Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli Review

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

Author: Melissa Anelli

Genre: Non-fiction

Page Count: 330

Book Type: Library Paperback

Publisher: Pocket Books, A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 

ISBN: 978-1-4165-5495-0

Picture from Amazon

Summary from Goodreads: This personal and in-depth look at the dizzying pop-cultural phenomenon surrounding the Harry Potter series is written by the webmistress of the most popular and most trusted Harry Potter fan site on the Internet.

My Review: What can I say about the cover? It’s darling. Anything with Harry Potter’s glasses on it, I would love. It’s so perfect with the glasses teetering on top of two old fashioned books. I love the color as well. 

This book made me wish that I was more involved with the Harry Potter fandom from the beginning. It brought me back to that feeling of when I read the books for the first time. Pure and utter joy. Melissa is just as enthusiastic (probably more, considering she is the “webmistress” of the Leaky Cauldron) as I am about the series and everything it stands for. It makes me wish I had more friends locally who enjoy the series as much as I do. Although, one of my friends (Ashley, this is you...) quit her job so she could read Deathly Hallows straight through. That’s pretty dedicated. 

Melissa describes her experiences beautifully. The language and sentence structure that is present throughout the book made me really appreciate it. Clearly Melissa is a talented writer and journalist. Her words transported me to whatever event she was talking about and made me wish I was actually there. 

It still baffles my mind how parents could want these books banned from schools. It breaks my heart a little bit to imagine certain children not being able to experience the series. For this reason, I think I will be completing the Harry Potter reviews I have been putting off doing during banned books week. 

Over all, I would recommend this book 100 times over if you are an avid Harry Potter fan. Check out the website for the book, even though it hasn’t been updated in quite awhile. It’s interesting to go back through the posts anyway. 

Have you read this one? Which is your favorite non-fiction Harry Potter book? This one is my favorite.... so far.

Batch of Library Books 7/22/10

This should probably be called the Holy $#!+ edition, because I got 10 books at the library today. All 10 decided to come to me from my waiting list at the same time. This should be interesting considering I still have 7 floating around my house.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I've been looking forward to this one for awhile--so excited! It is sort of a 'Groundhog Day' tale where she lives the day of her death over and over again.

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy. I read a review of this one on another book blog and added it to my list immediately. Seems like a classic outsider joins popular group and all is not as it seems story.

 

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. I am so, so happy this one came in because I just finished City of Bones and I wasn't really sure how I was going to last the wait until getting the next one.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. I'll probably read this one before the copy of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter that I got last week.

Wake by Lisa McMann. I've heard nothing but good things about this one and it seems like a short read, so I'm excited.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins. I love how this is based on her daughter. I'm sure this will be a heavy, but thought provoking read.

Num8ers by Rachel Ward. I'm pretty sure this is one where she predicts deaths somehow. I don't really remember, but I do know that it was on my Goodreads list and it was on hold for awhile at the library!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I'm pretty sure I'll be the last person on the planet to read this one. I'm on the lookout for Patch.

Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views from the #1 Fan Site by Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen. I know I'm way behind on this one as well, but eh, what can I say. I'm hoping this one is funny.

Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli. I've heard very good things about this one (mainly from Sandy, Hi Sandy!). I always saw it in the store and almost picked it up, but I'll give it a shot from the library!

Phew, that was intense. Have you read any of these? Any suggestions on which ones I should tackle first? Thanks.