JK Rowling recently produced seven handwritten copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of fairy tales referenced in her last novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Six were given to close personal friends of the author; the seventh was auctioned. The winning bid came from Amazon.com, which now has on its Web site images and reviews of the book.

The sale has unfortunately received a mixed reaction, as some fans are decrying the limited nature of the book will prevent them from ever reading the complete Harry Potter story. On his blog, Star Trek novelist Dayton Ward offers his an intelligent and well-mannered perspective response. I'll further point out that it's hard to criticize anyone who would invest so much time and energy into a unique product that so few will read; not only has Ms. Rowling forsaken that satisfaction and feedback, she also used the opportunity to raise $4 million for her favorite charity. There's no better gift, especially at this time of year; kudos to Amazon.com for being a significant player in this transaction.

I've recently decided work into my reading schedule some overlooked classics. I often confuse two titles on that list, Discworld and Ringworld, though I suspect the differences will become clear once I've actually finished them.

Some unfortunate news made the distinction all the clearer today: Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Though the Discworld author is optimistic — "I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'" — I can't help but remember the slow decline experienced by James Doohan in a similar situation.

I hope to enjoy Mr. Pratchett's books before my appreciation for his wit is posthumous.

Though it's currently on CNN.com, I first saw it some months ago on Fox News: the upcoming film adaptation of the novel The Golden Compass is causing a furor for promoting atheism. Fox's coverage included an interview with one of the hosts of Freethought Radio, the radio show and podcast of the atheistic Freedom From Religion Foundation, which proved to be rather one-sided.

To put this in context: First, Harry Potter was denounced for promoting the wrong religion (witchcraft); now, The Golden Compass is at fault for denouncing all religion. Both are award-winning series of youth literature that have turned millions of youngsters into readers and have sparked the imagination that many parents fear television and video games are suffocating. Yet books that encourage critical thinking are being blacklisted because they're teaching kids how to think, instead of what to think. Such a shame.

Besides, there are several flaws with the argument. The Golden Compass (called The Northern Lights upon its original British publication, and the first in a trilogy) is set in a universe parallel to our own. Although that fantasy world does have its own Bible and creation myth, it's still a work of fiction and cannot be considered analogous to damning our real world's Christianity. And even if the book's assault on its own fictional (and obviously corrupt) religion is to be construed as a promotion of atheism — what of it? Why is that particular philosophy being demonized? No one complained when The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe promoted Christianity. If we are to decry religion in Hollywood, shouldn't we at least be consistent?

I don't care what religion you are, just as it doesn't matter what religion I am. Regardless of our creeds, there should be at least three positive acts we can all agree on: reading, thinking, and imagining. No less a mind than Albert Einstein once wrote: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." So please, let us collectively embrace imagination, in whatever form it takes. The world needs more thinkers, and I lack the hubris to say Einstein would be wrong in this matter.