I am so, so excited to announce that I am 1 of 10 bloggers participating in the Transatlantic Book Project! The brain child of Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense and Rachel @ Confessions of a Book Geek (both lovely bloggers who I first “met” when I started blogging almost two years ago on wordpress.com), it’s sort of a traveling book club/pen pal/secret santa project. Two books will circulate the United States and the UK/Ireland, with each blogger reading and annotating the book along the way. You can view all of the details in the project’s launch post on Alicia’s blog here.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read the Harry Potter series, especially the first book. I even took a Harry Potter travel course to London while I was in college. I was thrilled to see that Alicia and Rachel chose the new UK cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, as it’s a version I haven’t seen/read yet! (And it’s absolutely GORGEOUS. It will be the sixth Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone version that I’ve read…). Alicia was king enough to include a few goodies as well (I absolutely love the quote on the journal!) The pencils have adorable quotes on them as well, and came in a blue and white crocheted case (not pictured here). I’m always looking for new bookmarks (my collection is rather small) and I love this big and bold one Alicia chose! (Also please excuse the Christmas decorations and nativity scene in the background…I placed the contents of my packaged under the tree, because it was just like getting a present in the mail!) 
Alicia and I share the same feeling of it being a bit of a “taboo” to write in books. I did so sometimes in college for books I was reading for class, but since they weren’t books I was actively adding to my beloved collection and that I had just bought for the course, it didn’t bother me as much. Anytime I “annotate” a book I own, I always use post its to prevent marring my pages. However, I’m excited for this project as I’m sort of a hoarder collector of pens and office supplies, so I’m excited to make some notes in the book! (I actually wrote my college senior thesis on Harry Potter, so I have a LOT to say about the themes and motifs in the books!) 
I’ll be writing my annotations this week, and then shipping it off over the weekend to its next stop at Bookish Illuminations! Before I send it off I’ll be posting again regarding how annotating the book went, parts that made me stop and think, and how my own observations built off of what Alicia already noted throughout the pages (one of the most interesting aspects of the project…being inspired by things that other bloggers have pointed out and highlighted!)
This is such a cool idea! Haha, I’m with you – I can’t bear to write in books although once I start in a particular book, I can’t stop 😀 I can’t wait to hear how your annotations go!
Thank you, Laura! The upside is since I’ve read the books so many times I think my desire to get all of my thoughts out will trump my natural aversion to writing in books!
Love your intro post! It’s going to be very exciting to read your notes as you studied HP. I’m excited generally that this is actually happening!! ?
Thank you, Rachel! And thank you for organizing this along with Alicia! It wouldn’t have been possible without the two of you! 🙂
I’ve got to say – this is one pretty awesome project! I love that it’s Harry Potter. Seems like a great time of year to revisit a familiar old friend 😉
I am so thrilled to be a part of this project! I’m excited to also notice the little nuances of the British version and compare them to the US version!
So glad you liked everything! I completely agree, this UK edition of HP is gorgeous. I actually own the box set and the covers are all so beautiful. Can’t wait to see your second post!
I own the box set of the new US paperback versions, but I am SO tempted to buy the boxed set of these too! The covers are so whimsical, I love them!
Omg, writing a thesis on Harry Potter sounds really fascinating – it’s awesome that you get to do that. I too prefer to use post its if I have to write notes on my books, though I have highlighted passages before. I don’t think I can bring myself to properly annotate a book, but this project sounds like a great reason to do that!
I was so lucky that I had such an open minded university English department that allowed me to write a thesis on HP! I think I utilized every book except for Chamber of Secrets, and while it was an intense project, it’s one that really meant a lot to me!
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