Repotting Harry Potter: A Professor's Book-by-Book Guide for the Serious Re-Reader Paperback – January 8, 2009

This is my 10th year of doing an annual re-read of the Harry Potter series: month 1 (January) = book 1, and so on through month 7/book 7. I am about halfway through "Prisoner of Azkaban," so can only speak to how the first three books in the Potter series are discussed by the author. Dr. Thomas writes in a light and informative style, highlighting and using puns (and apologizing with tongue in cheek) and pointing out things both evident and non-evident. Especially interesting are the points that he makes about foreshadowing, where things that happen in earlier books point to the trajectory to book 7 that experienced (as opposed to novice) readers will easily follow. He also discusses in the book 3 section, entitled "Some Sirius Business," the near-absence of exposition, wherein an author feels the need to reiterate or explain something that was introduced in an earlier book. He credits JK Rowling with understanding that not many new readers would begin with book 3, so, for example, the "explanation" of Quidditch is a few sentences only, as compared to Wood's detailed explanation to Harry in book 1. I highly recommend "Repotting Harry Potter" for, as the publisher says, "the serious re-reader."

James W. Thomas has put together a concise, fun, easy-to-read, guide on the 7 book series by J.K. Rowling. Being a professor, it could have been very easy for him to write something with a more "highbrow" feel, but this book is very down-to-earth, even conversational in style. I would have enjoyed having him as a lit professor. He points out so many things I had missed on my first read through, devices such as ironic foreshadowing, checkov's law, and Rowling's play with words, alliteration, and even naming of items, people, stores. There are soo many details crammed into Rowling's books, that I had not seen. and when I re-read the series, I'm sure I will see many more of them, having read this. Since reading the Harry Potter books, largely to approve them before my son read them, I've thought that they were a fun adventure series. (anyone who can get kids to read 5,000+ pages of story is doing something right!) I never dreamed how much more there was to find!

The author gathers the re-reader of Harry’s adventures into an informal, light-hearted, yet still academically challenging discussion of each chapter of all seven major Harry Potter novels, highlighting so very many points that only a re-reader can catch and appreciate, adding to the enjoyment of the series by pointing out relationships between the various events in the books both to other events in the books, and also to literary and real-life references outside the series. This was a truly enriching supplement to the Harry Potter series.

I am pretty much obsessed with Harry Potter and I bought this book to have a new perspective of the books. The content is interesting enough, and I've learned exactly two things that I hadn't picked up before. It's very tiring to read each section, though, because he goes through such mundane things sometimes (like puns that are completely obvious if you're over the age of five). My major complaint is about the amount of typos in this book! It's unreal to me! Obviously this was a low budget book because I'm beginning to feel like every page has a typo on it and it's gotten to the point where the typos take away from the reading. He writes "Voldmort" "Horcurx" and "frist" among many others. I know they are minor things but when you notice the first few you can't help but notice the rest.

After reading the favorable reviews for this book, I bought it to do research for my thesis. I was SORELY disappointed. The book is just a lame, tedious recap of almost every event in the series. There are very few useful insights. Most of his blow-by-sorry-blow accounts of the books simply point out Rowling's brilliant foreshadowing, retell her witticisms with all the tediousness of a six year old reading out jokes from a children's joke book, (I mean, do you REALLY want to read a lengthy analysis of every single pun in Celestina Warbeck's songs?) and make cringeworthy, lame puns about the series itself.The overall feel is that the author of this lame criticism is unable to write such wonderful fiction himself, so instead he goes chapter by chapter of the series as if he was rewriting the series badly, with no culminative conclusion that gives deeper insights into Harry's story. He is often needlessly judgmental and painfully colloquial.And no, Professor of some unmentioned college, you should not nickname Dumbledore "Dumby." Is it THAT difficult to type out the whole name? Were you on such good terms with the deceased fictional wizard that you managed to coin a bad nickname that no one else in the entire series ever calls him? Because it is truly irritating to read the nickname.Please spare yourself and don't make the same mistake I did. There is plenty of useful, worthy HP criticism out there. (Try Wolosky's "The Riddles of HP" or HP and the Imagination.") This is not part of it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoyed the Harry Potter books the first time, and especially to those who - like me - have read them at least 100 times apiece. Even so, I learned more nuances and went deeper into the levels of Ms. Rowling's writings, with the very easy-to-understand writing style of the author. I plan to buy more of his books evaluating the Harry Potter universe and the Twilight series. I thought I had picked up on everything in the HP books, then come to find even more nuggets and tidbits that make the 101st readings still more enjoyable.

Repotting Harry Potter is, first and foremost, a delight to read. It's written in a friendly, chatty style that is a bit like having a really good friend round for a few drinks and some fascinating conversation. However, all the very good humour is underpinned by a knowledge of how the written word really works. Professor Thomas's focus is mainly on JK Rowling's language and style, and he rightly points out how the language matures, with far more complex metaphors and similes as the series progresses. Although Professor Thomas clearly loves the Harry Potter series, this isn't blind adulation; he puts his finger on exactly why (for instance) the explanation at the end of Chamber of Secrets is a bit of a stretch. For those who love the series this is a very welcome opportunity to re-visit Hogwarts in the company of a witty, well informed guide. Highly recommended.

I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having read all the Harry Potter books it's nice to know what subtleties I may have missed first time around, and what I should look out for during the inevitable rereads.James W. Thomas' tone throughout is light and conversational. I never felt bogged down by descriptions or bored by his discussions, as can quite often be the case when people go about dissecting books.Simply put, if you're planning on picking up your Potter books again, read this book first. It will enhance the experience.

This book is a joy to read, the author brings his subject alive with dry humour and quick pace.I will re-read the Potter Books again with a deeper insight but I shall certainly re-read this book again

Ich habe ja schon einige Bücher gelesen, die sich mit Harry Potter befassen, doch wenige sind meiner Meinung nach wirklich empfehlenswert. Mit Ausnahmen haben lediglich jene, welche gesammelte Werke von Fans beinhalten, einen für den Fan der Reihe ausreichenden Anspruch. Viele Bücher werden von Autoren veröffentlicht, welche sich mit dem Namen "Harry Potter" einen Vorteil am Markt verschaffen wollen, ohne die Bücher, von denen sie schreiben, so gut zu kennen, wie die, die ihre Bücher lesen möchten. Insbesondere in deutscher Sprache ist diese Art von Büchern eher häufig zu finden.Eine solche Ausnahme von diesen halbherzigen Veröffentlichungen stellt dieses Buch dar. Man merkt, dass der Autor - übrigens langjähriger Professor für Literatur - die Bücher der Harry Potter Reihe sorgfältig studiert hat und uns hier eine umfassende Zusammenfassung aller sieben Bände liefert, die unterhaltsam UND detailliert ist und stellenweise mit wunderbaren Vergleichen zu weiteren literarischen Werken aufwartet.Dabei geht James W. Thomas relativ strukturiert vor: In "mundgerechten" Portionen von 3-5 Kapiteln zeigt er dem Leser zunächst einige kleine teils witzige Zusammenhänge, Andeutungen und Wortspiele (MMMs oder "minor miscellanious matters") auf, geht dann über zu wichtigen inhaltlichen Zusammenhängen, zu Vergleichen mit anderer Literatur und schließlich der Deutung der Erzählweise und der (eventuell) gewählten Symboliken J.K. Rowlings.Man muss nicht Literatur studiert haben, um allen Ausführungen des Autors zu folgen, er schreibt nicht sehr gestochen, wie man es von einem Literaturprofessor erwarten könnte, sondern relativ locker. Dennoch sollte man schon Erfahrung mit dem Lesen englischer Bücher mitbringen (so oder so sollte man die Harry Potter Romane auf englisch gelesen haben) und/oder ein vernünftiges Wörterbuch zur Hand haben (äußerstt praktisch beim Kindle!).Alles in allem hält der Untertitel, was er verspricht, ein wirklich gutes und gut geschriebenes Buch für den ambitionierten "Re-Reader"!

Akribisch und mit großer Begeisterung nimmt der Autor (selbst Literaturdozent und Harry Potter Fan) alle sieben Bände der mittlerweile legendären Serie interpretierend auseinander und entdeckt spannende Querverweise zwischen den einzelnen Teilen und intertextuelle Spielereien, die eher für erwachsenen Leser amüsant sind.Es ist ein bisschen wie die ganze Serie nochmal lesen und in Erinnerungen schwelgen.Im Anschluss an diesen Band gibt es es noch einen zweiten  Rowling Revisited: Return Trips to Harry, Fantastic Beasts, Quidditch, & Beedle the Bard , der auf noch mehr Details sowie auf die Ergänzungsbände zur Pooter-Serie eingeht. Rowling Revisited: Return Trips to Harry, Fantastic Beasts, Quidditch, & Beedle the Bard