Crystal M. (dangerandlove) -
Helpful Score: 3
Not a big fan of this book. She may be part of the team that created The Leaky Cauldron website, but I feel that her personal Harry Potter "experience" doesn't merit a published book. If anyone should be giving a personal account, it should be JK Rowling herself.
goddesslovingbookworm -
Helpful Score: 1
First off, yes, I am a devoted Harry Potter fan and love reading The Leaky Cauldron so when I learned Ms. Anelli was writing about her experiences inside the HP phenomenon, I knew I would be reading it.
Just as I laughed and cried at Harry, Ron, Hermione and all the others, I laughed and cried with Melissa and Emerson and John and Jo. An aspiring writer myself, Ms. Anelli's way of sucking us in to her doubts and her dreams had me reading long into the night.
Is this book a tremendous literary achievement? Certainly not if set next to historians such as David McCullough and others. However, anytime I read a coming-of-age biography that is not filled with sex, violence, drugs and all the negativity many seem to feel are the "normal" rights of passage for young people today, I have a deep abiding sense of triumph in my soul. There are good young people in this world who can be trusted when it is time for us old fogeys to pass the torch--and may Melissa Anelli reign for many more years as one of those principled journalists who carries a sense of true pride in media accuracy and integrity. Write on, Melissa, through whatever the future brings!
Just as I laughed and cried at Harry, Ron, Hermione and all the others, I laughed and cried with Melissa and Emerson and John and Jo. An aspiring writer myself, Ms. Anelli's way of sucking us in to her doubts and her dreams had me reading long into the night.
Is this book a tremendous literary achievement? Certainly not if set next to historians such as David McCullough and others. However, anytime I read a coming-of-age biography that is not filled with sex, violence, drugs and all the negativity many seem to feel are the "normal" rights of passage for young people today, I have a deep abiding sense of triumph in my soul. There are good young people in this world who can be trusted when it is time for us old fogeys to pass the torch--and may Melissa Anelli reign for many more years as one of those principled journalists who carries a sense of true pride in media accuracy and integrity. Write on, Melissa, through whatever the future brings!
Ashley C. (wickedphoenix93) reviewed Harry, a History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon on + 6 more book reviews
I was so excited to receive this book in the mail; over the course of the HP books' release, I was more addicted to Emerson's MuggleNet, but occasionally I would venture over to Leaky; I hoped that wouldn't make a difference when I started reading Melissa's account of the phenomenon.
As it turned out, it didn't make a difference. But this book, to me, brought back all of the memories of that first time reading each of the books, experiencing the midnight releases with friends and strangers alike, racing home to read the new tome as fast as I could while still digesting the information in its pages (sometimes reading in the car, although we technically shouldn't have). I was happy to find that Melissa hadn't been one of those from-the-very-first-release-of-the-very-first-book types of people -- nothing against them, because they had a leg up on the rest of us and I'm really actually jealous -- but I didn't start reading the series until after Goblet was released and prior to the release of the first film. I was able to attend the midnight releases of three books and four films, and there is honestly nothing like that feeling in the world.
Melissa's story brought back all the nostalgia I had nearly forgotten about, and it was good to remember everything as if it were only just happening all over again. I felt "Harry a History" was a bit boring in some instances, if only because Melissa felt the need to detail her work environment, etc., and things that I wasn't keenly interested in because it didn't seem to add to the sense of nostalgia I was most anxious to read about. Overall though it felt like an extremely rewarding read.
As it turned out, it didn't make a difference. But this book, to me, brought back all of the memories of that first time reading each of the books, experiencing the midnight releases with friends and strangers alike, racing home to read the new tome as fast as I could while still digesting the information in its pages (sometimes reading in the car, although we technically shouldn't have). I was happy to find that Melissa hadn't been one of those from-the-very-first-release-of-the-very-first-book types of people -- nothing against them, because they had a leg up on the rest of us and I'm really actually jealous -- but I didn't start reading the series until after Goblet was released and prior to the release of the first film. I was able to attend the midnight releases of three books and four films, and there is honestly nothing like that feeling in the world.
Melissa's story brought back all the nostalgia I had nearly forgotten about, and it was good to remember everything as if it were only just happening all over again. I felt "Harry a History" was a bit boring in some instances, if only because Melissa felt the need to detail her work environment, etc., and things that I wasn't keenly interested in because it didn't seem to add to the sense of nostalgia I was most anxious to read about. Overall though it felt like an extremely rewarding read.
Laura P. (hemmputnam) reviewed Harry, a History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon on + 1154 more book reviews
I learned that there is a whole world of Harry Potter fans out there that do lots more than just read the books! We met the author at a library book signing and heard 2 of the wizard rock bands she tours with. I'd never been to a Harry Potter website or listened to a podcast, so there was lots of new info for me, sometimes a little too much. I liked how she traced the impact of Harry Potter on the publishing industry and her interviews with J.K. Rowling. I was less interested in where she traveled, who she saw at which party, and her whininess when her mom thinks she should get a job (she had graduated from college after all!) If you are a serious Harry Potter fan you will probably really enjoy this. If you aren't it may still leave you a bit mystified about the whole phenomenon.
