December 2013 | Rebecca Rego Barry

Danger: Book May Bite!

BitingBook.jpgHarry Potter fans, take note: you will be both awed and disappointed by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. Rides aside, I'm talking about the 'bookishness' of the place. For one, they sell a sad version of this neat biting book (The Monster Book of Monsters) that doesn't do justice to the original. 

TomesScrolls.jpgAnd while the wand shop, the candy shop, and the magic tricks shop are open, the books and paper shops are not. This bookshop called Tomes and Scrolls -- declares the awning "Bespoke Wizarding Bookshop since 1768" -- is, alas, only a facade, which seems like a lost opportunity, at least to me! There's also Scrivenshafts, a quill shop selling the "Finest parchments, inks and quills," also closed for business. I later saw a quill in another shop, but even my eight-year-old was disappointed that the nib was a ballpoint pen.

Perhaps this will change when the new Diagon Alley opens in 2014. 

Images © Top: Brett Barry, Middle: Rebecca Barry.