Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide (Kindle Single) (Pottermore Presents Book 3) Kindle Edition

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide is another gem by JK Rowling. I've now read two of the three of these singles (Along with the Heroism, Hardships, and Dangerous Hobbies one) and haven't had a complaint about them. Ok, fine. I wish they were longer! I know a lot of the information in them is (i've heard! I don't get there that often!) available on Pottermore, but I have to "own" all of them…I couldn't live without having these on my kindle! I'm just hoping we'll all be blessed and have them all (and hopefully more!!) released in print so we can slide them in their rightful place besides 1-7, The Tales of Beetle the Bard, Quidditch Throughout the Ages, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. (Ok, also Cursed Child, but I'm still pretending it doesn't exist…)The great thing about these singles is that you can TELL JKR wrote these. After Cursed Child, it's refreshing to plunge headfirst into true, authentic JKR Wizarding World Material. Her voice just shouts throughout the whole single. It's so wonderful to have it back! THIS is what I think we all were waiting for when CC came out. Again, I just wish these things were longer!Chapter One details the Journey to Hogwarts, including information on King's Cross Station, Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and the Hogwarts Express. Chapter Two Contains the Sorting Hat and Hatstalls. (Though, I would like to contradict the book here: It says Harry only ever knew two true Hatstalls: McGonagall and Pettigrew….yet in Heroism, Hardships, and Dangerous Hobbies it says that Flitwick was also a Hatstall. Yep, first time I've caught an error!) Chapter Three is The Castle an Grounds with The Hufflepuff Common Room, Marauder's Map, and Great Lake. Chapter Four is Lessons including Hogwarts Subjects and Time Turners. Chapter Five is the Castle Residents: Hogwarts Ghosts, Info on Nearly Headless Nick, the Portraits, and Sir Cadogan. And Finally, Chapter Six is secrets of the castle including the Mirror of Erised, Pensive, Philospher's Stone, Sword of Gryffindor and The Chamber of Secrets. I'm still hoping a few hundred more chapters will magically appear, but that's it.This edition did seem to read 'longer' than the Heroism, Hardships etc single, but it still contained a lot of great information. Yes, some (maybe most!) is available on Pottermore, but it's definitely a worthwhile read, especially if you don't get there to read stuff often.Lastly, I just wanted to give some hope for those of you who may also have not loved Cursed Child:An excerpt from Time-Turner:"As our investigations currently stand, the longest period that may be relived without the possibility of serious harm to traveller or to time itself is around five hours." and then it goes on to detail all the damage that going back more than that has caused in the past and why it is now banned.HALLELUJAH Cursed Child was just all wrong and we can now wipe it from our cannon!!

I'm always eager to step back into the Potterverse. In this third and final installment of the Pottermore Presents series J.K Rowling focuses on many aspects of Hogwarts including the history of the Hogwarts Express, Platform 9 3/4 and more information about the castle itself like descriptions of the Hufflepuff common room and the mysteries in the Great Lake. Rowling also gives her readers a better look at many magical artifacts that were featured in her famous books. These include the Sorting Hat, Dumbeldore's Pensieve, the Sword of Gryffindor, The Mirror of Erised and the Philosopher's Stone.Page time is also given to some of Hogwarts' inhabitants including the ghosts, Sir Cadogan and the people who dwell in the pictures throughout the castle. I enjoyed the ballad about Nearly Headless Nick which was the icing on the cake for me.This was a good read but, like most Potterheads, I would have liked even more detail. I found the first book in the series, Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, gave a bit more detail about the topics it touched on. This is still a 'must have' for fans of Harry Potter. It's always fun to spend time in Rowling's head and get a better idea of how she came up with her magical universe. These e-books are a very quick read, a great price and are an easy way to get back to her Potter magic which, of course, is priceless.

Even though I am aware of the Pottermore website and have periodically visited and read a bit of the content, I thoroughly enjoyed this guide. It is perfectly arranged, beginning with a description of the journey to Hogwarts. Once at the school, the book branches off into other areas such as castle residents, students' lessons, and the sorting hat. It was interesting to read Ms. Rowling's descriptions followed by her personal thoughts (which at times allow us into her mind and reveal how she created different elements of the stories).As pointed out, one could search around the website and find most of what was in the book. Missing, however, would be the opportunity to experience the author's skill at putting together a collection of quick stories and descriptions and turning it into something magical. Five stars.

Like all Rowling’s Potter series, this work is creative, witty, and fun. Adds consistent, extra, amusing background to the Potter books.

I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan and have a Pottermore account. I wasn't going to buy any of these books since most, if not all of the information in these three books is on Pottermore. I decided to buy them because I liked the idea of having the information handily available. I enjoyed the reading, but the books are too short, have too little in them, and they cannot be loaned. I loved the stories of the sorting hat and hatstall, and Sir Cadogan. Worth the read, but don't expect story-telling. It reads more like an encyclopedia.