The Harry Potter Books Were Just The Beginning of the Story...
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 potential 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.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
perfect:
This book is exactly what I needed after finishing the last Harry Potter book. Reading all those seven books over the last ten years was such a great experience, and it's awesome to get to share that. Harry, a history makes you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time. so thank you, melissa, thank you so much!
SPECTACULAR!:
this amazing fun-filled novel will have you begging for more and more after every chapter. An amazing book written by an amazing athour. a book dipped in rich and insightful information regarding the muggle/wizarding world of HARRY POTTER!!
A fun insight to the Harry Potter fandom:
First of all, I must say that I'm a fan of the Leaky Cauldron website and listen to their Pottercast podcasts. That said, I have followed Melissa Anelli's work on both and admire the energy and dedication she puts into those projects. Her book was fun, a great review of the major events shaping the Harry Potter fandom and how the internet added to the phenomenon the books generated. My only complaint was that by jumping back and forth in time, it wasn't always clear if she was referring to more current... more info
A wonderful guide to the living, breathing fandom of Harry Potter:
As an inactive member of the Harry Potter fandom, this book made me both sad and inspired. Sad, because I had not taken advantage of all the Harry Potter goings on (though they are lacking in CA); and inspired because I know the fandom lives on even in the post-book seven era. Melissa Anelli's story inspired me to write my college application essay on Harry Potter and how the series sparked my interest in the publishing industry. Thank you Melissa Anelli!!! Pottercast is the bomb!!
