mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views from the #1 Fan Site

mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views from the #1 Fan Site
written by Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen



In their return book, Ben Schoen and Emerson Spartz decide to go for an interesting Q&A debate format. As they mention in the opening (which, by the way, incorrectly names the podcast 'MuggleSpace', which gets on my nerves), many of their views will get on your nerves, and I may be paraphrasing on that one. I found myself continually asking "Did they really have to go there?" and raging at the book. I almost felt like some of the debates, if not all, would have been better off if they'd been argued by fans, leaving the end result ambiguous and up to the reader to decide, as opposed to giving definite answers. The arguments are quick, concise, and compelling, sure to keep your attention in their fun, conversational tones. It really made me wonder what JK Rowling herself would think of some of these arguments, and I almost feel like there'd be some she'd certainly disagree with, although I won't pretend to know how she thinks. I think the one argument that bothered me most of all (and there were many) was the titular one, Should Harry Potter Have Died? I don't know, I kind of feel like if you're going to name your book Harry Potter Should Have Died, that should also be the conclusion you should reach in your debate, as opposed to "Harry should have lived." Maybe that's just me.

Rating: 4/5

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The Lexicon

The Lexicon
written by Steve Vander Ark



Okay, so The Lexicon. The book that prompted a legal battle that pretty much split the fandom. A lot of trouble to get one book published, and in my humble opinion, it was worth it all. While it has its small problems, The Lexicon is THE Harry Potter superguide we've all wanted for so many years. The fans will like it, the newer readers just getting into the series will certainly appreciate it, and any re-read will have to be accompanied by this invaluable encyclopedia. Not all of the information is included, and the organization is not the best (It is, as in any encyclopedia, alphabetical, but I wonder if it should have had more effort put into the categorization. After all, chances of me going to look up 'abstinence' instead of a simpler 'passwords' are very, very slim.) Of course, not all the information is included, and you'll have to dig a little to find what you're looking for, but you will find what you're looking for. In a nutshell, essential for fanatics, essential for new fans, but ultimately, it is the website you should be consulting.

Rating: 4.5/5

Kids' Letters to Harry Potter

Kids' Letters to Harry Potter
compiled by Bill Adler



Kids' Letters to Harry Potter was another one of those books that had a lot of potential but flopped when it came to delivery. Some of the letters were cute, but for the most part, it was a bunch of older kids almost roleplaying their ways into Harry Potter's world, pretending they had magical powers and owls of their own. I read this book thinking it would be similar to Children's Letters to God, in which younger children wrote very abstract letters "to God". There were some where children brought real world elements into Harry Potter (mostly along the lines of "can you use magic to do my homework/clean my room?"), but again, mostly flat and repetitive. I feel like these are letters that should have been sent to Jo Rowling herself as opposed to being published, so she could see how much of an impact they had on kids' lives. The pictures were really corny as well, and had nothing to do with Harry Potter itself. The few positive things I have to say are about the relatability of the book. Earlier, I'd posted about Harry, A History, which I mentioned showed only the lives of the Big Name Fans. Here, we do actually see how the Harry Potter books impacted regular children around the world.

Rating: 2/5

Harry, A History

Harry, A History
written by Melissa Anelli


For all the fanfare this book has gotten, I'm not entirely sure all of it is deserved. It is a lovely look back at how the Harry Potter fandom evolved and got to where it is today, but there are some issues I do have with the book. One of the things I noticed was that Melissa told the book like it was a novel, a fictional piece, filled with flowery description that I feel has no place in what is essential a memoir of sorts. The intent of the book is to retell the HP fandom, from start to finish. Melissa pulls this off artfully, but if her intent was to reach the general public, it was not accomplished. From start to finish, this book is full of name-dropping and in-jokes that just another Harry Potter fan would never understand. In this book, the BNFs (Big Name Fans) rule supreme. The other side of the fandom is never shown. It took 90 pages for the first mention of MuggleNet, and all future mentions (of which there were very few and only when absolutely necessary) were cold and snobby. The HPANA is mentioned only once, in the acknowledgements, the Lexicon once, nothing about the humongous controversy, and no mention at all of Veritaserum and other sites out there. The truth is, Melissa fails to mention the side that truly appeals to the general fan. I did not feel, after reading this book, like I was part of the phenomenon, although I know I was, because I read the books, I posted in the communities, I had just as much fun theorizing, but nope, I didn't own a fansite or publish JKR's books, so I clearly don't matter. Probably about 90% of the Harry Potter fans would fall in my boat, not Melissa's. Where is our story? It was a good read, I will not say I disliked it, but I just wish Melissa had shown us the entirety of the HP world, instead of her secluded, high-and-mighty part of it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Hi!

hcurrently reading: The Calder Game
want to read: i kind of want to be reading the last PD book...
reading next: probably Harry, a History

I'm jumping on the bandwagon here. Everyone else had one, so I figured I should too. I'll still be posting my book reviews elsewhere, but I thought it'd be nice to have all my reviews in one place, as well as other random book discussions that nobody ever seems to understand ;)

I'm still working on The Calder Game, so I figure I'll start this blog off with a post on Beedle the Bard, which I did finish yesterday!


The Tales of Beedle the Bard
written and illustrated by J.K. Rowling

Obviously nothing near as spectacular as the HP books, I found the fairy tales very interesting, and Albus Dumbledore's commentary even more so. The vague references to book burning/banning make me wonder if Jo was intentionally (...really, there's very little doubt in my mind that she wasn't) mocking the likes of Laura Mallory. If so, good for her ;) I loved Jo's illustrations and I really would like to know why she didn't illustrate the HP books. Did anyone else catch the sign of the deathly hallows on the fountain? I also liked the footnotes, particularly the one explaining more about Nearly Headless Nick. My favorite of the stories was 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune'. I really disliked only one story, 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart', finding it gruesome and I thought it could have had a happier, saner ending. Nevertheless, I really can't wait to read this book to my kids as bedtime stories!

Rating: 4.5 stars