Harry, a History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon

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Harry, a History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon

by Melissa Anelli (Goodreads Author), J.K. Rowling (Introduction)

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 5,491 ratings · 469 reviews

THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS WERE JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY...

During the brief span of just one decade, hundreds of millions of perfectly ordinary people made history: they became the only ones who would remember what it was like when the Harry Potter saga was still unfinished. What is was like to seek out friends, families, online forums, fan fiction, and podcasts to get

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Paperback, 334 pages

Published November 4th 2008 by Gallery Books

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The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

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Mar 11, 2011 Cheryl Klein rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Harry Potter fans

Shelves: nonfiction

I am a good friend of the author's and I appear fairly often in this book, so I'm cheerfully biased about it. But judged solely as a piece of writing, it is excellent and essential reportage about the history of the Harry Potter books and phenomenon -- the only book with firsthand accounts from J. K. Rowling, her agent, her editors and publicists, and various other people involved in the publication of the series or who helped to make it big. Melissa covers the growth of the online fandom, from...more

28 likes · like · see review

Jan 14, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Becky by: Allison (The Allure of Books)

Shelves: 2012, audiobook, non-fiction, owned, reviewed, blog_etb, challenge-1010

I admit it, I was a Harry Potter late bloomer. I've told the story before, so suffice it to say that it wasn't until after the 5th book was out that I became a Harry Potter fan. I immediately fell in love with the books and the world... but I missed almost all of the "Harry Potter phenomenon" as it was still in progress.

I only had a few friends (back then) that were Harry Potter fans, and we discussed the books excitedly, and re-read them repeatedly, but I didn't know that I was missing this wh...more I admit it, I was a Harry Potter late bloomer. I've told the story before, so suffice it to say that it wasn't until after the 5th book was out that I became a Harry Potter fan. I immediately fell in love with the books and the world... but I missed almost all of the "Harry Potter phenomenon" as it was still in progress.

I only had a few friends (back then) that were Harry Potter fans, and we discussed the books excitedly, and re-read them repeatedly, but I didn't know that I was missing this whole world of HP fandom. When the 6th book released, the B&N in my area had already sold their copies and closed up shop by 11:30pm when I got there after racing there from work. I was mad, reamed out the manager, and refused on principle when he offered to open the store again for me to buy a copy. I bought the book from the local grocery store instead. So it wasn't until the 7th book came out that I started to understand the magic of the Harry Potter release parties I'd missed... and the one I went to was small even to my naive eyes. But man, it was exciting. People were dressed up, there were games, the staff was doing trivia, people were practically doing the pee-dance in excitement... and when 12:00am came, the bookstore was like a well oiled machine. Every register opened and started ringing out excited Potter fans like it was a race.

That experience was amazing, and I'm glad that I got to have at least one before it was all over. Better late than never, huh?

Back then, I never knew the extent of the fandom. I knew there were websites, and I'd visited The Leaky Cauldron and the HP Lexicon. I knew that there was fan fiction, but I was never interested in it. (I'm a purist.) I didn't know that there were bands based on Harry Potter, or that there were podcasts, or conventions or anything like that. I'd seen a few YouTube videos of HP themed music, but I'd always thought it was a parody thing, never a true band. I hadn't realized that the NYT Bestseller list had been fractured by this series, or that it had changed the publishing industry so much. I knew that this series encouraged new young readers, but again, the extent was so much more than I'd thought. So this book was interesting to me, because it shows just how deeply this series touched peoples' lives.

There was a lot of detail in this book that I found fascinating, like the way that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone made it against all odds, and how it changed the industry as I mentioned above, but at the same time, I found some parts of the book to get bogged down in too much detail. I listened to this on audio (although I do have the trade paperback as well), and the opening section, about Melissa's excitement that "it was here", went on for too long before saying what "it" was, or giving any real context to the situation at all. Turns out, it was the release date for the 7th and final book, but I think that the way it was written tried for a bit of mystery and excitement, and just failed to get that from me. I kept thinking, "Can we get to the point?" I want to hear about the books, and about the fans and about the phenomenon itself... not one person's squeeing over some mysterious "it" thing the reader doesn't get to be in on. For a while, I thought that "it" was publishing news coming down the pipeline of an exciting new series of books - so, the START of the HP series phenomenon.

I didn't really need to know the color of the dust on the Harry And The Potters' tour van, or exactly how sweaty they were, or that they chose cashmere pullovers because they were less likely to be sweat-stinky. TMI. Really. There were a lot of sections that I feel just kind of got lost in the memories and forgot the point that was supposed to be made.

In addition, aspects of the book were repetitive and disorganized. Anelli would jump from 2007 (the section I mentioned above, once I finally found out the context), to telling the history of the books being written, submitted, published, sold, etc, then on to how Anelli got involved in The Leaky Cauldron (TLC), to 9/11, to book 5, to how Anelli first read the books.. on and on. It was like playing Frogger, hopping around, back and forth. I really, really wanted a more structured format for this book, especially listening on audio. Sometimes it was hard to follow where I was in terms of timelines.

There were several sections that were repeated at least twice, and I found that to be a little tiresome. Once we've covered the basis of 'shipping/'shippers, I don't need to rehash what it is again later. We can just move on to how it's relevant to the part of the story being told. I want the history and backstory, but I don't need to know, yet again, what the city by city fan count at a Harry and the Potters show was.

Those criticisms aside, I did really enjoy this book. It made me sad at times, especially during Melissa's recounting of 9/11 and her panic at not knowing where her sister was, but it made me happy that the community of Harry Potter fans that she'd so recently found were able to support her. It made me nostalgic for the experience of reading these books for the first time, and watching this story unfold with each book. I didn't have the long gaps in which to theorize and wonder for most of them, but each new book was a revelation in just how much a story could affect me... and it STILL affects me just the way it did the first time. I cry with certain deaths, I laugh at the twins, I cheer for Neville finding the courage to stand up again and again.

These books didn't make me a reader; I'd been a reader since I was little. What they made me was a part of a huge community of people who all share the love of an extraordinary series of books which changed almost everything. I think that Harry: A History did a good job at showing that, despite the issues I had with the writing and organization.

I can't wait to revisit Harry Potter again. (less)

7 likes · like · see review

Nov 03, 2008 Monica Edinger added it

This book defies my rating it. I mean, I'd rate it completely differently for different audiences.

For avid Harry Potter fans familiar with the Leaky Cauldron, fan fiction, the shipping wars, Harry and the Potters, and so forth the book is probably five stars. Melissa captures, with vim and tremendous enthusiasm, the history of Harry Potter fandom filtered through her personal experience. No doubt those on the wrong side of certain conflicts (notably those fans who were advocating for Hermione a...more This book defies my rating it. I mean, I'd rate it completely differently for different audiences.

For avid Harry Potter fans familiar with the Leaky Cauldron, fan fiction, the shipping wars, Harry and the Potters, and so forth the book is probably five stars. Melissa captures, with vim and tremendous enthusiasm, the history of Harry Potter fandom filtered through her personal experience. No doubt those on the wrong side of certain conflicts (notably those fans who were advocating for Hermione and Harry's union) may feel differently. But I'd guess for many fans, reading Melissa's book is a way to go back in time and reexperience much of what went on throughout those Harry Potter years.

Then there are people like me. I consider myself a fan, but not on the level of those in Melissa's world. I enjoyed the books tremendously and loved the way kids took the series for their own. I'm a lover of fantasy and, as Melissa notes in the book, at the time Harry Potter first came out there was not a whole lot of fantasy being published for children. The emphasis was on realistic fiction back in 1998. And so I saw firsthand, beginning in September 1998 when the first book came out in the US, the appeal and kid-word-of-mouth that made these books so remarkably successful. At first my copy was passed around my classroom among the handful of fantasy readers (one girl and a bunch of boys). One parent managed to pick up the second book for us in London and so it went. (Melissa did an excellent job going over the publishing history of the books, by the way.) It was with the 4th that all hell broke loose and the books' fans went from being part of a tiny subculture to a huge one. The movies, the Internet, television, and such raised the situation to something quite remarkable. And I loved following it all. So for a person like me, not a fan like Melissa or those in her immediate circle, the book was a lot of fun to read.

And then there are those who may come to the book without any such experience, just curious about this whole thing. I think the book may be a challenge for them. The best parts, to my mind, for such readers, are those where Melissa's joy and happiness and excitement about the books, the author, and the world she became part of, come through. More challenging may be some of the aspects of this world. I have to admit that I wasn't terribly interested (no offense!) in Harry and the Potters who receive a whole chapter. And I almost think that the whole fan fiction thing probably deserves its own book. I became aware of it during the shipping wars (which I at first thought had something to do with ocean liners), but have to admit that Melissa's presentation was a bit all over the place for those of us on the periphery. She was so deep into it and I did enjoy her view of it all, but can also see that it might be hard to make sense of if you weren't aware of this before you began reading this book.

But for anyone who went through any part of this, who likes the books, who got a kick out of the whole intensity of midnight releases, the Internet sites, the interviews, the shipping wars, and so forth --- I recommended it. (less)

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Jan 26, 2009 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-non-fiction

This is not actually a History of Harry, or even a book about the Harry Potter books. It is a book about one woman's experience with the books. The author, Melissa Anelli, was (is) a major player in the Harry Potter fandom, and she tells her story as an "almost insider." Her perspective is interesting to a point, but for someone (ie, me) who loves Harry, but operated outside the fandom, it isn't really particularly relevant. It kind of just made me mad. I felt like, "I love Harry too, but I didn...more

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Mar 07, 2010 Wednesday J rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No-one

Recommended to Wednesday by: Amazon

Shelves: harry-potter-fandom

Let's not beat around the bush - this isn't really a history of the Harry Potter fandom. The title is not deceptive at all - it's an outright lie. This book is actually about the author, Anelli, who is basically just scrabbling at her fifteen minutes of fame. The 'journalist' runs the Leaky Cauldron website - nice, but worth a book? No. Oh but wait, she met J.K Rowling too? Nope, still not worth a book.

I'm not ashamed to say that I've been in the Potter fandom for years - since PoA first came o...more

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Jan 07, 2009 Allison rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

An interesting read. Melissa is a good writer, and I was certainly cheering for her as she met, and interviewed JK Rowling. However, as Melissa discusses the in-depth-ness of many Harry Potter fans, which she treats with a mixture of awe and amusement, she neglects the fact that there are many HP fans who did not travel to conferences, read or write fan-fiction, speculate about the books online etc. etc. The book is written with the assumption that every HP fan was die-hard, neglecting the fact...more

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Dec 22, 2008 Ciara rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: insane harry potter fans, Hr/R shippers, scarf-wearing muggles, wizard rockers

Shelves: read-in-2008

i confess i feel like a dork for even having read this book, which is all about the fandom & media phenomena surrounding the harry potter books. now, i am a big fan of the harry potter books, but i don't frequent fan sites or wear scarves declaring my allegience to certain hogwarts houses or anything like that. this book was written by someone who runs a fansite (the leaky cauldron) & is all about the types of people who wear scarves as an expression of their harry potter love, & hon...more i confess i feel like a dork for even having read this book, which is all about the fandom & media phenomena surrounding the harry potter books. now, i am a big fan of the harry potter books, but i don't frequent fan sites or wear scarves declaring my allegience to certain hogwarts houses or anything like that. this book was written by someone who runs a fansite (the leaky cauldron) & is all about the types of people who wear scarves as an expression of their harry potter love, & honestly, the whole thing squicked me A LOT. i mean, it was really fascinating...in the way that a terrible gruesome car accident is fascinating. there is a whole chapter on wizard rock, for example. now, again, i like harry & the potters. i have seen them play a bunch of times. but all of the sudden, their shows were over-run by teenage girls in gryffindor scarves giggling over which degeorge brother was cuter, & i couldn't bring myself, as a grown woman, to have fun at their shows anymore. i just felt embarrassed. there is a chapter in here about the "shipping wars"--the online debates & flame wars that broke out between fans who thought hermione should hook up with ron versus those who throught she was destined for love with harry. i mean...really? it's bad enough that these kinds of arguments even happened, but that they would be written up in a book in such a breathless manner, as if understanding the causes of & ramifications of the "shipping wars" was crucial to understanding the harry potter phenomenon as a historical curiosity. it reminded me of how sometimes i will have some dumb argument with an idiot on a feminist messageboard & jared will come home from work & i'll be all, "listen to this e-argument i had with someone!" & jared will be all, "wow, i really can't believe you wasted even two minutes engaged in this, & now you are wasting even more time telling me about it." i always feel embarrassed afterward, like he caught me playing with a stuffed unicorn or something equally as infantile. THIS ENTIRE BOOK IS DEVOTED TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE THIS KIND OF INFANTILE, SOCIALLY BACKWARD RELATIONSHIP WITH HARRY POTTER FANDOM & it seriously freaks me out. & early on in the book, the author writes about 9/11 & how no one knew where her sister was (her sister worked in the world trade center) & how her harry potter fandom buddies kept her company on instant messenger & really helped her through that rough time, & how she found friends in harry potter fandom, friends who really cared about her, etc. the story was meant to illustrate the depth of friendship that sprang up between fans, but it just made me incredibly sad, imagining a grown woman in a panic over how her sister might have been killed in a collapsing building (she wasn't; she was fine) turning to the online friends she made in fandom around a children's book. i mean, the whole book kind of begs for a lack of derision from non-fans, but i just couldn't get there. i love the books & all, but really, this account of fan culture made me really sad. in a sick, pleasureable way.(less)

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Dec 06, 2011 Starasia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Inititally, I was frustrated with the way the author wrote the first chapter. I thought she was a little too precious with her insider name dropping and references and the way she waited 8 whole pages to reveal something she mentioned in the first sentence. C'mon, this isn't an Agatha Christie novel. I threw it down and was gonna return it to the library, but the next day, the Potterphile in me picked it up again. This time I started with JK Rowling's preface, and since I cannot get enough of an...more

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Feb 04, 2009 Jamieson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am reading the most wonderfully, magnificent, incredible and enjoyable book I have read in ages. It is a breath of fresh air and I’m thrilled that I picked it up. I’m talking about Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli.

I remember the first time I read Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone.

I had ignored the buzz surrounding Harry Potter for a long time. I remember thinking: No book could possibly be that good. I would see people reading it on the buss, on lunch breaks, line ups. “Bah,” I would s...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Runa added it

For all the fanfare this book has gotten, I'm not entirely sure all of it is deserved. It is a lovely look back at how the Harry Potter fandom evolved and got to where it is today, but there are some issues I do have with the book. One of the things I noticed was that Melissa told the book like it was a novel, a fictional piece, filled with flowery description that I feel has no place in what is essential a memoir of sorts. The intent of the book is to retell the HP fandom, from start to finish....more

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Jun 05, 2010 Beth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Boy, what a self-indulgent mess this was. I have to admit, there were enough interesting tidbits for me to keep reading, and it did make me want to re-read the HP books again, but this was like the HP version of Eat, Pray, Love. This should be called Melissa, A History. I am not into the HP intense fandom depicted here, so I just rolled my eyes a lot at things like the shipper wars. The book was also not very well-written; it jumped around a lot in time, which could be confusing, and it wasn't e...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 13, 2013 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: oh-best-beloved, nostalgia, pop-culture, professional-reading, publishing-world

I am so enjoying this book. Harry Potter people are our people. Sometimes, it feels like HP is what unites our family, like a religion. We may need to get a copy of this to keep forever, as this saga of Harry's is such a part of our lives. Also, if you look very closely, there we are in the second-to-last page of photo plates! Wizard Rock in Hogwarts Square, 2007!

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Jan 07, 2010 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This was a really great read. I learned some new fun facts about the publication of Harry Potter and had a lot of "that's right; I had forgotten about that" moments. A nostalgic (for me since I participated) look back on all the randomness that constituted the Harry Potter fandom: shipping wars, midnight releases, fanfiction, wizard rock, and all the rest. And I imagine it would also be an interesting read from a sociological stand point if you have no idea what I'm talking about with fandom stu...more

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Apr 03, 2009 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 26, 2009 Sylver rated it 4 of 5 stars

OK, how do I start? Ever since I found out about this book, I've been wanting to read it, and even after I bought it, I took a long time to finally pick it up. Once I opened it though, I couldn't put it down.
Just the name, "Harry, A History" and the cover, a couple of old looking books with a familiar set of round glasses on top, brought tears to my eyes. So many memories...
I started reading Harry Potter after "Goblet of Fire" was released. I was expecting my first child, my husband was working...more OK, how do I start? Ever since I found out about this book, I've been wanting to read it, and even after I bought it, I took a long time to finally pick it up. Once I opened it though, I couldn't put it down.
Just the name, "Harry, A History" and the cover, a couple of old looking books with a familiar set of round glasses on top, brought tears to my eyes. So many memories...
I started reading Harry Potter after "Goblet of Fire" was released. I was expecting my first child, my husband was working nights, and we were living in a state thousands of miles from any family. Yes, I was lonely and friendless, and Harry walked into my life and became such a beloved friend that I lost myself in the series. I read the first four books in a week, and I reread them over and over.
Those three years until "Order of the Phoenix" came out were a torture I could only endure by participating in the online HP community, AKA, The Leaky Cauldron.
When I had the blue book in my hands, I quickly forgot the speculations I and others had raised on the online forums, and I ate the book up. In the early hours of the morning I finished reading it, and instead of happiness, I felt cheated, devastated; I hated the book! However, I reread it over and over, went online, and learned to love this change in Harry. Eventually "Order" increased my obsession for HP and JK Rowling.
I've dragged my kids to midnight book release parties, to celebrate HP birthday at the library, and for number 7, my husband gave me the perfect gift, and we took our whole family to Scotland for the book release.
I totally, utterly, completely love "Half Blood Prince" and "Deathly Hallows." I can read them over and over.
Well, you might be wondering what does my HP experience have anything to do with this book? I loved this book because even though I never had the joy of meeting JK or going to movie premiers, Melissa and I share this love for this story that has meant so much for us. I don't know how I ever survived childhood without Harry Potter!
I love her recounting of the "shipping wars", the fan fiction, the movies, interviewing JK with Emerson from mugglenet, etc.
I was a follower of leaky (I still visit the website every once in while) and I remember reading the interview for the first time; I felt like Melissa and Emerson were representing all the fans. I was grateful for the questions they asked, and the answers JK gave them.
I loved learning how HP came to pass; the chain of events that made this book so wonderful and popular. I loved learning about the music groups like Harry and the Potters.
I know!!!!!!! What a geek! But boy was it fun! And now, no more books to read, just the movies.
I'll never forget the anticipation, that feeling of magic in the air, when I got my hands on the newly released books for the first time. No one knew what happened, and I hurried home and read through the night, and I felt like I was living Harry's adventures by his side. I'm a little sad that my kids won't be able to experience that; but I have two images brandished in mind: my six year old son, who was just learning how to read, sitting on the hotel hallway, trying to read "Deathly Hallows," and now, seeing him, almost three years later, reading 200 pages of "Goblet of Fire" over one weekend, his eyes lit with the magic that emanates from the book. I'm reading HP for the first time again though him.
I loved that Melissa wrote this book, and that I could see that in spite of the details, our experiences were similar; except for the little detail of the two day interview with JK at JK's house. I'm so envious about that!!!! (less)

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Jan 23, 2009 Jenni rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-read-over-and-over-again

The Phenomenon of Harry Potter is unlike anything that's come before it. Melissa Anelli does a brilliant job painting a picture of the major points in the fandom. It also has wonderful personal anecdotes and the ever coveted conversations with Jo herself.

While Anelli's story is very personal (how else can someone write about such an experience except in the way they lived it?), almost any fan can relate her stories to their own. It perfectly captures the feeling of suspense, and insanity, surrou...more

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May 20, 2013 Safia ♪ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: guide-book, could-not-finish

I read this book mainly because I was doing a report on Harry Potter that year. It was also the year I was unconditionally obsessed with the series. I mean, I wrote every single essay and free-write those years about Hogwarts. For those of you who don't know me, when I love something, I am infatuated by it. It becomes a fetish, and I always become unhealthily obsessed. Is this a condition? Fangirlism? Anyway, I digress.

I haven't read the book in awhile, so bear with me here. I am madly in love w...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Shelby rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book, from what I’ve read and what I’ve heard, functions as and is regarded as the definitive authority on the past years of the Harry Potter phenomenon. Even more – it’s very much a great, engaging read.

Among my favorite parts of the book were those describing Anelli & her friends reading the 5th and 7th books together throughout the nights of their respective midnight releases (confessional camera and all), Anelli's interview with Rowling, and the rise of Wrock.

A few minor problems th...more

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May 12, 2012 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nostalgic Harry Potter fanatics

Shelves: epic-harry-potterness

There is something about Harry Potter that cannot be explained to someone who did not grow up at the same time Harry did. It didn't matter if he, Ron, Hermione, and the other characters aren't real. I boarded the train to Hogwarts with eleven-year-old Harry when I was ten years old. The first film was released when I was eleven myself. I have attended every Harry Potter midnight film release and three midnight book releases. The end, for me, happened when the last book was released when Harry wa...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Katrina Welsh rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit, I was a harry Potter fan late bloomer. And when I say 'late', I mean late. It wasn't until mid-2008 that I even contemplated reading the series. The only things I knew about the World of Harry Potter were what was depicted in the movies, but even then, I was already a fan. Books weren't on the top of the list where I used to live. Anyway, like I said, I only read the series at 2008, long after the end of the series have been published.

I moved and I was introduced to the local li...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Miriam rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Harry potter lovers and Internet nerds.

Honestly I don't ever read non-fictional books if I don't need to do for university. But this book... well, I came across it because I'm following Melissa Anelli on twitter. She's amazing. Honestly.
And as I'm a huge Harry Potter fan I eventually decided to put the list on my Christmas wishlist. My mother somehow obviously realized that it has to do something with Harry and so she bought it for me. Let's just say, I'm surprised on how much of Internet fandom I missed even though I've always been...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Indiana rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, autobiography, fandom, did-not-keep

Meh. This book should really be titled "Melissa, A History" because that would have been a more appropriate description as it was more about her and her experience with HP fandom than a history of HP fandom. It was also sorely in need of editing. I've lived through HP fandom and I had trouble following the time line in this book. It's 2007, it's 1999, it's 2004, it's 2007, it's 2003...this story was all over the place and I think a casual HP reader would be lost trying to navigate their way thro...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Kerry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, library-books-returned, audiobook, reviewed

This book is largely misrepresented - It is not an accurate review of the Harry Potter fandom. Instead, it examines author Melissa Anelli and a select group of others on their experiences with loving Harry Potter. The book reads more like the biography of an overzealous college student than a study in history.

Much of the writing undoubtedly had personal and highly emotional ties for Anelli, but it falls completely flat on paper. It's ludicrous to try following the conversations that many of thes...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Book Concierge rated it 2 of 5 stars

This tells the story of Pottermania and Anelli’s role as webmaster of The Leaky Cauldron – the # 1 website for fans of Harry. I like the Harry Potter books. I enjoy Rowling’s writing, and I’ve enjoyed a couple of the movies. But I’m not obsessed with the phenomenon. By Anelli’s own account, she first heard of Potter when she was buying her college text books. Her mother suggested “something light” to provide some entertainment and escape from all the heavy college texts. Anelli was hooked from t...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Linda Cat added it

Review originally posted to www.books4hearts.com

In "Harry, A History", Melissa Anelli tells a story that most Potter fans could've told, with the added insight that comes along with her being mastermind webmistress of the popular Harry Potter fan site The Leaky Cauldron. This book is many things. For those who haven't read Harry Potter and are curious as to why it's so popular and what exactly goes on in the fandom, it's a very knowledgeable and good recount for them. For those of us like myself...more Review originally posted to www.books4hearts.com

In "Harry, A History", Melissa Anelli tells a story that most Potter fans could've told, with the added insight that comes along with her being mastermind webmistress of the popular Harry Potter fan site The Leaky Cauldron. This book is many things. For those who haven't read Harry Potter and are curious as to why it's so popular and what exactly goes on in the fandom, it's a very knowledgeable and good recount for them. For those of us like myself, who are die-hard Harry Potter fans, it serves as a book filled to the brim with nostalgia as well as some things you might not have known before-- even if you thought you were an expert -- as well as an easy-to-relate-to story.

That story is of Ms. Anelli's journey participating in the Harry Potter fandom and recounting some of her adventures (i.e... getting to interview J.K. Rowling (x2!), attending premieres, the website) as well as talking about some other ways Potter changed her life, by bringing different people into her life and making friends, gaining inspiration, etc... She also outlines many products of the fandom such as fan sites, fan fiction, wizard rock, the podcasts, release parties, and 'shipping'; as well as the various and plentiful controversies surrounding the books and between the fans.

It was a very personal book for me to read. So many of the feelings found in the book are ones I've also experienced, just as many others I know have. I'm a 'super-fan' and even I didn't know about all of the things in the book. For example, I didn't know that Cassandra Clare wrote a popular, novel-length trilogy of HP fan fiction about Draco Malfoy (must've missed that somewhere). But, you know, it's not as if I used to spend hours pouring over fan sites or anything *shifty eyes* (although I admit I've been more of a Mugglenet girl). As a fan, everything seemed very spot-on in the book. It's one I'd recommend to anyone who seeks insight of the fandom or any fan who wishes to experience nostalgia and such. In light of the new movie I found it particular insightful. :) (less)

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Jan 03, 2011 Rachael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Quoted from my LJ entry just after I finished this book:

Reasons I love this book:

1) Melissa Anelli has always been a hero of mine, and that feeling has been totally reinforced after reading this book. Her story is fascinating. I've always been impressed with the professionalism with which she presents the fandom to the rest of the world, but I never realized before what a role she had in creating a relationship with not just the Harry Potter fandom and Warner Brothers and Scholastic, but for all...more Quoted from my LJ entry just after I finished this book:

Reasons I love this book:

1) Melissa Anelli has always been a hero of mine, and that feeling has been totally reinforced after reading this book. Her story is fascinating. I've always been impressed with the professionalism with which she presents the fandom to the rest of the world, but I never realized before what a role she had in creating a relationship with not just the Harry Potter fandom and Warner Brothers and Scholastic, but for all fandoms with their creators.

2) I feel like I better understand the reason the Harry Potter fandom was so groundbreaking. The timing was perfect, Harry Potter took off just when the Internet took off and it was a perfect marriage. I definitely learned a lot of things about the origins of things that I thought I knew everything about.

3) Yes, the book is as much Melissa, A History as much as it is Harry, A History, but I love it that way. I think a lot of people won't like this book because it doesn't tell about their corner of the fandom. Melissa always said that she decided to tell her story in the hopes that fans could see parts of their story within hers. I think a lot of people who know her from Leaky and PotterCast are going to end up reading a different book than they expected. I on the other hand loved the book because I was pleasantly surprised to discover how closely my fandom experience has mirrored Melissa's for one primary reason: We both got our start in the Harry Potter fandom on the Sugar Quill.

4) I think a Quiller will enjoy reading this book more than a PotterCast fan. As someone who spent so much time as a subber researching SQ and shipping war history the book sometimes felt like "who can spot the SQ Easter egg?" For example, a lot of the friends Melissa talks about are SQ admins. The Sugar Quill plays a key role in this book, and reading it brought back really good memories from my Quill days which is really nice since I hadn't felt connected to the Quill in awhile.

5) I was SHOCKED how many of the events she wrote about that I remembered! I remember the first time Melissa met Jo and the PoA IMAX screening and NYC and even post-Potterwar with the WB. This book kind of scared me when I realized that I'm an old school Potterfan. Yikes.

6) When I finished the book I was left with a profound appreciation of what the Harry Potter fandom has given me. Even though my SQ roots seem really far away now, the fact is that I'm left now with a great experience and really great life-long friends. I think that anyone who felt that way about their fandom experience will appreciate this book.(less)

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Oct 01, 2010 Melissa Railey rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up right after it came out because I listen to (and love) Pottercast and wanted to read the book written by one of its hosts. The book went directly into my TBR stack and got lost amid the pile of ignored books. Then, last week, I was going through my TBR stack picking out books to read while in Orlando this week, stumbled across this forgotten purchase and decided this would be the perfect book to read while I was visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (which was awesom...more I picked this book up right after it came out because I listen to (and love) Pottercast and wanted to read the book written by one of its hosts. The book went directly into my TBR stack and got lost amid the pile of ignored books. Then, last week, I was going through my TBR stack picking out books to read while in Orlando this week, stumbled across this forgotten purchase and decided this would be the perfect book to read while I was visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (which was awesome by the way). For those who don't know, Melissa Anelli is first and foremost a Harry Potter fan. She also helps run The Leaky Cauldron, a Harry Potter website, and hosts Pottercast, a Harry Potter podcast. Her book is about the Harry Potter fandom: how it came to be, what it means to the Harry Potter fans and how it is different than most any fandom that existed before or after it. She touches on how the internet influenced the popularity of the Harry Potter books and connected fans all around the world. Oh and we can't forget Wizard Rock.

I loved this book. Of course, I am a fan of both of Anelli's website and podcast. I found Pottercast at a very difficult time in my life. I listened to the first fifty podcasts non-stop. By the time I was "caught up," I felt like the whole crew were friends. Reading Harry, A History reminded just how much I love their show and just how much being a Harry Potter fan has meant to me. I enjoyed seeing how some of the stories and interviews that I'd read about on Leaky or heard about on Pottercast came to be. I also loved reading about the friendships and connections that were made through the love of the Harry Potter books. I've experienced that feeling of belonging to something again first hand this week while at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I saw other fans like myself that were just teeming over with excitement at being there and seeing the world they had imagined in real life. We squirmed with excitement over Ollivander's wand shop, reveled in the sweets at Honeydukes and laughed at the products at Zonkos but the most exciting part was walking through Hogwarts itself. I talked to fans from all over their world that had made their way to Orlando, Florida for this chance to live in the Harry Potter world. Oh, wait, I'm getting off topic. This is supposed to be about Melissa Anelli's book, not The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. But, if you're a Harry Potter fan, then you should definitely read this book. (less)

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Aug 07, 2010 Becky Ginther rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a really nice history of the Harry Potter phenomenon and the fandom. The ending especially is poignant for the Harry Potter fan. It brought back so many memories of what we've shared with other fans, especially while Deathly Hallows was coming out. It was a bit sad to realize that that part of the Harry Potter phenomenon is over, but I'm sure the books will live on, especially as long as we still have fan conferences! I also really enjoyed the section on Laura Mallory and the controversy...more

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Jul 30, 2010 Lucas rated it 5 of 5 stars

A lot of people bemoaned the very personal nature through which this book was written, but I find myself wondering, in what other way could it have been written? A factual, point-by-point examination would exclude the heart of the fandom, which is that it's really a group of individuals united, though not defined, by a book series. And from whose point of view could this type of book be better written than a woman with such intricate and deep ties to the fandom?

The writing in the book is unextra...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I confess, I’m a Harry Potter addict. I love J K Rowling’s books. And now, after reading Harry, a History by Melissa Anelli, I finally know that Rowling rhymes with bowling. I know a lot of other things too that I scarcely guessed before, and while I was slightly reluctant to read a real-world Harry tale, I’m very glad I finally did so.

Melissa Anelli became web-mistress of the Leaky Cauldron partway through the Harry Potter phenomenon. I remember visiting her site, enjoying her snippets, checkin...more

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I've read about a thousand more books than I have written, and love sharing the love!

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Harry, a History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon

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“...she wasn't reading Deathly Hallows at all. Her book wasn't orange but rose and water and sand, and featured a kid on a broomstick and white unicorn. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. She didn't notice me staring at her.

'Oh, I envy you,' I thought, but was smiling for her. She had just begun.” — 62 people liked it

“Harry Potter has actually been a very intimate phenomenon, the story of small groups of people acting in ways they shouldn't, doing things they usually wouldn't, and making the kind of history that, without Harry, they pretty much couldn't.” — 13 people liked it

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