If you are a die-hard Harry Potter fan I’m sure you have better things to read than this blog right now. If you were one of the loyal fans that stood in line and got your hot little hands on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” shortly after midnight—congratulations! You now have the answers you were looking for.
So, was all the hype worth it? I don’t have the latest book (or any of them for that matter) so I wouldn’t know. What I do know is that the allure of the boy wizard far exceeded my expectations. Here’s why.
My daughter and I ran over to the local mall late yesterday afternoon. All we needed was a simple gift card from the info desk located near the mall’s entrance. It just happened to be the same entrance that a huge, purple Harry Potter bus was parked. Apparently, some one had the clever idea to stock the Potter-decorated bus with hundreds of books and use it as a drive-thru of sorts so fans wouldn’t even have to get out of their vehicles to pick up the seventh and last of J.K. Rowling’s supernatural series. As much as I was impressed by the creativity behind the bus/drive-thru book pick-up, I don’t think the genius who came up with the idea anticipated that people would park their cars seven hours in advance of the book’s release and completely block the entrance to the mall. An errand that should have taken 10 minutes (max) ended up taking 30 minutes. Oh well!
And, it may not have been Waterstone’s bookstore on Piccadilly in central London. (where more than 5,000 people lined up for hours before the midnight opening) or the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan’s Union Square (where more than 2,000 Potter maniacs dressed up as witches and wizards and waited for the clock to strike 12), but our downtown area became the backdrop to a “Magical Harry Potter Extravaganza” last night. I didn’t dare venture out there, but the local news carried live reports from the scene. I must preface this by saying we live in a small city, but if the news reports were true, a reported 1500 people turned out for the massive party. Fifteen hundred people! That’s like half the town. All for a boy wizard named Harry.
Another fact I found interesting is that Britain’s Royal Mail says it planned to deliver 600,000 copies of the book today, while the U.S. Postal Service says it will ship 1.8 million in the next 24 hours. Considering “Deathly Hallows” reportedly contains 759 pages you’ve got to wonder how much it weighs… and how much it costs to ship. You also have to feel sorry for the mail carrier who has to deliver 17 books to the diehard Potter fans who happen to live on the same street.
Finally, this bit of Potter news made me chuckle.
Last night a couple from Oregon was joined in matrimony… Harry Potter style.
Courtney Lanahan and Shawn Gordon reportedly ducked out of their own wedding reception early so they could get their hands on the final Harry Potter book when it was released at midnight.
According to news reports, the couple’s wedding started at 7 p.m. and at 11:30 p.m. a limo whisked the newlyweds to the mall.
As a wedding gift, the store gave the just-wed pair the first spot in line. And get this… the bride said she and her new husband won’t be leaving on their honeymoon until next week so she has time to finish the book.
Are you done with the book?
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