Lorrie Kim writes blog posts on topics related to Harry Potter, support for LGBTQIA+ rights, the Fantastic Beasts films, figure skating, books and films and music, and fiber art. She also writes The Pensieve Papers, a column at MuggleNet.
Tradescantia. These little plants have an unstoppable will to live. I discovered that a few years ago when a sprig that broke off a hanging basket fell onto some indifferent dirt and, four days later,
In Chamber of Secrets, Hermione tells Ron and Harry about Polyjuice Potion: “It transforms you into somebody else. Think about it! We could change into three of the Slytherins. No one would know it was
When a few fifth-graders attended a Harry Potter reading group with me, we used clues to figure out who really proposed the Dueling Club in Chamber of Secrets. I had the kids bring their paperback
Mirrors, Memories and Magic Originally presented at Azkatraz, July 2009. Posted with permission. I’m going to talk today about mirrors in the Potterverse, the forms they take their impact. While I’ll be touching on several
For an assignment in a class called “Colonizing Girlhoods: L.M. Montgomery and Laura Ingalls Wilder,” the professor took us to the Special Collections department of the college library to look at books and artifacts associated
When three fifth-graders attended a Harry Potter reading group with me, we performed a perspective exercise around the topic of the new Nimbus 2001 brooms that Lucius Malfoy buys for the Slytherin Quidditch team. The
When three fifth-graders — Torrent, Starry, and Bird – attended a Harry Potter reading group with me, we held a celebration of the end of Sorcerer’s Stone. I promised them that we’d be going through
Kristin Reimer singlehandedly changed me. With the transformational approach she uses for her Photomuse business, she broke through my decades of distress around being photographed.
How does it feel to read Harry Potter after 2020? The words on the page don’t change. But times change. We, the readers, change. And that changes the story. Join me with my co-host JC
I’m the type of person who usually runs away from having my picture taken. But when I saw what Kristin Reimer was able to bring out in people, it was probably the first time in
This talk was delivered at the Harry Potter Academic Conference at Chestnut Hill College, October 20, 2023. “The Wandmaker,” Chapter 24 of Deathly Hallows, is a chapter of extraordinary range and eloquence. The writing is
Is it possible to say “It didn’t feel like it was over 900 pages” without sounding like I’m trying to be funny? I did enjoy The Running Grave. I slowed down when there were “only” 200
Mothers: If You’re the Food You Don’t Like Being Eaten, May 13, 2023 Lorrie Kim joined hosts Aureo, Sam, and Sophia to discuss the mothers and mother figures of the Harry Potter series. Trigger warning: This
What if it’s less like sorting lentils and grains, and more like Sisyphus pushing the same rock up the same hill every day? The measure of contentment wouldn’t be the rock, then. It would be
It seemed an impossible task. Tottering piles of books, papers, cables, coffee cups. Half-finished knitting. Unopened boxes from our move 14 months ago. I knew I had to clean my office before undertaking my next
I drove to Hershey, PA to see Kurt Browning for one last time with Stars on Ice on June 4, 2023. I think I first saw him skate live almost 30 years ago. This man
Ooh, a sale! Through May 26, the audiobook of Snape will cost $14.99 instead of $24.99. Enjoy Michelle Lee’s warm interpretation of the book!
For over 50 years, Judy Blume has defined YA literature, especially for girls. Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok’s new documentary, Judy Blume Forever, began streaming on Prime Video starting April 21, 2023. Big Blue Marble
Half the joy of being a Harry Potter reader is the time spent alone with books, curled up quietly while adventures and dragons and feasts come to life in your mind. The other half is
Crucio, Imperio, Avada Kedavra. Lorrie Kim joins the hosts of MuggleNet’s Alohomora podcast for a discussion of the Unforgivable curses. What makes a curse unforgivable? Which characters cast Unforgivables? Who did it best? Grace: This
Figure skater, coach, choreographer, writer, activist, publicist. I loved Doug Mattis dearly for half his life before he died at age 56. He didn’t want me to know about the five years of cancer at
A fictional character can serve as a mirror to readers, whether a Mirror of Erised showing the reader’s desires or a Foe-Glass, reflecting back the qualities the reader finds most threatening. Severus Snape is one
What can the culture of fanfiction and beta reading teach editors of pro fiction? Host Grace Gordon of the Art Life podcast talks to Lorrie Kim about mirroring writers back to themselves, word by word.
In October 2020, Dr. Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, gave the plenary address at the Harry Potter Conference held at Chestnut Hill College. The following is a transcript of the video from that address. The
Partial transcript from episode 328 of Alohomora podcast. 00:00:00 – 00:01:00 – AD BREAK 00:01:01 – START OF SHOW Katy: This is Episode 328 of Alohomora! for August 14, 2021. Welcome to another episode of
Happy birthday, Severus Snape! We don’t know the exact January date that Dumbledore told him he’d have to teach Harry Occlumency, but it would certainly be typical of this character’s luck if it happened on
The newly abridged, one-night version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened on Broadway on November 12, 2021. During the coronavirus lockdown, the creators of the show condensed the original two plays, which total 5
As a Snape fan, I found this book delightful from beginning to end. At last, authors who give the Snape character the full credit he is due for pulling off a nearly impossible career as
It’s wild when figure skaters good enough for internationals are just as good at other skills. I loved the fresh writing in this memoir by the first U.S. female skater to come out while still
Well, I’ve got to give it to her. She’s done it again. In this post-TERFpocalypse economy, it is, of course, not a good thing to give money to Rowling. Yes, I read a purchased copy
Dumbledore: The Life and Lies of Hogwarts’s Renowned Headmaster: An Unofficial Exploration by Irvin Khaytman. Hardcover, $16.99. I thought I knew the Harry Potter series pretty well. Then I read Irvin Khaytman’s book, Dumbledore: The
No real-world figure has reminded me of Snape more strongly than Michael Cohen, the former fixer for ex-President Trump. When he described himself as “villain or savior, depending on your point of view,” and discussed
Summary: Through plot and literary strategies, the Harry Potter series pays tribute to several themes from To Kill a Mockingbird, which J.K. Rowling recommended as one of her top 10 books for young readers. Marvolo Gaunt and Bob
The folks at Swish and Flick podcast invited me on to talk about “Spinner’s End,” the second chapter of Half-Blood Prince, in which Snape thoroughly routs the suspicious (and correct) Bellatrix with his superior wits
In a last-minute surprise move, at the end of Deathly Hallows, it turns out that Ron Weasley can open the Chamber of Secrets using Parseltongue. At first read, this seems like an awfully convenient plot
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