Harry, A History

I meant to give this plug a few days ago, but I got a little carried away with the election. :) Not surprising. Anyway, I wanted to take an entry to plug a new book that I think anyone interested in the Harry Potter phenomenon should read. It's called Harry, a History: the true story of a boy wizard, his fans, and life inside the Harry Potter phenomenon, by Melissa Anelli, the woman in charge over at The Leaky Cauldron.

I have not yet had a chance to thumb through the book myself, but I listen to a podcast that Melissa is a part of regularly, and they interviewed her on the show about the book, so I feel like I have some good insider info about it. Melissa is uniquely positioned to write about the whole affair because of her prominent place as webmistress of one of the biggest Harry Potter sites on the Web. Further, Leaky is more than just a fan site, it's a news site, and Melissa is a freelance journalist. She has treated her job as a journalist and not as a fan, so Leaky has a sense of professionalism that is very rare among obsessed fan bases. That's why I appreciate Leaky the way that I do. Finally, Melissa has had the opportunity to enjoy the books in multiple contexts, and to really be fully involved in the online community. She's probably the most qualified person to write this book.

From the interview, it sounds like Melissa spends time outlining key aspects of the fan community, but she also tells her own story of how she came to be a part of the community. I think the fact that Melissa weaves her own story throughout the book shows what Harry Potter has really been for so many people. Harry Potter has created community. I would venture to say that this is because the books deal with so many core issues of what it means to be human: life, death, family, friends, good, evil, sacrifice, forgiveness, love ... just to mention a few. Trust me, there's more, and when you're dealing with such heavy material, it's natural to seek out other people to discuss it with you.

That's why Harry Potter is so popular. Readers are faced with information, story, and philosophy that requires a response. If one really engages with the books, one cannot help feeling a kind of inner transformation as you read them, the kind of transformation that you want to share. Obviously, it pales in comparison to the kind of transformation that occurs when reading the Bible and interacting with God, but it's a kind of spiritual transformation. We are spiritual people and when something touches us in our souls, we have to share it.

I'm looking forward to reading Melissa's take on everything, especially the online communities and fan fiction. In terms of me, I got into the whole Harry Potter thing while looking for a community. I started reading the books in 8th grade (when the 3rd book had just come out) because a club I was part of at school had decided to read them. I got involved in the online communities and in fan fiction in high school because friends of mine were involved in them and thought that I would enjoy them. In doing so, I had a whole new world opened to me, all at the click of the mouse.

Take a look at Melissa's book and take a look at some of the fan sites. They're rather imaginative and cool. The beginning was a community for me, and my whole HP experience has been shaped by community since. I think it's very cool, and I'm glad that someone has chosen to write about it!