Dear Melissa, This thread is great! I have just spent the last hour reading everyones comments and its exciting to see everyones stories! Reading your book made me feel so nostalgic about the whole thing and it feels nice to be able to look back on it!

Anyway, my discovery of Harry was in summer 1999, when I was 12. My best friend at the time had been given a copy of Philosophers Stone from her Dad who owned a bookstore and insisted that I HAD to read it. I gave it one look and decided it looked silly (for some reason, I had previously been given a book I disliked called Mr Browser and the Space Museum and associated the two). Despite my unwillingness, she persuaded me to read it, though I complained about it throughout the chapters with the Dursleys.

By the time I had got to Diagon Alley she was practically forcing me to stop reading as she wanted to go out. By the next day I was finished. For my birthday I asked for both books 1 and 2 and received neither, so I swapped the books I had been given. Christmas brought me POA and I talked about them all the time, persuading everyone I knew to read them. By the summer, my friends had all read them and we lived and breathed Harry Potter, drawing pictures of how we imagined Hogwarts, our favourite characters, writing letters to each other in magical ink with quills and allsorts, in wait for the next book. The next years were filled with Midnight openings, parties, theories, fanfics and films. I remember the day of OOTP when we all wrote our predictions on napkins and wore cloaks. Finally, at 20, I was waiting for DH to be released.

Reading and rereading Harry Potter always made life better and easier. It made a place for me to escape when everything was changing. When I discovered Leaky and Pottercast, fanfictions and message boards, it was like having a whole new set of friends. Whenever I listen to Pottercast I feel like I am sitting in a room with friends. So when I finally got DH, it felt like everything was ending. I read it with just my boyfriend and tried to read it as slowly as possible (which really did NOT work). I even converted him to reading HP in the months running up to DH. I remember getting on the tube the next day, looking around seeing almost everyone there holding their new books, and smiling at each other like we all had a big secret.

ANYWAY, that was long! Sorry, but this is fun :) Thanks Melissa for your book, I think it is AWESOME!

I was introduced to Potter at the age of seven. As a precocious reader I had already worked my way through all the books my library had to offer, and was growing more and more bored with reading until I was given Philosopher's Stone as a gift. I sat down on the floor and read non-stop, only stopping for meals and sleep. I remained a big fan of the books for years, braving carsickness to read Order of the Phoenix and picking up Half-Blood Prince as early as the bookshop opened on the day that it was released, but I was only introduced to the online fandom in 2006. My friend visited Leaky and Mugglenet every day, and I was totally unconvinced until I went on the sites to check out editorials, fan art, events and all the other things on offer. I was instantly hooked and am to this day. I check Leaky and Mugglenet religiously, listen to four HP related podcasts, have 190 wizard rock songs on my iPod and queued for three hours to get Deathly Hallows at midnight. Your book really summed up how I feel about our fandom: passionate, loyal and often more than a little nuts!

Hi, Melissa -

I sent a comment earlier this evening. It was just for you and your friends working on the site. Please don't post it. Thanks again for your great book.

Harry found me when his first book was tipped into my hands by my mother, who handed me a reader's copy from her tiny neighborhood bookstore. I wasn't terribly impressed, an uncorrected proof that made it from her store through the clerks and on to me usually meant it was utterly forgettable. But that was before adults were reading children's books on the train. And I knew that something was different when she asked for it BACK when I was done.
***
In Weasley fashion I had a son, and then another, and then another. Harry was our entertainment and our comfort. I would listen to Stephen Fry on CD during a 3 a.m. feeding, and then when a new book showed up, my husband and I would read, and then re-read aloud, picking the book apart while rocking one baby, and then later, with the next book, another. These were some of the best dates we've had. I found myself, like Molly, wishing for my own house elf, or maybe just the ability to point at a pot and make it bubble with onion soup or scrub itself
clean. Scourgify.
***
Around this same time, a friend of mine was cheerfully carrying out the thankless task of teaching special education to some incarcerated youth. As a treat, she began to read the books to them. These lost, angry, inattentive boys loved Harry, and I shiver when I think of them; most had parents who had done much worse than locking them in spidery broom cupboards. Boys who had at a tender age dug deep dungeons for themselves must have been in secret awe of a boy who discovered his miserable world was not his home, and his choices were his own to make.

Thanks, Melissa for your book; I've just begun, and I am enjoying it very much.

I got hooked on Harry when someone recomended the book to me when I was in fifth grade. The third book came out a just before my birthday and I was supposed to get it as a birthday present, but I begged my mom to give it to me early because I couldn't wait any longer. I was in sixth grade and I was convinced that since I had a late september birthday I still had a chance to go to hogwarts the next year. I really feel I grew up with Harry, I was always around the same age as Harry either when the book started or ended. I can clearly remember the midnight opening for the last three books and what it felt like, where I was, and what I was thinking opening them for the first time and starting to read them. Reading Melissa's book brought back the same feelings of nervous excitement and anticipation as she described her experiences and as I relived my own during the time the seven books came out. Even reading the end of Harry, A History I had the same sick to my stomach feeling as I had when I finished the seventh book realizing the series was over. I don't know what exactly made me fall in love with the series, but a day doesn't go by without something reminding me of Harry Potter or me making a reference to it.

Ok, I'm late on this but I just finished your book and I had to look for more bits of the interview with JKR. :)

I was in my 3rd year of college and knew other people who had read HP. I refused to read it because I thought it was a trend; it was just trying to copy Lord of the Rings (which I'd just finished and loved). Plus, it was a kid's book. Seriously? When the second movie came out, a friend was bored so we decided to see it. We hadn't read the books or seen the first movie but I remember falling in love with the scenery and the world of HP. That summer I started dating this guy who insisted that I would love the books. OOTP was about to be published so I had about a month to read 1-4. The guy loaned me the first book and I finished it in 2 days. I could've read faster but I was trying to work 2 summer jobs. I went through the entire seies at that point by the next week. We went to the midnight party for OOTP and I tried to talk him into reading out loud on the drive home (we went an hour for the party). Needless to say I got hooked.

I was in third grade when I read the first book. i was friends with a group of boys that - at the time at least - could only be described as nerds. They had all read the books and enjoyed them and I believe(I'm trying to remember six years back) that they suggested the books to me. I was planing on reading them , but the school library system had us visit the library every two days, so i felt like i'd have to take two days to read it. That's a short time for an eight ear old to read a 300 some page book.

One day my dad had me and my sisters watch the first movie. I loved the movie when I first watched it so I decided to - finally - read the books. I remember reading the first book in April in California on vacation before we left we stopped in a small secondhand bookstore and bought the second one. During the summer my parents bought me the third and fourth books (the fifth still wasn't out). I immediately fell in love with Harry. Unfortunately, the length of time that has elapsed has made the timing of this story fuzzy (as in the year i first read the book and when i watched the 2nd movie which i recall being February b/c our theater gets movies late)

When the Potter books first came out I was determined not to read them for the simple reason that they were popular among my friends and I was bound and determined not to be a part of anything that was popular. This was of course silly in the case of books because I love to read and in the fourth or fifth - its been so long I can't remember - I was just discovering how much I loved to read. My little brother Nick and my best friend Emily loved them and refused to tell me anything about them. On the way to school they would say things like, "Poor Squirrel" and later in became, "Bad Squirrel!" I was thinking, "Why the hell is there a squirrel in the book?" Finally I read Nick's hardcover edition and loved it. For my 13th birthday Nick gave me the paperback becuase I prefered paperbacks to hardcovers. I read it again and fell in love with it again.

Years later Nick turned 14 in May 2003 and I told him I would buy him the fifth book for his bithday even though it was coming out a month or so later. A week later he died unexpectedly but I bought the book for him anyway and wrote a birthday note inside the cover. I read the book non-stop when I got it because it was teh only thing I really had to keep my mind off of what was going on around me. I was in such a dark place that I needed to escape from the real world. But what did I find? Harry lost serious, the one person he had that was his last grasp on his parents, his family. He lost Sirius without getting to say goodbye, just I as I had lost Nick without getting to say goodbye. I have never cried as hard as I did when I read that chapter. Never. I felt for Harry and I wanted to tell him it was going to be alright, that he should lean on the people he still had. I knew not everything would be ok and that he would always hurt but I wanted to tell him that, too. I wanted him to know that being sad was ok. Through Harry I saw myself. After I finished the book my older brother Chris read it and we cried together. The two of us are closer than ever although we have always been close.

Thanks to Nick pestering me to read the books I found Harry and because of Nick I was able to be with Harry when he lost a membe of his family. I helped me get through that dak time and has made the fifth book my favorite book of teh whole series.

A customer of mine loaned the audio versions right before the first film was released. I had heard of Harry before that with an article in USA Today reporting on the midnight release of GOBLET OF FIRE. I eventually bought my own and the first one I actually read was ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.

I know this is a really late post, but I started reading other posts and wanted to add my own.

I started reading Harry Potter back in 2002, while studying in the UK. It was two other Americans who convinced me to give the series a try, so I went to the Waterstone's on campus and bought the first book. I figured, even if I hated it, I was sure to find someone to give or sell the book to when I was done with it.

Well, I stayed up way past midnight finishing the entire book (something I hadn't done since I was about 12) and went back to the Waterstone's the next day to buy the remaining 3 books that had been released at that time. After I devoured those over the course of 4 days (GoF was just too long for me to finish in one sitting, which just ate away at me until I was able to read the rest of it).

I absolutely fell in love with everything about the books and the universe of Harry Potter. I had been having a hard time in the UK until then. It was the first time I had ever been homesick and I had no friends from my college there. I was making new ones, but there were other people from other universities that had a close-knit support system with them when they came to Lancaster, so I always felt a bit outside. When I had read the HP books, it gave me common ground with a few others who were in a similar situation and gave us a little something extra to bond over.

I then, of course, had to have the 5th book and wanted to know when it was going to come out. My new American friends just laughed at me in one of those 'welcome to our world, but we've been here longer' tones and said I'd have to suck it up like everyone else and wait.

After that, there was nothing to do but turn to the fansites. I never really contributed much; being so new to the fandom, I figured everything I could have to say had been said already, but I read the news, theories, and discussions on several sites religiously and with the same urgency as when I read the books. I tried to get friends to read the series, with varying degrees of success, but in the end, even those who enjoyed them never got as immersed in the fandom as I have.

The first time I heard of Harry Potter was one night when I was six, and my mother picked them up and started reading them to me. I didn't like them at first - I think I found Uncle Vernon far too scary for my tastes at that time - but Mom read me the first three and I got hooked.

Books had always been my substitute for friends, for the most part, and Harry Potter just increased that. At that time, the first four had been released and I raced through them. There was never one thing that hooked me in (well, perhaps Hermione, with whom I still identify quite a bit), but rather the entire story.

The only book that I was there for with the fandom was the last one, and that's probably the only think I regret most.

(Late post, sorry!)

I know this is a late post but I figured I'd add to my story to the already long list of stories for you to read. :)

I actually didn't start reading the books until after HBP was published. I had, up to that point, been against the whole "HP phenomenon." I was one of those people who claimed the series was just a kids' series, and was tired of seeing, hearing, and reading about them everywhere I went.

Then one day my mom, tired of my complaints, said "Just shut up and read them already!" And so I did...and fell in love. Even though the series is over, I still can't get enough. I have reread each book at least once, and I can't even begin to count how many times I've listened to the audiobooks during my long commutes to work. The books have totally changed my life in a way no other book or series has been or ever will be able to do.

Lucky that I listen to my mom eh? :)

I have since come to learn that my story is very common.
I was first aware of Harry Potter whilst sitting on a lunch break and watching another staff member devouring Goblet of Fire. I did ask what the big deal was and that was that.
It was only during the lead up to the HBP and GoF film that I finally decided to find out exactly what the big deal was.

And like so many doubters before me I was hooked.

I was working at an incredibly boring job as a receptionist at the time and in between staring out the window and transferring calls I would scour the internet for information, quickly discovering fanfiction and the theories which only intensified my interest.
My bosses didn't really like me being on the internet so a co-worker just happened to have the books on his computer (I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I have bought all of them I promise!!) and I was able to disguise the books as emails and read to my hearts content, again and again and again.

I, too, am an older fan. I had originally picked up a paperback version of Sorcerer's Stone when I was vacationing in Alaska, but I had never gotten around to reading it. However, I was having a particularly bad day at work the day that the Sorcerer's Stone movie was released. I left work at noon, and since I didn't really want to go home, I decided to go to the first showing of the movie and see what the "Harry Potter hype" was all about. I so enjoyed the movie that I went straight home, dug out the book, and promptly sat and read the rest of the evening. I fell in love with Harry! I quickly got caught up with reading what books had been released and then became one of the thousands of fans who couldn't wait until the next one came around.

I am another one of the older readers how came to Harry late in the game. I am really not a reader at all, but more of a movie lover. My wife and I saw each of the movies as they came out. With the first 2, there was criticism about how they followed the books too closely, like that was a bad thing. Then we saw PoA, and heard about how much was left out. Well, by then I was hooked on the story, and had a funny feeling that something was going on with Ron and Hermione. I wanted to know more! What came next? What was different in the books? I started checking online sites. Their was so much information out there, but it didn't make any sense without reading the books. So, I did a terrible thing... I found copies online and read them. GASP!

I read they first 5 books on my computer as fast as I could, in just over a week. I was hooked. Near my work was a used bookstore, and I popped in to find 4 of the first 5 books. I bought them immediately, and started re-reading them the proper way, and kept checking the bookstore for GoF. Alas, it wasn't in when I completed PoA, so ran out to find a copy, and dove into it. I think I must have read those first 5 books 3 times waiting for HBP to arrive. I took part in online discussions, got my head bit off on the Mugglenet shipping forums, and opted to avoid it in the future.

When I got into podcasting (listening, not recording), I sought out Harry Potter podcasts. Their wasn't much their. I had become a regular visitor to Leaky and Mugglenet. After Mugglecast came out, I remembered thinking, "Why came the grownups at Leaky record a podcast?" My wish was granted a few weeks later, and I have been a happy listener ever since.

Thanks for all you do Melissa! Your hard work and dedication has made being a Potter fan all the more enjoyable.

Steve

Since I was 14 years old (1994) I spent every summer working at my aunt's bookstore. It was a very small bookstore and it catered mainly to those seeking books for the many private school in my country. I grew to love books, to read the classics. I was seduced by the smell of ink and paper, I have been a book addict since.

In the Summer of 2000, I will never forget, I met a little girl who came with her Mom to our bookstore looking for some of the books on her list. I noticed that she couldn't have been more than 8 years old and she was carrying this enormous, very colorful book. I was very surprised, as this book was almost as big as the girl's head, it seemed to have over 700 pages and not in her native tongue (I come from a Spanish-speaking country). She was halfway through, and I just couldn't resist asking who this Harry Potter fellow was. She let me know that he was an orphan wizard, who had two very good friends and who was persecuted by this bad guy, Lord Voldemort. I asked the little girl when had she gotten the book, to which she proudly replied, "yesterday". This 8-year-old girl had read half of the book in 24 hrs for FUN! I knew there had to be something great about it if a little girl was spending her summer break reading this massive book. That same afternoon, when I was driving to my house, I stopped at a bigger bookstore and bought the first 3 books. I read the "Sorcerer's Stone" that same night and was caught up by its spell.

I graduated College in 2002 and parted to graduate school, books in tow. The night "Order of the Phoenix" came out I was at a Dixie Chicks concert and ordered my copy along with my roommate's and best friend's copies through Amazon. When we came back home at 2 AM, eager to read the copies we thought were at our door, we were horrified to see a "pink slip" from the post office letting us know they had our books! We went to sleep that early Sunday morning. After a few hours of sleep, my friends and I, scoured, in vain, every bookstore trying to get copies. We went to get some food and low and behold, they had the book at our local Stop and Shop! We were fed and started reading, knowing full well that I will be returning 3 copies the next day!

By the release of Half-Blood Prince, my fascination had escalated to such heights that without even a second thought I had branded myself with indelible ink: I am the proud wearer of a Dark Mark on my left arm. Graduate School had been a greater challenge than I had expected and I felt a Dark Mark then and a Phoenix after I was done would balance me out. Anyhow, I went to the book release and took pictures with every single "death eater" there, as rumor of my very real tattoo swept the bookstore. To this day, I laugh every time I go that particular store when I remember random people bowing and following me around.

When Deathly Hallows released in 2007, I was in the midst of writing my Doctoral Dissertation. My husband, his little brother, my best friend and I waited for 12 hrs outside the bookstore and were the first ones to receive our copies. I was elated and read all through the night until I finished my copy. I cried my eyes out for Dobby and smiled with pride alongside Dumbledore. It was bittersweet, as I finally knew the end of the story but also knew that I wouldn't be reading anything else about my beloved trio.

Now, I have a real job, a house, and expecting my first born. I walk into my baby's room and all I can think off is the time I will spend reading those stories to him or her, hoping they will fill them with joy and wonder as they did Mom and Dad. Thank you, Jo for giving me the opportunity of sharing your wonderful magical world!

Well, I sat down at my computer this evening with the intention of checking my email and then turning off my computer by 10:30. But I found this website because I was trying to find clips of Daniel Radcliffe on Inside the Actor's Studio, and then one thing lead to another... I found a link on Leaky and then this page, and well, I've been sitting here reading people's stories. Alas, I gave up at about October 29th... There are simply too many to read all of them, although I actually feel inspired to do so. I have to say, my particular favorite is the one who thought Harry Potter was Peter Rabbit. As long as you can laugh at yourself... It's a good story. One of the things that I love about this is that it is a story that has given us stories to tell, to share, and we all want to talk about it, we're all willing, even inspired to ramble about it, and stories have power -- so I won't apologize for the length of this post, rather preface it with a note that it will probably be another long one.

Harry came to me in the form of a mysterious christmas present from a colleague of my mother's at work, who I knew only a little. I was 8, I believe it was the year the book came out in the US (1997, it would have been). I'd never heard of it. And that's probably a good thing, because I would have been one of those, "Ew, it's popular, take it away!" types if I'd discovered it any other way. But this way my pride remains intact (at least on that front). I remember unwrapping it by the tree in the late December light and thinking, "What is this?" I may have been a little rude about it. But mum (I've called her mum helplessly because of Mrs. Weasley. I can't call her "mom" anymore unless I'm annoyed.) talked me around a bit and convinced me I should at least give it a try, and anyway the cover intrigued me enough to pick it up. I wanted to know what everything had to do with everything else. The man in the robes with the silver glasses was most interesting. Anyway, I've always been a fast reader, and I probably finished it by bedtime. I identified strongly with Harry. His uncle reminded (and still reminds me) in ways of my mother's partner, who treated (treats) me at times with a similar type of paranoia masked by anger, and Harry's lack of close friends was familiar. I was bullied extensively in school (largely because I was annoying and smart and Hermione-ish, but also very sensitive and cried at anything), and usually had only one friend at a time. I was very familiar with a feeling of being "not normal." It was a bit like a lifeline. "Hold on. There are better people out there." I was too young, though, to really understand what it all would mean. To me, to my life and to the rest of the world.
I don't remember much else of the early years. I devoured Chamber of Secrets and liked it as well as the one before, especially when Harry Stands up to Lucius. I remember hearing kids in my class discussing the third book. I didn't believe them when they said it was called The Prisoner of Azkaban. I thought it sounded like one of the mystery/thriller novels that grownups read about political things in the middle east or whatever. It didn't sound fun, and it didn't sound like Harry Potter. But once I'd been proved wrong, I was on it. The way that particular story loops back on itself so neatly has always been pleasing to me, and I am still mad about the third movie which completely destroyed it-- the Dementors were all wrong and floaty, Hermione was a ditz and far too pretty ("oh is that how my hair looks from the back?"*gag*), Sirius looked and acted nothing like my Sirius... I have reread PoA so many times that the binding is beginning to crack. I have doodled little extra illustrations all over the inside.
At the GoF midnight release party at our local store I remember showing up and being disappointed when I hadn't thought to dress up and the other kids had. I don't actually remember being so jealous in my life of anything else, except that those kids were wearing bathrobes and carrying sticks and I was just wearing clothing. It seems like such a long time ago... All my real first impressions are lost, as if in the rereading of those first four books they became so much a part of me that I forgot about what I was without them. And then the Fifth book. I was in middle school, still a social outcast, though less of a misfit, and this time I certainly didn't fail to dress up. The line went all the way out of our local mall and around the parking lot. I put on a ramshackle outfit, filled a bag with books and actually managed to get it to split and fall all over the bookstore floor [actually it was an accident, but oh well]. I also had the satisfaction of hearing some girls behind me say, "Oh, I wish I had dressed up too." I read it in approximately a night and a day. I remember the next day was the local Garden Tour which I was supposed to help out with, but I ended up simply wandering about with my nose in the book (on no sleep) until I'd finished it. Oddly, Sirius' death didn't upset me in particular. I read right through. I think I was just in shock. Harry's argument with Dumbledore was what really got me. Umbridge was a particularly favorite outrage. I had a lot of arguments with my classmates and cousins who hated that book because Harry was "so annoying" and I remember saying, "It wouldn't make any sense if he didn't start yelling. Look what he's been through!" At the time I was dealing with a best friend with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who treated me like dung one day and like sunshine the next. The whole ordeal was very trying and I had only just come out of a deep funk when OotP came out. I've spent a good deal of time on people's cases for not reading HBP and DH because they didn't like Harry in OotP.
By the time HBP came around, I was sixteen and in high school, and much better settled. I had a friend who forced me to read a very long fanfic which I only very vaguely recall which involved Harry and Draco accidentally switching bodies and many quotes worked in from Blackadder and other sources. I believe it has since been taken down. Anyway, by this point I was much more active on the internet, and had discovered the fandom and JKR.com, and I stayed up late that night with a much better perspective on exactly how huge this thing had gotten, though I'm sure I still can't fathom it. But I stood in line with my father watching "Hagrid" drive in on a motorbike with a pile of books, discussing who I thought the Half Blood Prince was with a complete stranger behind me (who thought it was Hagrid) (I thought it was a new person). We pulled back into the driveway and I read the first chapter out loud to dad, who had to work and therefore couldn't read with me, though he wanted to. So I huddled at the top of the stairs listening to him typing (he was a finishing his own book) and I got so excited when Harry and Dumbledore talked in the spidery broom shed that I called out and dad came out of his office and I had to convince him not to let me spoil him. seven hours later, having eaten a chocolate bar, I lay on the couch feeling the sunrise and traveling back to Hogwarts with a sick Dumbledore and a frightened Harry. When I turned the page and saw the dark mark over Hogwarts I began to shake and cry. I felt as though I'd seen it over my own house. I grieved for about two hours after I'd closed the book, feeling spun about and exhilarated and determined and excited. Then I absolutely devoured the Leaky/Mugglenet interview with JKR. I still have it printed out in a folder on my desk. It was my mother's partner, who I easily compare to Vernon Dursley, who of all people got the idea into my head that Snape was not evil, that he and Dumbledore had planned it all, and this stuck with me. And as I grew up a great deal, and watched the fandom explode with analysis and theories, and I listened to podcasts to keep me company during the long, lonely rural summers, I had a swelling sense of movement, of how enormous and important this story had become to all of us, and I looked to the seventh book with anticipation and some concern that it wouldn't be what I hoped. As I prepared to begin my senior year of high school, to turn eighteen (only three days after the 7th book was to be released) and to go off on a whirlwind college tour, I set to rereading the entire series out loud with my father. We managed it somehow or other, and found ourselves with an audience as we read out loud on a ferry boat. The midnight party itself, while it was enormous, hardly phased me. I dressed as Rowena Ravenclaw, little knowing her significance. I wore a long blue skirt and a voluminous black cape, scarves, trinkets, and I carried a flute cleaner wand. I didn't really know anybody there, and so picked up my book and dashed home, where I hurled myself onto the couch, heart beating, still in full costume, and stayed there until, mind spinning, dizzy, hungry and disoriented I snapped the book shut eight hours after I'd begun. Mum had already come downstairs and begun to cook a breakfast, but I had paid her no heed. It was as if I were asleep. I couldn't speak or move until the book was done. I sat silently pouring saltwater all over the page, gasping, laughing bouncing. It must have looked rather funny. At the end, I walked outside into the misty summer morning and stood barefoot on the deck, relishing the dewdrops under my feet and breathing deeply as if just stepping into the world for the first time. I'm sure I laughed for no reason. But I was struck by the overwhelming simplicity of the first thought... it's over. And the second, surprising one: and I'm ok with that. I'm ready. I have this story now. And I will be an adult in three days. And I can step into the world and start a new phase of my life. Harry came to me at the beginning, and he's been here every since. I feel very much a sense of this being part of my coming of age like nothing else could have been. Later, I would read Harry Potter aloud to my mom as we drove from New England to Indiana looking at colleges, and stop on the way at a live Mugglecast where I said something incidental and academic and tried to keep mum's ears from getting spoiled (and failed). And now, over a year later, having withdrawn from the internet, being not quite so excited about the movies in general, I find myself accidentally renewed again. Harry Potter has been for me about stories, about storytelling and wondering and finding new parts of myself, feeling a part of something, staying up past my bed time, wearing ridiculous clothing, having partially imaginary friends, determination to see the best in other people and to stand up for what I believe is right, willingness to listen to what others think, hope that we can overcome the challenges we face, and not feeling alone in any of this. We the generation of Potter, if we stand united, will move and shake in so many ways, because we share a common story, a common experience.

This website, the eloquent and intelligent musings and insight you, Melissa, have provided, and the stories you have given houseroom here have gotten me excited again. I didn't even know you were writing a book, but I shall certainly be going off to purchase it, Christmas notwithstanding. Thank you!

Goodness, I said this might be long, but... I didn't realize how long long is... Still, I shan't apologize. I hope my story may be of some interest to the reader as all these others have been to me.

I started Sorceror's Stone shortly after it was published in the States, when I was around 8 years old. As loathe as I am to admit it now, I hated it. I would read Harry Potter every night before going to bed, and though I liked the first part well enough, some parts were pretty scary. But when the trio finally made their decision to go through the trapdoor, I had to put the book down. I was very similar to Hermione, when she exclaims how the trio could have been "killed - or worse, expelled." I hated getting in trouble more than anything as a kid; even the softest reprimand from a teacher could bring me to tears. I was afraid that Harry would die (irrationally, since at least one subsequent book had already been published), but moreso I was terrified that they would be caught by the teachers and punished, and that was something I couldn't bear to read. So I quit the book cold-turkey, something I had never done before in my life, and I lived a few happy, Potter-free years while the series gained immense popularity around me. Then came 2001 and the first movie. Although ten years old by now and not quite as easy to scare, I had no interest in seeing it, until our teacher handed us an issue of National Geographic for Kids. Among the articles we had to read for class was a piece about the new movie that included an interview with Dan, mostly talking about how the Quidditch scenes were filmed. I don't know what it was, but something about that article really excited me, made me feel like the movie was going to be great. So I saw it when it came out, and I still remember the wonder I felt while watching it. By that point my memory of the book was murky, I only had a few vague recollections of the plot. Seeing the movie was a blast from the past in the most literal way I have ever experienced: words, phrases, and images from the books jumped out at me from corners of my mind that I didn't know existed, as I watched the book being brought to life in front of me. This time, when the trio once again decided to go through the trapdoor, I was on the edge of my seat, ready to know what happened, what I had been missing all this time. I still remember the shock I felt when it not Quirrel, not Snape, who was the culprit all along, the triumph when the trio all survived, and the irony when, after all my worries, they didn't even get in trouble. As soon as I got home from the theatre, I grabbed my copy of Sorceror's Stone from where it had been gathering dust on the shelf, and from that point onward, I was hooked.

I'd love to say that I like many other's got into Harry Potter because of the wonderful and essential to every child's school life experience of reading hour; where our teacher sat us down on the carpet and we sat enraptured as she read us the tale in the soft and soothing voice that all primary school teachers have in your head. Unfortunatly I'd been ill the first week that our year 5 teacher began to read Harry Potter and the Philsopher's Stone and so when I arrived back in week 2 I was utterly lost as to what was going on. I arrived into the story somewhere in the middle of the scene in Olivander's which throughly confused me and to make matter's worse it was a supply teacher doing the reading this week-as our normal teacher was off sick--I sinserly hoped that my illness of the previous week had nothing to do with that--and to our utter horror she had the most boring reading voice known to man--so I'm very sorry to say that this first experience greatly put me off the series for a while. However about a year or so later my aunt and uncle bought me Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Askaban for Christmas upon the assumption that I was a child of the right age and so must have read the first book (they themselves were avid readers of ther series and have a lot to answer for regarding the obsession gained by both myself and my cousin and best friend Angie). So not being a stranger to reading books compleatly out of series order--I also later read half of The Amber Spyglass before I twigged that there must have been some books previous to this-- I started with Prisoner of Askaban because I liked the cover better---ah the ficclness of young children--and devoured it within a couple of hours. I then decided that perhaps I should read the first book before I preceeded to the 2nd so I promptly went and bought a copy from the bookshop in town that very afternoon with my Christmas money-which leaves me still mystified as to how I appear to have a 1st edition--not of course a first print run but non the less its odd given that my friends who bought the book about the same time all had second editions. By the end of the day I have read the fist and second books for the first time and having naturally spotted the fact the Sirius had been mentioned in the very 1st book had avidly devoured the 3rd once more with the same feeling of "its all conected" that you described feeling in your book---despritly searching for clues. And thus my love of Potter begun--so nearly lost by a poor incomplete rendition and luckily saved by and assumtion made by my aunt and uncle to whom I am eternally gratefully.

Melissa, first off, I would like to say that I've read Harry, A History, and I'm telling everyone I know about it, Potter fan or not.

Anyway, I only began to read Harry Potter this summer. What lead me to it? Well.... I'm 12 right now, and I've been hearing side comments about HP all my life. The example I most remember happened when I was in first grade. I had seen the trailer for Sorcerer's Stone, over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again, without knowing what it was for (besides obviously promoting a movie)! (To this day, I still have that vivid image of Ron and Harry on the Hogwarts Express, when Ron says {and I'm paraphrasing madly}"So you've really got it? The - the scar?" And most especially what he says after Harry lifts up his hair to show him his scar 'Wicked'.) It was just those two words 'Harry Potter'.

And then, July 21. Things were still the same; I heard side comments without really knowing what they were about, but was more than that now, it was Deathly Hallows. Before, what I heard might have been whispers, but now they were buzzings. I remember being in my dad's car one day (driving over a river)when out of nowhere, NPR starts talking about DH and JKRowing. Then, only a few days afterwards, the radio host on my favorite station starts talking about (again) DH, the release date, and how much kids (it was a sort of a news story, and 'kids' were their focus) wanted to go.
But amazingly, I was still pretty ignorant. The most that I had learned, was that it was a book series and that Harry might die.

That was in fifth grade, then it was sixth grade. Some classmates had begun saying how much they liked the series after a good chunk of the year went by, and then my best friend began reading it too. (Very reluctantly, and because her brother and our teacher had insisted.) So she began. In fact, she was almost always reading under her desk. (Luckly, out of the teacher's eye sight.) After some time, she began recommending it to me.

So the year went by, and then summer vacation began. I told myself that I would read the books. Why? I think it had to do with the fact that I had heard murmurings all my life, and people (friends, classmates)had finally started talking about it with me, not to mention that it had 'a lot of fans' and made headline news quite often. (And to top it off, I had my BFF's recommendation.)So I went to my public library and checked it out. When I got home I put it aside. To tell the truth, I was a bit afraid of reading it; I haden't heard anything about banned books, or Laura Mallory, but I was still scared. Simply because it was something totally new to me unlike anything I had ever heard of, and the large fan base it had (weird, I know). So I told myself 'Just read one chapter. Just one; try it, you never know what it might be like.' So I did. And I fell for it. Just reading that first line: 'Mr. and Mrs. Durley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much' washed away any fears I had, and had mehooked.

So here I am now, I've read all the books, read Harry, A History, and now I'm trying to catch up with what I've missed all these years (however remotely.)

I apologize for rambling so much, but it feels good to finally let it out. :) (Lol, what I've been doing since then, is another complete story.)

Hi Melissa,

as everyone else is posting comments here, here's mine!

I had heard of Harry Potter for the first time around 2000, and actually got a translated copy of the "Philosopher's Stone" (in Italian), and skimmed through it, but I didn't really get hooked. Maybe it was the bad translation, I don't know, but it didn't really touch a string. Until the first movie came out. I had moved to a different country by then, I had heard of the hype surrounding Book 4 when it came out, and I went to see the movie out of curiosity for the whole HP phenomenon. I liked the movie a lot and decided I would give the books another go, so I bought the first 4 in the Bloomsbury edition. Well that did it for me. Love at first sight! I haven't been able to put them down since. Literally: I always have one of the HP books by my bed, no matter what else I am reading.
I kept following the movies, but also exploring the Internet for theories, news and what else. MuggleNet was good at the beginning, but disappointed me in a couple of occasions, so I went looking for another "web home" for my Potter addiction. That's when I discovered Leaky. And thank you, thank you, thank you all for such good work over the years: your love and dedication to the books and the author are exemplary. I don't know how I would have survived in the wait for Book 7 if it wasn't for PotterCast. I don't have that many friends I can discuss all matters Potter with, and listening to you was a lifesaver, something to look forward to every week.

Since, I fell for the books, I started waiting for new releases with greater and greater excitement. After waiting for years for OotP to come out, I discovered that the release would be during the weekend of a friend's wedding in the US, a wedding held in the middle of nowhere! Not a bookstore in sight! It's an awful thing, but I thought of the book for the whole weekend, and the moment I got to the airport to start my journey home to Europe, I bought the book immediately and read it in one go during my 7-hour flight. Oh how I cried. SIRIUS! The other passengers must have thought I was mad...
Fortunately, I haven't missed the release parties for the other 2 books, including a wonderful night for Deathly Hallows, proudly wearing my Tonks outfit. The whole release week in July 2007 was just overwhelming.

What now? Well, I'm 33 years old and a Potterhead to boot. I'm enjoying your book very much Melissa, and will recommend it far and wide. I'm also preparing a talk on the role of ICTs in the Harry Potter fandom for my New Media students. They'll probably think I am mad, and so let them.

1999, I was in Highschool, my friend's father was reading book 1. Why is there such a craze over this book series? Isn't for kids? Why were adults reading that? My sister had purchased the first two books, and out of curiousity I read the first chapter of the first book while hiding (from family) in her room one day. I saw the first movie, I thought the movie was brilliant. It reminded me of the Worst Witch, a movie I had loved when I was a kid.

In August of 2002 I had just gotten my first apartment I was in my Junior year of College. I borrowed the first two books from my sister so I could read them before school started. Two weeks later I was home and asking my mother to take me to Walmart, I needed the third book. We drove to Walmart at 8:30pm and had little time before it closed (yes the Walmart closed, no Super or even a 24 hour Walmart in my home town) We bought the boxed set of paper backs so I could have all four. I went back to school, read in the back of classes, and texted my sister about it, she wanted to borrow my copy after I finished. I had to read the fourth book, but with so much homework! I had a friend that would come over and read outloud to me so I could do my homework and still get my Harry Potter fix at the same time. I loved Mad-eye, just loved him! She would say, "oh just wait"! When I finished the fourth book a month after I started reading the first, I was desperate to know when the 5th book was coming. I got online and started trying to find any scrap any clue any hint what was coming next.

That is how I found the Leaky, and Jo's website. I checked them regularly. I had to know.
Of course Hermione and Ron would end up together it was so obvious! I really hoped Harry and Ginny would get together, if he survived the books. I read other books in the time between books, going back to an old favorite, the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, and reading Manga. In the summer of 2003 when book 5 came out while my friends were at Barnes and Noble I slipped into walmart and was at my apartment, less than 30min after midnight, with my fiance each a seperate end of the couch reading the book. I was under the weather and taking summer classes, so I skipped school and stayed home so I could finish the book, it took me three days to read. I hated umbridge! There wasn't a way to discribe feelings I had toward this imaginary woman. And Sirius! Why oh I cried, I was so mad (not really) at Jo for a little while, WHY SIRIUS! My favorite!!!!
Then it was get on Leaky to see how everyone was reacting, I never really posted on the message boards, and I might comment on articles but I mostly just read what other people were posting. Always Snape love him or hate him he was a hot topic. Now it was time to wait for book six, I read and re-read the series trying to get clues.

The summer book six came out I had been married for a year, and I was doing my internship and was graduating finally! My hsuband and I again went to Walmart, bought two books, because we both wanted to read the book and didn't want to have to take turns. We live right next to the walmart literally so we were home in a flash and texted our friends, "we have the book allready! :P" While they were still at Barnes and Noble, I know they went for the experience, but I just wanted my hands on that book!

I read and read and then I got on Leaky, I waited desperately for Melissa's interview of Jo, to be posted! I read, and triumphed in my guesses that she thought of too. Again what is Snape who is Snape? Good/Evil/both? I thought he was both, not a double agent, just Evil but in it for himself, so something had to have happened that made switching sides worth it to him. Though sometimes I think my love of Alan Rickman might have gotten in the way, would I have thought that he could possibly have some good in him if Alan Rickman didn't play him in the movies? December 2005 came and I didn't have a job because of the economy the company I was working for had to let me go. Every time I heard something I would tell my friends, did you know this, have you heard this, they really didn't seem to care, but they went to midnight parties, shouldn't they care? I gave up letting them know about articles, and occasionally one would send me an email with an article from MSNBC or AOL or somewhere, and I would be like yeah I know, I read Leaky. So they stopped sending me things because I knew about them a week prior to the article hitting mainstream news thanks to Leaky.

I was pretty desperate to talk to people about Potter though. I was playing housewife, on my husband's salary and help from my parents. I was getting the conversation of how many resume's did you send out, have you heard anything, did you try calling them again? It was bad enough that I was out of work without my family reminding me everyday that I didn't have a job, though it was meant as encouragement it made me feel like a failure. There was always Harry to turn to, to re-read, and to check Leaky, to read the articles and comments from people sharing an interest in Harry with online friends that didn't know I was there reading with them, they couldn't tell me I needed to be looking harder for a job.

While waiting one book 7 I also dove into the English classics of Jane Austen I love her books, I had started reading them after seeing Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility, I used to have Austen parties with my highschool friends. We would read and watch movies and it was our own little Jane Austen Society. Something that I truely missed. I had Friends that liked Harry Potter and who went to see the movies but then they were done. They brought up Harry at a party after the publication of the 7th book was announced. They were discussing what would happen, I put out my view, but they were more interested in discussing what they would do if they were writing it, my friends being writers themselves thought there was a certain way to go about it and they all agreed, I was horrified by their thoughts, "Ginny must die" I thought why must Ginny die? There is no need for her to die? She CAN'T kill Ginny, she musn't kill her! I finally got work in Spring 2007, the book came out that summer.

A week before the book came out I swore off the internet mostly, and stayed away from Leaky. I didn't want any spoilers, though I knew that Leaky was against them, just in case there was an issue I stayed away. We had moved out of the city, we couldn't just walk into Walmart to get the book, it was the only option in town or the next. We had gotten to walmart early so we could get the things we needed and then grab the book on the way to the checkouts, but there was a line that formed before midnight. We agreed on only one book this time, though when it was our turn to pick up a book my husband grabbed one too. We get home and read as late as we could, we both had to be at work early on Saturday.

I didn't bring the book with me (though one other person at work hid the book and read on breaks or when no one was looking) I wanted to read the book in private and I didn't want it to be over quickly. I also didn't want to get in trouble for reading or forgetting the time and coming back from break late.

There were times when I was reading book 7 when I would giggly and shout things like "I knew it" and my husband would ask me what page I was on, and then tell me to be quite. As soon as I finished my husband could tell it was favorable or I would have been mad. I had told him that before we purchased the book that if she kills Harry I will never read the books again, then I gave in, okay I will never read book 7 again I will pretend that it didn't exist and just be happy with the other 6. So when I wasn't upset he knew that Harry didn't die, or at least that he lived.

I got back to leaky as soon as I could, my husband and my sister were not finished with the book yet, it had been several days since the book was released, almost two weeks without the internet and without Leaky. I got online to check Leaky and to check Jo's website. There were still questions I felt that needed to be answered and I wanted to know if other people knew them, if Jo was going to post them on her website, if I had missed something in an interview.

Now September 2008, we have moved back to civilization, and I am back without work (apparently places where no one wants to live there are jobs a plenty but in the big city, no jobs). I am playing housewife agian. (And forgetting to start cooking super because I am on here...oops) I have Harry a History and I am reading it at a snails pace. I am also reading book one over again and just read a few pages at a time before bed. I am in no hurry to be done.

I was never a great reader, I had older siblings that read and would tell me stories, Narnia and Lord of the Rings, I knew the stories I didn't have to read. Even fairy tells and Greek Mythology. When I was in highschool it took me a year to get through Dracula (I love Dracula!), and when I was 18 and first in college two months to read Pride and Prejudice. I was 20 years old when I started reading the Harry Potter books. It has made reading easier for me. Books aren't as intimidating as they used to be. I am still horrible at spelling, but I can read more easily. Its not scary or frustrating. Its fun and exciting, not that it wasn't before its just some how different, its easier, and I read all the time now and not just Harry, I read other books, I have branched out so much more, but I still make time for Harry.
Horridly long I know.

So I have loved Harry Potter since I was 6, which was 9 years ago. I don't really remember the details about how I started reading them, but I had the books, I just learned how to read, and I read SS/PS. I immediately fell in love with it. At that point, CoS and PoA were out, so I read them right after, or soon after. Because I was 7 at the time when GoF came out, and popular belief was that it was a very scary book, my parents didn't buy it for me. The bought it for my older sister, who was 10 at that time, and she got it while she was at sleep away camp. When she came home she had finished the book, and I stole it from her and read it. At this point, I loved the books, but there was still this feeling that this series wasn't mine, and I was not as into it as I am now. That all changed in 2003 when OoP came out. When I got the book, I just felt this sense that Harry Potter is where I belonged, or at least that I belonged with the books. From then on I have been in love with the books, and I never see that changing, especially because everyday day, and every time I read them or see the movies, or listen to a PotterCast, or Wizard Rock, I love it more.

I got into Harry Potter when I was in fourth grade in 1999. My teacher gave out those Scholastic catalogs and stressed that we would love this new book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Since I was easily persuaded, I went to my mom that night and said my teacher told us we HAD to read this book so could she buy it. The class put in its orders and a couple weeks later she handed out about twenty copies of the book and let us started reading. I immediately fell in love with the book; I got the next two books in hardback for my birthday that December. I was able to read the fourth book in a few days, the summer it came out. I was obsessed from the beginning and despite being teased for constantly reading the books, my love was never diminished.

I remember when the movies were coming out and I had no school the day the first film came out but had to wait around all day until seven o'clock cause I was going with about fifteen people. Eventually, I saw the first film seven times, the second (8), third (10), fourth (7), and the fifth (9). I have about fifteen-ish Harry Potter posters in my room and several DVD displays. I went to the fourth movie display and almost got Rupert Grint's and Robert Pattinson's autographs but security made them move (Rupert Grint actually took my pen to start signing when he was moved). I went to the Live Pottercast/Mugglecast at B&N that night and it was so great to be with the fans and take part in the event. If you listen, my brother is the one who asks about the "Wangoballwime?" scene.

When the fifth book came out, I finished in twenty-four hours. The fifth book midnight release was the first party I attended and I'll never forget it. The sixth book I was able to read in twelve hours. The most memorable release for me though, was The Deathly Hallows. I got in line outside of a Barnes & Noble at 8:24 a.m. I was first in line with my brother and friend. We set up camp with an umbrella to block the sun, blankets, drinks, bought a pizza, and played games. I was interviewed for two newspapers and like four people took my picture but I never saw anything in the news (boo.) I was slightly mad that I couldn't be first in line to get my book because they were raffling the first place in line. At about eleven-thirty p.m., they did the raffle and MY number was called. The employee shouted into the microphone "It turns out that our winner was actually the person who was first in line this morning at eight in the morning!" It was certainly an amazing moment and all my friends shouted with excitement and I was in a daze, somewhat glued to the spot with my heart pounding. Later I spent the night reading with my two best friends and I finished that day. I remember when I read about Hedwig and looked up and saw my stuffed Hedwig and I yelped; it took my friends about forty-five minutes to catch up to that part. Last night, I reread parts of the book and I could pick out my tear-stained pages of when Dobby died and Harry was walking through the forest.

Harry Potter has been one of the most important things in my life because he has gotten me through a lot and has made me so happy; reading Harry, A History has just made it so clear that Harry isn't going anywhere because the fans aren't going anywhere.

My fifteen minutes in the fandom was in this CBBC article. :) http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/club/your_reports/newsid_1859000/1859778.stm

How I was introduced to Harry. (A history?)

I was visiting with some cousins (this was around the year 2000, I think). One of them was nine at the time, and a voracious reader. She came bounding up to me and asked if I had read the Harry Potter series. Horrified that my answer was no, she demanded to know why not. I mumbled something about how I thought they were just for little kids. Well, this "little kid" gave me a harrumph and a look that very clearly said, "This is not over," then walked off to do something else.

That night, as I was getting ready for sleep, I noticed that her copy of Book 1 had been placed on my bedspreads. I sighed, and picked it up to glance through it so I could tell her I had looked at it.

Three hours later, of course, I had become completely engrossed in the story. The next time I visited her, I had caught up with Books 1-4, and was eagerly awaiting Book 5 with her and the rest of the world.

The end. :)

I was six years old when my teacher decided to read a book called Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone to the class. Naturally, I wanted to read it as soon as possible: I loved it. I was the school bookworm, and all the teachers knew about my love of books. In class, we'd read up to Chapter 5. I just had to read more and more and more. I begged my dad to buy my PS, and he did. That was one of the first books I bought. The school library catered for everything else. ;)

I finished the book in just under a week. Remember, I was 6. Another teacher had just found out about me reading Harry Potter, and we had a lengthy conversation about it, which resulted in her lending me her copies of CS and PoA. I read them both in two months, and managed to steal GoF from the school library so I could read it over the summer. I was in heaven. I eagerly anticipated the arrival of OotP, and had to fight to control myself.

The night before HBP was released, I was watching the news. Reports had come in of fans queueing up outside Waterstone's to get the book. I turned to my dad and did my best little-girl-lost impression. It didn't work. I got the book, read it, loved it. I finished it within two days, beating all the other girls in my class (none of the boys had brought it. Or, if they had been reading it, none of them brought it into school) and impressing my teacher. But that's not important. XD I cried my heart out at Dumbledore's funeral. He'd been a hero for me.

The next two years were hard. I re-read all the books again. I'd made it a regular thing to read the book when I am that age. For example, I read PS again when I was eleven.. CS when I was twelve.. Of course I re-read all the other books too, but I made it a point to read those particular ones in that year.

I was twelve when DH came out. Again, the night before I'd heard of queues outside bookshops and this time I insisted I HAD to be there. No such luck. The pre-release hype had been getting to me almost nine months before the actual release. I'd been reading Book 7 fanfiction over and over again. I'd made my own theories on the book, and the only person I had to discuss with was my younger cousin. I'd converted him, which I feel was a success. He hated reading, so when he watched the movies, I lent him my copy of PS. He was hooked. But still he wasn't as into it as I was.

I didn't want to sleep that night. I counted down the minutes 'til midnight and wished I was at the release, buying my book. My English teacher had already confirmed she would camp outside the book store, be the first in, and if there was only one copy left and someone else took it, she was prepared to rugby tackle that person. I fervently told her I'd be right by her side.

Well, I woke up amazingly early the next morning, kicked my dad out of his bed and handed him the car keys. He drove me to Asda, the supermarket, where I bought four copies - one for myself, three for my cousins (Yeah, the oldest two are girls and they were avid readers of the series too, under my counsel of course ;) )and while my dad paid, I had my nose buried in the book. I remember an old couple walking past me and commenting, "Can't get enough of Harry Potter." I was too busy to think of a witty comment back. I refused to get out of the car when we dropped by at my cousin's house, and I spent the rest of the day engrossed in the book. My dad had convinced my mum to let me off chores for the day, for which I am eternally thankful. I finished the book exactly twenty-four hours after I began. And I went on a non-stop Harry Potter spree for about 3 months.

The book was heartbreaking, a tear-jerker.. and beautiful.
Yeah, I should shut up.

I'm still waiting for my dad to come round about your book, Melissa. I sincerely hope he'll let me buy it.

Melissa,

This is something I wrote for a friend's website that posts YA book reviews. Right before the Book 7 release, she asked us to share some thoughts about what the series has meant to us, and this is what I came up with. I recently reposted it on my personal blog, along with my thoughts on your book. Hope you enjoy.

Love at Third Sight: or How Harry Potter Made Me Late to My Brother’s Wedding Reception

My first encounter with Harry Potter came by way of the Rosie O’Donnell show in 1999. I was the mother of a 13 month old girly, and five months pregnant with girly #2. Still in the throes of terrible morning sickness, I didn’t move off the sofa all that often. I read a lot of books and watched a lot of TV. During this time, having been inspired by Oprah, Rosie launched her own “book club”, this one being aimed at children. On this fateful day, (the date of which escapes me, because, let’s face it- it was eight years ago and I was pregnant! It’s a miracle I remember anything at all!) Rosie’s guest was a British author named J.K. Rowling, and she was talking about her latest book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.

Well, that’s not exactly the truth. I was impressed with J.K. Rowling. Her life story was inspirational- a single mother, living on welfare, writing out her story on bits of napkins and paper in a coffee shop, all while her small daughter napped in the pram.

I wasn’t impressed by anything else. I’m the first to admit it; I often will judge a book by its cover. As Rosie held up the American hardback edition with Mary Grand Pre’s artwork on the cover, all I could think was, “Urgh!”. Nothing about it appealed to me. Not the drawing, not the colors, nothing. That was the first strike.

The next strike was that the book was being promoted as ‘Children’s Fantasy’. I’ve never considered myself a fan of the fantasy genre, and in my mind, a book about a boy wizard certainly fell into the category. Strike three was that I was the mother of a toddler and pregnant. I didn’t get out a lot. Even if I had been desperate to read the book, it would have taken time and effort to track it down, and I just didn’t care that much.

My next encounter with Harry came about nine months later. My husband and I had moved in with my parents and younger siblings. I was now the mother of a 20 month old and a three month old. To say it was a stressful time would be an understatement. One day in June 2000, amid all the chaos, my 11 year old brother Matthew reminded my mom that she had promised to purchase him the new Harry Potter book when it was released in a few weeks time. Harry Potter? That name sounded familiar. Oh, that’s right! I saw a Harry Potter book on Rosie. Evidently the author had done quite well for herself in the proceeding nine months, and now a new release by her was quite a big deal.

The release day came and went.

I still felt like the books wouldn’t be my cup of tea. Matthew raved about them, and told me I just needed to give the books a chance. Finally, I gave in- I decided to read the books. I went to Matthew and asked to borrow his copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Huh. He had loaned it to a friend who hadn’t given it back yet. I wasn’t about to start a new series without reading book one! So much for that idea. About a month later, I volunteered at a school book fair. A paper back copy of Sorcerer’s Stone was for sale. I picked it up for $5.99 with the idea that I would put it away and give it to Matthew for Christmas.

Encounter number three happened in Early November. I was cleaning out a closet and came across that paperback. I was at loose ends, book-wise. I put it on my nightstand with the intention of starting it that night. This time, I actually followed through. I think you can figure out the rest of the story.

I was hooked, big time.

I flew through the first three books in two days. I finished Prisoner of Azkaban late on a Thursday night. As luck would have it, Matthew had loaned out his copy of Goblet of Fire to another friend. Starting that book would have to wait until I could get to the store the next morning and buy myself a copy. This posed another problem. We were supposed to be on the road first thing that morning, on our way to Florida to attend my brother’s wedding reception.

Talking my husband into stopping at the store on the way out of town wasn’t a big deal. The difficulty came in trying to meet the needs of two small children while trying to read this amazing, inspiring, jaw-dropping piece of fiction, all while traveling in a car. Luckily, it all worked out.

We were only moderately late the reception.

Thus began my obsession with Harry Potter. It’s been seven years now, and we’re almost at the end of the adventure. My girlies (now 8 ½ and 7) have grown up with Harry Potter as a part of their lives. My husband has been drawn into the world, as well. I discovered the amazing Harry Potter fandom that exists online. The movies have added another exciting dimension. I’ve planned vacations – nay, entire summers – around the release of a new Harry Potter book three times. And now it’s all coming to a close.

It took my third encounter with Harry Potter to finally discover the magic. It seems fitting in a way that this will be the third book I anticipate, and it happens in the year that I will turn 30. Surely someone out there could find significance in all of this through arithmancy or divination. I can only hope that I get to spend my next thirty years enjoying Harry, Ron, Hermione and all of the other magnificent characters J.K. Rowling has created just as much as I have for the past seven.

Sorry this is so long, I got a little carried away...

I received the Sorcerer's Stone for Christmas from my parents in 1998, when I was in 7th grade. It must have already had quite a buzz because I remember hearing about them before I received the book, and I wasn't much of a reader. I remember the first few chapters with the Dursleys feeling like a bit of a chore to read through, but once he got to school it became really enjoyable. I ended up trading my hardback of the first book for a hardback of the second, PLUS a paperback of the first with my neighbor (he got screwed!). I thought the second book was okay, still sold on the series as a customer. Oddly enough, I don't remember how I got my hands on the third one, but that is the book that turned me from a fan into a complete psycho for all things Harry Potter.

Does anyone else have this experience with PoA?. I don't think it's the best book by any means, but it changed my attitude from "Those are good books!" to "Oh my god, I'll die if I don't shut myself away for two days to finish them!" I think part if it has to do with the reference to Sirius Black in the first book. I think it's maybe the first clue in the series that JK Rowling had this whole series planned out from the get-go, and that made it all the more enticing.

I was afraid of being branded as a nerd if I discussed what I was going through with classmates, so I vented it all off on my parents, who finished the first three with my persuasion. It seemed like when I was in high school, 2000 - 2004, people started to catch on and I was seeing more and more Harry Potter books. While it felt nice to not be the only one interested in HP, I did resent it a little bit. "Oh so now you think it's cool!" was my line of thinking.

It went on this way for books 4 - 6. Excited when they came out, read them for two days, discussed them for two weeks, then forgot about Harry Potter until the next book. I think I was most excited when Deathly Hallows came out, which would have happened regardless of the excellent marketing idea of the coinciding release of DH with the OotP movie. It's my favorite book by far. Perfect mixture of action and drama - and would be nothing without having 6 books that lead up to it. My two favorite HP experiences happened with the release of the Deathly Hallows:

1. I skipped two days of work in order to read Deathly Hallows. I ended up getting fired at my job at Six Flags because of it. No regrets there!

2. My family took a vacation trip to the beach a week after DH came out. For one glorious night, half of my family, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, boyfriend / girlfriends, all ranging from age 16 - 45, locked up in a condo and discussed the book for about 4 hours. Theories were expressed, voices were raised, it was awesome.

Hi Melissa!

I just finished your book today and loved every minute of it. As you said, and as so many others have said, it led me down my own road of memories. So in answer to your question...

I discovered HP while working at a Waldenbooks in college. It was our big push item, late summer 1999. When parents or kids would come in looking for a new book, we were supposed to recommend it. So I did, and then started hearing rumors of mild controversy. I decided that maybe I should read this book that I was recommending to so many people, just to be sure that I *wanted* to recommend it. But things were happened with work and school (I was entering my final year at UGA, approaching student-teaching, planning my wedding, changing jobs from Walden to B&N) and so I just kept putting it off. Finally, I had a few extra dollars and so ordered the first three off of bn.com just before Thanksgiving break, feeling that I might have some extra time over the long holiday weekend. The books came on Wednesday but I didn't get around to reading them until after I got back to Athens on Friday. Then, I read all three before the big game on Saturday afternoon. I loved them and couldn't wait for my fiancé to read them so that I could talk about them with someone! And that led to other parts of my story, which don't really relate to your question, so I'll save them for later. :)

I think my story began in Septemberish 2001 when I was in 8th grade. The school bookfair was coming up so the school showed a cheesy infomercial thing on the diferent books. It mentioned GOF it seemed pretty interesting but I knew I wouldn't have any money for the bookfair. I do remeber wanting to read GOF after see how big it was at the bookfair.

One of my freinds was sitting behind me in class the next day and he was reading SS. I asked him if he liked and he said he did and let me borrow it. I finished it that day during school and was instantly hooked. I explained the whole plot to my stepmother when she got home. She was upset that I'd read it; I realized later it was because she bought me the book for christmas and thought that I wouldn't want it anymore. Silly woman.

I got COS and POA the next time I went to the store; begged my mom to let me see SS in theatres, the fact that she made me miss the last 10 minutes of the movie because she said it was over still makes me mad, and the SS playstation game is still by far one of my favorite games.

And seven years later I'm still as much a fan of Harry as I was the very firt day.

Hi Melissa! I can't wait to read your book! It sounds really awesome. (Yes, I know it's strange that I'm waiting, but it's a Christmas thing. Long story.)

Anyways, when I was in grade school, I was a total bookworm. I was always reading, whether it was during recess, during lunch, or on the bus. I always had a book with me. I had gotten to the point where I had read almost everything in our school's library (we were a very small school). So one of my teachers took pity on me and recommended the Harry Potter books. Later on, of course, they were banned, since I went to a Catholic school, but at the time only the first few had been published and they weren't seen as quite so bad by our teachers/pastors. Even after they were banned I still read them outside of school, despite the letter that was sent home about them. I was such a rebel!

And the rest, they say, is history. :)

I read through all of these posts as was determined to tell my story about my love of the Potter world.

I was in my 1st year of teaching. I was confused, scared, and completely overwhelmed at the tremendous task laid before me. Anyone who knows the wondrous joys of you first year of teaching knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Anyone who also knows about your 1st year of teaching also knows that the worst sickness in all of your life will occur in your 1st year. I thought I was going to die.

As I laid on the couch doing my best to break a 104 degree fever, I looked through a stack of books I brought home from school. In it was Sorcerer's Stone. I read through the whole book in just a few hours. I am not a fast reader, so for me it was incredible. I immediately called a friend to bring me over her copies of books 2-4. I managed to finish them during the week-long bout with the flu.

Ever since then I have watched my life and teaching career evolve with the Potter books. A statuette of Hagrid adorns my desk as well as my seven favorite novels with Potter bookends.

I cannot begin to explain my gratitude to Jo for making me learn to love reading again. She has influenced my teaching as well as made me a better father to my 18 month-old son. I always ask myself when struggling with issues, "Would Harry give up?"

I look forward to the day when my son reads through Daddy's favorite books each night as he settles into dreamland.

Thanks Melissa for keeping the world alive and I look forward to reading your book.

Shawn.

Hey Melissa,
I thought I'd answer your question about how I met Harry. I met Harry out of boredom.

I come from a family of science fiction and fantasy readers. My first name, Valancy, comes from a character in a book by Zenna Henderson (series is short stories usually called "The People"). I grew up on Star Trek and Star Wars, Jane Yolen and Anne McCaffrey. As such, like some children, I had no interest in them and therefore, when a friend nagged at me to read "these really good books about a kid wizard", I adamantly refused. Repeatedly. For over a year.

One day I went over to this friend's house, moaning I was bored, that I was burned out from my honor's thesis work, my friend used the opportunity to inform me I was reading "this book". It was Sorcerer's Stone. I read it, it was good, so I asked for the next one. Chambers was good too, I didn't like it as well but I was interested enough to go ahead with Prisoner of Azkaban. After that, I became RABID. Goblet of Fire had just come out maybe a month before. A full time student with a part time job, I purchased Azkaban in hard back as well as Goblet. I snagged up Stone and Chamber in paperback. I made my best friend read them. (It was payback, actually, for getting back into reading Batman comics). Then I got my mother reading them. My father took them with him on the road (he was a truck driver). He enjoyed them as well. I've hooked my entire family, gotten every friend and acquaintance I've ever met reading them. I'm now hooked on fan fiction (reading and writing), listen to Pottercast every week, bemoan the fact I can't go to the conferences (someone needs one in Kansas City!), and eagerly await the next wizard rock concert in my area. I am easily a 35 year old who should know better but is still too young to care!

My story isn't life shattering, it isn't earthquaking, but Harry and the gang have been stories I buried myself in during my father's death from lung cancer in 2003, his mother's death the following Easter in 2004, my subsequent depression and anxiety attacks...Harry's story is my way to escape from bad times and create new ones. I've met new friends, found something in common with old friends, made me think about topics I would have never considered and made me read books that I would never have bothered to before. All because of Harry. And you know, it may not have helped me through a horrible illness or brought me a long lost family member but Harry's been good to me all the same!

This is not a story of how I met Harry, but rather the first (and only) time that I debunked somoene's theory.

I was chatting with a fellow student from my college in the airport and we got on the topic of Harry Potter (this was before book 7). He said, "I have a theory about Hermione that no one's been able to disprove. She's a werewolf. In the third movie, she howls to Lupin and he comes to her; wouldn't a werewolf know the difference?"

Apart from the obvious response of NO SHE'S NOT A WEREWOLF, I explained that if she were a werewolf then she would have transformed at the same time Lupin had. My friend sheepishly said "Oh. Right." That was the first time I felt like I was a bonafide Harry Potter Expert - although, truth be told, basic logic could have deduced that as well.

Dear Melisa,

Harry Potter is the most fascinating book I have ever come across. I am from southern India and of late harry is so popular here. I was 17 when Harry Potter -1st book was published. My cousin Naren, who at that time lived in a town in southern India, was the one of the few to purchase the first book. Honestly, I flipped through a few pages and didn’t actually read it fully. I in fact regret not reading Harry…those days.
My grandpa once read something about Harry Potter series in one of the newspapers. He just told me once to try them. Then again, I didn’t pay heed to his words. Kept hearing about Harry…Harry...so many times from people all over!!
It took sometime for me to get my hands on them. I am really happy that I finally read them. I love all the 7… just too good. J.K Rowling conveys a message- that imagination has no boundaries. I guess she would be one of those amazing writers who brought people back to the wonderful world of books. I saw the movies first…then the books. You would go paranoid…If I have to tell you how many times I read and re-read Harry Potter. There is chart I maintain which tells me how many times I have read each of the books. 1st book – 4 times, 2 – 3 times... I just don’t mind increasing the count, out there. Each time I read….I get this urge to read it again. My most favorite is Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It’s the most beautiful book…it unveils the story in a very nice way. I read the first four… and grew so restless that I forced myself to a book shop to buy the rest of the series. A week back, a friend of mine wanted to by the 5th book. It was strange, yet true. We couldn’t find it in any of the bookshops near by. We hunted some 20 shops throughout Chennai and finally bought it for her. We walked and walked for Harry Potter – Part 5, I guess even Harry wouldn’t have walked so much…the irony is we never felt tired. We just wanted the book.
With friends, I play this Harry Potter trivia – and it’s so much fun. We form teams and question each other about incidents or characters in the book. It is a great learning. Magic and fantasy brings so much color to life. People, are once again getting back to books…which is J.K Rowling’s greatest success as a writer.

Just a concern, in India we don’t get to see or buy Harry Potter merchandise. All we have is one set of stickers that almost all Potter fans would have… Other books on Harry (Quidditch thru ages” or “fantastic beasts and where to find them”…) are rarely found in India. Just a few copies… once sold, you don’t find them again.

Please ensure all of Harry Books are available in India… there are so many fans out here.

I just hope…I get to read Harry, A history…

Good luck Mellisa…I am sure you stole millions of hearts.

By the way, forum is a great idea!!!

I was 40, and travelling to London for the first time. My somewhat misguided sister-in-law decided a good bon voyage gift was a Waterstone's gift certificate for 200 pounds sterling! The folks at Waterstone's wouldn't give change back from the gift certificate, so we wandered around for hours picking up books (which we ultimately had to purchase a separate bag to take the books home and pay huge over-weight charges). This was 1998 and the paperback edition of Philosopher's Stone had just released, so I threw it in the pile, knowing nothing about it. I don't even know why I picked it up along with all the Winnie-the-Pooh. It was on a display, but it didn't look like anything special. The book languished on my books-to-read shelf, which is always stacked two-deep in books. A couple of years later I picked it up and read it. Instant love. Ran out and looked for more books at the local Barnes and Noble. (I think 2 and 3 were out then.) I started researching Harry online...not much on the web then but I printed out anything I could find. Huge notebooks filled with Harry arcana ensued. I watched as Leaky and MuggleNet grew. I went to midnight release parties for books 4,5,6 and 7. At 49 years old, finishing the final book, I cried. I had spent so much time with these books, like many others, I felt like I had lost a friend. What I most treasure is the way reading the Harry Potter books opened up my reading habits to embrace children's fiction and fantasy of any sort, which before I had shunned. I treasure my tattered paperback British edition of Philosopher's Stone, which sits proudly beside a new American hardback edition of Sorcerer's Stone.
I just finished your book, Ms. Anelli, and thank you for writing it. I read it in one sitting and will read it again. I was going to pass it along to some friends, but they'll have to buy their own copy.

I was 6 when i discovered harry potter. I remember going to town with my mum, and my mum promised to buy me somthing in town (that was probably the only reason i went). Then we saw a huge que coming from the book shop.

We went in the shop and I just remember a huge book display of harry potter books and my mum saying "choose one then" and for some reason I have never quite understood I chose COS. I think it was the flying car that enticed me.

My mum read it to me every single night and I would be really annoyed when i had to go to bed! I then doscovered the stephen fry tapes and i loved them all the same.

Every book day at school,we could dress up as a character for our favourite book i would always dress up as Hermione. i even had a ginger cat!
On my 8th birthday i had a harry potter party. My mum baked a hogwarts cake!!

But the thinkg with harry potter is that you can always relate to it, even though it's a completley different world. Last year before book 7 came out, my friend was killed and when i read DH, and when Fred, tonks, lupin, dobby (a little bit snape) died it was felt different than any other book. It was just like i understood it better, i understood how it is to loose someone. And it's like Harry grew up and so did i. The books are more than just books.

At the beginning of my harry potter journey my mum read me the books every night and now i read my little sister the book every night. so harry is very special :)

I was in the fourth grade when Sorcerer's Stone came out. Every day we'd get in from recess, hang our coats up, put away our lunch boxes and sit together on the floor as our teacher would read a chapter or two out of the novel. I was hooked. My entire class was. We sat in various poses. Some with their back rigidly straight, others leaning on their friends. I always laid on my stomach, my chin resting in my palms as I eagerly absorbed every word coming out of my teacher's mouth. Once we finished Sorcerer's Stone, my teacher moved on to Chamber of Secrets. By the end of the second novel I had moved up to fifth grade and when I saw Prisoner of Azkaban sitting on a shelf in Costco I begged my mom to buy it for me. I read the third novel, which was quick to become my favorite, in a manner of days (which was quite a feat considering I had struggled with reading all throughout elelmentary school). Harry Potter taught me how to love reading. I'm so thankful that I went to school in a time where it was okay for teachers to read stories about young wizards to children.

So if the first three taught me to read, the fourth taught me to analyze. Jumping up and down in line at the Goblet of Fire midnight release party, I proudly displayed my Gryffindor badge which I recieved after being sorted into the house for a trivia competition. I remember being interviewed by a newscaster who kept referring to Harry as "Harry Porter". Becoming annoyed I informed him in a very Hermionie-like way that his name was "Potter". I wonder if the newscaster knows how to say the name now. It was after the fourth book that I discovered the fandom. A legion of online readers who loved Harry and his world just as much as I did. It gave me a sense of belonging.

Finally, after years of waiting, the fifth book came out. Harry was 15 and so was I. Suddenly, Harry wasn't just a character. He was my friend. His pain, fear and joy--I shared them all. I think it is this connection that contributed to the succes of the stories. They weren't just books to me. They weren't just books to a lot of people.

I have felt so special sharing my age with that of Harry at the time of the release of the last three books. My favorite moment in being a fan of Harry Potter was when I was nearing the end of the seventh story. Harry was walking toward the forrest preparing to die. I set the book down for a moment as I realized I was crying. No matter what 'literary genious' it might have been to kill off the main character, I didn't want him to die. I didn't want my friend to die.

I fell in love with the books because I love a good hero story. I cherish them because Harry's story has been such an integral part of my life.

By the way, I can't wait to read your book!

Reading the book has definitely helped me remember my beginnings in the fandom. :)

I started reading Harry Potter when I was 15, in early 1998. After school I would come home and pop on the TV, and one day I happened to watch an episode of Rosie O Donnell that featured an author of what was apparently a great children's book. The author seemed to be humble, but funny, and I immediately liked her. I made a mental note to try and find her book, but as I didn't write it down, I completely forgot both her name and the name of the series.

My little brother's birthday was in August, and my father gave him three books that he had heard were really up and coming, and great for kids. One was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I recognized right away that this was the book I had been curious about, and borrowed it to read while my brother read his other new books. I devoured it. It was amazing. I eagerly asked my father if there were any more. Chamber of Secrets was in fact out at the time, but my father discovered that a 3rd would be out the next month, and so he'd order them for me together.

While I waited, my brother got around to reading Sorcerer's Stone. He loved it right away as well. He was indignant that I'd gotten to discover the joy first, especially when it was a present for him. When books 2 and 3 arrived, he was given permission to read book 2 first, but I couldn't wait, so my initial reading of the series went 1- 3- 2. Luckily 3 didn't spoil anything in 2 for me!

And that's when the real wait began. I would take the books to school with me, reading them over and over in study halls. I drew loads of (awful!) Harry Potter fan art, and found a few fan sites to pour myself into. I was a frequent visitor of the unofficial Harry Potter fanclub, and you can still find (much to my embarrassment) a Lily and James piece that I did on Harry Potter Realm.

By the time Goblet of Fire rolled around I had managed to convert quite a few of my high school friends into HP fans. A handful of us attended the midnight release at Barnes and Noble. We were "sorted" into houses upon entering the store. I was placed into Ravenclaw, and held it as my house for years (until I actually sorted myself based upon my personality, instead of random chance, and have been a Hufflepuff ever since). I still have the pennant-style Ravenclaw sticker from that night, glued into the trunk I took to college.

When my friends finally got their books (my father pre-ordered mine on Amazon, so I had to wait. A mistake I never made again.) we gathered at a table outside and took turns reading the book aloud. I'm not sure what time we finally left, or at which point in the book we stopped. My friend Daphne, recognizing my desperate obsession lent me her copy of the book, so that I wouldn't go mad waiting. I was headed off to take some advance college courses in another state the next day, and wouldn't be able to get my copy until the end of summer. I didn't interact with anyone at the summer program until I'd finished. I spent a while wandering around in a daze after Cedric's death. I hadn't been ready for the sudden dark turn the book had taken.

That summer, while at the college program, I learned that a giant birthday card I had drawn (Dumbledore and Fawkes on the front, with a heartfelt message, and at least 20 different students inside, wishing Jo a Happy Birthday, probably 11x17 or more when opened) had won third place in The Unofficial Harry Potter Fan Club's birthday card contest, and would be sent to Jo. I've always wondered if she got it, and liked it. Perhaps back then I should have found a way to write or email her and ask. Today I'm sure I'd never get through for a response. I hope she got it. :) I was so pleased when I found out it would even be sent. The box of prizes I got from the website didn't hurt either.

That incident kept me digging for more Harry websites all of the time. I eventually settled into Hogwarts Elite at Livejournal, which has been my favorite HP outlet for years. Through that community I've made friends, traveled to conventions, held fundraisers, and gotten more involved than I ever could have imagined. There's so much more to say, and I'm sure I've gone way past my allotted comment space, but these books have brought me so much joy, and the fandom has literally saved my life on many occasions. It's even worked its way into my wedding (my fiancé had to finish the series before our wedding date, and a tiny silver badger is being worked into my bouquet. My best fandom-friend is making the trek from Texas and is my "internet bridesmaid."). I don't know where I'd be without it.

So my story is coming a little late 'cause I've been without internet the last few days and was just able to check the site, but anyways...

I always get teary eyed, when I think about my early days with Harry and how much I've come to love it since then..

Well...Fantasy, I must say, had always been my least favorite genre of literature. Back in middle school, fantasy was a section of the library in which I had no particular interest. My shelves were filled with mysteries and dramas, historical novels, coming of age stories, some classics and several horror tales by Edgar Allan Poe. I had even managed to devour most of Louisa May Alcott's works within a few months, so really, no one can say I was not a reader. Works of fantasy, however, continued to remain very unappealing in my eyes. Therefore when my friend at the time suggested that I give Harry Potter a try, I refused with a resounding no.

I would like to say that I was introduced to the series when it was first released, that I began reading as a small fourth or fifth grader as it is the case with many of my friends. The truth is that by the time this friend of mine approached me with the idea of dropping my latest historical fiction for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," I was in eighth grade and the first two movies in the franchise had already been released. I had watched the movies and although I had enjoyed them, I thought nothing more of the story itself. I even remember not knowing of the existence of Harry Potter books until my friend told me of them. She had sat down in front of me one day at school during our lunch period and, in true Hermione behavior, she propped open a book to read while eating. I was intrigued and my curiosity prompted me to ask the title.

"Oh, it's the third Harry Potter book, ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban’," she answered. I was surprised and then went on to tell her that I was not aware that the movies were actually based on novels. And saying that -- oh, saying that was somewhat of a mistake. Or at least I thought so at the time. She proceeded to explain, with wonder in her eyes and colorful description, the incredible nature of these books in which I had no interest whatsoever, then continued to persist for several weeks afterward that I give the series a try. Somewhere along the way I must have agreed (she was persistent to the point of annoyance) and she quickly lend me her copy of the third book. My line of thinking at the time was that it was pointless to bother with the first two when I had already seen the films. She didn't quite agree with my flawed logic, but accepted it as being the only way in which I was going to give this series a fraction of my attention. Her determination that I not only read these books, but enjoy them as well, was rather fierce and I decided to resist it with as much of a strong will as I could manage.

Well, so much for that.

I can't really explain what it was that reeled me in. I had started reading with the thought that this was going to be the worse piece of literature I had ever encountered, only to find myself excited at the prospect of learning what these dementor creatures were while in the middle of chapter five. And I could see it and feel it all quite clearly: a game of Quidditch in the pouring rain, Harry's disappointment at not being able to visit Hogsmade, the annoying and frequent arguments between Ron and Hermione. I was unknowingly being absorbed by a book for which I had terrible pre-conceived notions and that I never imagined would catch me by surprise with its incredible ending. I can also remember it vividly when I timidly asked my friend to borrow her copy of the fourth book about a week or two later. She still, to this day, takes pride in knowing that I love Harry Potter because of her and has never really let me live it down. That day, she gave me a knowing look and a small smile as she handed me the book and we both knew that I had been wrong and that I was in for quite an experience.

While my late entry into the fandom allowed me to wait for a year at the most before “Order of the Phoenix” was finally released, everyone else, the huge fandom that I was not aware of, had waited three. I had experienced for the first time the agonizing feeling of having to patiently wait in hopes of soon knowing what direction Harry’s adventure would take. The thing is that it was an adventure for me as well. I had, at that point, become a fan and whatever resistance I had put up at the beginning had not prevented me from taking Harry’s story to heart.

And to me, Harry Potter became about escaping into a story that was unlike anything I had ever read, even still to this day. It became about hungrily reading into the late hours of the night or reading straight through and not sleeping at all. It was about theorizing what might happen next when the last chapter was read and another long wait began. It was about trying to figure out who was on Harry’s side and who wasn’t. It was about shipper fights, Snape debates, Horcrux predictions, tears shed over the deaths of dear characters, lines by characters that made me laugh. It was about fan sites, podcasts, fan fiction and fan art. It was about midnight releases, waiting hours in line, counting down the minutes and desperately avoiding spoilers.

Going into Barnes and Noble on July 21st I realized, with a mixture of sadness and excitement, that it was probably going to be last time I would go to a midnight party. But that night didn’t only bring an end to a great literary phenomenon that actually made some in my generation want to read. It was, in a sense, the end of my childhood as well. I had spent my high school years loving these books and met some of my closest friends through them. And during that time I’d gone and discovered what I liked and didn’t like, realized, for the most part, what I wanted to do in the future, met incredible people, suffered through some terrible teachers and learned a thing or two about life from others. But at the end of day, my favorite books, Harry and his world – they were always there as a reminder that I was still a kid, that I could lose myself in the adventure and perhaps become a little more than obsessed with it. I had grown up with Harry and the rest of the characters and I knew that night, with the series coming to a close, that in the future I would look back on all those years as wonderful childhood memeories, great times spent with friends and an exciting book phenomenon that I was incredibly lucky to have lived through. I read the last few pages of “Deathly Hallows” with tears running down my face, not only over the deaths of some of my favorite characters, but also because I knew that the world of Hary had, for the most part, come to an end. Closing the book, still crying, I realized that at 18, I would move on to a different part of my life very much the same way that Harry would do so as well at the end of chapter thirty-six.

And I did. I went to college and made new friends and learned new things and made a huge change in my life in moving to a different country. But today, Jo's world is still very dear to my heart and I'm pretty certain that it will be that way for the rest of the my life.

I'm still waiting for your book, but from what I hear from friends that already have it, I'm sure that reading it will be like revisiting all of those wonderful times again. I definitely can't wait for it! =D

Over and over again, you hear Harry Potter credited with helping kids love to read. My younger brother is one of those kids, a kid who at 13 had never really read a book for pleasure, despite the hundreds of books available to him in my bookshelves alone. It was only because he lost a bet that he read the first 100 pages of Order of the Phoenix; within two weeks, he'd finished the series. Two weeks after that, book 7 came out.

I first read Harry Potter when I was nine (almost eight years ago now). Reading the first four books was one of the most important things that's ever happened to me, but I can't claim it's what got me interested in reading - in fact, my mom says the exact opposite happened. Before reading those books, I had read hundreds of others, seven or eight a week - read and reread the Baby-Sitters Club series, 200 books long, so often that every other week or so Mom'd press something new into my hands and beg me to read it. When she gave me Harry Potter, I read it, and she got her wish - I moved on from the BSC books. For two years, I read little BUT those four books, over and over again, wearing out my copy of Goblet of Fire within six months. Those two years, I spent time on the internet, read fanfiction, started shipping - I don't think my mom regrets giving me that first book, and I give her credit for trusting me and letting me become involved in the fandom at such an early age, because I've been a part of it ever since. By the time Order of the Phoenix came out, I was first in line at Barnes and Noble, and as anyone who loves these books can understand, reading it for the first time was an experience I've only had three times in my life.

I have an obsessive personality, it's been said, but I don't regret anything about the past eight years I've spent with Harry. I'm enrolled in the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Creative Writing department, which is a pre-professional arts training program for aspiring writers - none of my teachers there understand why I keep coming back to these books, rereading them up to fifty times. I tell them the only thing that I can, which is that Harry is something that makes sense to me, that has been constant in my life through the normal toils of adolescence but also through years of panic disorder, through packing up my home and spending a month in Texas when Katrina hit; Harry and Ron and Hermione are constants, reliable and always there.

This past October marked one year to the day J.K. Rowling came to New Orleans. I was at the Convention Center that day, by luck, fate, bribery, mostly just sheer determination - that day, I listened to her read, answer questions, and wrote down everything I saw and heard - partly because I'm a writer, mostly because I wouldn't have remembered any of it otherwise. When I reached her and gave her my book to sign, I also gave her a letter, one that I began the day it was announced she'd be coming to New Orleans and finished the morning of October 18th. I don't think it's possible it conveyed how much she, and her world, have effected me.

The thing I treasure most about that day is the fact I did manage to say something to her, something that I'd expressed in the letter because I wasn't sure I'd be coherent enough to actually say it. I'm so thankful that I was - I told her "Thank you for Harry," and even though that was all I could choke out, it was enough.

I first read SS/PS in 2000. I was 32 years old and had just moved to Wisconsin from California with my husband and three children, the oldest of whom was just turning 10. My Mother wanted to get Harry for my daughter for Christmas, but I had heard all the nasty rumors about the witchcraft and "evil" things in it and was concerned. I told her I wanted to read it first to see what it was all about, just in case. My Mother sent me the book and when I first settled down with it, it was with the idea of skimming through, just to be sure there was nothing really objectionable in it.

I started skimming. I was taken with the opening, but my mind was on finding problems, so I kept flipping pages until I found myself at the zoo with Harry, disappearing glass and a talking snake. WAIT A MOMENT! What just happened there? My attention was caught. I went back to the beginning, and that was it. I was caught, hooked, charmed, entranced. I couldn't get enough. I finished it at lightning speed and waited in a fever of impatience to run out and get the next, then the next and every book after that. The wait for OoTP... interminable. HBP, torture. Then DH... no words for that one. I went temporarily insane. I had nightmares of being unable to open the book, or opening it to find all the pages blank. I had nightmares of Harry dying. I drove my entire family and all of my friends crazy. Every topic related to Harry (and still does to this day.) If I had not had Leaky to come to every single day I think I might have spontaneously combusted. Leaky saved my life in the lead up to DH.

I will never forget the night DH was released. My family and I went in costume (of course) to the midnight release at our local Borders. I had waited (first in line!) since 4:30 AM that day for the colored bracelet to determine my place in line for the book, then we went back that evening right as the festivities were starting. There were amazing costumes everywhere, including a particularly convincing Rita Skeeter.

We participated in all of the games, but my husband finally dragged me away from the Trivia contest because some of the kids were starting to get a bit disgruntled with me for winning all the prizes. The Great Snape Debate was WILD. Then the costume contest started. First prize was the right to be first to purchase the book when it was rolled out at midnight! By that time I was holding our places in line while my husband followed the kids around. He entered the adult category for the costume contest (he was dressed as Hagrid) and he WON. I could hear the screams and yells all over the store, then my kids came running up to me, screeching that Dad had won and we would get the first three books I had reserved out of the box. I could not believe it! It was like getting that golden ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. We'd get the books first. We wouldn't be spoiled! They even took us to a separate register to pay so we didn't have to fight our way through the line at the front of the store. We grabbed our three books, paid and ran to the car as fast as we could. I was literally shaking. The book was in my hands! It was here!

I'd spent several weeks planning how I was going to read DH. I had my supplies all ready, snacks, drinks, tissues. I had a comfy pillow and warm blanket on the couch to snuggle up in and read, and I planned to not move a muscle until I finished. My daughters had their own copies and were spending their time reading in their rooms. My husband and son went on to bed. I read straight through, from the time we got home from the store at about 12:30 AM until I finished later that morning around 9:30. My son came down early, just as I was reading about Dobby and panicked to see the tears streaming down my face and hear me sobbing that way. I started crying from the dedication page and never really stopped, but Dobby brought out the worst storm of emotion to that point.

I will never forget that first time through that last book, or the first time through any of them. I have read them so many times now that I have large sections practically memorized. I read a lot of authors, but there are no books out there anywhere that compare to Harry or mean what Harry does to me.

I have come across the last two or three people on earth who have yet to read any of the books and I badger them incessantly. They are going to start reading them, just to get me off their backs. My own husband is one of them, but he has finally started them now, after listening to our daughters and I talk about them non-stop. There is an assistant at my kids' orthodontist who has read all of the books except DH, which she got for Christmas LAST YEAR. She practically cowers when she sees me coming!

My favorite articles of clothing are my Leaky and Mugglenet t-shirts, or my "I Solemnly Swear..." one. It's a problem because I can't get replacements from Leaky or Mugglenet and those shirts are about worn out. I have three "I Solemnly Swear..." ones in a drawer as back-ups.

I have a love/hate relationship with the movies because of all the changes and things they leave out, but I think most book fans do. They will never match the books, but they are pretty awesome in their own rights. Dan, Emma and Rupert do a fabulous job, I love watching them and the rest of the cast. I sent 20 Howlers when HBP got pushed back, signed petitions and ranted on Leaky for days on end. My family just roll their eyes.

We started a tradition with the first film. My oldest daughter and I went to that one alone, just the two of us, and it became our ritual. When my middle daughter got old enough she joined us, and now we have an entire crowd of people who go with us, their friends and I all in costume for the midnight release. My son and husband will join us for HBP now that my son is old enough.

One of my fondest hopes is to visit Leavesden studios someday, and I am determined to go to the theme park as soon as it opens. In fact, I am part of a large group of Leaky devotees who all plan to attend together. We met and became friends on Leaky and none of us can imagine experiencing that without our entire group being together. I wish I had signed up for LeakyCon.

Melissa, I am one of the lucky ones who received "Harry, A History" early, and I LOVED it. I tried to send you a little note on Leaky but the server was down, so I will just say here that I laughed and cried all the way through it. You brought everything back, evoked all those strong, passionate and wonderful emotions, made it all so immediate again. Thank you. It was really a delight to read, almost like getting a new Harry Potter book. I am so glad, and relieved, that Leaky did not come to an end after DH, I would be lost without my daily dose of HP and my Leaky friends. I don't ever want my HP journey to end!

I actually wrote my Creative Writing non-fiction paper on my experiences in the Harry Potter fandom! This is the first page or so.

A hunger arose in me when I first picked up a Harry Potter book in third grade. The hunger for more stories, plot twists, fantastic beasts, and the need to know what happens next pulsated through me. I was whisked away to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and found a place were I could forget whatever was really happening and learn about an orphan boy with a strange lightning bolt scar. Harry, Ron, and Hermione became friends to me, people who I shared adventures with and I knew all of their secrets. As I grew up and the things in my life turned sour at times, the Trio, as my fictional friends are called, were a sweet constant and a comfort to me. To get my mind off things, I would go through the story’s intricate plot for clues to what would happen next.

I got into the series after the release of The Goblet of Fire and was left ravenous to find out more about the Dark Lord’s return. But, alas, the fifth book of the Boy-Who-Lived would not be released for over a year, so I had to pass the time in the realms of other author’s imaginations. I soon found Eoin Colfer’s fairies and Philip Pullman’s daemons filling, but not enough to overshadow my Harry Potter appetite. Finally, The Order of the Phoenix came out and it only took me a week to gobble up the 784 page story of triumph for Harry and company along with the grief of the casualties of war. I laughed, I cried, and I wished beyond anything else that my approaching eleventh birthday would bring a Hogwarts letter, as is customary with the young wizards and witches within Rowling’s pages. But as September came and went and I did not cross Platform 9 ¾ to the Hogwarts Express, I began to feel that rumbling within me again. Harry Potter was becoming not just a fun book, but an obsession, a necessity as much as food and water.

I had seen something on the news about some book that was very popular and such, but did not really think much of it, which would be odd for me because I have always been an avid reader. When I was 11, pretty much the perfect age to start reading them in my opinion, I got the first book for Christmas from my grandmother. I highly doubt I would ever have read them if not for this because I grew up in a Christian home, and my parents were a bit wary of the whole "witchcraft" aspect. But they let me read it anyway because my grandmother had gotten it for me. I can still remember when I read that first sentence, and I was immediately hooked.
After that my mom got me the other two that were out at the time, and I read them voraciously. My parents realized that there was really nothing wrong with the books once they flipped through them, and my dad actually took me to the release party for GoF. Harry Potter has been a huge part of my life ever since.

When I was in kindergarten, my dad would read to my brother and I before we went to bed. SS was one of the books that he read to us. However, I was 5 at the time and I would often fall asleep and my dad would have to carry me off to my bedroom. But my brother was 7 so he stayed awake. I vaguely recall hearing about Hagrid and the island where Hagrid stormed in to rescue Harry, but I never made it through the book.

Fastforward to when SS came out on film.
My Aunt had stood in line at our local movie theater at 6 in the morning to ensure that our entire family had tickets. I went and enjoyed the film. The same thing happend through to the third film.

I was a reader who had NOT been "turned on" to reading because of the Harry Potter phenomenom, and I wanted to keep it that way. I did not want to be another child labeled becasuse of this franchise. My family kept insisting that I read the books, but that made me even more defiant.

Enter in the summer of my 11th year (BEFORE GoF is theatrically released).

I was going to France and needed a big book to read on the airplanes and trains that I would be on. I grabbed my brother's copy of GoF that our Great Aunt had given to him.

I read it on the plane and finished it in my sister's little house in the Alps where she was nannying.

Luckily the twins she was nannying for had an American dad who had an English copy of OotP.

I finished OotP in a villa in Italy (instead of exploring the town w/ my brother and sister). I hurried through it because I needed to give it back to my sister before I left.

Luckily for me, HBP had just come out and I picked it up at the airport in Paris.

I finished the book while my mom drove us home.
Then I found the first, second, and third books and finished them over the course of three days.

After that I reread all of the books, and immersed myself in the fandom online. First with Mugglenet and then with Leaky.

The next year my mom and I went to Scotland to visit my mom's cousin. She lives in Edinburgh(JKR's city). We went by the cafe that JKR had written part of SS/PS in.

On the last night there I learned that my mom's cousin was an acquaintance of "Jo's".
I was awestruck. It turns out that my mom's cousin and her husband had attended the same church as JKR when she was still "a poor single mother." They had even given her their old kitchen table.

Even more amazingly, They had hosted a book party for JKR when SS was first released. (They are lawyers/advocates who know some other fairly wealthy people.) She said that she had no idea whether the books were rubbish or not, but that she wanted to help.

One of her son's has a first edition of Philosopher's Stone with a personal inscription from Jo Rowling herself.

As if that weren't exciting enough, we took a train to London and consequently King's Cross Station. I dragged my mom to Platform 9 and 10. I was shocked to see a trolley cart sticking halfway throught the wall.

That winter I ooed and awed with the rest on the winter solstace when the title was revealed and tried to help someone at a Christmas Party get into the study so they could find out themselves.

I reread all six books during the month leading up to the release of book 7. And I waited in line along with the rest of the world to get my copy of DH. I finished at 7:13. The two most magical numbers in the world.

At the time, I was completely obsessed with forensic science; CSI, the whole bit. Then one day my mom tells me there's a Harry Potter science day camp in a month and she thought I should go. Of course my first reaction was: "Ugh. Harry Potter? Do I have to read it?" So, I did. My mom bought me the book and I opened it and read the first sentence. It was like stepping into Wonderland. Ever since it's been one giant wizard-filled party. The fandom has become my friends, my family, my anti-drug, and my life. This book is like our version of old family movies. It's a record of all the things we've been through together: good, bad, ugly, and spoiled, though always a cauldron full of fun.

I've been reading through some of these comments, and I'm trying not to cry, thinking about how blessed I've been by being "involved" with Harry for so long.

I was sort of a late bloomer in some ways, too. I was in graduate school, and my mother-in-law (who was a 2nd grade teacher) had bought the first couple of books for my daughters. Several other friends and family members had also read them and recommended them, but I just kept saying I didn't have time to read for pleasure at that point. After the first movie came out, though, I took my older daughter to see it... and then we went a second time. After the second show, I gave in. "Ok, bring me the books..." She only had the first three, and I read them all in about a day and a half, and then went to buy GoF prior to heading to school for that week (I had to travel, and spent the night away from home once a week at that point). I didn't really get a chance to read again till I got back home, and then school just had to wait till I finished GoF. I remember I was reading the graveyard scene, and my girls (who were still pretty young) came in to the room squabbling about something or other. Instead of mediating, I just waved them off and told them, "Shhh!! Harry's busy!" That surprised them enough that they just went away and forgot what they were arguing about! LOL!! I devoured GoF and then kept wishing for more. By the time the semester ended a few weeks later, I was seriously looking for something "else" about Harry. While IM'ing with a friend, I Googled "Harry Potter" and VOILA!! JACKPOT!! I found several good fan fiction sites and Leaky right away, and thought I'd found heaven on earth! I joined a couple of email groups related to the sites and stories I found, and made my first HP friendships. Eventually, finally, OotP was released, and I remember vividly that one of the stories/email groups that I'd followed so closely had posted the last chapter and their epilogue right before OotP's release ("After the End" -- still a classic, and I always especially loved the "outtake" of the post-Quidditch match interview that was written by someone I'd sort of gotten to know via the email group ;-)). So one of my friends and I stood in line for OotP re-reading the print out of that last chapter and epilogue. (*sniff* I still love the image from that fic of Sirius on his motorbike, bringing down Azkaban!)

And eventually... somehow, I ended up helping to create and run one of those fan fic archives, with others who have become some of my best friends on earth.

With the release of DH, things literally came around full circle for me. My mother-in-law had been the main one to introduce almost our whole family to the series (even my hubby, who almost never reads fiction, has read them all), and on the day that DH was released, our whole family had gathered for our annual trip to the beach together. We left our house at about 6:30 AM on that Friday, and I didn't really sleep again till I'd finished the book around noon the next day. I was with our family, and my daughters and my oldest niece and I went to the local release party (other family members came for a while, but didn't stay the whole time; I ended up picking up eight copies of the book! LOL!!) and then stayed up all night to read the book together. Throughout the week together, most of the family could be found reading the book at some point or other, and there were many hushed conversations as people finished the book, so that we wouldn't spoil anything for the others who were still reading!!

Harry is all about bravery and determination, and obviously, most importantly: love. It is love that endures, and the love that Harry has shared with all of us is what -- to me -- keeps so many of us so connected. My copy of your book arrives in a couple of days (I was silly and didn't order it as soon as I'd intended), and I can't wait to read it, and be reminded, yet again, of how truly blessed I have been to be part of this whole experience for so long. I'm not sure that this experience can ever be re-created in this lifetime. Thank you, Melissa, for reminding us all of that, and thank you, always, to Jo for how her creation has helped shape our lives, and our world, into something magical.

I started reading Harry Potter for work. It was the summer of 2000, and we had just had a meeting with management re: trends and opportunities for holiday, and one of the VPs mentioned HP merchandise. (At the time, I was a buyer for a department store in TN.) Then I heard about from one of my cold weather/rain reps that Totes was launching a HP themed line of umbrellas and rain coats, and would I be interested? I thought I should probably read at least the first one just to make sure I knew who the characters were!

I happened to be in Atlanta for the Home show the weekend that GoF was released, and wandered down to a book store to pick up a copy of SS. I had no idea that there was a book release that weekend, and was a little flumoxed to see the staff running about in costume. "Whatever," I thought, and picked up the first book. "Looks light, I should have this knocked out in the next few days." I also have a distinct memory of looking at the GoF display and rolling my eyes at the temerity of a children's author expecting 11 years old to lug around a book that thick.

I had an hour to kill between buying the book and meeting friends for dinner, so I went up to my room to read a few chapters. My friends were worried when I didn't show up for dinner on time, and flat panicked when over 30 minutes went by and I still hadn't arrived. They called up to the room (where I had lost all track of time, due to being immersed in the story), and weren't too pleased when I explained that something had just come up for work (!!) and could we meet up instead in the morning for brunch.

I devoured the book that night, finishing it in the early morning hours, and sending a email to my boss letting her know that if nothing else, we HAD to hit the HP booth before we left the next day. At brunch, I went on and on to my long-suffering friends about this amazing story, and OMG, I was so sorry for blowing them off, but if they read it they would understand, and how I couldn't wait to start on the next one. One of them looked at the other and said quietly, "Dear God, she's drunk the kool-aid!"

I picked up the 2nd book and read it during the drive back from Atlanta to TN. (Fortunately, I wasn't driving.) I was chafing at the bit to get through the remainder of the story, which leads to me finishing GoF in the wee hours of Saturday morning during Labor Day weekend later that year. I was staying with my parents at a resort in the TN mountains, and my mother came in to find her 28 year old daughter sobbing her eyes out on the couch, clutching a Harry Potter book. My mom swears she hasn't see me that upset since Beth died in Little Women. She sat on the couch, looked me right in the eyes and said, "You know that's a children's book right?" I snapped back "NO! ITS! NOT! Unless the idea of a child being murdered in front of his schoolmates has suddenly become the stuff of fairy tales, THIS IS NOT A CHILDREN'S BOOK!" (Poor Mom. No one should ever try and talk down a fan right after they've read the 4th book.)

I never did get to buy the merchandise, BTW. They decided to have one buyer oversee all the HP product lines, so they could concentrate it into a shop format. (She never read the books, which is probably why that merchandise failed...didn't know her Hermione from her Pansy!) But if it hadn't been for work, I don't know if I would have ever discovered the books.

Thinking about how I found Harry always makes me smile. It's strange to think that far back, back to a time when I was sane "sigh."
I was in 7th grade and 12 years old. My parents had just gotten a devorce, and I went to the theater with my sister to see COS. She took me to get my mind off all the drama in our lives at the time. Of course she had no idea what that simple trip to the movies one Friday night would cause. I loved the movie so much that I went out and rented the first one the same night. I got to school on Monday and told my instructers I would start reading Harry Potter to get my reading points in for English class. For me the four books allowed me to escape from the drama that filled my life during that time.
I can vividly remember waiting in line for book five, only to buy the book and not be able to read it. I am mostly blind so I have to wait for the book to come out in braille, which when everyone is talking about it seems to take forever! Luckily for me I was home for the weekend when I bought the print copy, and I went back to blind camp that Sunday evening so I got the book Monday morning. That was also a new experience for me, Order of the Phoenix was the first book I read on my new favorite website, it allows me to download books and read them in braille electronicly.
I remember balling my eyes out when Sirius was killed, and my friends laughed at me for being so attached to a fictional person.
I discovered fanfiction, fanart, and Wizard Rock between books 5 and 6, I think. It's hard to remember a time when I didn't know they existed.
I remember a fellow potter fan at my school got into a fight with me because I didn't like the idea of Ginny and Harry being together. She slapped me and we had a terrible time trying to explain the reason she slapped me to the principal. I think by the time we were done explaining he had written the funniest fight in the school's history on that piece of paper.
I remember getting totally hysterical when Dumbledore died, and calling my best Potter friend and we both cried over the phone cursing the world.
On that note I remember defending Snape to everyone who would listen to me.
The day the release date was announced I was sitting up extremely late waiting for something to happen. I had a test in Algebra II that morning, but my friend and I kept each other awake and we both screamed when our cells had texts on them, right in the middle of our chapter 15 exam. Luckily for us our teacher was a HUGE Potter fan so the class ended up talking about Harry the rest of the time. LOL he completely forgot we were suposed to be taking a test.

That's my journey with Potter I hope I didn't bore you to death with it.

I suppose in some ways I had a fairly typical story. The summer madness of GoF confused me, since by then I barely knew the name 'Harry Potter'. And of course, being a proper teenage snob, I dismissed it as childish fare unworthy of the attention.

Anyway, that school year my best friend Michael would read the books often during geometry class since our teacher would let us spend class however we liked after he went over the day's pertinent material or answering questions anyone might have about the previous day's, letting us finish our homework right there or relegate it to later at home. I ragged on him about it, quite bewildered why someone of his intelligence would be sucked in.

Then he and I got paired up with a girl called Ashley on a science project - I'd always liked her, but we'd never particularly moved in the same social circles. Anyway, she was an infamously voracious reader, particularly of fantasy, and between the two of them they pestered me to give the books a try. Finally, half to shut them up and half because by then I'd become curious - at the same time another girl had brought in Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit to play during geometry, and I sat in with them as a lark to guess at the multiple choice questions, so I was being exposed more and more to it - I gave in and borrowed SS from the school library.

At first, I was still fully prepared to dislike them, and the opening of SS seemed to confirm my assumptions. It seemed mostly kind of boring and uninteresting. (It was only later, with more of the context and less preconceived notions that I fell completely in love with that first chapter.)

But of course, that's sort of the point: so I spent about four days only reading the book during the 15 minute 'required reading' session my school had. And then, finally, I met Hagrid and everything changed. I was partway through Diagon Alley when class started properly, and I finished the book that night at home.

What charmed me, of course, is the sense of discovery that book is imbued with. It is literally revealing a new world hidden within our own, both to Harry and to the reader. It's so innocent and wide-eyed in its tone, even with the lurking darkness it does not exclude. It perfectly sets up what it guarantees will be an amazing journey.

Within the week, I'd finished all four books and owned two of them (CoS and GoF).

After finishing GoF, I was at home alone and I set the book down on the dining room table and paced around from there to the living room, back through into the kitchen and hall, talking out loud to myself about everything that had happened and what might be coming. And then I asked myself aloud, "Who's my favourite character?"

.. when the answer was "Snape", I had a minor moment of crisis. That was a bizarre revelation for a 14 year old boy. ('Favourite' is of course the wrong word to use, because I rather despised him most of the time; but I found him simply fascinating.)

That might have been that, but now they'd got their hooks into me, Michael and Ashley went on to prod me into checking out the WB site. Everything snowballed from there until the fandom became a permanent staple of my existence and identity. Friends met through fandom, countless theories shared and debated, fanfiction, reactionary quasi-essays (particularly post-HBP, naturally).. I'm even writing tentative songs for a potential wizard rock project! And of course rocking out to those already established.

My mother was visiting us from Oxford after we had just moved to Nebraska. She said, "So have you read Harry Potter yet?" I had barely even heard of it. I vaguely remembered seeing the book on a display in Barnes & Nobel. So she bought me a copy of Sorcerer's Stone since she was still reading Philosopher's Stone herself. "You'll love it," she said, with a knowing smirk. I devoured it while she was still visiting, so she gave me Chamber of Secrets after she had finished. I could not get enough, and I read and re-read the first two books until I could get my hands on my own versions of 3 and 4. I believe it was the following year, we deliberately scheduled her visit so we could go see the first movie. I remember so vividly looking over to her as it was over, when Hagrid is walking along the platform, and the train pulls out of sight. Those seven notes played and I burst into tears! Love it, love it, love it!

Thanks for such a wonderful book that brings back all those memories, Melissa! It's terrific!

I couldn’t resist adding my introduction to HP after reading Teri’s post 27 October 8.22pm about the crazy order he read the series in, as well as to add my congrats on the HAH book, it arrived this morning.

My elder brother (we’re old) and my sister's teenage nephew had been suggesting for years I read the books but I had only seen the films on CD. I had brief look at my nephews copies shortly after GoF had come out on cinematic release, despite not having seen the film the hype had made me curious . Blasphemy: I found the prose too wooden for my taste especially as I was researching an academic project and spent too much time reading anyway.

Then I saw Mike Newell’s GoF on CD and everything changed (I very rarely go to the cinema). I absolutely had to know what happened next so I borrowed my nephew’s copy of OotP and was hooked (I identified totally with Harry at 15). I immediately read the rest of my nephew’s books so the order went: 5, then 3, 4, ending with 1 and 2, before finally buying HBP, all within 3 weeks ... Since then I’ve been a Leaky and Rowling fan, have my own copies of all the books (some in adult and children versions of each) and went to see OotP four times upon release, and then queued with my nephews at midnight for DH. I haven’t regretted a nanosecond. These books and characters will stay with me forever.

My best friend handed me "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in fifth grade. I fell in love with Narnia. Many years later, she gave my son SS for Christmas. He was only in second grade, she knew it was a little above his reading level but thought it was the kind of book we would've read. She hadn't read it, just heard about it.

He picked it up, put it down, picked it up, put it down... So I grabbed it one day to see what it was like. I'll admit the first couple of chapters were ground work and would be slow for someone my son's age. But then Harry got on the train...

After I finished, I gave it back and said "Please try and keep reading until Harry gets to school. If you still don't like it, I won't bug you to finish" He loved it. My mom was happy to see him reading something, and GoF was coming out that year, so she ordered him CoS, PoA and GoF for Christmas. No midnight release for us, we were just getting started.

I read all four (I re-read SS) over my week off of work at Christmas. Once my son was finished, I started pushing the books around to my family. My brother first (he was the one who got me to read Tolkien), his daughter, my mom and dad... even my sister (and eventually her whole family) who never read anything without being forced unless it was a romance.

I am the biggest HP fan, but my family supports me all the way. We started getting our books from the local bookstore at midnight release parties. I throw movie release parties, book release parties. A friend really liked the movies and my constant HP-ness finally rubbed off on her. She came with me at midnight to get DH.

I've always felt reading is one of the most important skills we can teach our children. You can see at school (I'm a teacher, btw) that the students who are walking around with their own book that they are reading for pleasure and not just for English class are also the ones better in every other subject. So as much as I love the world of HP, the characters, the plot twists... my favorite thing about the series is that it has been a way to crack open the world of reading for so many people who never would've gone there. It made reading not an assignment, a punishment, for English class, but something fun and enjoyable.

I discovered Harry Potter by accident. I was at a movie theatre to see something else, but that movie had already started... so me and my friends went to see Philosopher's Stone. I remember loving it then, and I waited eagerly for Chamber of Secrets. I remember my grandparents, lol, reading the Harry Potter books before then, but I hadn't been interested in it until Chamber of Secrets. So, after then, I read them, and devoured them voraciously! I was so interested in them, so eager and tense to know what happened, that I read all the time.

See, I can't read in a moving vehicle, like a bus, but as I traveled around my city heading places, I couldn't help but read, and endure the motion sickness, nausea and headaches that ensued. Harry Potter was worth it!

The first midnight release party I went to was for Deathly Hallows, actually. I had to work all the other ones, and at the time, I didn't have any fellow HP super freak fans to go to a release party with, so I didn't go. I really feel like I missed out on something... but at least my DH release was spectacular! I was living in Canada at the time, but I traveled to the UK for a 10 day, HP themed tour, and ended up waiting in line in Edinburgh, across the road from the hotel Jo finished writing the book in, for my copy. I was there with 12 other amazing HP fans on the tour, and it was the most amazing experience of my life.

Reading these books, every time I encounter something new, has been an exquisite experience. The wonder, the amazement, enjoyment, sadness and yes, the Magic of the whole experience has changed my life.

I don't remember hearing many of the news stories associated with the releases, as I didn't really have access to the internet during most of the release time. But for the 10 day tour I was on preceeding the DH release, I avoided all news and media sources of any sort under any cost. Yes, running away from radios in stores with plugged ears and humming loudly. Yes, covering my eyes when passing newsstand headlines. I also remember playing many HP themed games on that tour, whilst waiting in line for attractions. It was the most amazing experience of my life.

Harry Potter has given me my best friends. I met them through my HP experiences on websites, and have met many of them in real life. I can't even begin to think what my life would be like without Harry Potter, but it would be so much emptier and less meaningful. Reading Deathly Hallows was one of the most emotional periods in my life, and I remember reading the last several chapters, just reading in constant tears, shaking and unable to bear it at times, yet definitely unable to stop. Then, when I finished it, I started it immediately over again.

I would really love to answer your question in as much detail as the others who've commented - but the fact is, I can't really remember. I was about 6 or 7 when I picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Singapore, where I was on vacation in 1997. My favorite genre is fantasy, so the Harry Potter books fit in perfectly with my interests and quickly took over my imagination. I can't even think about things without Harry Potter now, after it's been such a large part of my life for so long.

When I was in college, my then boyfriend's grandmother took us to lunch every Sunday and she often talked about how much she loved Harry Potter. By this point (my senior year), only the first three had been published. I remember her describing Quidditch and thinking "what a weird word" and deciding I wasn't interested in jumping on that band wagon.

Fast forward a few months to my first interview for a real post-college job -- in the course of our conversation, the interviewer told me if I loved to read, I simply had to give Harry Potter a try. Wanting the job, I went out and immediately bought the first three. I read them all within a week and loved each one more than the last.

I only stayed at the job a year, but Harry Potter became one of my favorite things in the world. I went to midnight book parties, I read the fansites (never wanted Hermione and Harry to be together, BTW!), and when I got engaged before the Deathly Hallows pub. date was announced, I worried it would come out when I was on my honeymoon and I'd have to ignore my poor husband so I could read it immediately. (Luckily, it was published before then.)

On a deeper level, HP became a powerful source of inspiration and strength when my family went through an extremely difficult time. When I was scared, I would think about Harry standing up to Voldemort and feel better.

Can't wait to read your book!

From the start! Since Philosopher's Stone was released in the UK and, even then, I almost didn't read it!

I was 12 (ten years minus 22) and I went into a local bookshop called Arces of Books (it sadly closed down a few years ago) and my mum picked up this book. I glanced at it and put the book down - how could I read a book my Mum picked up?! - but, somehow, I picked up the book without realising it. I bought it and read it within a space of a week. That was Harry Potter! A week later, JK Rowling was on Blue Peter and I fell more in love with this world that she created! She got me into reading and even attempt to write - a hobby I still do (not very well, but I don't care!)

I waited (very impatiently) for Chamber of Sercets (a book I wasn't fond on till two or three years ago) and then, from Arces of Books, I got my fave Harry - Prisoner of Azkaban. But then, Harry Potter fandom was picking up, cos the book wasn't going to released to the public till after 3.30pm due to the fear that kids would skip school and get the book.

Anyway, ten longs years later, no local book shop (a wedding dress fitters), I discovered the true force of the fandom. I found a small podcast on iTunes and, having no idea what a podcast was, I downloaded it and fell in love with the wonderful podcast. That, was Pottercast - yes, I was 22 and I discovered Leaky and Pottercast. I'm so behind the times!!!

Am still awaiting "Harry: A History", as I want to awaken my Harry Potter memories and see the HP fandom from the very beginning and see what I missed!

I think that I am the only police officer Potterhead so I've been undercover since PoA!

I came to the Potterverse after CoS when my son wanted a copy. We read it, then ran out and got SS and we were hooked! Since then, we've been fighting over them as each new one comes out and reading them over and over. It's been one of the greatest experiences of my life and it's been great to share it with all of you!

Just don't ruin my cover!

I found a copy of the hardback in the local bookstore in St. Robert, MO. Since I was a bit short of cash, I bought the paperback. The illustrations spoke to me; they were charming and evoked a fairy tale surrealism to me. The blurb on the back cover was perfect, so it being late spring of 1998, I bought it and headed home to see what it was all about.

I read all night. I couldn't put it down. So, when I finished it, I went back to the bookstore and bought the hardback, and the Chamber of Secrets and POA when they came out in hardback. The most poignant part of this story is my oldest son.

I was up late one night, and heard his voice in his younger brother's room. I tiptoed up the hall to see what in the world he could be saying to them. Peeking in, I saw him sitting on the bottom bunk, with his baby sister (she would have been two at the time)sitting on one side, and his two younger brothers on the other. He had a flashlight. All of them were focused on the spell the story was weaving of another child in another time and place. I left him to it. This continued for many nights until 'Goblet Of Fire' came out. Since it was known that a death would occur, I wanted to read it for myself to see how it was handled. No problems there, but my son was sneaking it off to his room and finished it when I did!

Heh.

Well, when OOP came out, he bought a copy with his allowance/chore money, and we read it together, the two of us. He was 16 and couldn't wait for his dad to get home from an overseas assignment so he could share it with him. We went on vacation and took OOP with us. We finished the story. Sadly, my son didn't live to see the rest of the series published, but Harry gave us some priceless memories.

Thank you, Jo.

Well, my introduction to Harry Potter was just after the great hype of book 4. I resisted posting my story until now because, frankly I am too embarrassed to tell it. But now, I'm thinking, everyone is telling their stories and not wanting to be left out, for good or bad, here goes. I may regret it.

I kept hearing a lot of fuss over Harry Potter but never bothered to know the detail because I thought I knew what Harry Potter was. I thought it was about the new adventures of a rabbit whose tales were written early in the century and now someone is writing more stories and children are going crazy for them. I know it sound ridiculous and incredibly ignorant and frankly I have no defence. But allow me to continue anyway.

So one weekend, my friends and I drove to up to Blackpool. Whilst there, a couple of us were compelled to walk into a quaint little bookshop which had a magic sign saying "Every book half price, this weekend only". After half an hour, and a total of 20 mostly sci-fi and horror books balancing on our outstretch arms, the friendly bookseller, asked if we had read the latest Harry Potter book. I looked at the book seller, smiling, wondering if he's being serious, until my friend Victor replied, "Oh yes, it was brilliant, I'm reading the whole series again". I looked at Victor, in shock. He is a very highly literate fella, who reads philosophy, history, shares my enthusiasm for sci-fi, is a walking dictionary and reads about 6 or more books simultaneously. I thought perhaps he was taking the mickey which would be out of character for him but his face was lit with genuine excitement to talk about the books. I love to read older children books too but come on, these are for pre-school, and he is reading them again?!? The book seller actually seemed pleased with Victor's answer rather than disappointment at not wanting to buy them. Then I said aloud "Are you kidding? these are books about a rabbit written for pre-school! you're reading them again?". "What the hell made you think that?" Victor uttered in astonishment. Then before I answered, the bookseller laughed and said "My friend, I think you are confusing Harry Potter with Peter Rabbit...". Peter Rabbit? Ok, I've heard of Peter Rabbit, but how can I confuse Peter..."...written by Beatrice Potter" the bookseller completed. My face probably went red and all I could mutter was "Um...oh...right". At this point, I could tell Victor wished he wasn't seen walking in with me. The book seller proceeded to gather a set of books from the shelves, then laid them down on a table. I looked at them and sure enough they looked nothing like pre-school books. "I suggest you take advantage of my half price offer and buy the set." Then Victor encourage me too. I said I'm carrying too much, by which the bookseller looked at my pile, took off 4 books from it of which he deemed unnecessary for me to read and replaced them with the Potter books. He even said he would be happy if I dropped all the other books and just bought the Harry Potter ones! He genuinely was concerned about me, a complete stranger, (and obviously, an idiot) not having read harry Potter, and didn't care how many books I bought as long they at least contained the Harry Potter books. Not wanting to expose my embarrassment for much longer in the bookshop, I accepted his recommendation hastily and without even looking at which books he took off my pile, I purchase the pile that the bookseller adjusted for me!

And then I read the Potter books in succession in little more than one week. Needless to say, I became a proud Harry Potter fan. The past me would probably have a heart attack if he knew his fate ;)

So I guess I have the very caring bookseller to thank for enriching my life. Well, the bookseller and Jo to be more accurate.

It took me several years to become really interested in Harry Potter. It all started when I was a leader in our church’s youth group and one of the kids, who was in 7th or 8th grade, and the daughter of some good friends came to me with her copy of SS in hand and said, “You have to read this book – it’s so good!” So I thought, “Gee, since I’m working with middle and high schoolers every week, perhaps I ought to check out what these kids are into.” Being in my mid-thirties at the time, I was a little out of touch with the teen scene. “It’s about a boy who’s a wizard and there are going to be 7 books in the series and they’re making a movie about it next year!” she said to me breathlessly. I had never heard of Harry Potter at all before that moment. So she leant me her copy of SS and I read it and thought, “Aw, that was nice (a nice kid/teen book)…no need to read the rest of the series though.”

That must have been in 1999 or 2000, because a year or so later, the first movie came out, and by then the hype had started in earnest and some of my adult friends had hopped on the bandwagon. I re-read SS to refresh my memory and saw the movie – twice. That movie changed my perception of HP. I thought it was so rich, the actors perfectly cast, and it made me want more of Harry. Over the next couple of years I read the other books that were out, saw the movies as they were released, and by OOP I was hooked enough to pre-order a copy and started looking online for information about the rest of the series and the upcoming movies. It didn’t take long for me to find Leakey (I think it was still in the orange background format – no Noe visuals yet). I loved how professional and informative it was (and still is). I went to a midnight release party for HBP and have kept up with Pottercast since its inception. That’s my story. I’m a huge fan now and am anxiously awaiting my copy of Harry, A History (I think I may be more excited about reading it than about reading Beadle the Bard!) Congratulations, Melissa!

Oh, and my young friend who introduced me to all this – she just began her career as a teacher last month.

I first read Harry Potter in my Sophomore year of High School. It was just after book four came out and all that hype. I'd heard of Harry Potter, of course, but I'd dismissed it as a kids book. One of my friends lent me her copy of Sorcerer's Stone and it was love. The funny thing is that while I'm still obsessed with Harry Potter she's always been more of a casual fan. When she makes fun of me for being squeeful at some news or such I always remind her that it's her fault for lending me the book! :)

It was book three that caught me. Specifically the shrieking shack scene. I can still remember reading it for the first time and being shocked by all that's revealed. That scene definitely sealed my love for Harry Potter.

Off topic: I just got a call from Borders and my copy of Harry, a History is in! Squee! :D

Harry Potter came into my life when I was 11 years old. And it couldn't have come at a more desperate time.

My father walked out on my mom, sister, and I when I was 10. We lived in KY at the time because my father's job had transferred him there. But my mother's family was in Michigan. So in Nov. of 1999, mom packed up our stuff and we left KY in the dead of night.

We went to live with my uncle who had just bought a house with 2 extra rooms that he didnt need. So thus, our life in MI began.

My father had made all the money and my mom had little more than a high school education so money was very tight in the beginning. Church charities that provided clothes, snow boots, and government issued food were the norm for us.

I had just started the 6th grade and kids, like always, hate anything thats different. And there I was in my holey pants, and too small coat, and they hated me on the spot. Because of all the taunting I NEVER wanted to go outside for recess. And my teacher, knowing my story, took pity on me and let me stay inside.

One day she came over to me and asked me if I liked to read. "Of course", I told her. I had always been, and still am to this day, a very rabid reader. She told me that she was thinking about having the class read a book and asked me if I would like to read it first to tell her if I thought the rest of class would like it. She handed me a paperback copy of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone".

From the first senence, from the first page, I was hooked. I got so immersed in the story of a boy close to my age that lived a horrible life. Who didn't know that he was special, and didn't know that he had this amazing destiny waiting for him. So needless to say I flew through the book and in 3 recess periods I was done with it. I told my teacher that I loved it, and she decided to have the class read the book.

That very day after i had finished I walked to the library and got online and discovered the whole of the Harry Potter universe. I discovered that 3 other Harry Potter books were in publication, (GOF having just been released). I was in amazement of all the information and the fansites (Leaky, of course...my favorite!) I wrote down the names of the other 3, checked them out from the library and brought them home.

Harry Potter has meant so much to me that I feel I can't properly put it into words. I think every fan, (as all these comments show) have their own personal Harry Potter story. All I know is that my parent's divorce turned nasty, bitter, and at times downright cruel. And through all of that I had Harry Potter. Sometimes my head would feel so full of just everything that was going on that when I sank into the story I found that I could leave it all behind for an hour, or two. And when I came back to reality everything seemed like it would be okay. To get a break from the problems in your own head lets you prioritize and figure out what you're going to do about them.

Harry Potter gave me a place to escape when I thought there was no escape possible. It gave me companionship, and sanity through all the crazy times. It gave me so much and still though I am 19 now, whenever I feel stressed or overwhelmed I go pick up a Harry Potter book and just get lost in it.

Sorry if this is super long!!!

Although I was always a lover of reading, I was one of those kids that initially thought Harry Potter was "stupid." I'm one of those people that tries to resist against the newest fads/trends as long as possible. I even remember making fun of one of my friends for reading it.

It was July 7, 2000. I was ten and at the mall with my mom when we went into a Walden Books (which is now Borders Express) because I wanted to drool over my favorite books in the kids' section. When I got there, I noticed that there were activities in the back of the store to accommodate the release of GOF. There were a group of kids in the midst of a Harry Potter trivia contest, and although I didn't even know who the Dursleys were, I ended up on the losing team. It was no surprise that I walked out of Walden Books with Sorcerer's Stone that day, and I have been hooked ever since.

My journey with Harry accounts for some of my most vivid memories: The initial encounter in the bookstore, reading the end of COS under my desk on Halloween that year similar to how a child would sneak candy from classmates, receiving OOTP as a get-well present after my tonsilectomy, discovering the Internet community once HBP came out, and counting down with hundreds of fellow fans in a Barnes & Noble as the final seconds before the official release of Deathly Hallows. I still have my wristband from that release.

I get a lot of slack for loving the series so much, but it is all worth it. I proudly show my allegiance - I'm even being Luna Lovegood for Halloween! - and don't mind being called a nerd for it. And the ironic thing is that the friend I once made fun of for liking Harry Potter couldn't even manage to make it through SS.

I always felt a little bit behind the phenomenon, a little out of it. See, I started the series right after COS came out. I was also 7 years old at the time, but nevertheless a very good reader. My mom picked up PS and COS for my brother to read, as he was around 10, and as soon as he started, I had to too.

I must admit, the first time around, I didn't get past the third page. It seemed boring, and dry, and something I would never want to read. But somehow, after my brother tried to condense the plot of COS into a book report, I decided to try again, and poof.

I never got to go to any release day parties, as I was too young or away at summer camp. I did, however, wake up at 5 in the morning waiting for the postman to arrive at my doorstep with my book.

My books are slightly tattered, my books are slightly torn. My books have squashed mosquitos and spots of blood from staying up late at night at camp trying to get through the graveyard scene with bugs flying around.

Last summer, my last book came up to camp 1 day late, on visitors day with my parents. It subsequently was packed in 2 dry bags and taken on a 5 day intense camping trip. I read my last book sitting in the middle of a canoe, in the middle of a lake, reading aloud to my friends in the bow and stern of the boat, who were paddling.

I joined the online community around 2004. I had been about the big websites, some no longer active, but I had never found my community. I finally came across a uk originated forum, and fell in love. It became my home until shortly after the release of DH, when it had to close down due to a complexity of issues.

But a bunch of us from that original forum, mostly moderators and frequent posters, kept a private community going on, which remains my home. I later found Leaky as my news source and fell in love with the podcasting community.

Although never a diehard movie fan, I did my dues as a reader and saw each and every one, multiple times, and dutifully explained it in whispers to my cousin and friend who never read the series.

Harry Potter was more than just a series for me. It was what bound my childhood together, seeing me through elementary, middle, and high school. During those times when I feel utterly alone, unwanted, and friendless, I know I can turn to the wonderful people who fell as much in love with the series as myself. It remains my escape from school, from the social pressures of a 17 year old girl, and from all other nasties in the world.

I didn't have a lot of friends before high school. I was never really into all the things a 12-year-old girl was supposed to be into. I preferred reading and writing over clothing and makeup, so I never really fit in. Then I found Harry and immediately became attached to the books. While all of the girls I hung out with were off chasing boys, I was following Harry on his latest adventure. My obsession followed me through high school where I became completely immersed in the online community. I would read the fanfiction, post on the forums, and do everything you possibly could to fill the time in between book releases. Although Harry has completely taken over my life, I love it because there are so many people out there who feel exactly the same way I do. The books took me to a world where anything is possible and I would never ever give up the past decade of my life just to be popular or even "normal" as some would call it. I'm in my second year of college now, I have re-read the series over and over and I have some of the most amazing and incredible people in my life because of Harry Potter! A year after the release of Deathly Hallows, I got a small lightning bolt tattoo which a lot of my friends found kind of ridiculous because "I'll eventually get over it." But it's there to remind me of the person I am because of all this. Harry Potter changed my life in ways they could only dream about and that's all that matters to me. :)

I started reading the Harry Potter books my Junior year of high school (that was 04/05). I had seen the first three movies before I started reading the books, and the first 5 books were already out in paperback.

Perhaps I should back up a bit to before I ever saw the first movie or read the book. I remember when Sorcerer's Stone, the movie, came out. I wasn't allowed to see it.

My family and I belong to a small Messianic Jewish synagogue, and there were a few very vocal members of the shul that went nuts about the Harry Potter movie coming out, going on and on with the usual bilge about how it was "evil" and it promoted witchcraft. One rather vociferous woman actually tried to organized the members of our shul to go to a movie theater and stand outside to protest, and she went around telling everyone that the spells in the movie were real Wiccan or demonic spells, and that if you saw the movie, the spells would curse you.
Ridiculous.
(and of course, none of these people actually saw the film or read the book, so they were just speaking from complete ignorance, or as I like to say - talking out of their as*es - pardon my french).

Naturally, all of this negative hype only made me want to see the movie even more, both out of curiosity, and because of my own desire for rebellious defiance. (and I thought those claims were just downright stupid).

So, I finally got to see the Sorcerer's Stone when it came out on DVD, and of course, my whole family loved it.

The following year when Chamber of Secrets came out, it became a family outing to the theater for each subsequent Potter film.

Sometime after the POA film came out, my friends at school convinced me of how much better the books are than the films, and I decided to borrow the first one from the library.
I was hooked.

I was the only member of my family to read the books, as the rest of them thought it was silly, and they kind of looked askance at me or rolled their eyes whenever they saw me engrossed in a Potter tome. I even got in trouble at school a few time for reading Harry Potter under my desk during class, or worse, during the dreaded half hour of "chapel" (it was a christian school).

Finally, I convinced my mom to read the books. She consented after reading a companion book called "The Gospel according to Harry Potter," which persuaded her that the Potter books are not "evil" and that they actually impart strong moral themes.

Of course, she was instantly hooked, and the two of us got my older sister to read the books. It took the three of us raving about the books to convince my dad to read them.
It is important to understand about my dad, that he is an extremely busy lawyer, as well as a bit of an academic snob (albeit a very lovable one). The even funnier part is that he is the leader of our small Messianic Jewish synagogue - yes, the same one with the (few, but vociferous) anti-Potter freaks.
The fact that my dad became a huge Potter fan gives me a satisfied feeling of vindication, and i laugh to myself when i imagine the look on those Potter-bashers' faces if they realized that these "Dementors" that their rabbi just referenced in his sermon came from the world of Harry Potter.

My whole family is now a HUGE fan of Potter. We've all read the books countless times, and we make jokes and references to them all the time. Even when we're having a family bible study, one of will comment on how what we're studying relates to something in Harry Potter.

I discovered PotterCast and Leaky a few months after book 7 came out. My only regret is that I hadn't found it sooner.

...of course, they still think I'm weird for listening to wizard rock... lol.

I was the kid who HATED reading and was glued to the television set 24/7. I found Harry the day before Order of the Phoenix came out and i believe I was 10 years old at the time. I had gone to the bookstore at the mall with my dad and all I remember is that I saw the posters advertising The Midnight Release Party and begged my dad to let me go. I wanted to dress up like a witch and pretend I had powers, sadly my father didn't allow me to go and I went home very sad. The next day I had learned that my dad had bought me a copy of the book and I was estactic, it was of course the biggest book I had ever seen. I think what led me to the books was the challenge, I, the child who hated reading would read the biggest book ever and love it to death. I believe it took me a month but I stuck to it and Im proud to say that because of Harry Potter I became a lover of books.
After that first month of reading OotP, I decided to borrow PoA from the library knowing that it was the next movie supposedly coming out, I finished it and understood more about what happened in book 5. Then I read GoF, then SS and the CoS.
So far I'm the only person I know that has read the books in such a cooky order. xD

And to answer the last question, I actually didn't fall in love with the books until the led up to HBP. I had found friends that loved the books and I had found Mugglecast and Mugglenet and a whole fandom to discuss theories and read fanfics to tide me over during waits.

Hello,
I'm one of those "old people" that found her way into the fandom at the ripe old age of 34 ; )

It all started when some friends invited me over to play games one evening and someone pulled out their "Harry Potter" Uno cards. I had heard about Harry Potter before this, but, thinking it was a "kid thing", really hadn't gotten interested. But my friends were all talking about how excited that they were that the movie of the first book was going to coming out in November and asked me if was going to see. I said probably not - I'm into more obscure and "arty" things (yeah, right!)

So I pushed thoughts of Harry Potter aside, until Christmas came. I gotten my usual share of Borders and Barnes and Noble giftcards and wasn't really sure where to focus them and found myself online looking at what was "hot". Well, there was this nice little paperback set of the first 3 Harry Potter books for like $15 or something, so I went ahead and ordered them. They showed up sometime in early January 2002 and the rest for me is Harry Potter history.

I was home from work and not feeling well one day and "Hey, this would be a good time to read my new books". I finished Sorcerer's Stone in one sitting and had started Chamber of Secrets before the end of the day. All 3 books were devoured before the weekend and I was out trying to find a copy of book 4, which was still in hard back only. The "War and Peace of Children's Literature" one of my co-workers called it, but I was so hooked by now that I needed to know what happened next. I think it took a week of reading everyday on the train to and from work and for an hour before bed to get it finished and when I was done, I was aching for more. . .

I couldn't believe how much I related, how the things that these kids were going through paralleled not only my childhood, but some of mystruggles of the time, too. I felt like I had found friends in these books and when I wasn't reading them, I missed my friends. I wondered if I was a little "off", but I had always had strong relationships with books, so figured once the newness wore off, these books would end up on my shelf and I'd pull them out every once in a while to reread, as I do with many of my favorites and would cherish them, but not quite so obsessively ; )

However - I became little obsessed with all things Potter before too long. I saw the first movie and loved it. I was talking with some of my friends who liked the books about them and anxiously awaiting the next installment - which was still over a year away. I think I reread the first 4 books twice more before book 5 came out. . .

Then I discoved the online community. I was searching for release date for Book 5 and found Jo's newly revamped site and also Mugglenet. It took me a little longer to find my way to Leaky, but I've loved all three of those sites ever since.

When I finally got an iPod, Harry Potter was transformed for me one more time. Now I was listening to podcasts from both Leaky and Mugglenet, eventually purchases all of the books on tape.

The release of Book 7 was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. I had pre-order my book, then found out I would be away from home, so pre-ordered another copy to the location I would be and then couldn't wait until the mail on Saturday and ended up in some all night Wal-mart or something buying a copy along with 5 other people at 2 a.m. I stayed up all night and well into the next reading, and reading and reading because I HAD TO KNOW what became of "my friends"

These days when I travel for business, which I often do, I take the Potter packed iPod with me and listen to the newest PotterCasts and then when I run out of discussion, I listen to one of the books again. I've learned more little details this way and have really put some pieces together that I hadn't noticed before. Jo's interweaving of this great big puzzle is amazing and I such great respect for her!

Anyway, reading your book, Melissa, in it's entirely last night reminded me of all this and so much more. I'm grateful for the fandom, for your insights into the community and for that fact that even though I'm a techno-geeky 40-something, I'm considered to be "pretty cool" in Harry Potter circles. . . gotta love that : )

Thanks Melissa!!! And many, many congratulations!

Karen

I remember quite distinctly how I got into Harry: I was in sixth grade at the time, and the third book had just come out. As part of the whole publicity for that thing, Scholastic was running a special on the first book, and my mother decided to order that for me; she'd heard about the series and pretty much knew that I would love it. Me being the strange little kid that I was, I was more than skeptical ("The 'Sorcerer's Stone?' What kind of pansy book is that?"), but took a look inside and got pulled in after the first page.

I also remember blasting through "Chamber of Secrets", then almost tearing my hair out when the school library was out of "Prisoner of Azkaban". Although it was pretty funny that the person who *had* checked out the book ended up being our Vice Principal, not one of the kids.

As an aside, I am devouring "Harry, A History" as quickly and eagerly as any other Harry Potter book, and I'm loving it! You have done something amazing, Miss Anelli.

How did I find Harry? As I remember it - and it is quite possible I am misremembering, unfortunately I do not own a Pensieve - over the shoulder of my sister, who was reading it while we were on holiday in my grandparents' cottage in the Lake District. I had previously looked at this book as it lay around and thought, 'That is not for me.' How wrong can you get?! Naturally, after the first chapter was survived I was hooked from there on in.
I feel privileged to be a part of the pre-phenomonen fandom, our first three books are all paperbacks, the next four are all hard backs, and we own two copies of because we couldn't possibly wait for the other sibling to finish reading!
Can't wait for HaH.

My story, like so many others, begins with an absolute refusal to go anywhere near a Harry Potter book. As far as I was concerned, they were a "dumb fad" that would fade in a few years like all the others. Begrudgingly, I went to see the Sorcerer's Stone when it came to theaters in 2001. I was completely taken aback by the richness of the world, the characters and the plot. I loved the film and decided I might as well read the second book before its movie came out.

I began reading Chamber of Secrets, by myself in a secluded corner of my school library (a place that was quite foreign to me at the time), thinking that it would take up the few months I had left until the release of the second film. By the second page, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down. I would hurry through my homework so I could dive back into Harry's world.

By the release of the Chamber of secrets film, I had read all of the available books twice and eagerly awaiting the next. I am so glad that I decided to pick up that book and I am happy to say that Harry Potter has changed my life for the better.

When I was in kindergarten (eight years ago) may dad brought home the Sorcerer's Stone movie. At first I thought it would be a 'boy's movie' (typical kindergarted girl). So my dad started watching it and I ended up also watching it. By the end I was hooked. I asked for the book (but being in kindergarten I had to wait a year because my reading level wasn't too high). Ever sinse I have been a die-hard fan and grew up with Harry to the bitter-sweet end! Can't wait for your book!!!

Dear Melissa,

I have had a pretty normal trek throughout into the fandom but I though I would share my story. My mom started reading the Harry Potter Books to me in Kindergarten before bed. We didn't rush, just simply read the books and enjoyed them. We became more and more obsessed as time went on. I still have my Harry Potter plate, pillowcase, lightswitch cover, picture frames, action figures, and birthday cake toppers.

I read the books a bunch of times, enjoying them more and more every time. I soon began listening to them on tape as I went to sleep. I could listen to the same tape and later disc for at least a month and still enjoy the story.

I think OOTP was the first book I read by myself. I remember being so proud when I finished HBP in just a week (sounds slow but not for a soon to be fifth grader). Then after years of anticipation Deathly Hallows which I proudly finished in eight hours.

At the beginning of sixth grade I got my first taste of the fandom. My very close friend had discovered fanfic and some wrock. I watched her and was a bit annoyed. I didn't really like the whole idea of it, the shipping, fanfic, wrock. I felt like it was violating Jo a little bit.

Soon though in seventh grade I hit some hard times. My best friend was diagnosed with leukemia and I was distraught. On those first few nights I listened to Harry Potter on tape until I could fall asleep.

Later when my friend was about to come back to school we ate lunch up in a teacher's classroom with a few friends because my friend was immune compromised. One of the people eating lunch with us was a big Mugglecast fan and was always encouraging us to listen. I was unsure but one day I got onto iTunes to download this famous show.

Me, of course made a mistake but I have to say it was one of the best mistakes of my life. Somehow instead of Mugglecast I got it into my head as PotterCast. Since listening to The Fantastic Four podcast I have been hooked.

I have explored the fandom from there exploring Wizard rock and after a long time even some fanfic.

I missed the Detroit Podcast because I was at camp and I hope for PotterCast to come back to Southern Michigan!

I just received an phone call from my local bookstore saying that Harry, A History is in and I can't wait to read it

Thanks for the joy,

Rianna

I had been hearing all the buzz about Harry and was curious. My son who was 10 at the time, he was a very shy boy and I wanted him to be able to join in with the discussions of the books at school with his classmates at lunch time. It took a lot of coaxing for him to read Sorcerer's Stone. At the time, I think the size of the book was very intimidating to him. Finally, I said OK, we will read it together. It became a bedtime ritual to sit and read together. Needless to say, we were hooked. He is now 17 but we have always shared the Potter books as a special Mother/Son thing.
I hope someday when he reads Harry's journey to his children, he will remember the special times that we shared together.

The first time I heard about Harry Potter was in an article I read where the author defended the books against the religious arguments of the books being bad for children, or being an outright evil story.
Since I had never heard of Harry Potter and I like to make up my own mind about issues, I went in search of the book. I didn't even know that there were more than one. In fact, the first three had been published by that time and "HP and the Goblet of Fire" was due out. I bought HP and the Sorcere's Stone, fell in love with it immediately, and discovered that the arguements against it were completely wrong. There is nothing wrong with the story, and everyting right. I've rarely read such uplifting, entertaining and fun story in my life.
I look forward to reading Melissa's book. Thanks much for writing it.

I cant wait for this book to come out i love reading the harry potter books and watching the flims. just wanted to know where can i get hold of this book Harry, A history?? does any one know???
thanks
XxX

I got Sorceror's stone for my birthday in January of 1999, but I actually put off reading it because--get this--I thought it was an Ali Baba-type story. Don't even ask me how. Six months of shelf-time later, my mom told me I should read the book I received, so as we drove halfway across the country (moving from Boston to Detroit) I read, and here I am.

Melissa-
First of all, what a lovely book. I expected to read it in a leisurely fashion, but quickly found myself drawn into it so that I couldn't put it down. To me, that's a sign of a great author! I didn't become involved in the online fandom until 2005, so reading your book was kind of like learning all of the secrets and inside stories of a family you married into. I was particularly struck by your emotions just prior to the release of Deathly Hallows. At that time I had a 2-month-old baby, and I didn't really have an opportunity to take stock of the momentous event, much less stand in line at a bookstore at midnight (even though I was probably awake). Reading that part of the book made me feel like I had finally had that moment to celebrate and mourn the ending Harry Potter.

And the next time you come to Atlanta, you don't have to stay in a hotel by the airport! : )

Thought I'd add my 'story' to the nice bunch that is now on here. I've enjoyed reading them all.

I got hooked in 2001. We moved into new offices and I discovered a nice bookstore quite close. Since one of my greatest pleasures is roaming around in bookstores just looking and checking out stuff I've never heard of, I went over to do just that.
On the counter there was a book - a hardcover version of PS (the Norwegian translation). I remebered reading an article about this book and the author - and I remembered two things in particular: The author was advised to only use her initials so that it would not be obvious that it was written by a woman (that upset me), and that the growing popularity of the book(s) was not due to marketing but to readers recommending them to others. That last one was the reason I decided to buy the book although I knew it was classified as a childrens book (I was 48 at the time). I've always believed that great litterature spans genres and ages.
Went home and started reading. The first sentence made me smile, and by 'Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!' I knew I was in love and that anything this author published I would read.
The next day I got my hands on CS and PoA, and while reading those I realised that I just had to read the originals because I sooooo wanted to know what Rumpeldunk was called in English (Quidditch), and what was Humlesnurr's 'original' name (Dumbledore). So off I went and got the English versions and enjoyed those even more. I also marvelled at the translators job with all those weird and funny names and words for stuff that does not really exist. What a challenge!

After all this pleasure - LIMBO. When is the next one coming out? How do I find out? It took me a while to realise I could use the internet (I know!). JKR's site turned out to be a long list of publishers - boring! But I checked it regularly and one day it had changed! YES! After a while that lead me to Leaky and Mugglenet due to the fansite-awards.
Finally I had found sites where I could indulge my passion.(Among my friends reading HP was not really of interest so me talking about it a LOT just made them roll their eyes at me.)

Since then I have had my fix almost everyday through these sites and their podcasts which I have listened to from the very beginning and never missed and episode.
Never gone to midnight release-parties, but always bought the books the next day and gone home to read - immediately.
One of my fondest memories is from watching the first film. Like always I dread film-versions of books I love, having seen some awful ones, and a few good. But it was HP and there was no way I was going to be able to not see the film.
And there was Dumbledore - as if they had taking him out of my brain - using the put-outer. Sigh of relief - and a huge grin on my face. Love at first sight! The first film has always remained my favourite, and the one I watch more than the others, although I love them all.

I started thinking that someone should write a book about Harry Potter and his fans and that Melissa on Pottercast seemed to be in an ideal position to do so. What happened some months later? On Pottercast Melissa announced that she was writing a book about the HP phenomenon. I lauhed out loud - and started looking forward to said book.
I am now going to go to every major bookstore with a decent stock of English-language books in Oslo and ask if they have 'Harry, a history'! They need to know there is a demand!!!!

There is so much more I wanted to write about, but this has gotten long enough - sorry about that - but get me going about HP and ...... well you see the result for yourselves.

Melissa,

Yep that's me wholesome and innocent! (she says with a sly smile on her face..)
HA! thank you for responding to me. I just felt like since you mentioned St.Louis. I just had to respond. Felt like I could poke fun with you! Your book is wonderful, I am throughly enjoying it.
Harry Potter has touched by life is such a way that its so close to me I hate to think I will ever let it go. I want to bring it to everyone I know and will know.

Thanks again! :)
Lisa

My first exposure to HP was being taken to see The Philosophers Stone and thinking great film, but just a kids story. I didn't think about it again till Chamber of Secrets came out on DVD and my nephews asked me to watch it with them, I started to and thought how stupid is this an elf doing magic and dropping a dessert on someones head, so i stopped watching the film and didn't take any notice of the other films or books. A couple of my friends kept telling me to read the books as they were excellent and I kept saying yeah but its for kids!

A couple of weeks before my 39th birthday I went to see a movie and the film I wanted to see was full so reluctantly I went to see the Order of the Phoenix. I LOVED it and as there was nothing I wanted for my birthday I asked my family to buy me all 7 books as i thought if I didn't like them there was nothing lost as they were gifts.

I devoured the books and for the next couple of months did nothing but read them all.

I love HP!!!

I got into Harry Potter because my brother was reading them and he told me they were something I HAD to read. So over Christmas break from college in 2000, year GoF came out, I read all four in a matter of days and was instantly drawn in by the imagination of Jo. The rest, as they say, is history.

I read the first one because everyone in my denomination said I shouldn't. I was a single mother with a 5 year old, and I fell in love with school full of children. I can't pick one student even to this day, although Seamus and the twins figured heavily in my first fantasies. I fantasized because I knew deep down I BELONGED in that school. Like so many others out here in the real world.

I eagerly devoured them all, started my daughter by reading them to her at bedtime until she could read herself, seeing EVERY movie on release weekend, and of course buying them for repeated watching. My daughter at age 12 is still obsessed, but my obsession is mostly memory at this poitn. Memory and deep devoted affection.

And a sometimes uncomfortable affection for the actors.

I first read parts of Harry to my neice when I was in college. Later, I picked up a friend's copy of Sorcerer's Stone to finish the parts I didn't get to read with her. Long story short, I tore through the series and bought GoF in hardback (it wasn't in paperback yet). I distinctly remember taking this book with me to a physical chemistry class because I couldn't bear to leave it. I finished GoF in that class, all the while praying that noone would see me in the back of the auditorium crying over Cedric! And that's when I began the wait for book five and found TLC!

First to say i've loved reading all these story's above.

Im a tad ashamed of how i got into HP..my brother was always a huge fan..always said i was missing out. I was clear on what i believed, i believed the books were a waste of time, you may aswell wait for the film. I tried reading ps but i just couldnt get into it. Then the hp hype got bigger and bigger..by the release of ootp i thought i'd give it another go. Then i was hooked. the rest is very much like everyone else's. my life became hp, couldn't believe what i'd missed. I now read the books on a loop and probably always will.

ps, can't wait to read harry a history !

wow, has it really been almost seven years?
oh well... i was on a completely unrelated mailing list in 2001, something on yahoo groups. two of my friends there were mentioning Harry Potter. I'd heard that name a few times before and so i got curious. But once they started telling me about a book about a kid who finds out on his eleventh birthday etc... i thought' this is for kids." but another of my friends got curious and started to read it, and kept sayign how much fun it was. by the time she got to book three i finally gave in. For one thing, you'll have to know I'm dutch, and I also read braille. So I ordered the first two books from my library adn by the first sentence I was hooked. first time in ages that I had to be called to dinner three times, that I read in bed until i fell asleep and started again as soon as I woke up.
i hope i can get harry-a-history on tape over here so i can go back down memory lane again *stares at pile of fics*...

My story is kinda like all of yalls.

I was in the 5th grade (2001) and my teacher was giving us a book report project, and I had to choose from two books, Harry Potter or Artimus Fowl. I think you can guess which one I chose.
I could not stop reading it, once the project was over, I got the next book, and it was then when I became a book reader. I never liked reading but there was just something about the books that made me love it.

From then on, I have been a HP addict, all my friends know me as the Harry Potter nerd. I love the whole Harry Potter life on the internet too, my favorite site is Mugglenet. I didnt go to any of the midnight releases except for HBP and DH, so I kinda got into that part late. Now its my senior year in high school and its all I can think about. I think I will always love it, the whole story of Harry and his struggle is just amazing to me. I'm so glad I picked Harry Potter.

Can't wait for this book!

Mudbloods Rule!!!!!!!

In 2003 I was a stay-at-home mom with two preschoolers when my father-in-law sent the 5 book series to me for Christmas (for me, not the kids!). After the holidays ended and life returned to "normal", I started Sorcerer's Stone. By the mirror of Erised I was hooked. I read all five within a month, then started re-reading. They were my escape and my therapy during the dark days of post-partum blues. HP became my framework for motherhood. I poured all of my post-partum tears into feelings for Harry, I used Weasley humor to keep me sane through the terrible-two's, I bonded with my girls as they entered their school years by reading HP and attending Enlightening 2007 (the only HP conference for families!), and I use Dumbledore's wisdom daily while parenting.

My introduction to Harry Potter...I honestly don't remember hearing much about it until 2001. The end of that summer I came home from my summer employment before my study abroad in London (I was entering junior year at college) to work for a month or so at the elementary school that my mother works for. Since I wasn't doing much she suggested I do some reading and even suggested the Harry Potter books. I was working as an evening janitor and even found SS in one of the classrooms and read the jacket, but didn't read them. At least not yet.

I headed off to London that September and realized that many of my friends were way into the Potter scene, and the 1st movie was coming out. It was a rough fall, so I think the draw to the fantasy and heroism in the stories was particularly strong...So, someone finally loaned me a couple of the books. I read the first two or three books by the time the first movie came out that November.

Since we were in London we went to Piccadilly to watch the stars arrive for the movie's premiere event. I was SO close to some of them - Emma, Rupert, Daniel, even Cher and Sting and his daughter. We were even interviewed by some reporter! Was disappointed not to see Alan Rickman (love him) but he was performing in a play - Private Lives - which we'd seen earlier that month or so.

The premiere event was before the movie was released to the public, so it was a few days or so before we got to see the movie. We all took a trip on the train to like, the other end of London, with tickets we purchased ahead of time, to one of the few theatres showing the movie the evening before the official release date. I was thrilled to be one of the first in the world to see the movie!

So, now that I was a huge fan, I quickly finished the third and fourth books and found myself anxiously awaiting the 5th which was released the summer after I graduated college, if memory serves. That was the summer I introduced Harry to my fiance (now husband). I was so excited by book 5 that he finally got curious. We were on a vacation in Cape May and I told him he wasn't allowed to read book 5 until he'd read 1-4...so we went to the bookstore, bought them, and by the end of that week BOTH of us had finished through book 5!!! Now he was hooked.

We preordered book 6 and had it delivered to our house. We couldn't agree on who got to read it first, so we ended up taking turns reading it out loud to each other. I remember staying up until 3 in the morning on a Monday to finish it because we got to a point in the book that we couldn't bear to put it down. He couldn't talk anymore so I finished reading the final chapters to us, and my voice was so sore, especially since I was crying too...I think we managed to still made it to work on time the next day...

I bought at least two Snape/Does Harry Die? theory books between books 6 and 7. I was always a Ron & Hermione shipper but long conflicted about Snape. When I made my decision, I thought I had it right. I was close to the final result on Snape, but JK was so good, I could never have predicted all of what we would learn. I felt so uplifted after book 7, it was so well done, but part of me is now so sad that it is all over. Well, except that we still have the movies!!

Hi Melissa! I am soo excited for the book. I ordered from my local bookstore instead of Amazon, so it hasn't come yet ;(
I just wanted to share my story along with everyone else:
Considering that I was four when PS came out, I didn't read it right away. But after the first movie came out and I saw it, I was completely fascinated. So I borrowed the book from my cousin, at seven, and read it. The moment I was done, my awesome grandma took me out to buy CoS, and from there on I devoured anything and everything Harry Potter, evolving it into the biggest part of my life.
Can't wait for the book! And by the way, I'm sure I along with many others would LOVE it if you ever visited Canada for Harry a Hisroty ;)

How I found Harry?

It was Christmas Eve, 1999. I was trying to find my wife the perfect present. I got tired of listening to carols that every station had and wanted something different. I turned on NPR and there was an English author being interviewed by Diane Rehm. She seemed intelligent and then the author started reading the wand shop scene from SS. I was enthralled. I felt like I was in the shop. After the interview I changed directions and went to the nearest Borders and purchased Sorcerers Stone. Then I went to the jewelry store next door and purchased my wife a necklace.

The next day after I had finished, I was bummed there were no stores open where I could purchase Chamber of Secrets.

If you want to listen to the interview it can be found here. http://tinyurl.com/yv9mnr

By the way, I think JKR does an excellent job of reading. I saw her at both Radio City and Carnegie Hall. And I consider both highlights of mt HP experience!

One last thing, I am on vacation and the book was shipped to my office, so I will not get it until next week. :(

It was winter of 1999, and I was a freshman in high school. I knew my mom had been reading the first two out loud to my little sisters, and I thought how silly they must be. A girl in school had also recommended them, but I was skeptical of the hype.
One dark and stormy night, I was alone in the house and bored, and I thought, the book is sitting right there; I might as well read it. I finished it that night.
I think the things that really made me want to read more were Dumbledore's speech to Harry about death, and the fact that Snape was innocent. Both of those were deep and unexpected in a kids' book.
By the time I got to Book 3 I didn't think they were kids' books any more. I started writing fanfics and I believe I visited young Leaky when it was blue. Somehow my friend got addicted too, and we all went together to the release of GoF.

I actually was first introduced by my husband's 10 year old cousin. I ended up at the SS movie b/c the movie I was trying to see was too full and we didn't want to sit right up at the screen. But it wasn't until after PoA that I finally caved and bought the books. And from the first page I was hooked. Heck, I don't buy hardbacks and pre-ordered HBP and DH. I just love everything about the books. They are awesome and I hope that some day very soon I can share them with my own boys. I cannot wait to hear all about their favorite parts and characters. It is an amazing world and I feel so lucky to share in it.

Hi Melissa!

Besides the fact that I also lived on Staten Island, I really identified with the book because my interest in Harry Potter was a result of 9/11 as well. My commute to the city and back every day was tough on the ferry for awhile afterwards. Harry was my distraction from looking out the window and seeing the empty space in the skyline. My sisters and I began reading and discussing together and soon enough found a common thread to chat endlessly on.

You did a wonderful job, and it is great to see someone find way to blend their interests and career in such a unique way.

I remember when i was nine i spent the night with my friend for her 10th birthday and the next day her mom took us to see sorcerers stone and since that moment when the title went on the screen i was hooked. im now 16 and i remember when i first had a fight with some old people in my church over the books, the first time someone threatened me because i was a hermione/ron shipper, the moment i was running through walmart at midnight alone screaming "its finally here ive been waiting for nearly 2 years", when i heard that book 6 was called half-blood prince, when i heard that someone was shooting over a book, when i realized that i was in something bigger than i could ever be.

Again, thanks for the book. It was awesome.
I was drawn into Harry Potter similarly to you, that is via my sister.

I am older than my sister by about 5 years, but we've always been very close.
She was in 8th grade when she began to really get into HP. She started to get really keyed up prior to the GoF release and it seemed that everytime I spoke to her, she was telling me something about the books. I tried to act like the cooler older sister. I was a freshman in college after all and didn't have time for "a little kids' book." I'm ashamed to admit it now, but I gave her a really hard time about it; teasing her and jibing until she finally said, "I'm not going to argue with you anymore until you read the books yourself." I still wouldn't agree to read them on my own, so we compromised and I agreed to read them aloud to her my first summer back from school.

So I started reading SS aloud to my younger sister. I don't remember much of that first reading, I think I was too busy pretending not to be too interested. I do, however, remember the exact moment I got hooked.
I was reading to her on the couch and we were nearing the end of the book, when Harry is walking into the last chamber with the Mirror of Erised.
"...'There was already someone there-but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.'
"Ahh, who is it?!" I screamed.
She just grinned and said, "Turn the page."
Since that second, I was a converted Potterholic.

Every time thereafter, whenever I read a new HP book for the first time, it was aloud and with my sister. True, she sometimes read ahead of me, especially when book 6 and 7 came out and we weren't able to be together as much as she'd gone off to college and I'd gone to grad school. But she would never go too far ahead so that we could be sure to read together over the phone. (Our mom could mark the dates we received our new books by the spike in our cell phone bills).

Although I never had the chance to join in a huge party at a midnight release, I have great memories of sharing first reactions to the books with my sister, my best friend.

The memories that I will always cherish are of being with my husband during the release parties. He likes the Potter books, but does not completely understand my obsession with them. However, that did not stop him from attending the release parties with me for Books 5, 6, and 7. Claustrophobic as he is, I still think of him crushed in the crowd with me in Books a Million two years in a row, sweating it out while I waited impatiently for our books.

For the 7th book, he planned a week-long trip to the Mall of America and I got the final book there at the midnight release party. I was crushed into line, chatting with all the other Potter crazed fans, and he was sitting on a bench with the enormous winner of one of the costume contests, who looked exactly like Hagrid. Seeing him sitting there with Hagrid while I waited for my book will always be burned into my memory and will always make me smile. My husband likes the books, but he loves me, and that's why he was there.

My story probably isn't very original, but I found Harry Potter when the first film came out. Until then I had been steadfastly refusing to pay any attention to it. As far as I was concerned it was all just a lot of hype, and I'd always gone away from hype. Even when I was at school I used to ignore the other guys when they were going on about the latest episode of "Harry Enfield" from the night before. "Why should I watch it just because it's popular- I don't find it funny..."- that was me when I was younger. So when I heard hype about HP I went all "Bah Humbug" and changed the channel.

Then two things happened at about the same time- I saw the trailer for the Philosopher's Stone and thought, "actually, that looks like it could be quite good fun", and my best friend Nichola told me that she had read the first two books while on holiday and she wanted to see the film. I went with her and just fell in love with what I saw!! Walking into Diagon Alley for the first time was just (I'm sorry Jo- I know you hate the cliché)truly magical to me. Until this day that scene is still one of my favourites from the series. When we got outside I told Nic that I was thinking about reading the books because I'd enjoyed the film so much. I asked her if I should just go straight on to book 2, but she told me to read book 1 first, because there was more in it than was show in the film.

The next day I managed to pick up a copy of book one and that night I read over 100 pages in one sitting!! I was totally hooked right from the start. Now, I am a pretty slow reader, so 100 pages was a hell of a lot for me! I was gripped by the writers imagination, enthralled by the action, entwined in the many plot threads and I laughed myself silly at the humour. I only put the book down that night because I had to go to work the next day and needed to sleep.

Upon finishing work the next day I rushed over to a nearby shop and bought books 2, 3 and 4 all at the same time, and then went home to finish book one. My life has never been the same since. Thank you Nichola!!!

Hi Melissa! First, I have to say that I LOVED the book! I came into the series at about the same time you did, so it was very easy for me to relive my experiences and compare them to yours. Also, I came into the fandom kind of late and did not explore all areas, so it was wonderful to learn about all those new things! Anyway, I'll tell you how I came into the books.

I read the first Harry Potter because I hated my English teacher. No, that's not a misprint. I hated my high school English teacher and that is what introduced me to the wonderful series.

For reasons that probably only a teenager can understand, I had some underlying beef with my English teacher my junior year. Part way through the year, she gave us a book report assignment and I really hated book reports. She said she would allow us to use the Harry Potter series if we liked and it sounded like perfect payback. I would take revenge on my English teacher by writing a report on a children's book! (That is the extent of my ability to be a rebel...doing something I was told I could do. Nevertheless, it felt satisfying.)

I started reading the book, and soon I was completely absorbed. I finished the book and immediately knew I needed the next one. Soon, I owned all four and plowed through them. I read GoF in 4 nights (going to school all day), and stayed up until 4 in the morning to finish. It was fabulous! OotP came out a year or so later, and I spent the night of my college orientation reading the book instead of socializing (no worries, I socialized much more when I actually started school).

Even though I was so mad at my high school English teacher, I couldn't deny that she had been the reason for something truly great happening in my life. The book was so good, I couldn't spoil it for, so when I answered the question of how it ended, I left it very vague. I wasn't mad enough to ruin a truly great book (though I did get some points taken off).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story of how I got into the series. It was an unusual start, but a fabulous journey!

LOL, Lisa, to me, it's egregious wholesomeness with a touch of innocence. :)I have no idea what you look like or if you look like that! I liked those girls that that passage is referring to.

Melissa,

I am currently reading your wonderful book, just turned to page 102. I have a question you may wait to answer until after everyone reads but....
I live in St. Louis MO, what does a and I quote
" Corn-fed , happily Midwestern quaility" happen to look like?
I'm just wondering if I look like these girls since I have lived here my whole life.. :)

thanks!!
Lisa

I am one of those older fans (63 as of yesterday) who fell in love with the series mid-way. My wife collects children's books and had read a couple of articles about the Potter series when it really started to take off (Prisoner, I believe). She bought the first three and read them and raved to me about them. I waited until the fourth book came out and read all four in three days on vacation -- and was forever hooked.

I discovered Pottercast and Mugglecast in 2006, thanks to my younger co-workers and really turned into a 'fanboy'. I've listened to the podcasts and followed all the trends ever since. The wierdest experience was being at a work-related conference in June 2007 and spending most of the week with two of my clients doing pretty much nothing but discussing the upcoming movie and book and arguing about what was going to happen in both. And, ordering my tickets for Order of the Phoenix at 12:01 AM when the tickets came on sale for the IMAX showing at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum annex near Dulles Airport.

I've been waiting for your book to 'catch up' on the early history and was excited when it showed up pre-pub date. I've just begun reading it today and was very touched by JKR's foreward and your opening chapter. Not surprisingly, I "hear" the text in your voice which, for me, is as familiar as Susan Stamberg's after all the hours I've spent listening you on Pottercast.

Thank you for being my gateway to the wonderful (and younger) world of Harry Potter and his fans.

My mom bought me the first book for Christmas when I was 12 (December 1999).I was incredibly skeptical of it since I had just recently started reading books from the young adult section of the library and considered such a "children's book" beneath me. However, I was sick over Christmas break and got really bored one afternoon, so I finally broke down and started reading it. I read the book pretty much straight through, and the next day I went to the bookstore to buy the second and third books. I really liked the books, but I wasn't truly obsessed until that next July when GoF came out. I got it first thing in the morning and read straight through until I was finished. This was also around the time that I started getting into the online fandom. Harry Potter and the fandom have been some of the most important things in my life through high school and college.

Amazon tells me that Harry, A History should be arriving on the 30th, and I am getting very impatient. I check everyday, hoping it came early. I really can't wait!

I didn't start reading HP until after Goblet of Fire was published. I knew of the books and one of my former coworkers has read Yrs 1-3 and knew that I would like them, but I didn't have the motivation to start.

And then Newsweek published a cover story about Goblet of Fire and it reproduced the first chapter (or a large part of it) in the article. That was what I read first and I liked it so much that I went back and purchased Sorcerer's Stone.

Sorcerer's Stone grabbed me from the very beginning. I was so struck with how well Jo mixed the ordinariness of the real world with the magic hidden behind. The idea of the fantastical existing right around the ordinary was so nice and it seemed so fresh to me, when most of my fantasy reading before has alwasy existed in another world so different from our own. I just loved it and caught up to and through Goblet of Fire as quickly as I could while also going to graduate school and starting a family.

But I was totally ready by the time OotP came out--my first experience with HP book release anticipation. I devoured OotP that first weekend--even though my second daughter was born just days before. (Which I never would have, or could have done, if my mother-in-law wasn't there to give me the freedom to read. And I don't feel badly about it because SHE wanted it as soon as I was finished.)

I've inhaled the others every since and always feel sad when that first reading experience is over so quickly. But, the rereading is always great, and now I've read the entire series to my two oldest daughters twice through.

My sister and I are both avid readers, and she was working in an office at a university with elementary education professors. One of them suggested the books to her, this was right after Prisoner of Azkaban came out, and she read them and loved them. She said that I had to read them. I was a little hesitant because I don't normally like "fantasy" type books. So my husband picked the first one up and started reading. He was instantly hooked and also encouraged me to give them a try. I eventually gave in and read the first one, and have been obsessed ever since. We were there at midnight for all of the book releases after that. And what fun we had discussing them as we read when they first came out.

Thanks, Melissa, for your book, and helping us remember the great times we've had as a fandom. I'm excited to be part of it.

My Harry-experience is a little different from most that I have heard.

You see I'm from one of those religious families Melissa mentioned that thought the books were evil. My father is a pastor and we were living in the heart of the Bible belt at the time the books came out. I’m not really sure my dad ever totally bought into the “evil” thing but I know my mom did [and still does to an extent] so it wasn’t even worth asking if I could read them I already knew the answer.

In tenth grade I moved from a small Christian school to the local public high school. I was literally blown away by the hysteria Harry Potter caused there. I had two friends who would sit and argue about who was the bigger fan. They would ask each other questions like “what spell does harry use on page 112 of goblet of fire” and the other would know the answer. Slowly I began to get really curious about these books. When the seventh book came out I looked everywhere I could to find out if Harry lived or not. I asked my friends and even almost read the last chapter in the book at the store but then thought better of it. Finally one of my friends took pity on me in class one day and explained how the series ended. I promised myself then and there that the first thing I would do when I got to college was read the books.

Fortunately I didn’t have to wait that long.
Over Christmas break of this past school year [my senior year] I spent the night with my friend and I got permission for us to watch all 5 movies that night. I was captivated by the characters and I knew that I had to read these books. A few days later I finally got up the nerve to ask my dad for permission. His answer surprised me. He said that at 17 I was old enough to make my own decision on that topic. The next day I went to the library and got the first book. I was a fan before the first chapter even ended. The next day I went and got the second, and the day after that the third, until on the fourth day I just got the rest.

It didn’t matter that I knew most of the major plot points, I knew that Harry lived and that Fred Weasley died before I even read page 1 of Sorcerer’s stone, I fell in love with the world. Everything about it enthralled me and held me spell bound. [No pun intended]

So now I’m the kind of person who checks leaky every day, slips harry potter references into everyday conversation, quotes potter puppet pals, has a facebook flair board that is covered in potter, and yelled so loud I scared my dad when I read about the movie delay.

Who would have ever thought?

My kids were small and I was a true stay at home mom...I didn't have car so if we couldn't walk, we didn't go. I usually caught the Rosie O'Donnell Show in the mornings. In recent episodes, she had been talking about this book she was in love with called Harry Potter and how it had touched her heart and made her laugh and cry. She literally talked about the book all the time and gave copies away on the show.

She got an advanced copy of Chamber of Secrets and when it was released, she had Jo Rowling on the show.

I was completely captivated by Jo. I remember the exact moment I decided to buy her books. She said:

"Well, I'd always planned it as seven books, you know, that was always in my head, so I was PRAYing when I met my publisher for the first time they'd say "We want the rest" because I had boxloads, literally boxes of stuff on Harry -- thank goodness they wanted them." (found on Accio Quote)

It was the "boxloads" that got me.

I went out that night and bought the first book from my local Borders. I still remember looking for it. We'd been in the children's section a million times before, but my kids were small and we were looking for Eric Carle and Dr. Suess.

There were no fancy HP displays, just a couple of copies on a shelf. I took it home and read the first chapter to the kids at bedtime, then stayed up for hours reading. The next morning, I pushed it into my husband's hands and said YOU MUST READ THIS. I bought Chamber of Secrets the next day.

Accio Quote has it a transcript of the interview. June 21, 1999. That's it. The exact day I became a Harry Potter fanatic. Re-reading the article reminds me of HOW FAR Jo has come and how far WE have come as a fandom.

I was first introduced to the world of Harry Potter halfway through 1999 when I was in year 6 at school. My mum and I were sitting next to a friend at a school play and she was telling us all about these books her parents had sent to her children from England. They sounded pretty good so Mum promised them to me for Christmas. Interestingly enough, my aunt had the same idea and, not knowing they were a series but having hear alot of good things about Harry, bought me Prisoner of Azkaban for Christmas too! I remember where I was when I first started reading the books (on our way home from a family holiday the week after Christmas that year) and my life has never been the same since.
I became so drawn into the world Jo had created. The detail was instantly so rich and deep that it was impossible to not become completely lost in the life of Harry and the world of Hogwarts. One of my favourite quotes from a movie is 'So much of what I see reminds me of what I've read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?' (You've Got Mail) This soooo applies to my feelings about Harry Potter. I know I should be reading more widely than I do but I can't help coming back to the series, it is home to me and it might sound strange but I love the way the words flow through my mind while I'm reading, greeting me like old friends.
I'm so glad we sat next to that family at the school play that night, if we hadn't, I might not have known what it was like to be one of the(relatively) few who were eagerly awaiting Goblet of Fire outside my local Target in July 2000, might not know what it was like to dread the upcoming Philosopher's Stone film for what it might do to my image of the book, might not have stayed as in love with reading as I have been since I was 5 years old.
So for this I'm sending out a thankyou to Jo into the cosmic void.
Thankyou

How I found Harry...

My experience was through work. I had been 'regrettably' stubborn about reading the books or seeing the first movie because I thought it was another 'fad' (I have kicked myself many times since about the few years that I missed out on all the fun but thank god fate intervened!)

I was working in a high school and as an end of year treat one of the teachers arranged for all of the year group to go and see CoS at the movies - I was one of the staff members that was rostered to go along and I'll tell you, by the time I came out of the movie theater i was hooked and had the same amount of excitement (or perhaps even more!) than the kids. Straight after work that afternoon I went and bought books 1-4 and haven't looked back since.

Fate couldn't have been more timely as since then Harry has helped me cope with the most difficult time in my life - at times being housebound due to severe anxiety I would sit and read HP for hours. He was always there to brighten my day and let me see a light at the tunnel... which I now have :)

I was in the sixth grade (I am now second year uni) when the librarian suggested that I should read SS after asking her what a good book was at the book fair in school. I immediately read book 2 and turned my sister, mother and friends at school into HP nerds (I can safely say this since we saw the first movie three times in the theatre). I was late coming into the HP online fandom however. I never was into forums or "surfing" the net, until I found out that Pottercast did the infamous JK rowling interview after book 7. I am now more into HP than I ever was before and love pottercast! :)

I was a fourth-grade bookworm and my teacher told the class she would read Sorcerer's Stone throughout the course of the year. Well- she only got through the first chapter, but I was hooked- I've been a dedicated Potter geek since the year 2000.

When I was 12, just starting 7th grade, I was not much of a reader. It's not that I didn't enjoy books, I think I was just being a teenager (a bit early) and not wanting to read only because my parents and teachers wanted me to. My brother was in high school at the time, and a friend recommended the books to him, so he went and bought the first three (book 3 had just come out, I think). After he read them and raved about them, my mom read them, and then they drove me nuts talking about Harry. I kept asking them what happened, and was so pissed when they wouldn't tell me anything about the plot. They said I had to read it myself, so I finally gave in and read the first one. I don't think I had ever read so frequently or so quickly as I did reading those first three books. As soon as I put one down I picked up the next. I actually got through the first two before my mom finished the third one, and was losing my mind waiting for her to finish so I could read it. Little did I know at that point what I would have to endure waiting for OotP!

I can't remember much about reading the first three books...I can't remember much at all from when I was 12. I do have one distinct image in my head of getting yelled at by my social studies teacher for reading during class, rather than listening to him. That was during Chamber of Secrets, I believe. And it was far from the last time I read in his class. I also remember that Ron was my favorite character at the time, but that I thought Ginny was the coolest thing ever. This was before she had as much character development as we all associate with her now, but I can remember when I first read about her at the train station and immediately identified with her, being a red-haired little sister myself. I was at that point, what, two years older than her, I suppose, (and she caught up with me, briefly, when I read PoA before I turned 13 that year) but I have continued to identify with her and love her as I have read and re-read the series.

What was the question?

Oh yeah, so, long story short, I blame my brother for all of this. For whatever reason, and I'm sure most people reading this can identify, with some things I just obsessively love them. It was a quick transition in 1999 from Backstreet Boys to Harry Potter. By the time I finished the third book I had totally surpassed my brother's and mother's love of the books, and wanted everything to do with them. In fact, when I was a freshman in college (2005) I had to force my brother to read the fifth and sixth books. He loved them, of course. I considered it returning the favor.

Another "discovery" moment - I got my best friend into the books after I read them, and I remember the day that I was over at her house (she had a computer in her room, and I did not) and she introduced me to the online fandom. It was shortly before Goblet of Fire came out, and everyone was abuzz about the fact that someone was going to die in the next book. We talked and theorized about it, but I had NO IDEA there were other people out there talking about the books too. I mean, I had seen things on the news and all, but this online fandom was intense! I read all the theories and fan fiction and grew even more excited for the book to come out. Still, though, never really saw Cedric coming...

As a child I read alot and often spent countless hours in my small town library looking for new books that I hadn't already read. They often put up posters of new books they had just received and the one of the british CoS cover caught my attention immediately. As a curious ten year old, I picked it up and took it home and then realised that it was the second book of the series so i refused to read it until I got a cop of PoS and read that first. I enjoyed them both immensely and had completed them within a day! I remember getting PoA and the wait for the rest of the books. It was the waiting that got me obsessed with them and became the reason I got immersed in the fandom online - through a barrage of hassle from an unsupportive guardian and a very dodgy dial up connection no less - but it was one of the best things that could have happened to my life at the time and I am so grateful everyday for everything it has given me especially the great people I have met (go TTWs!). My one regret is that I have as yet because of my geographical location been unable to attend a HP conference or live PC event but hopefully I will get to rectify this in summer 2010! Roll on Infinitus!

P.S. I trailed my bookstores here in Ireland for your book but unable to find it so looks like it's not going to be out here but shall try again or find a way to order off amazon. Can't wait.

My introduction to Harry was somewhat...late.

Okay, it was very late. I started reading them just after Deathly Hallows came out because my friends kept pestering me that if i didn't read it myself they'd start reading the series aloud to me. And as i read your book i keep thinking, 'Damn, look at all that I've missed!' i never got to experience any of the fun things that you mention and that you've done. I went through the books alone.
Of course, i enjoyed every bit of each page and sentence in those books, but reading about what was going on while i was practically living in a cocoon made me feel sad...and happy, because I was able to, in a way, live the experience through you, Melissa. So thank you very, very, much for this book, and for sharing your Harry Potter experience with us. :)
PS. Next year, you should come to the early screening of Deathly Hallows in Chicago with me. Its very interesting to see how the movies are made, and then to finally see the finished product. And it'd be a great addition to Leaky too! :D See you!

I didn't fall in love with Harry until book 4. I read the first three in high school and thought they were cute, and extraordinarily well written for children's books, but I didn't see how they fit together yet. I read the 4th book my senior year of high school--that would have been 2002. I read it in three days. I couldn't put it down. I distinctly remember sitting in my living room and reading the entire second half of the book as the sun went down, and not realizing how dark it was until I started having trouble making out the words. I didn't want to stop long enough to turn on the light.
That was just about in time to catch Harry Fever for Order of the Phoenix. I became a regular poster on the Mugglenet forums, and discovered Leaky later.
I just got Melissa's book in the mail today--I'm a little confused about that since it's not supposed to come out for another week--but I'm not complaining. :) I can only think of the uproar this would have caused had such a mistake happened with a Harry Potter book. I think it's fantastic that you've chronicled all of this, Melissa, because it feels like it's been so much a part of my life. And while I was one of those people completely losing my head at midnight on 21 July, I look back now and think how we were all a bit silly. But I still despise wholeheartedly the people who don't understand how serious it all was back then. And how serious it still can be. Harry Potter mania may have been a bit manic, but I hope I never get over it. :)

When the books initially came out I wasn't at all interested. I was 12 at the time and in "gifted" classes and thought (wrongly) that since I had a reading level well beyond my years that I shouldn't bother with trivial matters like boy wizards. For the next two years my friends mentioned that I should read the books since fantasy was one of my favorite genres, because they thought I was Gryffindor and very much like Hermione.

When I was 14 I was at a leadership program at a sleep away summer camp when book 4 was released. Out of the 15 girls in our group who I spent the summer with, 10 of them had their mothers stand in line and overnight the book so they could have it up there as soon as possible. I thought this was ridiculous since we were going home for a break in about 5 days - what could be so important that they couldn't wait?

Luckily, my closest friend up there took me aside and told me that I had to read the first chapter, and if I didn't like it, then she would leave me alone. "The Riddle House" captivated me in a way nothing else previously had, and when I went on our week break I made my mother buy the first four books on the car ride home. I literally went through the four books in just over four days, and have been head over heels since.

Even though I am now a busy graduate student, I make Harry a part of my everyday life - I haven't missed a Pottercast, been to 4 live PCs (and have a picture with you from the Comic Con panel), am a chaser on a quidditch team, have "quaffle" as my license plate, and am eagerly awaiting your book in the mail and LeakyCon in the spring.

Harry Potter has changed my world. It has taught me to work hard in seemingly impossible situations, stand strong in the face of adversity, and be steadfast in my beliefs about the human spirit. I will always be thankful for finally reading about the boy who lived.

I remember my introduction to Harry so clearly. For my twelfth birthday I received a gift certificate for Media Play. My mom insisted I buy at least one book, and my Aunt suggested Harry Potter, but I had never heard of it at the time and when she explained that it was about a wizard I clearly remember saying "that sounds stupid." So I didn't get Harry that day. The following summer when I turned thirteen, I had heard about the books all over the news (it was the summer that GOF came out), so I asked for the books for my birthday. A different aunt got all four of the books for me and I finished them in less than a week.

I've always been a reader, but Harry took me to a whole new level. I fell in love because they transported me completely to a different place. A place full of love and magic and adventure. While my life is full of love, I was missing the magic and adventure.

Fantasy & SF have always been favorite genres for me, so when SS came out in 1998, I eagerly read it. And then in 2003 I read OoTP when a friend gave me a copy for Christmas, without having read books 2, 3 or 4. I enjoyed it but still didn't get hooked.

Busy life got in the way and I never read any others, until 2006 when mys sister insisted I listened to the audio books read by Jim Dale. She mailed me the cassettes and for some reason I listened to GoF before either CoS or PoA. Finally, I listened to all of them all the way up to HBP. For the next year as I eagerly awaited the release of DH, I found Pottercast and Leaky and vicariously sucked up the Potter Fan Experience through your fabulous efforts. It was such a great ride!

But, I may be the only person who read them in such a silly way!

Book: One, Five, Four, Two, Three, Six and Seven, in that order.

Needless to say I've reread/listened many, many times since then. JKR is right up there with JRR Tolkien and Jane Austen for me.

Melissa, Harry A History is: thoughtful, funny, inspiring and well written, indeed! Thank you!

It was 1998, the first two books were out here in the states, my husband had found them in the airport bookshop and, having heard rumors that they were really good, bought them. He came home and thrust them in my hands saying, "You HAVE to read these!"

I've been a rabid fan ever since. We are definitely a house divided, though - He found MN first, back in '99 and I kept reading news posts there that kept referring over to Leaky. I finally followed the links in 2000 and have been a Leaky devotee ever since.

My favorite memories are all the online chats between books, wacko theories - which I contributed to in Scribbulus - and just finding so many online buddies that love HP as much as I do.

Midnight parties are also a fond memory - watching my daughter grow up at them... And her absolutely resisting reading any of the books until number 7 came out, despite my pushing that she should start beforehand so that when 7 came out she'd be ready to read it! Nope, she waited - took 2 weeks to read all 7, pronounced them pretty good and stuffed them back on her shelf. I could only shake my head. ;-)

I do know that some of my best friends, whom I have never met in person, I have met online through HP and I treasure them as much as those I interact with on a face to face basis.

I didn't get into them until after the first movie came out. My aunt had given SS to my brother for his birthday in 2000, but it just got put on the shelf. I saw a spot on "Good Morning America" where they took a tour around the sets and talked with Rupert. I thought that that looked awesome, and when I figured out that we had the book, I started reading it. Needless to say, I was hooked. Got the rest that were out, and then went to the last 3 midnight parties. Aww, the memories!

Stephen King recommended the series in his book "On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft" so I thought maybe these "Harry Potter" books were not just for little kids, but something that adults could enjoy as well. So I got book 1. I remember the exact moment that hooked me, it was where Harry was watching the boa constrictor in the zoo and "The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass." I remember laughing out loud and from that point on, I was reading with an incredulous grin on my face. Totally hooked through 7 books. So thanks, Stephen King, but thanks even more to JKR.

I wrote an essay for AP english on my life and harry potter, which HaH now seems to be a much better done version of, here: http://arkapain.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/my-english-essay-on-harry-potter/

Basically, I was 8 years old, a friend gave it to me for my birthday, I was curious, fell in love with it, etc. The books were just something I could relate to, and it was easy to get sucked into it. It also helped that I "grew up" with Harry Potter, if only a few years younger. I spent most of the first four books looking at the books very innocently, the underlying themes and all that crap veiled by my youth. This made it very shocking to recently learn of all the substance in Harry Potter not about the plot. Obviously I also loved the mystery element to the books, and spent hours theorizing about minute details and such, especially with my HP-obsessed friends at school. It was just an enjoyable pastime for so long.

What really got me going (after gaining my considerable encyclopedic, thorough knowledge of the books) was the fandom. It was like a giant iceberg: most of what was visible was obvious stuff, like the existence of fansites, and people in your neighborhood who like the books; the underwater part comprised the podcasts, the forums, the chatrooms, the wizard rock, the conferences, and everything so intricate and unbelievable about the fandom. I was first introduced to the online community rather late (2006-ish). I still haven't been able to absorb all of the fandom in its entirety, and probably never will, but the fandom is just amazing.

I'm currently about halfway through the book (squee!) and I can relate to a lot of it, to my delight. True, a lot of it is more close to the heart of the fandom than most are; but a great deal of it is stuff I can relate to, things that I understand too. So far it's a great book =)

I am not very far into the book but I am getting emotional reading it! It is a little bit like reliving those moments!

I read the first three books in October 1999 (and your book helped me remember the timing better) after Rosie O did an interview of JK AND when my old high school in Zeeland MI decided to remove the books from the library, which caused tons of press coverage in the area. (The books were eventually returned to the shelves!) I knew I had to read the books after that and I just couldn't but them down - I was hooked! Now I have been able to share all the books with my children who love them too!

I was a senior in college, and it was late 2001. My step-mom had read the first two books and mailed them to me cuz she thought I might like them. Little did she know... lol! I devoured them, staying up late into the night. I finished book 2 at home over Christmas break and immediately threw my coat on and told my dad that I was going to Borders to pick up Book 3 because I had to know what happened next. I was an addict from the word GO!

Congrats with the book, can't wait for my copy to arrive so i can read it.

I love answering the how did i find Harry question.

I was 11 years old in 1997, and starting my first year of High School (i'm English). Every year my school would review new authors. They were given 50 books by new and up coming authors and asked first years to review them. Harry Potter had been out a few months but it was one of these books which I reviewed and loved. I kind of forgot about reading it (as i did with so many others at that age) until Prisoner came out. My friend had it in school and she reminded me how much i enjoyed the first one. I've been hooked into the world ever since and my addiction has grown stronger as i've got older. However it has only been the past 2 years or so that i found the world of Harry online, which i wish i found earlier, then i would have had people to share my addiction with.

I love the whole universe and how it makes you escape reality so easily. How JK weaves the plot lines so the smallest detail in book 1 becomes something important in book 7... I Love It.

I've always thought my story was kind of ironic and fun, because it started because of those religious objections you mentioned--and I was reminded of it quite forcefully as I read the Laura Mallory chapter in your book. I had just started working in a bookstore owned by the state's dominant religion, and kept getting questions about whether the books were appropriate or not. It was a few months before the release of Goblet of Fire, and publicity was at an (then) all-time high (3.8 million copies on a first printing! Unheard of!). I decided that there was no way I could answer my customer's questions without reading the books myself, so I picked up the first book during a slow evening and started reading. She had me at "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of Number 4, Privet Drive, were happy to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." I had never really been much of a fantasy fan before then-- except for princesses, I gobbled princess books up whole-- but I just absolutely fell in love with Jo's whole world, and Harry especially. He's just so adorable in those first few chapters-- so downtrodden and yet still so sweet, so optimistic despite his circumstances, able to find humor in the worst situations. Harry is still, and will always be, my absolute favorite character.

Anyway, three days later, I finished Prisoner of Azkaban, became a Harry Potter missionary to my friends and family (I've still got an uncle who's amazingly resistant, but I haven't given up hope) and immediately got involved in planning our bookstore's GoF release party. Of course, I enthusastically answered "absolutely" whenever I was asked whether a child should read the books. I distinctly remember my chagrin when I forgot to bring my copy to work on July 8-- and due to a misunderstanding with corporate, we didn't get in as many books as we'd ordered (I ended up buying my own copy at another store, just to have one more copy available), and by 10:00 that morning we had completely sold out, except for the pre-paid preorders we'd stashed on the hold shelves! I was going stir-crazy, not being able to read it. I finally pulled one off the shelf, using the hold slip as a bookmark, hoping the customer wouldn't show up to claim it (luckily, they didn't). As soon as I got off work, I rushed home and buried myself in it. It took me until 7:30 that night to finish the book. (Despite this drawback of working in a bookstore during an HP release, there was at least one advantage-- I was able to hide in the back room and read the first 8 chapters the night before. Hee.)

Doubly ironically, three years later I was writing impassioned e-mails to the president of that bookstore, begging them not to pull HP from the shelves. Luckily, she and the other executives listened to reason (although as a compromise, they moved the books from the children's section to the adult fantasy section). Doubly luckily, such complaints have died down since one of the church's leaders quoted HP in an address. ;)

I first came about Harry in May of 2007. I wanted to read something new and I had wanted to read it for some time, but I had never had the time. When I finished the first book, I was like" this is great! I’ll see if I like the next one" I read all of them in a total of just under three weeks and came obsessed. I looked around online because I had known there would be another. I found Leaky and Mugglenet, to which I read both and the night book 7 came out. I watched the stream of Jo through a stream on leaky. Because I was a poor high-school student, I couldn’t get the last book till the summer was over, and I was very happy when I finally got it. Searching around on Leaky sent me into a realm of podcasts to which opened me up into the fandom further. No I never got to experience a very long book wait or a release party but I still consider myself a fan. All this came to be because of some curiosity in the children's section of the library.

I will be going to get your book the day it comes out and I’m sure I will enjoy it immensely. :)

My father read the first book to me when I was eight (I'm now eighteen). He heard a review of Harry just after it came out on NPR (I think, I know it was a talk radio show). When he went to the bookstore, he couldn't find it and the cashier had to look it up in the computer. They had two copies.

I always enjoyed Harry. I got impatient with my dad's reading and finished Sorcerer's Stone on my own, but it wasn't until book 4 came out and I reread all the books that my enjoyment grew into love/obsession/whatever.

This isn't one of the questions, but the mention of religious people made me want to share. I went to a Christian school and many of the teachers there disapproved of Harry Potter. Most of the students had seen the movies, so the morality of Harry Potter was something we discussed quite a lot whenever we wanted to get out of doing work. In tenth grade, the entire month of October our Bible class was about how such things are dangerous. It was a long month and an exercise in patience for me. Oy.
I'm interested to read the Laura Mallory section of your book because it seems that she believes as my teacher in tenth grade believes and I'm curious to know what your experience with her was like.

Sorry this is so long.
Amazon says my book is on it's way! I can't wait! Thank you! Congratulations!

Melissa,
I was so excited when my copy arrived early today! I have just finished the forward bu Ms. Rowling and I had tears in my eyes; as a fan I am so proud of all you have accomplished and how you have taken a hobby and made it a career. You are an inspiration! And now if you'll excuse me I have a book to read!
I began reading Harry Potter around the same time you did, and was instantly hooked. It was the websites, most particularly the Leaky Cauldron, that made me feel like a welcome addition to a wonderful community! And when the podcasts began, well, they have been a constant companion on my dogwalking expeditions since the very first episode (when I heard my own voice comiing out of my earbuds on one episode when you played a voicemail of mine I almost fainted on the street!). You all have done such a great job and I am happy to admit to anyone who asks that am a SUPER Potter fan!

I didn't start reading Harry until summer of '07. My brother has always been a huge fan of the books and we both have always loved the movies. When the seventh book came out, I wanted to know how it ended. Did Harry live or did he die? Naturally, Zach wouldn't tell me. He told me I had to read the book. And if I was going to read it, I would have to read all 7 because otherwise I would have no idea what was going on. So I did. It took me around two weeks. I did nothing but eat, sleep, pee, and read! It really was the two best weeks of my entire life.

After I finished DH, I wasn't ready to be done. I hadn't had as long with Harry as others so I was feeling a little deprived. And that is what led me to Leaky. I discovered the most wonderful fandom there is. And fanfiction. I found that good stuff too! And now I am an addict! Harry has brought me so much in the last year. I will be forever greatful for all he and JKR taught me.

Being an elementary school teacher I had been reading about these Harry Potter books in the newspaper. It was right after Prisoner of Azaban was out that I asked for these three books for my birthday. Two of my sons (all in High School)got them for me. When they had asked in the book store for the books the person helping them commented, "These are kids books. Why are you buying them?" When they told me this I wanted to go and tell her to stop saying things like that; especially to my kids who only read what is assigned in school.
After reading I couldn't wait for more so I searched the Internet for anything to with Harry Potter. Now I still have Harry Potter themed Math, Reading, and Language Arts assignments for my class.
I keep checking the "tracking" of my copy of your book. Right now it is in Colorado on its way to Missouri. Woot!

(sorry it's so long, but I couldn't decide which story to tell)

When I was in 4th grade (98-99), my teacher liked to read to the class during snack time. Sometime in the early spring we had finished the book we were reading and started talking about what we would read next. My neighbor Isaac recommended a book called "Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone". I thought it sounded atrocious. I voted for the other book, but Harry won. As you might have guessed, I fell in love with the book. I had never been much of a reader; I loved stories but reading was something I struggled with so I would often be reading books at a lower level than my sister 3 grades behind me. But something was different with Harry. The school year ended and we had a chapter or 2 left. I immediatly reserved the first 2 books at my local library and actually got the second one before the first so I read CoS before I'd ever finished SS. I remember being really excited for PoA to come out that fall.

I will always remember the night before GoF came out. I was at sleep away camp for a whole month and my favorite Rabbi gave my bunk cabin prayers. When he finished, I rememeber him telling us to go to sleep, and when we wake up the fourth Harry Potter book would be out.

OotP came out a few days before I left for camp summer before 9th grade. I remember my parents and I agreeing to order it and have it delivered to camp so I would have it there waiting when I arrived. A bunch of my friends had already read the book before they came and I remember being really paranoid about spoilers. I then got my book (and delivered my sister's copy to her in the infirmary) and read through it as fast as I could (which was probably about 2 weeks).

HBP came out during my first trip to Israel, summer after sophomore year of high school. I remember making the concious decision to wait til I got home (in late July) to read the book so I could enjoy Israel. I remember some of the other kids got together and bought a book that they passed around. I remember thinking that it had been really expensive. I got home and devowered the book on the way to debate camp.

For the DH release I was back in Israel, but this time mostly on my own. I had just graduated from high school and was taking Hebrew classes at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I remember worrying about both book spoilers and movie spoilers, especially since the movie came out a week later there. The DH "midnight" release was really controversial in Israel because it fell during Shabbat. The Chief Rabbinate in Israel threatened to sue any book store that opened to sell the book during Shabbat. I took a bus to Tel Aviv for the big national party on the pier. It was my first HP release party but it turned out to be not nearly as exciting as I'd hoped. The release was at 2am local time (midnight in the UK) so we were all up really late and there weren't really any big festivities. I remember sitting on the pier trying to finish listening to all of my pre-DH theory podcasts on my iPod before the release (because I knew once I had the book in my hand I wouldn't bother to listen to them). 2am approached and we all clumped at the enterance to the sales booth. The towers of books (mostly American with just a few UK childrens and UK adults) were absolutely amazing. I had talked to someone in charge about getting a UK children's edition to complete my collection at home and they said they'd reserve one for me. I was probably about 3rd in line when they finally opened the gates and, after paying for my book, I opened it and couldn't believe what I was holding. Jo's reading was streaming (poorly) in the background but I tried to block it out because I'd missed the first page or so. I took a bus back to Jerusalem that night and remember falling asleep as soon as I hit my bed. I spent all day Saturday reading and finished the book within a day or two.

My kindergarten teacher recommended them for me (to my mom) during my "kindergarten graduation" in 1999. Just as Harry was entering Hogwarts, I was entering public school. And just as Harry grew up and went off on his own in DH, it came out right before I entered high school, definitely an end of an era in its own way.

I remember just being so intrigued by Hermione's character. Here was another smart girl (like me) who liked reading and was one of the good guys. She was glorified, despite being different that way. I absolutely connected to her from the start.

I was in second grade when i read the first one and as an 8 year old it took me what seemed like forever to read but i was fasinated by Harry and his world. I started the second one in as soon as I finished the first but got bored very quickly so I stopped reading it. The first movie came out when I was in fifth grade and after I saw it I jsut had to continute from where I left off. I've been absolutly addicted ever since. :D

PS: I can't wait to read your book!!!

I read Book 1 when the 1st Movie came out. There was such tremendous hype over the movie, that I thought "well, I had better find out more about this thing before I turn my nose up at it" - which, I'm ashamed to say, is my instinctive attitude towards hype. I was hooked within a couple of pages - Jo's storytelling just reels you in, man - and I burned through all the available books within a couple of days. And then it was all over for me - I was right there for the midnight releases from then on...

Rock on, Harry....

I can happily admit that J.K. Rowling is the reason for my love of literature. My family and I were on a road trip and I started whining about being bored with many "Are we there yets." My brother handed me the third book and told me to read it in the car to pass the time. I became glued to it. When I got home, I ran to my brothers room and stole the first two. Since then, I have been a Harry Potter addict! I'd honestly be a good cause for HPAA (Happy Potter Addicts Anonymous)!

I'd also like to add that I ran into my bookstore yesterday hoping to pre-order your book but it turns out that I would receive it after the release date and that is simply unacceptable so I'll be heading back there on the release date to get my hands on it! (We're only getting 10 copies! Oh my!)

I first heard about HP from a distant relative. My mother then bought me the second book, which I read before the first&third (at that time - Nov 01 - the fourth book hadn't been yet translated into Romanian, my native language). I read the fifth book in the fall of 2003 and the sixth in August 05. The only HP release I have attended to was the seventh book one (I read the book that night).

I had no idea about the ship wars, because I was never an active member in the online community.

About Snape...I wanted him to be evil because I thought it was too predictable for him to be good (as he turned out to be).

I started my experience by seening the first two movies on TV. I then had to buy all the two disc set DVD's. I had reservations about reading the books because of a bad experience of reading one before the movie came out in my youth. But I dicoverd the Fanfare on the internet. I was reading about all the excitement for book 7. I decided to buy the box set late summer of 2007. I read all the books in a couple months time and had to buy book 7 when it came out. I have read all the book twice now and seen the movies to date several times. I hope the upcoming movies don't let me down. It sounds like they won't. I am currently reading Harry a History. It is very interesting to find out how this has become what it is today.

Does this book include all of the Harry Potter books, including the seventh?

I was 9 years old and my cousin kept badgering me about reading Harry Potter. I remember hearing her talk about train and wizards, but I had never been a big fan of fantasy books. I finally caved one day and it was one of the best decisions I've made.

I was 9 years old and my cousin kept badgering me about reading Harry Potter. I remember hearing her talk about train and wizards, but I had never been a big fan of fantasy books. I finally caved one day and it was one of the best decisions I've made.

I started out as a movies-only girl.

The first time I tried ( = KEY WORD) the books was after watching POA. My friend Michelle was whispering to me the entire time about the Marauders' back-story, so I was intrigued. But I didn't even get to the second chapter. It wasn't until last spring (2007) when one of my college roommates, a HUGE fan herself, forced me to start the books. I set a goal to read the first 6 before DH came out.

To make a long story short, I was a week late, but I am still proud of myself. I have since put the first book on my iPod, from which I listen to the first chapter of the first book anytime I'm bored. It's now my favorite chapter ever!

My then-9 year old nephew was a big fan and I read the first one so we could have something to talk about. I soon became hooked and over the past 7 years we have had many fantastic conversations regarding theories. One of my fondest memories is of calling him in the US after I'd collected my copy of OotP here in the UK. I read him (and my mother, also a huge HP fan) the first chapter over the phone. He then went to a midnight party and made a bet with another party-goer what the title of the first chapter was! :)

My brother and my sister read the books first and tried to persuade me to read them, too, but I was determined not to do so. I was sure the Harry Potter books were some stupid fantasy stories for children (of course I was wrong :-).
As I am now writing here it is clear that I wasn't able to resist long... In the summer of 2000 we were on holiday and unfortunately I was ill, lying in bed and unable to go out or to read the books I had with me. With nothing else to do I started listening to the audio books auf the first two books and I was hooked after the first chapters. As soon as possible I read PoA and GoF and when OotP came out, I bought the English version because I couldn't wait until the German translation was published... (which was lucky because it's much more fun to read the original). After reading OotP the urge to learn more and to discuss the books led me to TLC and now, while rereading Deathly Hallows for what feels like the 100th time, I'm looking forward to getting my copy of your book...

I recieved the first book as a gift from my Aunt Mary. She gave me the audiobooks. On cassette! remember Goblet of Fire coming out, and thinking I need to read these books, and then the following March, I got Book one for my birthday. I was hooked. I went out and got the rest.

Oh, your book is fantastic. I am almost done with it.

I'll never forget seeing books 1 and 2 stacked in the Barnes and Nobel. I was just passing by but the cover illustrations stopped me in my tracks. They looked like books filled with fantasy and whimsy. I turned them both over a few times and read the inside flaps but ultimately didn't buy them.

Over the next week though I couldn't get the books out of my head. There was something in that initial encounter that stayed with me. By the following weekend I had gone back to the store and purchased them both.

My plan was just to buy the first in the series (I didn't have a lot of spare funds at the time) but I couldn't figure out which one was the first! Can you believe it? How did I miss the "Year 1" and "Year 2" markings on the spine? Anyway. I figured it out when I got home and was deeply interested by the end of the first paragraph. By the end of the first chapter I knew I was hooked and there was no turning back. I finished both books in a matter or days.

Pretty common story I suppose... they were bought for my younger brother, I was getting bored and picked up the first to find out who this "You-know-who" that he and my dad would keep discussing was, and I was hooked!

How I found Harry...
I was late in the game - which sucks because I missed most of the fan experience. I ordered 1-6 on Amazon in early July of 2007. I'd quit reading for pleasure while I was in College/Grad School for lack of time.

They came in the mail and I did nothing but work, sleep and read for a week (my husband was quite annoyed). I finished book 6 the night before Deathly Hallows came out. I bought and read it all the next day. I was and am completely addicted. Over the next week I discovered the fantastic fan community online and its been great.

I am currently waiting on 'Harry, A History' to arrive and can't wait to read it!

Please note that I am notorious for resisting "trends", BUT:

My mother-in-law bought the books (at the time, there were 5 to be had) for my son. I read the first chapter of the first book to him as a bedtime story, and I was instantly and permanently hooked. I reckon mine is a common story.

This morning, I received an email that your book is on the way, and I literally have butterflies thinking about its arrival.