Harry Potter Book 7 Due Out Soon

I am extremely excited and pleased to announce the long awaited "conclusion" to the HP series will be coming out 7/21/2007. The title of this "final" book in the HP series will be ""Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

I am as excited about this book as I have been about anything in my life. My wife and I are huge fans and can not wait to see how it all comes together.

There is a lot of rumors going around about who dies and if the series will continue in some way. Personally I do not care. I just need to be able to close book 7, lay back and say aaaaahhhhhhhh!! Of course I will look forward to the movie, but they never capture the essence and passion that J.K.R. puts into these books. Every time I am reading a book from the series, I get taken into the story. That does not often happen when I read.

Well I am sure you are all as excited as I am about this upcoming release. Let's watch the clock together and hypothesize about what may happen in ">"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

Collecting Harry Potter Merchandise

Some of us will buy one of everything out there and others are more selective. I am a mix of the two. Personally I buy two of any Harry Potter merchandise I come across. This way I have one I can open and actually use/display and another to put up untouched. Mainly this applies to the smaller items such as first edition books, action figures, bookmarks, ornaments, etc.

For trading cards, I buy them buy the box, not the individual packs and for every three I buy, one is put up for safe keeping. This applies to "booster" and expansion packs as well. I actually enjoy the game since I used be a huge Magic the Gathering addict.

I have been lucky enough to be given a first edition Philosopher's Stone, autographed by J.K.R. This was a gift from a dear friend in the U.K. who new I fell in love with Harry Potter after reading Sorcerer's Stone here in the U.S. I see them on Ebay for ridiculous amounts, but mine is staying in it's safe little picture box. I've never checked to see if it is an authentic autograph and really don't care to. To me it is something special and priceless.

There are some movie replicas out there that would be great gifts for a HP fan. In all honesty I would go to the source for these items, there are other companies that make Harry Potter replicas, but make sure you do your research before buying. These companies may be selling poor quality goods for high prices. I also find a lot of sites selling the same items that Warner Bros. has available. You have to be weary of the "sneaks" out there that will buy an item from original store and then try to convince you that it is worth much more than it is.

The final thing I will discuss is actual movie props. I would read up on collectibles in general by going to about.com and reading Barbara Crews' section. Just click on collectibles at the top left of the menu and you will be on your way. There is a Harry Potter section with a great slide show of the Marshall Fields HP window display. Barbara also includes price guides to many different collectibles.

Until next time,

JJM