"New Harry Potter Book"

Greetings earthlings, mae govannen, may the force be with you and all that.

So I feel like whenever J. K. Rowling writes anything, the internet does this:

So yes, in July, we will be getting a "new" "Harry Potter" "book" from J.K. Rowling.

OK, the air quotes around "Harry Potter" were unwarranted - the writing actually does feature Harry this time. But it's not exactly a book - it's a script; and while it is "new" in the sense that it hasn't been made available to the general public yet, we've been hearing about it for a while.

Yet somehow, and despite the fact that I knew all of this, I still experienced a split-second of overjoyed, excited euphoria when I saw the headline about the "new Harry Potter book" on a news media site. Then I remembered that J. K. Rowling's been working on this play called "The Cursed Child," which we've been hearing about forever and which will someday be opening in London: not exactly a "new Harry Potter book."

Does any of this make me less excited to read it?

Ha ha ha ha ha. ha. ha. HA.

Of course not.

Much like the internet fandom alluded to above, I will read anything J.K. Rowling puts out. And if it's about Harry Potter? You bet.

Now for the official newscast: the script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, comes out in bookstores July 31. The production itself will officially open as a two-part stage play at the Palace Theatre in London's West End on July 30. Apparently the play contains some pretty massive surprises, because J. K. Rowling has started a campaign called #KeepTheSecrets encouraging playgoers to forbear from spoiling the plot's surprises for everyone else. Which makes me wonder: should I buy the script and read it? Or wait until the play comes to Oregon in like, five thousand years? Weigh in with what you plan to do in the comments.

For those of you thinking, "July 31st???? Give me some J. K. Rowling writing NOW!!!!" - The long awaited Pottermore installment on the American equivalent of Hogwarts is now available for reading. The school is Ilvermony, and if the name sounds Irish, that's because it was founded by Isolt Sayre, a witch of Irish descent. And there's a beautiful video on Pottermore to "whet your appetite" for the new writing. Also, you can now be sorted into your Ilvermony house. Though actually I'm not sure how I feel about that.... (#SlytherinForever).

Until tomorrow.