Virtual Vacation to Universal Studios' Diagon Alley for Harry Potter Hump Day

Can't get to Orlando, FL, to visit Universal Studios' newest Harry Potter-themed attraction Diagon Alley? You can take a look around here!


According to Attractions Magazine, Diagon Alley will ". . . feature shops, dining experiences and the next generation thrill ride, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts."

These 4:20 not enough for you die-hard fans? Check out the full Diagon Alley Red Carpet Webcast broadcast in its entirety! Enjoy!

Harry Potter Jokes

Our friends at BuzzFeed.com have come through again for Harry Potter Hump Day! (Maybe they've got the market cornered on these great HP posts!) This week's post is 33 Harry Potter Jokes Even Muggles Will Appreciate, and like last week, spoilers ahead!

How about a quick, short preview? These two were among my favorites!

If these two leave you wanting for more, be sure to check out BuzzFeed's website! There are great visual puns, as well as pop culture references that will have you shaking your head and maybe even laughing out loud!

It's Hump Day! Are You Ready for Your Harry Potter Facts?

In this second Hump Day post, let's see how well you know your Harry Potter facts! Just like last week, the good folks at BuzzFeed.com have today's information on their website, and you can also access it on YouTube.

So. . . enough! How many of these Harry Potter facts do you REALLY know? (And be aware--spoilers ahead!)

Harry Potter Hump Day!

With school out of session for the summer, it's time to have a little fun with the library blog. The first step? Harry Potter Hump Days! Each Wednesday throughout the summer will feature a Harry Potter post of some kind.

Our first Harry Potter Hump Day post comes from BuzzFeed: 14 Charts That Only Harry Potter Geeks Will Understand. What can you expect? Take a look at a few charts below, then visit their website to find more!

Come back next Wednesday when another Harry Potter post will be featured! In the meantime, why not pick up one of the books in the series and spend your summer with an old friend--or make new ones if you haven't read the books! 

Rolling Stone Magazine Meets YA Literature

The most recent issue of Rolling Stone has recognized young adult literature with their list of the 40 best YA novels, When Holden Met Katniss.

The list includes some great YA lit from years past, like S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, but it also includes some of your favorites from today, such as The Hunger Games.

If you want to see the entire list along with book descriptions, you can CLICK HERE to access Rolling Stone's website. Want just a sneak peek of some of the titles? Check out some of them below:

Gear Up for Summer Reading

With so many people excited about the popularity of the dystopian society novels and the success of the movies like Divergent, there's bound to be some asking, "What can I read that's like Divergent?" (Or The Hunger Games, or Legend, or Delirium, or. . .)

The website Hunger Games Lessons has a great post about popular books for teens--and their recommendations include a lot of read-alikes if you're a fan of these dystopian society novels. Not a fan? Well, there are plenty of other books on the list for you, too!

Want to read something like The Fault in Our Stars? They have suggestions for you. So, too,  for fans of The Mortal Instruments series. Interested in a particular author? They have author read-alikes for Stephen King fans as well.

The Hunger Games Lessons site has everything arranged for you to keep track of great read-alikes--check it out to know what you can read this summer!

Cover Reveal for Book 3 in The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Students have heard me talk about Twitter and everything I love about it, but here's another reason why: cover reveals and talk about new books in a series.

One of the latest cover reveals in the Twitterverse is for Book 3 in The Raven Cycle: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. Take a look:

Scholastic tweeted the cover reveal earlier today, as well as posted it onto their Google+ page. Interested to know more about the author or the series? You can visit Maggie Stiefvater's official website or her Raven Boys page.