Book Review

Quidditch Throughout The Ages, J.K. Rowling
The fascinating history of a sport that doesn't exist. This is a very creative endeavor of Rowling's to supplement the Harry Potter franchise. It's written as a documentary detailing the origins, organization, and the evolution of the most popular sport of the Wizarding World. Of the European Wizarding World that is because, like soccer, Quidditch isn't the most popular United States Wizarding sport which is another example of the humorous nature of these companion pieces. Like Fantastic Beasts, you can enjoy this without having read the seven HP books. In fact, if you should read this or the other first, you'll actually have a head start on the world building aspect.
This book has an introduction by the character of Albus Dumbledore and is complete with the development of the equipment used and how the pitch was designed as well as the unique history of the golden snitch, the rules, fouls, and player positions, press cuttings of public reaction from when the biggest changes to the regulation of the game occurred, brief listings of the most accomplished teams throughout Europe and globally highlighting some of the most legendary athletes, and the evolution of the flying broomstick in general and as it pertains to its use in the game. There's quite a lot in there for such a small novelette. Again, a lot of fun as the accounts are laced with that dry British humor that satirizes the sports industry and press. I couldn't help but wonder as I read it how many of these details made it into original manuscripts for the big novels as random conversation but had to be edited because the conversations would've been too random to benefit the pacing of the story lines. But even separately it adds to the immensely complex world created by Rowling and just interweaves more meaning and heart into the main novels. Of course, I loved it.