Midnight rush to greet Harry

Jul 20 2007

“Harry Potter is more than a book, it’s a cultural phenomenon.”

Avid readers of Harry’s Hogwarts high-jinks have been rushing to reserve their copy of the eagerly anticipated grand finale by JK Rowling – ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’.

And in true magical style, the novel is shrouded in secrecy until seconds after the stroke of midnight.

Retailers will receive their delivery from publisher Bloomsbury at the last minute — just in time to pull together a display before customers go Potty for the new book.

And for the first time the high-profile launch will coincide with the release of an audiobook version of the book, read by Stephen Fry, and a large print edition.

All across Perth and Kinross, many other book shops and supermarkets will be doing their bit to help launch Harry Potter’s final year at Hogwarts.

And on Saturday morning posties across Perthshire will deliver Potter magic to fans who bought the book over the Internet or by mail order.

The Harry Potter phenomena has been criticised as a nightmare for small independent booksellers struggling to compete with the slashed shelf price large chains are offering.

But Freader’s Books in Aberfeldy has proved the critics wrong.

All copies ordered for the tiny shop on Dunkeld Street – visited in the past by Harry Potter author and local resident JK Rowling – have been snapped up by local fans ahead of the launch.

Owner of Freader’s, Christopher Rowley, thanked his loyal customers for bucking the big chain trend.

He said: “We had to pre-order the books a couple of months ago and all the copies we ordered have been reserved.

“I wasn’t expecting that with the cut price supermarkets are going to sell the book at.

“I’ve run out of stock and I would have liked to order more, but the publisher has run out of stock.”

Ten years since readers first met Harry Potter, the race will be on over the weekend to find out how he bows out of print.