Harry, a History Audiobook By Melissa Anelli cover art

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

By: Melissa Anelli
Narrated by: Renée Raudman
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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 it was like to seek out friends, families, online forums, fan fiction, and podcasts to get a fix between novels. When the death of a character was a hotter bet than the World Series. When the unfolding story of a boy wizard changed the way books are read for all time. And as webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron, one of the most popular Harry Potter sites on the Internet, Melissa Anelli had a front row seat to it all. Whether it was helping Scholastic stop leaks and track down counterfeiters, hosting live PotterCasts at bookstores across the country, touring with the wizard rock band Harry and the Potters, or traveling to Edinburgh to interview J. K. Rowling personally, Melissa was at the center of the Harry Potter tornado, and nothing about her life would ever be the same.The Harry Potter books are a triumph of the imagination that did far more than break sales records for all time. They restored the world's sense of wonder and took on a magical life of their own. Now the series has ended, but the story is not over.

With remembrances from J. K. Rowling's editors, agents, publicists, fans, and Rowling herself, Melissa Anelli takes us on a personal journey through every aspect of the Harry Potter phenomenon - from his very first spell to his lasting impact on the way we live and dream.

©2008 Melissa Anelli (P)2009 Tantor Popular Culture Magic Magic Users European Genre Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Social Sciences Literary History & Criticism World Literature Fiction
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Critic reviews

"Chronicling 10 years of Pottermania, Anelli dishes up a revealing, delicious insider's view." ( Kirkus Starred Review)
"Infectious, at times frenetic, excitement." ( Publishers Weekly)
Nostalgic Journey • Fascinating Perspective • Heartfelt Storytelling • Behind-scenes Insights • Comprehensive History

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Regardless if you are a Harry Potter fan or not this book offers all an opportunity to remember our past and how Harry influenced us all.

A wonderful book that brought back so many memories.

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interesting stuff especially for someone who was way out of the loop at the time the HP phenomenon was at its height. where was I? I don't know but I wasn't paying attention at the time. If you love Harry Potter I think you will find this book worth it.

If you love HP you'll like this book

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Reading this brought me back to reading the Harry Potter books. The magic is still alive.

Exactly right

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Normally I'm rather nerdy in the audiobooks I read with most being science or non-fiction history books so this was a different kind of book for me. I really enjoyed the growth of the author and how "she found her people" in the online Harry Potter universe. While the book was fun, and easy, to read what I came away with is what happens when you follow your passion. Most of us become unstoppable which is why I will listen again with my kids so they can see someone who did just that.

An entertaining walk down memory lane

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I consider myself a huge Potterhead but there were still a few things that I never took part in during this time such as conventions, wizard rock. It was neat being brought back to the time when we were all waiting for the next books and trying to figure out what might happen. I loved finding out about other aspects I had missed. I downloaded my first Harry and the Potters album from iTunes a few days ago and can't wait to check out more bands! It still amazes me what kind of a fandom we built for Harry Potter during this time and it is still growing almost 9 years after Deathly Hallows was published. I can't wait to see what happens with Newt Scamander and Albus Severus in the Fantastic Beasts movie and the Cursed Child play. Listening to this book reminded me of all of my Harry Potter memories - midnight releases of books and movies, rereading the books when the next book or movie was released, hours and hours spent reading fanfiction of all kinds and all ships, etc. I have truly enjoyed my time as fan of Harry Potter and I can't wait to make more memories and learn more about the characters!

Wonderful Memories

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