Quidditch Through the Ages

Two days in a row, and we’re done two JKR books - whoops - so much for seeing less of her! Quidditch Through the Ages gives me a lot less hesitation, though, since all of her royalties go towards supporting two very worthwhile charities. I wasn’t a huge fan of the original version of this book when it first came out, because it was a simple little book, that, while interesting in its history of the most popular wizarding sport, didn’t have a lot else to offer. Now fully illustrated by Emily Gravett the book is a far more enjoyable read! Gravett has styled the book like a museum exhibition catalogue, with artwork that mimics various historical styles, reproduces “artifacts”, and includes some lovely modernized line and woodcut show more style drawings to tie the whole narrative together. While those of us who aren’t mad know that the materials in the book are totally fictitious, Gravett’s art styles blend so well together and the artifacts are so realistic that we can suspend disbelief. With a handful of photographs the fantasy would be totally complete! show less

For the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter being released in the United States (!!!!!), I wanted to read some new to me Harry Potter material. I saw this title and was intrigued. Seeing that the book is narrated by Andrew Lincoln, I thought "Why not?" and downloaded it.

Man, was I underestimating both Andrew Lincoln's narrating chops and this book! The audiobook is a super fun supplement to the Harry Potter universe! J.K. Rowling is a fantastic world builder, there's no question there. This book adds more, from the origins of Quidditch, to the first World Cup (where one player was transfigured into a mongoose and another was trying to behead people with a broadsword) Quodpot, the preferred game to play in America, where you try to get an show more exploding modified Quaffle into a pot. It's all super fun. I giggled at so many of the details.

The best part, in my opinion, is the coverage of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup. The Daily Prophet Quidditch Correspondent is Ginny Potter, who gives some great summaries of the games. The gossip correspondent is Rita Skeeter, who is as trashy as remembered in the main Harry Potter series. Neither of these women are voiced by Andrew Lincoln (a bit of a bummer, as he does a fantastic elderly lady voice), and they have so much fun with the content. There is also some fantastic Foley sound effects used to enhance the material.

All in all, I had a lot of fun listening to this book. If you got 3 1/2 hours and want some new Harry Potter material that isn't the new movies or The Cursed Child, I'd highly recommend [b:Quidditch Through the Ages|111450|Quidditch Through the Ages|J.K. Rowling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1369689506s/111450.jpg|6247751], the 2018 audiobook edition. show less

Quidditch Through the Ages is a fun, imaginative, and surprisingly detailed companion book to the Harry Potter series. Written as if it were a real Hogwarts library text, the book explains the complete history of Quidditch—from its earliest broomstick games to the modern professional league. It’s filled with interesting facts, humorous anecdotes, and quirky explanations that make the wizarding sport feel completely real.

J.K. Rowling (writing as Kennilworthy Whisp) blends humor with world-building, giving readers a playful but thorough look at rules, fouls, famous teams, and the evolution of broomsticks. Fans will enjoy the clever writing style, the “historical” documents, and the expansion of the magical world beyond the main show more series.

Light, witty, and entertaining, Quidditch Through the Ages is perfect for Harry Potter fans who want to dive deeper into the lore and enjoy a fun, fast read that enriches the wizarding universe. show less

Everything you ever wanted to know about Quidditch!

Quidditch Through the Ages is a fun companion book to the Harry Potter series. Originally sold in 2001 as an effort to raise money for the Comic Relief charity, Quidditch Through the Ages was part of a two-part "Hogwarts Library" series (later joined by The Tales of Beedle the Bard). If you want to know the history, rules, and teams behind the popular wizarding sport, this book is a must have.

At only 56 pages, this is a quick read.

This book is not intended to give you the mechanics of how to bewitch your broomstick or a play-by-play of the first World Cup. It's the type of thing that nicely supplements reading the Harry Potter books, and gives a loose background. It's a one-sitting type show more of read.

I really enjoyed the way the book is balanced with narrative as well as excepts from letter, journals, and newspaper clippings. These tidbits break up the "non-fiction" elements really nicely, and it's neat seeing quotes and clipping from familiar names (could Brutus Scrimgeour be a relative of Rufus Scrimgeour?).

This is a great read for Harry Potter fans.

Unfortunately, it does have a pretty limited demographic. While I like this book a lot and think it's loads of fun, I can't image anyone who doesn't love the Potterverse caring about it? Not that it's unaccessible, because you don't need any background at all to read it... it's more that it's a fun little thing that Average Joe wouldn't think to pick up.

If you like Harry Potter, if you think Quidditch is interesting, or if you want to read about fictional sports, Quidditch Through the Ages is the book for you!

Find this review and others like it at The Literary Phoenix. show less

This is not my first time reading through the Hogwarts Library. I generally read these books after I've finished the series for what probably seems like to others the millionth time. I always start with this as I'm not big on Qudditch. I know some one you out there do the LARPING thing and play the game. Maybe because I'm not into Muggle sports (expect for baseball), but this is one the few things in the Harry Potter universe I can't stand. The fourth instalment of both books and movies were great, since the Triwizard Tournament was taking up so much, we didn't have to deal with Qudditch. Seriously, I check out whenever it comes about in the movies or books.

I wanted to rip on the sport to get you to understand I really don't like it. show more But J.K. Rowling is an amazing author, and reading this book makes me want to like the sport. Hell, reading this book makes me wish Qudditch was a real sport! While its a short and sweet read, its also really amazing. The book gives the layout of the history of Qudditch as well as background information on brooms, teams and much more. By the time I finish the book, I'm always left wondering why I read it first. The world J.K. Rowling creates is just as amazing as one would expect. The added touch of having some of the characters "check out" the book was also a nice touch and you truly feel like this book could've come straight from the Hogwarts Library. show less

I avoided this one for quite a while because...well, frankly, it sounded boring.

I was wrong. It was a fun little book, filled with how the game of Quidditch came to be the game that was played throughout the Potter books. The little letters and anecdotes are what make it. I found myself giggling aloud a couple of times throughout the story.

Of course, you've got to be a Potter fan to even consider it, but hell, who's not a Potter fan?

This book appears as the facsimile of a Hogwarts school book. It starts very interestingly with the history of Quidditch, how the game developed and what changes it underwent over time. Later in the book, there are short sections on each of the Quidditch teams in the British/Irish league and on Quidditch on all the continents, this wasn't that interesting and more like a long list of facts. Towards the end I enjoyed the description of different fouls and the history of racing brooms.
This is a nice edition to the Harry Potter books. It is a quick but fun read with lots of tidbits for fans of the Wizarding World.