With the scheduled 2016 movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it seems the Harry Potter fandom is heating up again. J.K Rowling’s Pottermore was recently relaunched, and to go along with it Apple is now selling enhanced versions of the Harry Potter books. This is a first, because the original eBook versions were only available through the Pottermore store.
These enhanced editions are available exclusively through the iBooks store, and they offer over 200 illustrations, animations, interactive images and annotations that come directly from J.K Rowling herself.
The enhancements really add to the experience of the wizarding world, allowing readers to interact with the story during certain scenes. One example has you selecting which winged key to use while the heroes are hunting for the Philosopher’s stone. There are Quidditch matches that allow you to try and catch the snitch for yourself (completely optional), and Molly Weasley’s infamous Howler will explode onto the text during breakfast at the Great Hall.
This move shows how eBooks of the future could innovate to engage readers into the world, though I think it would only work on this scale for the overly popular books on the market. To go along with the enhancements, there are also brand new covers that look pretty stunning.
The Harry Potter books are available for purchase on the iBooks Store for £6.99/$9.99 each. J.K Rowling said the following to accommodate the launch of the enhanced editions…
“I’m thrilled to see the Harry Potter books so beautifully realized on iBooks for the digital world; the artwork and animations in these enhanced editions bring the stories alive in a delightful new way,”
