msktyfantastico's review
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Bought this book years ago after visiting the exhibition which was great. The book was alright.
anjumstar's review
3.0
I do love books like this. It was fantastic to see all of the (quite good) doodles that JK Rowling had drawn and all the extra insights about characters' origins and original drafts and the like. And the professional illustrations were amazing. However, I feel like the majority of the book got off onto side tangents about really technical historical aspects that, while interesting, I could have taken in smaller doses. They were just more boring to read about and while I understand their relevance, they're not really what I signed up for. I wanted everything to be tied a little more closely to Harry Potter. It was nice to read once, but I wouldn't read it again.
thebibutterfly's review against another edition
3.0
As a history buff, I was really curious how the text would incorporate existing ancient cultures into wizarding lore and I think Rowling accomplished it well. Overall, it was a bit dry, but as it’s being presented as a textbook, I expected that. I did really enjoy the random anecdotes about specific wizards though, that kept me interested!
lordnikon's review against another edition
4.0
The audiobook (Featuring the luscious voice of Natalie Dormer) is a great companion piece to the physical book, and I enjoyed listening to it.
That said, there are two frequent contributors on the audio that drove me mental.
Julian Harrison is too soft spoken, and his weird pronunciation and long loud S's made listening to him irritate me.
And Tanya Kirk...you could try not self-consciously laughing at every little point you yourself make. At first it seemed endearing, but after the 10th time she contributed and laughed at the end of her own comment/joke I got annoyed.
Everyone else was a JOY to listen to.
That said, there are two frequent contributors on the audio that drove me mental.
Julian Harrison is too soft spoken, and his weird pronunciation and long loud S's made listening to him irritate me.
And Tanya Kirk...you could try not self-consciously laughing at every little point you yourself make. At first it seemed endearing, but after the 10th time she contributed and laughed at the end of her own comment/joke I got annoyed.
Everyone else was a JOY to listen to.
scent_of_the_rain's review against another edition
3.0
This was a weird book, totally not what I expected and unfortunately this time not in a good way. I read the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (not the screenplay) and because of it I was expecting an in universe book, as in the textbook Hogwarts students were required to have. This book was not it. And it's not like it’s bad, it's quite interesting actually, but I found the mix between bits of J.K. Rowling biography and genuinely interesting history of “magic” etc. a little bit confusing and to be completely honest off putting.
Also, someone really liked the artist whose illustrations have been used in this (for the Harry Potter bits and not the history bits as I assume that were original artwork from the museum), as the author made sure to prise it whenever it appeared.
All in all I did enjoy reading the history bits and didn’t mind the rest all that much but was still disappointed in it.
Also, someone really liked the artist whose illustrations have been used in this (for the Harry Potter bits and not the history bits as I assume that were original artwork from the museum), as the author made sure to prise it whenever it appeared.
All in all I did enjoy reading the history bits and didn’t mind the rest all that much but was still disappointed in it.