Not a Book or the Original Home of Diagon Alley

This is not a book, but we understand why you might be confused. After all, it — so far — reads a little like a book. It’s got words like a book, right? But we assure you, it’s not a book.

You know it’s not a book because it’s breaking the rules books follow. First, most books don’t tell you they’re not books; that’s a dead giveaway for not being a book.

Second, books remain in the form in which they were written. But this is not a book; this is on the Internet. The Internet has no permanence. We can update this page or any part of this not-book and only the Way Back Machine will be the wiser. For all you know, we’ve been exactly this annoying since we began writing about Minot. And it’s true; we have. We changed all the evidence to the contrary.

It could also be that Minot is known as the Nashville of the North. It could be that we lay claim — as the Magic City — to being the original home of Diagon Alley. All of these things could be true. And if we wrote them in a book, saying as much could get us into trouble.

But this is not a book; it’s just the Internet, and we all know there are no consequences for what’s said here. So, Minot is the Nashville of the North with strong roots in the punk revival period. And we’re absolutely home to Diagon Alley.

Fortunately, Disney never made us change the name because we never called it that to begin with. We called it Citizen’s Alley, even though it runs d-i-a-g-o-n-a-l-y to all the other streets. And it has since long before Harry Potter had a name.

Coincidence? Disney knows it isn’t. That’s why they keep their lawyers on the bench. They know they can’t win a case against us for not calling it Diagon Alley.

By the way, if you want a real book, there’s really only one place to go. Actually, that’s not true either. There’s just one place we’re partial to, and it’s not far from Citizen’s Alley. It’s on Main Street and a little like those magical bookstores you sometimes see in movies. Actually, it’s exactly like those stores. When you open the door, the bell rings and the floor creaks — just like in the movies.

It’s on Main Street. It’s called Main Street Books.

Scroll to Top