by age ten, Harry has given up on hope for acquiring this. Also, it's disheartening considering who we meet in Book Three—and even allies from this work (Dumbledore, Hagrid) who really cared for him his whole life but, for some reason, were never able to contact him about it.

So here’s my argument: I don't know if I find the blood ties a valid enough reason for him to live with the Dursleys. As Dumbledore has this inquisitive knowledge, he must have understood that Harry would be placed in a poor environment. I think he or another staff member could have taken Harry in and kept him safe. After all, Voldemort went into hiding until Harry was eleven. But even if this setting were the absolute best choice for him, Dumbledore should have remained in contact with Harry, regardless of what the Dursleys thought of that.

I didn't notice that! It doesn't surprise me that he doesn't use family, but it does make me feel even sadder for him. Imagine growing up until you're 10 with those people. And you're right, he does become attached to the new adults he meets at Hogwarts, Hagrid being the first.

I totally agree that Dumbledore should have kept in contact with Harry. Even if it was from afar, he could have made Harry's life much happier for those first years. I do think Dumbledore regretted it though, in a later book. I can't remember specifically though.

Also , some of the pictures in the first three chapters of the illustrated edition are spectacular. The image of Hagrid flying over the city, and this one of Hagrid with his tiny pink umbrella. I also quite liked the artwork of the picture of Harry looking in on the snake's cage in chapter 2. So cool!

It's uh-mazing. I couldn't believe how beautifully it was designed, and the artwork is so pretty. At least go to the bookstore and sit down and look at every page. There is so much amazing stuff in there! :)

Maybe all of his brothers outgrew them as they got older, and he inherited his collection from other members of his family! I agree, there is no way he had that much pocket change. He inherited everything else he owned, so maybe he inherited that too! I agree with you!

I agree with both of your analyses on Ron's cards. It's likely he received many of them as hand-me-downs. It's also possible he exaggerated the amount of cards since he just met Harry and possibly wanted to impress him?

The photo you linked of Hagrid with the umbrella is fantastic. I love how the illustrations of Harry really show him as a child who is dealing with various emotions (utter excitement over the snake, crashing disappointment over the mirror of Erised). It is really lovely, .

I'd love to join in on this! A little late in the month/term, but I'll be starting the book tonight so I can catch up!

All the talk of family and relations is a really good point - I'd never noticed all that when I read the books in the past. I'll Get through a bit of the book and see if I can add anything to what's been said!

As to the chocolate frog cards - I'd imagine that perhaps Ron got some of those chocolate frogs as gifts from friends of the family or other relations somewhere along the way. He may have also gotten any that had trickled down over time through the family from his parents if they'd ever collected them. :)

Dat illustrated edition. NEED.

I will come up with some before term ends. This weekend I will try to do a speedy reread of HP1. I own it in hardcover and paperback, so I'll just need to find the latter to read on the train during my commute (which could stand some livening up anyway). The hardcover was gifted to me on my birthday when I was a little girl (3rd grade I think). c:

I need to get it protected at The Strand, but I would love to share photos of the British paperback edition that I got autographed by J.K. Rowling at the premiere of the first HP7 movie in London.

While I sadly do not have the book available to me right now, I would love to partake in next term's book and discussion. ^^

The family thing is something I would have never noticed as I never read the books myself. XD My mom read to my sisters and I every night before bed and the entire series made the cut for several years. But next chance I get, I will definitely be grabbing my mom's copy until I can afford my own.

That's amazing! Are there special photos in that edition of the book? I'll bet that was a sweet bonding experience. You could always search a library for the next book. I've noticed so many new things while re-reading these as an adult.

I just finished reading Chapter 7. Here's a new observation for the group:

The Sorting Hat categorizes students based on personality and character traits. I find it a bit limiting to sort those who primarily value certain traits in the same group for the rest of their stay at Hogwarts, especially at the age of eleven.

In this book, Harry spends nearly all of his time with other Gryffindors who are “brave” and “chivalrous”. There’s hardly any notable, friendly interplay between houses unless you count classroom settings (where students are still quite formal and standoffish). Also, considering the competitive nature of the houses, it’s clear that prejudices are made based on certain character traits that are inherent to other houses. Many Gryffindors look down on the Slytherins and vice versa.

Do you think that categorizing students based on personality traits could stifle a house's (or a student's) development?