Pottermore or Potterless: Should we really embrace this digital reading experience?

Confession: The writer of this blog is a tiny bit obsessed with the Harry Potter books. She may have spent a small fortune on Warner Brothers-licensed Harry Potter merchandise, and she may have spent a few too many midnights waiting in lines at bookstores and movie theaters. The writer might have even completed an honors-level college course devoted exclusively to the works of J.K. Rowling--and maybe even helped give an hour-long lecture on religion in the series for said course. So it was only natural she spent a couple sleepless nights online this summer seeking the quill that granted a million lucky Harry fans early entry into Rowling's latest Potter project, Pottermore.

Calling it, "An online reading experience unlike any other," Pottermore is supposed to be a revolutionary method of connecting with literature. Citing the magic that already exists between a good piece of writing and readers, Rowling hopes her new project will build upon the imagination and make the story even more vivid for readers. Rowling elaborates, "It's the same story, with a few crucial additions: the most important one is you."

The premise of Pottermore is relatively simple. For every chapter of every book in the series, there are a number of interactive pages that give a rough outline of what happens. Before you advance into the next chapter, you must go on a treasure hunt and find items hidden in the pages--collectible chocolate frog cards, spell books, galleons, etc. Once in a great while you might find a clue that unlocks special content from J.K., where she provides never before seen insight into events or characters from the books. The relics you collect go into your trunk where you may either show them off to friends or give them as virtual gifts, and the coins you find may be put toward even more virtual merchandise from Diagon Alley.

Call me old fashioned, but since when does this sort of thing classify as "reading?" On average, you're lucky to see three actual quotations taken from the series for each chapter, with the rest of what happens explained by pretty little animations. Sparknotes gives a more complete depiction of the plot, which is just plain sad considering Rowling is so involved with the project. I think the term "scavenger hunt" is a more accurate designation for what "readers" are actually doing on Pottermore.

And Rowling's description of Pottermore as being a safe digital community for Potter fans to connect over their shared love of the books? Not so much. To begin with, you don't even have a choice as to what your identity on the site is--I morphed from Allie to BloodSun35 because that was what the site randomly named me. I was only able to connect with my college friend (From this point forward known to the world as SnitchCauldron187) on Pottermore because we unmasked ourselves via Facebook. What's the point in being a so-called community if you aren't given the means to connect with real-world friends or learn anything else about other users besides their House affiliation and country of origin? I completely understand the importance of keeping younger Pottermore members safe from online predators, but the current measures in place leave users feeling isolated. Nothing on the site compares to the camaraderie I've experienced with in-the-flesh reading companions or even the unfamiliar Potterheads in line behind me at a midnight book launch.

I will confess that J.K. did get a few things right with Pottermore. The personality questionnaires you complete to first find your wand at Ollivander's and then later to be sorted by the Sorting Hat were scary accurate in my case. I felt like an honorary classmate of Harry's when I joined the ranks of Ravenclaw and wielded my hawthorn and unicorn hair wand. The bits of inside information on characters you find once in a while are very cool and interesting (McGonagall's story *tragic sigh.*) So often when I'm reading a book I wish the author could pop out of the page and give a little back story on the plot--this format allows Rowling to do just that.

It pains me to speak ill of one of my literary idols, but I think Pottermore is essentially a ploy to attract people to the electronic book store soon to be attached to the site. I realize that next year will be the first time the Potter series is available in a digital format, but eBooks are hardly a new invention. While I admired J.K.'s past aversion to allowing eBooks, it's likely that public demand has given her no choice but to cave to the virtual winds of change; Pottermore might be her way of trying to seem more tech-forward than she really is.

Of course, I may be wrong and Pottermore is a glimpse of what's to come in the age of electronic publications. In that case, I pity future readers who are participating in an Easter egg-hunting parody of what past eras knew as reading. Where in Pottermore is the imagination J.K. praises? I don't really call it imagination if the animations are imagining for me. It feels like today's tired, uninspired movie culture is coming in and wiping out what I love most about reading and actual books.

In the end, we must acknowledge that even our creative heroes are mortal and therefore flawed. George Lucas has his Jar Jar Binks; J.K. Rowling has her Pottermore. I just hope that the final version of Pottermore pays a bit more respect to the institution of reading than what's present in Pottermore Beta.

Here is your turn to weigh in: Where do you envision the online reading experience heading in the next few years? Are you ready to make the eBook transition? Or are you clinging to your paperbacks until the very end? Please feel free to post a comment below.