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Mar 11, 2011

Cheryl rated it:

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...

3 comments like (20 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Becky rated it:

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 More...

16 comments like (7 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2008

Monica 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 More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Rachel rated it:

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 Har More...

3 comments like (13 people liked it)

Mar 07, 2010

Wednesday rated it:

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 More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2009

Allison rated it:

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...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2008

Ciara rated it:

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 w More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Starasia rated it:

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 o More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 04, 2009

Jamieson rated it:

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, li More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

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 fini More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Beth rated it:

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 More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2010

Erin rated it:

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 wi More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 03, 2009

Claire rated it:

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

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2009

Sylver rated it:

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 firs More...

0 comments like

Jan 23, 2009

Jenni rated it:

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 insa More...

0 comments like

Jan 19, 2012

Miriam rated it:

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 alway More...

0 comments like

Jan 13, 2012

Indiana rated it:

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 thei More...

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Aug 28, 2011

Kerry rated it:

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 ma More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2011

Book Concierge rated it:

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 More...

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Jul 15, 2011

Cat (Books4Hearts, Insanely 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 tho More...

0 comments like

Jan 03, 2011

Rachael rated it:

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 Sch More...

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Oct 01, 2010

Melissa rated it:

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...

0 comments like

Aug 07, 2010

Becky rated it:

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 controv More...

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Jul 30, 2010

Lucas rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like

Jul 20, 2010

Sheila rated it:

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 snippet More...

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Nov 04, 2009

Sarah rated it:

I just finished reading this book and thought it was wonderful. Having listened to PotterCast, I was interested in reading Melissa's perspective of the phenomenon and also her insights from JK Rowling. Seeing the fandom as it developed, from her perspective and as a general fact of the past years, was fascinating through this richly detailed read. I think Melissa did a great deal of research and put a lot of effort and herself into this well written book, and it made me laugh out loud, sometimes More...

0 comments like

Jun 29, 2009

Mallory rated it:

I knew about the Harry Potter "fandom" (websites dedicated to obsessing over Harry Potter, which is fun when the books are about to come out and creepy and dull during the long stretches between novels) and thought this book sounded cute. I was interested in hearing about the fansites and getting some inside information. There is a section dedicated to Wizard Rock (Harry and the Potters) which I think is funny and worth reading. But good god, Anelli's writing style is annoying and s More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2008

Danielle rated it:

I couldn't believe this book. I started reading Harry when i was 12, so i've been a fan a very long time but i've never been "active" in fandom. I browsed sites like Mugglenet and Leaky, back in the day i read a handful of fanfics and i listen to the podcasts. So to be confronted with a book reminding me so how much of fandom i'd actually known about (things as simple as the fic i read and loved when i was like... 15, which apparently was a majorly renowned piece) gave me a bit of a cu More...

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Aug 19, 2010

angie rated it:

I liked this well enough but I felt that it jumped around too much - I wish the author would have started the story to coincide when she started reading the Harry Potter series (she does write about that being a magical & important thing in her life) because then we could have followed her along in her journey better. Instead she skipped around from when she found out the release date of the last book ( by which time she was already webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron) including names of people in More...

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Jan 27, 2010

Leandra rated it:

I read this fairly quickly, and I enjoyed it mostly for the journalistic explorations of fandom. Although I'm a part of HP fandom myself, I found the parts where she talks about her experience and her status of one of fandom's BNFs lacking, compared to the well researched parts on fandom and the Harry Potter phenomenon. I guess, in the end, I would have liked a more reserved, academic view on fandom, but this book is more a journalistic and personal account. Her fannishness, instead of endearing More...

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