You’d think they were lined up for concert tickets, but this craze is not musical, it’s magical. The much anticipated release of Drumroll please, *** book. I just like how it’s written and the magic and the adventures. That’s what I like about it, but this is no ordinary book. It’s Harry Potter’s latest adventure, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and it kept young readers up way past the witching hour for *** midnight book release. We had *** costume contest and then at 11:59 we had our countdown to midnight. And the sales began and boy did they begin. Are you *** big Harry Potter fan? No, but my granddaughters are. Oh, *** lot of granddaughters. Grandma promised she would buy it once it got here. Despite the hefty price tag, Page One bookstore sold 500 copies in the first hour. And they’ve been selling strong ever since. Have you ever seen anything like this before? Never, never. And I’ve been in the book industry for about 25 years myself, and this is phenomenal. What you’re looking at is *** letter from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It’s telling Harry Potter that he’s been accepted to their school. It’s just one of the props that goes along with the fantasy of the Harry Potter books, but the reality is it gets *** lot of kids interested in reading. The little kid in all of us comes out reading these Harry Potter books, and it’s wonderful to see *** book that will bring kids back to reading like this has. The writer’s *** really good author, and she can describe stuff real well. And so it just makes you want to read more, and that is the real magic of Harry Potter.
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On this day 29 years ago: ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was released in the UK
On this day in 1997, the first book in the “Harry Potter” series was released in the United Kingdom, launching a global publishing and pop culture phenomenon that continues to draw in readers nearly three decades later.”Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was released June 26, 1997, in the U.K., but it wasn’t released in the United States — under the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” — until the following year. The author, J.K. Rowling, went on to publish six more best-selling books in the series, and it went on to inspire eight blockbuster feature films. According to the website for “Harry Potter,” those books have since been translated into 85 languages, and more than 600 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling book series in history.By the time the fourth book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” was released, Harry Potter and his schoolmates and professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were beloved around the world. So much so that, starting with the release of that fourth book, die-hard fans lined up outside of shops and bookstores for midnight releases — oftentimes wearing black cloaks and round glasses with lightning bolt “scars” drawn on their foreheads and a wand in hand. It provided fans not only the chance to get a copy of the newest book but to stay up past the witching hour, experiencing the magic of reading and camaraderie through costume contests, trivia, and games. The video in the player at the top shows a midnight release for “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in 2000 in New Mexico.
On this day in 1997, the first book in the “Harry Potter” series was released in the United Kingdom, launching a global publishing and pop culture phenomenon that continues to draw in readers nearly three decades later.
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was released June 26, 1997, in the U.K., but it wasn’t released in the United States — under the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” — until the following year.
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The author, J.K. Rowling, went on to publish six more best-selling books in the series, and it went on to inspire eight blockbuster feature films.
According to the website for “Harry Potter,” those books have since been translated into 85 languages, and more than 600 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it the best-selling book series in history.
By the time the fourth book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” was released, Harry Potter and his schoolmates and professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were beloved around the world. So much so that, starting with the release of that fourth book, die-hard fans lined up outside of shops and bookstores for midnight releases — oftentimes wearing black cloaks and round glasses with lightning bolt “scars” drawn on their foreheads and a wand in hand.
It provided fans not only the chance to get a copy of the newest book but to stay up past the witching hour, experiencing the magic of reading and camaraderie through costume contests, trivia, and games.
The video in the player at the top shows a midnight release for “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in 2000 in New Mexico.
