PotterMania 2007 now approaching froth-at-the-mouth levels
Pulled up the good ol’ GReader this morning, and the first three links were about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Two were from National Public Radio, and the third from the venerable Gray Lady herself.
I’m going to guess that this is a gosh darn big deal. Huge, if you consider that the book is still some news cycles away and the Times is already running its review. Ginormous, if you remember that it’s been two years since book the sixth, and the countdown has been going since. Keeping the momentum for two full years? Even the iPhone might not manage that.
Granted, it’s not like I didn’t see this coming. I mean, holy shit, Harry Potter is bigger than Jesus. (Remember the last time something from the UK was like that?) But I guess the wizard boy that entertained me a decade ago (I own a first edition thanks to my mom) is a tad bit bigger than he used to be. I think the Boston Globe has been talking about HP for months.
My two concerns are: how will book the last be received, and is this really book the last? For the former: I assume well, but the latest in a whole bunch of franchises haven’t been exactly trumpeted.
As to the latter: I’ve never heard anything to the contrary, but Harry Potter is a pretty lucrative franchise….for a select few. HP isn’t exactly a thrill for booksellers, especially after Warner Bros. decreed no profiting parties for Potter. And since bookstores have long lost their claim to exclusivity for selling HP books (I’ll be buying mine at my local Shaw’s supermarket, gas station, or Costco….), and they don’t make a profit on the book anyway, who knows if they’ll be prepared for possible book 8.
What do you think? Will you be going to a Potter Party? Going to hang out in Hogwarts Square? Will there be a book 8 or 9?
Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, The New York Times, NPR, J.K. Rowling
Tags: Books
