| Title | : | Harry Potter: A Journey Through Potions and Herbology (Harry Potter: A Journey Through, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 75 |
| Publication | : | First published June 27, 2019 |
The history of magic is as long as time and as wide as the world. In every culture, in every age, in every place and, probably, in every heart, there is magic.
This non-fiction short-form eBook features content which is adapted from the audiobook Harry Potter: A History of Magic – inspired by the British Library exhibition of the same name.
Potions have been made for thousands of years – associated with bubbling pots and mysterious ingredients, they have been brewed to make medicines, drugs and poisons. Harry Potter became much better at Potions with a little help from the Half-Blood Prince. Plants have also been important components of medicines as much as myth-making and magic. A source of danger as well as a means of overcoming obstacles, Herbology was a subject which had a major bearing on Harry’s key decisions and mistakes in the wizarding world.
This eBook short examines the colourful characters and curious incidents of the real history of magic, and how they relate to the Hogwarts lesson subjects of Potions and Herbology from the Harry Potter stories.
Harry Potter: A Journey Through Potions and Herbology (Harry Potter: A Journey Through, #2) Reviews
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Vairāk vēsturisks apcerējums par HP grāmatu sērijā pieminētajām leģendām,kas attiecas tieši uz Mikstūrām un Herboloģiju.
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A Journey Through Potions and Herbology, Harry Potter: A Journey Through #2
Pottermore Publishing, 2019
⭐️⭐️⭐️We all know that Harry became a dab hand at Potions with a little help from the Half-Blood Prince; this was a fictional example of the handing down of knowledge over the centuries when it comes to mystical brews. Potions have been made for thousands of years – associated with bubbling pots and mysterious ingredients, they have been brewed to make medicines, drugs and poisons.
Another short publishing by Pottermore - another short and easy way to make more money - but yet at least a bit interesting. I'm currently waiting for another book to be available for me, so why not read something magical while waiting.
There were acutally a few very interesting facts and stories and somehow I can imagine myself being someone who collected, pressed and described plants and herbs during the last centuries. I loved to do this when I was a child. Maybe I could do it again?🤔
Anyway. Short, some new interesting facts about the history of plants and potions and also some interesting facts about the Harry Potter universe - that the colours of the Philosopher's stone match some important figures in the books and what the last thing was, that Hermione smelled during Slughorn's class.
Only 3,5 stars because I think such informations shouldn't be put into a book just to make more money - it's my opinion, that everything that was published after Harry Potter is just to make more money. If I wanted to, I could find out all these things by myself. Still, an interesting short read and I think I'll also read the other two "books" someday. -
My wonderful friend Marie told me that she believes the first book you read in the year sets the tone for the rest of the year so I very carefully planned this. My first read of 2020 was
Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe and we saw how that went.
There’s not a ton of substance to this obviously, but it was the lighthearted read I needed to get this year going. It talks about different sources throughout history where Rowling’s content comes from, including the philosopher’s stone, alchemy, botany, and more. Interspersed between those sources are pull quotes from the different books, usually during potions and herbology classes.
I recommend if you’re a fan of Harry Potter but also have a penchant for historical oddities :)
See more of my reviews:
Instagram -
Neat explaining the history behind potions and herbology. My favorite part were the bits about the Philosopher's Stone. They said based on an old scroll that was real there were instructions on how to make a white stone, a red stone, and a black stone. When those were put together, they made the Philosopher's Stone.
"The red stone had a connection to Rubeus Hagrid, whose name in Latin means 'red'; Albus Dumbledore, whose first name means 'white', and the black stone to Sirius Black (for obvious reasons). Arguably the three father figures of Harry Potter are bound together in the colours of the Philospher's stone." -
The second in the series of Pottermore's adaptation from the British Museum's exhibition A History of Magic. This issue is about Potions and Herbology - two classes that seem to be intertwined due to so many potion ingredients being magical plants and their parts.
For all the supposition that potions would be discussed, beyond the initial chapter where cauldrons - actual examples having been discovered over the years - it was mostly about alchemy and the philosopher's stone with some bezoars being dropped in too.
As for herbology, besides the mandrake, the focus there seems to be on manuscripts and books on plants, their uses especially as herbal remedies and how they've changed through the centuries. Some of the books sound gorgeous and being able to actually see a copy of these rare pieces would be fantastic.
Perhaps not as focused on the Hogwarts classes as the reader might wish but the amount of information in this small ebook is extensive and can easily spark an interest in further research.
2019-165 -
I actually can't believe I am going to say this.. but I was bored by a Harry Potter related book..
As a huge fan of the wizarding world for many years, myself and other fans have desperately wanted books on the curriculum for so long. Unfortunately these are not living up to expectations at all.. we know about the folklore, myths, legends etc.. that's why we are fans, because everything makes sense on so many levels but this read like a list of facts. -
Prinzipiell kann ich nicht viel mehr darüber sagen, als ich schon bei
A Journey Through Charms and Defence Against the Dark geschrieben habe. Dieses eBook hat mir inhaltlich etwas weniger zugesagt und konnte mich nicht so recht begeistern. Das ist aber reine Geschmackssache.
Mir ist aber aufgefallen, dass ich mir bei all den Hintergrundinformationen denke: das hat sich JK Rowling niemals dabei gedacht! So viel Aufwand von dem man kaum etwas zu Gesicht bekommt und der eben wirklich viel Recherche benötigt. Gleichzeitig denke ich mir aber, wirkt die Welt rund um Harry Potter nicht unvollständig oder unausgereift und simpel. Es fühlt sich einfach echt an und das Wordlbuilding ist einfach sehr gut gemacht. Vor kurzem habe ich erst
I’m a Gay Wizard gelesen und da wurde doch deutlich wie stark sich eine schlechte Welt und sei es "nur" ein Zaubereiinternat auf die Handlung auswirkt. Deswegen glaube ich doch, dass JK Rowling viel Recherche betrieben bzw sich wirklich etwas dabei gedacht hat. Man merkt es nicht offensichtlich aber man merkt es daran, dass alles einfach passt. -
I definitely enjoyed the Potions ebook better than Herbology, but it was interesting to find out that a mandrake is a real plant that does sometimes resemble little wrinkled people. I enjoyed the section in the Potions book that delved into the topic of alchemy, the philosopher's stone, and the real-life Nicholas Flamel.
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I was so disappointed with this one. Feel it was just written to make money off Harry Potter. It quoted the book in the same place twice. It could of gone anywhere being the most relatable subject to modern day and still practiced. I was excited as potions and herbology is so relatable to what we know as witches through the ages. Just waffled and went off with no real structure.
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How J.K Rowling got her ideas on Mandrake or Gnomes? Does Philosopher's Stone really exists? This book explains some stories behind the scenes of Harry Potter.
These series of books are about real history, not Harry Potter's universe. Interesting. -
Harry Potter: A Journey Through Potions and Herbology ebook in a series of four coming out this summer, all focusing on the real-life and historical elements behind the world of Harry Potter.
Before I start my review, I want to be a bit clear about this series. I've been seeing a lot of people confused online, so I feel this is important to note; these are not Harry Potter ebooks, nor were they actually written by J.K. Rowling. They were written by Pottermore, and inspired by the History of Magic novel that came out.
Each ebook in the series takes one or two school subjects taught at Hogwarts, and then focuses on the past and influences that J.K. Rowling pulled from in order to enrich her world. This series is perfect for anyone that wants a starting point for research. But it may not be in depth enough for those seeking a lot of details about these influences.
I love the choice to combine Potions and Herbology in Harry Potter: A Journey Through Potions and Herbology. These two feel like a really natural pairing, for obvious reasons. I was always a bit sad in Harry Potter that they didn't discuss more of the classes outside of the main ones (Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, etc). But again, that's probably just me.
The half of this ebook focused on Potions was fascinating. It covered everything from apothecaries to leechbooks (which I never really knew much about), bezoars, and even the philosopher's stone. It didn't go to in depth in any of these subjects, but it was a great starting point for further research.
The second half of the ebook focused on Herbology, and I was actually a little bit surprised by how much research J.K. Rowling had done for her series. I should rephrase that, I mean that I'm surprised by how many references and connections were made in her series. I hadn't realized just how many of the details were based on cultural and historical references.
It covered some of the obvious, like the tools and things like that. It did eventually get a bit more out there, covering things like mandrakes and gnomes. On the whole, I really enjoyed reading about all of these elements.
What I especially loved about this ebook were the inclusion of graphic and images, as well as quotes from the series to give context. Together these elements really brought the ebook to a whole new level, and made it really interesting. Though I did especially enjoy some of the making of facts, like what sourcebooks J.K. Rowling used, or the images she drew in preparation.
Harry Potter: A Journey Through Potions and Herbology is the second ebook in the series. Harry Potter: A Journey Through Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts came out at the same time; Harry Potter: A Journey Through Divination and Astronomy is coming later, and Harry Potter: A Journey Through Care of Magical Creatures is last.
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks -
Otro hermoso libro de Pottermore Publishing.
Me llamaron la atención estos libros y decidí leerlos, y me encontré con que nos muestra mucho más del mundo de Harry Potter de lo que antes sabíamos.
Historias del pasado, significados de cosas, revelaciones, y demás.
Recomiendo muchísimo si sos fan! -
Journey through classes
My favorite was Herbology. This book tells real-world history mixed in with Harry Potter info. I especially loved the drawings and odd lesser knowing facts about Harry Potter. -
Same thoughts as the previous one.
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2.5 If you find plants interesting then you’ll probably really enjoy this book about the links between the magical and the muggle world. Unfortunately for me I only really found the facts about the magical world and the origins of them interesting. Not a bad book just personal preference.
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This book is not it😭
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A short overview of potions and plant based magic through history.
A well written and accessible look at the real world inspirations behind the 'Harry Potter' stories. -
It's not a bad idea to explain how J.K. Rowling got her inspiration from folklore, mythology and old beliefs when creating the world of Harry Potter. But discovering those analogies by yourself while reading Harry Potter books is way more exciting.
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This book discusses the actual history of potions and plants. This is not a history of the HP universe.
This book was ok. I enjoyed reading about the history of potions. I didn't really enjoy the herbology section. It was boring for me.
Overall, this was ok. I don't know if I will continue reading the series because I am not really getting much out of them. I prefer the exhibit companion book,
Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic and recommend that book over these. It has a better layout, photos, and covers a variety of magical topics and discusses the world of Harry Potter. -
This read like an actual textbook and my brain wasn't ready for it this early in the morning. However, for what it's worth, it made me feel like a Hogwarts student, and we all know I need all the escapeism I can get. It's all stuff we've read before from A History of Magic, but at least it's not a collection of stories taken down from the free website haha.
There was one mistake though...as someone who read the first book at least 20 times you can't tell me that Neville didn't encounter Fluffy...because homeboy was there. Maybe not in the film, but my blond king was present in the text, dammit. Also I'm pretty sure they quote the American editions for the description of gnomes instead of the UK edition, but I digress.
This series is a cute concept and I'll probably appreciate it a lot more when I'm more awake. Joanne, take all my money.
(I read this one first, by the way. I know it says it's the second in the series but guess who didn't read that beforehand? I'm sure it doesn't matter, but anyway...) -
La parte de pociones es más interesante y con más ilustraciones (la escasez de ilustraciones precisamente en herbología es imperdonable, por cierto).
Aunque ya sabía que era un libro escueto, los temas no están muy bien hilados, y ni siquiera bien escogidos. ¿De tres capítulos de herbología vas a escoger los gnomos de jardín con la cantidad de plantas importantes en la historia de la magia? Y si sólo querían nombrar cosas que salgan en Harry Potter podían haber hablado de acónito, por ejemplo. O de cualquier cosa menos gnomos.
Supongo que soy más exigente por ser farmacéutica y saber de estas cosas, pero creo que se podría haber hecho más interesante manteniendo la extensión breve y adecuándose a la temática. -
I rated this book slightly lower than I did the first one in this series...
I enjoyed certain parts of it a lot, there are great annecdotes of the thoughts and opinions of JK, some excellent references to elements from the plot which relate to magically folklore beyond JK's Wizarding World, and some really fascinating and exciting etymologies (all highlighted in my notes).
However, much larger parts of this book were about Magical/Wizarding history than I was expecting, which whilst vaguely interesting doesn't really relate to the topic of Harry Potter or to where my passion lies.
So although being a thoroughly well researched price of work, and I'm sure highly relevant for some people, it didn't quite hit the spot for me. Sorry. -
Is it a mandatory read? Yes
Do I think it was well written? Sorry, but no.
The fact that you cannot distinguish when it's talking about really or fiction is frustrating. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere with a "in real life" but it was sooo not necessary. Other times you don't know if it is real or not, and also you get the: i've just read two pages and now it is saying that this is real life and I'm just realising". In my opinion, they should had chosen to describe everything as if it was in the magical world, a book from the series. All the hardcore fans would had had the chance to investigate if the facts were existing or not. -
This is a good read but, in all honesty, I was expecting it to be a bit more like the Hogwarts Library book series. I expected it to delve a bit more into the Harry Potter world, which it barely does. This eBook is more like a collection of information from the British Library exhibition, "Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic", alongside with information (very little) on how J.K. Rowling created this world and some of its characters.
It is an interesting read for someone interested in the history of herbal medicine (albeit very simplistic here), but if you are looking for more information on the Harry Potter world, this eBook is not for you. -
This is my first read of this 4 part series released over the course of the last year, and it isn't off to a good start. The idea that the author was going for was to show off what little references in the Harry Potter books were based off of real life occurrences or objects, and then write way too much about them than I care to read. Potions worked a little bit better than Herbology, simply because the subject matter was a bit more interesting, and I have little to no interest in botany or various types of roots.
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Es fällt mir schwer, Bücher aus der HP Reihe, eine schlechte Bewertung zu geben. Aber das war jetzt sowas von trocken und hat mir nicht wirklich gefallen. Die zwei Sterne gibt es nur, weil immer wieder Zitate aus den original Büchern eingefügt sind. Und zwischendurch gibt es kurze Zusammenhänge, wie JK an den Geschichten gearbeitet hat, teils auch mit skizzieren Bildern. Das hatte ich mir für diese Kurzbücher gewünscht. Wie JK auf die Ideen kam, und dann den Bezug dazu in die Geschichte der realen Welt. Und nicht nur die trockene Erzählung von Tränken, Apotheken usw. Sehr schade, wirklich.
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A look at something a little more “real world” than Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. It has many references to different works throughout the ages and gives some interesting facts. The only major complaint is it doesn’t seem organized the best. Sometimes it feels like it is drifting around during a chapter.
Overall, a fun and informational book. One that presents the information in an entertaining way. Something die hard Harry Potter fans would enjoy for the background to what Harry was learning and regular readers would enjoy for the interesting knowledge contained. -
This is the second book in the History of Magic collection. The focus was more on potions and herbology, which are essential to magic after charms. I’m not a huge fan of plants, but I enjoyed reading about the history of their uses for various purposes. Of course the Half-Blood Prince of potions is my favourite character and therefore, I want to make more of an effort to understand magical potion making. There are a few precious nuggets of information in this book, overall it was a satisfactory read.
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A MUST READ!
This book was THE most fascinating thing I think Ive read in my life. For all those out there who are NOT Harry Potter fans this is a must read. every person on the planet should read this book, if nothing else, it takes us back to the uses of plants the way our great grandparents did. With the world so concerned with sustainability and being off grid, this is a PERFECT resource.
