Saturday, July 16, 2005
The Harry Potter "book burst"
We -- meaning me and the kids -- decided to experience the community event of the summer, erev Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Barnes & Noble at Princeton MarketFair was packed, and the "Wizards" line -- devoted to those who had earned the yellow wristband by ordering in advance -- extended the entire interior length of the mall from the entrace of the store to the sidewalk at the "Big Fish" entrance (meaningful to those few of you who are familiar with the place). Of course, if you are going to stand in line for an hour or more with your children, you are going to want something to read. The evening's "pull-through" sales of other books looked huge, which is good for authors, the publishing industry, and the literacy of America.It is easy and even tempting to heap scorn on the Harry Potter phenomenon, but J.K. Rowling has done a wonderful thing by insisting that the books be sold in one vast book burst (hey, if nobody has used the noun "book burst" first, I claim the coining of it!). "One book, one city" campaigns are now commonplace and widely recognized as both fun and constructive, but only Rowling and her publisher have managed to come up with "one book, one country." In truth, her promotion extends beyond the United States into the U.K., Australia and Canada. How about "one book, one Anglosphere"?
The power of Rowling's world really is remarkable. Who else can get New Jerseyans to stand on line for an hour after midnight in nothing but the best of spirits? I mean, other than Bruce Springsteen.
As a public service, I hereby provide the link to the review in today's New York Times, but I have not read it for fear of spoilers. Now I'm going to hit the hay.
2 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Jul 16, 07:05:00 AM:
"One, book, one Anglosphere" is fine and dandy, big time, but maybe J.K. is GW's secret weapon, winning the coveted "hearts and minds" of our fellow Muslim-Americans/Brits/Aussies/Canadians? I wonder what little Mohammed and Musheera Jr. are reading this morning?
Sissy
sisu
By , at
Sat Jul 16, 09:10:00 AM:
EGAD. Trackback never showed. Here's my post: "The things you conceive are out of this world"
Sissy
sisu
