Harry, A History
July 14, 2009
Melissa Anelli’s Harry, A History languished on my library shelf for a couple of weeks. I renewed it, started reading it and then found I couldn’t put it down. Then, largely because of it, I found myself writing blog posts about big summer book releases and spoilers on BlogHer.com. I love it when books make me think about things.
I was kind of late to the whole Harry Potter phenomena. I read the first four books in the series for the first time about a year before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released. I had just finished my last full semester of university (I still had to take one summer course) and was looking for something fun to read. A coworker at the bookstore recommended the Harry Potter books so I headed up to the education library (the only library on campus that reliably had “fun” books and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was required reading for at least one class) and checked out the first one. Then the next two. And then I all but had a temper tantrum when I couldn’t get my hands on the fourth one. The same coworker who told me to read them then loaned me his copy which I gulped down at the cottage over the weekend. Then like the rest of the world I sat down to wait.
Which is just abotu the time that things really started heating up in the Harry Potter fandom. I used to go to sites like SugarQuill and the Leaky Cauldron for the current Harry Potter news. So I’ve known who Melissa Anelli was for quite some time. She is one of the few people I think who could really have written a book about the Harry Potter fandom with credibility. As one of the most visible people on The Leaky Cauldron and someone who interviewed JK Rowling not once, but twice, she has Harry Potter street cred coming out her ears.
Once I started reading it I rather hated to put it down. Part memoir, part history I was fascinated. I find the whole Harry Potter phenomena fascinating. It was also educational. Among other things, I now know the beginnings of wizard rock.
It made me very, very sad that there’s not another Harry Potter book waiting to be written. sigh.
A definite must read for Harry Potter fans.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Um..oops, ha! I thought this was about Prince Harry and never gave it a second thought. HAHAHAHAHA!
And I was just thinking the other day that I am sad, too, that there’s no new Harry Potter. I miss the excitement of waiting for a new book in that series!
kit-cat´s last blog ..Sweep Book 6
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July 14th, 2009 at 10:36 am
So I guessed you miss the subtitle of the book – Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon.
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July 14th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Yes, I did! The book photo is very small. And like I said I didn’t give it a second thought thinking it was about royalty hoohah! Oopsie. I might have to read this now!
kit-cat´s last blog ..Sweep Book 6
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July 14th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I never really visited the websites much but I read almost every book in an overnight marathon on the day I received it. (Has anyone noticed that you get much more teary at 5am after being up all night?!?) This book sounds interesting and luckily we get the new movie tomorrow!
Kristen M.´s last blog ..Reading Aloud
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July 14th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
One of the first things I did when I found out there was Only One More Harry Potter Left (sob) was write a list for the Ledger of other books that might come close to a wizardly fix.
Life After Hogwart’s
Looking at the list now? I could replace half the books with even better ones!
Elizabeth W.´s last blog ..WVFC Poetry Friday- David Tucker
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July 15th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I had not heard of this book before it looks really interesting!
I was also late to the whole Harry Potter thing. I resisted until I realized they were required reading in some of the courses my fellow English majors were taking. Once I got started on them, I read the first three in one week, and then eagerly awaited the fourth one.
Ali´s last blog ..Summer 2009 Photo Contest
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July 16th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Kristen – I’ve never purchased it at midnight and read all the way through. I really wanted to with book 5 but I had to help someone move at 8am (I was cranky about). Book 6 came out on my friend’s wedding day. Book 7 I had to sleep but read it in one gulp the next morning. I think you get extra teary any time you read for x hours straight. lol
Elizabeth – there are tons of great books. They just aren’t the same you know? lol I really do think this is the first time it’s really sunk in that it’s over.
Ali – read it! And I sometimes I think that those of us that came into it a wee bit later are lucky. We didn’t have to wait quite so long for the rest of them.
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July 18th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I got into Harry Potter around the same time as you then – between GoF and OotP. And yes, that was a wonderful time in fandom. I’m so happy to hear that this book was so hard to put down! I’m definitely going to have to get it soon. Thanks for the review.
Court´s last blog ..Wondrous Strange
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January 30th, 2010 at 9:17 am
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