While I’m sure almost all "Harry Potter" fans have heard of the stage-play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” it was only released in February that the script would be published in book form. For those who aren’t caught up on what’s happening in the Harry Potter canon, “Cursed Child” is the official sequel to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” as the eighth "Harry Potter" story in the series. This 320-page script will be released on July 31, 2016, which also happens to be Harry Potter’s birthday.
To celebrate the release of “Cursed Child," some Harry Potter fans are participating in a #RemembrallReadAThon. In this celebration, those who participate are re-reading all seven Harry Potter books in preparation for the new book. They started on May 23, and they have a calendar to track their progress, but it’s still not too late to join.
This celebration has been organized by The Harry Potter Alliance, which describes itself as an organization that “turns fans into heroes.” Since 2005 they’ve been working with millions of fans for causes involved in equality, human rights, and literacy. Some of their accomplishments include donating over 250,000 books through the Accio Books campaign, spearheading a four-year effort to have Harry Potter licensed chocolate abide by Fair Trade Practices, and bringing 20,000 fans and online creators together to support Net Neutrality.
Other than reading along with other fans, you can also subscribe to the "Harry Potter" Alliance’s YouTube channel where they will be posting read-along videos twice a week hoping to increase discussion. Also, as you complete each novel, you can fill out their online form to get a follow along button to show your progress. If the YouTube videos aren't your speed, there's plenty of podcasts that you can listen to in-between your readings. I would recommend "Witch, Please" that you can use to follow along with the specific books and movies you're reliving.
This celebration for "Cursed Child" comes before the release of the newest film based on JK Rowling's writing, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." The film will be released on November 18, 2016 while the screenplay book (not to be confused with the mock textbook the movie is based off) will come out the day after. The stage play that "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is based on will be performing starting in July 2016 only in London.
If you look at your bookshelves and realize that you don't have all the copies, much like I did at the beginning of this challenge, don't worry. Check around local flea markets and used bookstores for copies first to avoid paying full price, or check them out at the library if you're not dedicated to collecting them all just yet. I'm actually borrowing two books in the series from my aunt, so make sure to ask family and friends if they have copies so you can save your change.
If you are looking to invest in the series, I would recommend starting to buy the illustrated editions. There's only one out now for the first novel in the series, but the second book will be released this October. They're great keepsakes with beautiful drawings that I can't wait to someday share with my children. If they're a little out of your price range, or you don't want to wait for them all to be released, there are box sets available as well as a released British-cover edition that are aesthetically pleasing for the Instagram users among us.
