Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Gryffindor Edition Hardcover – 16 June 2017

When it comes to Harry Potter, I prefer not to be critical. All I want to do is sit back on some place nice and cozy, and enjoy. So, this review will be more of a personal journey rather than a critical commentary.Like many others, I grew up watching the movies. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a potterhead, but I must confess that right from the start Rowling’s Hogwarts and its worldbuilding was gripping. And I was pulled into the magical world of Harry Potter. However, despite my many attempts to convince my family to buy me one set, due to financial constraints I could never manage to get hold of the books until recently when the gorgeous and tempting 20th Anniversary Editions started coming out. Along with my fiancée, we started collecting the series one by one, especially all from the Gryffindor and the Slytherin houses. After collecting all of them and finally getting the spare time to read, we started reading the books together this year. And boy, was it fun! More so because all this time I kept nagging about why my fiancé should abstain from watching the films, despite her many fussy attempts, hehe. Thing is I knew that reading the books would be an experience because the movies would definitely cut and alter some events. For her, I wanted the authentic experience and we did read together the first book (myself, the Gryffindor edition and my partner, the Slytherin edition) and that too, from these beautifully made anniversary editions. I could see the awe in myself as well when I came across events that weren’t there in the movies. And reading and visualizing it together made us really feel that we were at Hogwarts. We rushed through the first book, sometimes awe-struck, sometimes nostalgic (for me), mostly excited. For me, I could relish the awe and the tremendous happy excitement from my beloved–who is a newbie to the Harry Potter world and it is absolutely delightful for me to look at her all captivated by Hogwarts and to share her glee and exhilaration– which also made me revisit my childhood moments, my first time with Hogwarts. It was such an endearing read for me and to watch the child-like delight in the eyes of my beloved, made our read thoroughly enchanting and extremely restless. I can only imagine her excitement and thrill to come and I feel so happy and grateful to have the opportunity and love to read this beautiful journey together. This is like one of those tantalizing books for which we’ll have to squeeze out spare time during holidays so that we can revisit the series every year, followed by a snugly and cuddly movie marathon. Such a lovely adventure!

I am a die-hard Potterhead and have 3 different editions of "Philosopher's Stone" so when these 8 (including hard and soft cover) 20th anniversary edition of the same book were released I was tempted to buy all 8 of them but then settled my self with only 4 (2 Hardcover of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff edition and 2 softcover of rest 2 houses).That is why I was hoping for some additional but different stuff related to particular houses other than the cover. I wasn't sure about it as there were no additional information provided in product summary. Now after receiving them I am quite glad that my expectations are fulfilled.The look and feel of book is simply magical. The introduction of house contains stuff about House Founder, Relic, Livery, Ghost along with a Hogwarts map. Apart from these there are additional stuff related to sorting, Hogwarts quiz, House Common Room, Famous house students (the trio in this case), alumnus (Dumbledore) and Head (Mcgonagall) along with House Cup info. The last 3 pages are dedicated to an article about the 20 years' journey of Potterverse.I only have one expectation which is not fulfilled i.e. The "1st Edition Cover" of the book. They often include those in these kind of anniversary edition and they could have easily accommodated that inside the gate fold cover (on the hard bound) which is plain black in current version. It would have added additional attraction in Hardbound edition. Nonetheless it's almost as perfect as a it could get and I guess I need not to say anything about the main story because apparently the entire world is in fan-list.A must have "Collector's Edition" for all the Potterheads, go for it.

It's Harry Potter for God's sake!!! Just go for it!20 years up!(well, on 26th it will be.) And what a great way to celebrate with House Edition copies.The moment I saw this on Bloomsbury.com, I just had to get it. I was elated to know that it was available for preorder on Amazon. Great service. The book in general is pretty cool, it contains information about your house(in this case, Gryffindor as I was sorted into Gryffindor on Pottermore. Would also consider getting the Slytherin edition at some point.) and has a couple of illustrations and a quiz. It has additional info on Jo Rowling as well as compared to the other books, I mean talk about Special Edition! It'll look rad on a bookshelf and is a great conversation starter. Another great thing about this book is that it was printed and bound in Great Britain, how cool is that?! Printed right where the book is set!But the thing that disappoints me is that in the UK, a leather bookmark which corresponds to your book's house is included in the package. Bloomsbury should've made it available in all countries, not just the UK. :(But overall, whether you're a returning Potterhead, or whether you've just received your Hogwarts acceptance letter, this book is a must buy!!!HURRY! I've heard it's limited edition!!!