Harry Potter Tales of Beedle The Bard

[Lost Boy]

I got the regular version today. The Deluxe Version is supposed to be delivered Wednesday. Of course that is a day I am supposed to work and I won't be home Thursday or Friday. If it doesn't come tomorrow (Amazon is sometimes a day or two early) then I will have to wait until Saturday. The Regular English version is coming by air mail but there is no way to track it so I just have to wait for it. Different cover and paper is all. But that deluxe version just sounds so great. I can hardly wait.

[Lost Boy]

The Deluxe version still hasn't shown up. The Regular UK version came this morning. I haven't had the chance to open it yet.

That so called "Tracking and Delivery Confirmation" thing you pay extra for with the USPS is worthless. It shows no activity or tracking at all since the day it was shipped. UPS tracking has a complete tracking system that lets you know day by day where the package is and if the delivery date is still valid. Why can't the United States Post Office have a tracking system at least as good as UPS? It really makes you wonder!

[Lost Boy]

I don't believe this. Even though the USPS Tracking information shows nothing beyond the initial departure scan from the warehouse and the arrival scan in Santa Fe Springs and the departure scan from Santa Fe Springs, the delivery is supposed to be tomorrow. According to Amazom.

I have tried calling the USPS 800 number to get the delivery changed till Saturday but it's not working. I tried to call my Post Office in Van Nuys and it's not working. The entire Post Office seems to be suffering some kind of problem.

It's just unbelievable that right when I need them the most, they are not able to do a thing to help. Why don't they ship stuff like this via UPS? I have never had a problem with them, but always with Fedex and USPS. It's a real pain in the Tuckes.

A lot of people have already recieved their copy of this book. Why not me when I was home yesterday and today. Santa Fe Springs is about an hour drive from here. Why does it take from December 5th to not get here until the 10th, if it gets here at all?

[Trekkie Dad]

My wife pre-ordered the standard edition from Amazon, and it arrived on time. A very quick read, and Dumbledore's "notes" are longer than the stories themselves.

[Lost Boy]

I got the English Version today. Usually the UK version of the Harry Potter books have been superior to ours with better paper, much more adult oriented covers and much better paper. This time not so. The UK version of Beedle Bard is smaller than our version, cheaper paper and not as nicely done. The Dumbledore Notes are printed with no darker block around them to set them apart. There seems to be more scroll work around the art but it's really not that big a deal. I am kind of disappointed in the UK version this time. We got the better deal as to how nice the book is.

[sediment]

My wife pre-ordered the standard edition from Amazon, and it arrived on time. A very quick read, and Dumbledore's "notes" are longer than the stories themselves.

They seem to be more interesting, and they link the tales in many ways to the seven books.


Quick aside: I was reading CoS the other day. Peeves drops a valuable cabinet (with N-H Nick's encouragement) in order to distract Filch from dealing with Harry.
Hmm, dropped it enough to break it, perhaps? So, F&G put Warrington in it in OotP and he flitted back and forth between Hogwarts and B&B? and then Malfoy gets the idea to fix it in HBP, etc....?
Wow. I get amazed at JKR's extensive use of prior artifacts and such from prior books. I had not noticed this before (though the fan sites probably have.)
Too bad none of this is in the movies.

(Another interesting note: Harry and Ron as C&G mistakenly ask a Ravenclaw girl where Slytherin's common room is, and a few paragraphs later, they run into Percy. And that Ravenclaw girl later turns out to be Penelope, Percy's girlfriend. Hmm, wonder what they were doing together in the lower levels of Hogwarts....)

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Continuing the sidebar:
In the film for Chamber, NH Nick is passing/floating through the corridors at one point and says to Percy and his companion "Hello Percy! Miss Clearwater." So a few of those minute details do end up in the films.

[Rocker]

When I am done with Deathly Hallows, I am going to buy this and I am going to read it.

[SusieP.]

I had to run into Borders today, so I went ahead and bought the regular version. I'm still crossing my fingers that I get the big one for Christmas.

[sediment]

When I am done with Deathly Hallows, I am going to buy this and I am going to read it.

What's the holdup?

[sediment]

Continuing the sidebar:
In the film for Chamber, NH Nick is passing/floating through the corridors at one point and says to Percy and his companion "Hello Percy! Miss Clearwater." So a few of those minute details do end up in the films.

Yeah, I saw that the other night. Not sure how they could make a minor detail even minorer, but they succeed.

[Lost Boy]

The Deluxe version arrived today. Yea. Now I can get off the computer and sit down and open the box and enjoy the goodies inside.

[Lost Boy]

Here are the pictures of all the books:

This is what you see when you open the shipping carton:



It is wrapped in plastic.

Here is the spine of the Hogwarts Library book that is the case for the Beedle the Bard book:



And the front:



Open the Library Book and you see this:



Remove the envelope and you see this:



Here are the ten pictures that come with this version of the book:









Next is the black velvet bag with J.K. Rowling signature embroidered in Gold:



And here is the book itself. Leather bound with the silver clasp and corner and center decorations:





The handwritten introduction:



Some sample pages of the story and a page from Dumbledore's notes:





The back of the big book Case:



Comparison Pictures of the American Printing and the UK Printing of the regular version for comparison:









All three editions (I forgot to turn over the regular versions, Sorry):



That's it. I am very happy with the deluxe version and the American Regular version but not that happy with the UK version which is a surprise as they are usually the better books. But it really is nice to have all three versions.

[Mick3yM0us3]

I got the $100 version, and it is awesome! The small book is so beautifully decorated.

Go Harry!

[Lost Boy]

It sure is one of the most different types of books I have ever seen. I love it. I think Amazon did a wonderful job in recreating the original.