Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Book Club Meeting

We finally got around to holding our Goblet of Fire book club meeting! It only took us four months, but it was worth the wait! Spring has officially sprung in Boston and it was the perfect sunday to get together and lounge outside. We finally got to share the treats we got from Harry Potter World during our trip to Orlando last December : /

Michelle brought her Harry Potter trivia game and we had fun dividing into Hogwarts houses and testing our knowledge.

Sorting into our Houses for the game

Thrilled to be a Hufflepuff

Christian and Carolyn were our victors! Ten points to Ravenclaw!

Always a great time at the HP Boston book club! Ready to tackle book five now!

Boston Book Club Part III - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

We held another HP Boston Book Club meeting to discuss the third volume of the Harry Potter series: Prisoner of Azkaban. We each thought of five trivia questions as we read the book and brought them to the meeting to test each other. We also got rid of the remainder of our Halloween candy which was a plus haha. Great discussions, great company, great times with fellow Potterheads. I love it!

We solemnly swear that we are up to no good.

Chamber of Secrets Meeting

This really is just the best time of year to be part of a Harry Potter book club. I always associate Harry Potter with Halloween and the Holiday season. Our second HP Boston Book Club meeting was on September 11 and we had a great turnout! So glad to have found some fellow Potter loving muggles here on the east coast. I realize now that I didn't even take a picture of the whole gang; major oversight. Next time I'll do better. Mary and Michelle brought some every flavor beans (jelly bellies this time, much tastier) and I tried my hand at cauldron cakes! I've always loved the details of the Harry Potter stories and reading about all of the magical sweets. Cauldron cakes have always sounded delicious to me and they were so fun to make!

Cauldron cakes full of polyjuice potion & homemade wands!

We made our own wands out of paper, hot glue, and acrylic paint. They turned out even cooler than I expected!

Mary and Dean had to test their new wands out.

Too much fun. I love it!

Now it's on to Prisoner of Azkaban and I cannot wait. It was and may still be my favorite book of the series. I'm taking the train to work this week so I'll have plenty of time to read!

Harry Potter and the Boston Book Club

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Harry Potter. Ever since I was eleven years old and discovered my first copy of Harry Potter at a scholastic book fair, I have been Harry Potter's #1 fan. One of my friends from my study abroad in Wales started a book club specifically for re-reading the Harry Potter series and has been throwing totally awesome Potter book club discussions/parties for the past year. Unfortunately this friend lives in Utah and I have enviously eyed pictures of these events on facebook wishing that I could be part of such awesomeness. Sigh.

For a long time I thought, why don't I start my own Harry Potter book club? And for a long time it was just a thought. BUT, Jeff and I finally reached the point where we knew enough people on this side of the country to invite to participate in such a venture, and I finally got the gumption to do it. I sent out some emails, and got a good enough response to start a reading group. Thus was born the Harry Potter Boston Book Club!

July was our trial month. I put together a reading guide and everyone in the group read Sorcerer's Stone. We had our very first meeting on July 31st (in honor of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling's birthdays) and had a magical time. We dug into the book and discussed deep topics such as:

• "How do Harry's Aunt and Uncle live with themselves?"
• "How did you pronounce character names the first time you read Harry Potter? Hermy-own anyone?
• "How does the Ministry of Magic track who is magical and know who to admit to Hogwarts even if they don't come from wizarding families (like Hermione or Lily Potter)?"
• "What's up with the points system at Hogwarts?! It's so subjective and the Hogwarts teachers can totally rig the system."
• "Which Hogwarts House best represents each "Big Four" Accounting Firm?"

It was fun to get different insights into various parts of the book and to hear everyone's favorite parts of the story. It totally took me back to the days when the books and movies were being released for the first time and my excitement and passion for Harry Potter was rekindled. Glad I have an awesome husband and good friends who are willing to share in this kind of fun : )

Our first meeting was a success!

By the way, everyone is welcome to join the Harry Potter Boston Book Club, even if you don't live nearby. We are now moving on to Chamber of Secrets and will be holding another meeting at the end of August! Let me know if you're interested. Here's to many months of happy Harry Potter reading! Let the Magic begin!