Sales of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows set records on both sides of the Atlantic this past weekend. According to Publishers Weekly, publisher Scholastic sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours in the U.S., while Bloomsbury sold 2.65 million copies in the U.K. in the first 24 hours. The audio version also set a record in the U.S. selling an estimated 225,000 copies, a 40% increase over Half-Blood Prince.
Independent booksellers in the U.S. reported brisk sales, with scattered reports of sell-outs! Apparently Scholastic limited the number of books that independents could order based on past Potter sales. The independent I frequent had a smallish display left for sale Saturday morning after a busy event Friday night, although tickets are sold for the Friday night event, from which book distribution are dependent, are sold well in advance. This independent actually is one of four stores, and I don't know how many copies the other three stores have on-hand.
Showing posts with label Deathly Hallows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deathly Hallows. Show all posts
Monday, July 23, 2007
Potter Pages Magically Disappear?
Better skip ahead in your Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at least to make sure pages aren’t missing. Publisher’s Weekly reports some copies of the newly released book in Vermont were missing pages 643-674. Some copies in New York skipped from page 642 to 707 to 730, then went back to page 675 and then to the end. Ah, what a wicked web we weave when first we practice to … uh … kill Harry Potter to return to power through arrogant displays of … oh, it was just a printing error!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Potter Goes Postal
After all that, our copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finally arrived by U.S. Postal Service! Amazon.com sent it via UPS to the U.S. Post Office to deliver it to our home! Fortunately, our mail arrives mid-morning these days and the wait wasn't very long, but a few months ago we would have had to wait till late afternoon, and that would have been unbearable for my wife. And to make matters worse, we would have been looking for the wrong deliverer all day, expecting it to arrive by UPS. As our royal cousins in London might say, "We are not amused."
Okay, okay, at least it got here as guaranteed! Let's have some perspective.
Although I brought the box directly to my dear wife to open and coddle, she handed it back to me and said, "No, dear, you go ahead and read the final chapter first." I'm not a Potter fanatic and all I'm really interested in is ending all the speculation about how the story ends. Who lives, who dies, and who got it all wrong. So I told my wife weeks ago that when she got the book I would only read the final chapter. So that's what I did, although I read both the last chapter and the epilogue to get the full effect. I won't spoil it for anyone, but suffice it to say, I think it was a good ending and a fitting conclusion to the series as I understand it in my limited perspective. It had its surprises for everyone, I think. Even reading just the last chapter I learned a lot about what happened before it.
As a writer and general reader, let me say I really enjoyed Rowling's writing in this chapter. I wasn't able to read her first book because I didn't like the style, and I have stayed away from the five previous books because of it. I may have to reaccess now that I've tasted this final book and liked it. Which reminds me of a new rule I created a few years back. I didn't want to see the movie Babe when it first came to theaters because I didn't want to see a movie about a darned pig. That turns out to have been a mistake. When the movie came out on tape my daughter rented it and forced me to watch it, and I discovered what a silk purse it was hiding in a sow's ear, if you will allow a pun-ish metaphor. I was so taken with it, I came up with a new life's rule never to let my prejudices against mud-snuggling beasts keep me from enjoying a movie (or a book) again. A similar rule may apply to books by authors whose writing may at first glance appear childish, trite, and silly -- maybe the style will grow with the subject and the audience as it appears to have with HP. (I'm projecting way ahead of the curve here, since I haven't tried reading any of the other books yet.) My motto is, learn from every experience. Let's see what I learn when I walk away from this keyboard...
Okay, okay, at least it got here as guaranteed! Let's have some perspective.
Although I brought the box directly to my dear wife to open and coddle, she handed it back to me and said, "No, dear, you go ahead and read the final chapter first." I'm not a Potter fanatic and all I'm really interested in is ending all the speculation about how the story ends. Who lives, who dies, and who got it all wrong. So I told my wife weeks ago that when she got the book I would only read the final chapter. So that's what I did, although I read both the last chapter and the epilogue to get the full effect. I won't spoil it for anyone, but suffice it to say, I think it was a good ending and a fitting conclusion to the series as I understand it in my limited perspective. It had its surprises for everyone, I think. Even reading just the last chapter I learned a lot about what happened before it.
As a writer and general reader, let me say I really enjoyed Rowling's writing in this chapter. I wasn't able to read her first book because I didn't like the style, and I have stayed away from the five previous books because of it. I may have to reaccess now that I've tasted this final book and liked it. Which reminds me of a new rule I created a few years back. I didn't want to see the movie Babe when it first came to theaters because I didn't want to see a movie about a darned pig. That turns out to have been a mistake. When the movie came out on tape my daughter rented it and forced me to watch it, and I discovered what a silk purse it was hiding in a sow's ear, if you will allow a pun-ish metaphor. I was so taken with it, I came up with a new life's rule never to let my prejudices against mud-snuggling beasts keep me from enjoying a movie (or a book) again. A similar rule may apply to books by authors whose writing may at first glance appear childish, trite, and silly -- maybe the style will grow with the subject and the audience as it appears to have with HP. (I'm projecting way ahead of the curve here, since I haven't tried reading any of the other books yet.) My motto is, learn from every experience. Let's see what I learn when I walk away from this keyboard...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Amazon Arranges with UPS to Deliver on Saturday
I spoke with Amazon.com today about their guarantee of delivery of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by July 21, which is Saturday. I pre-ordered HP for my wife on Sunday, which is in time for the guarantee, and I received an e-mail letting me know my pre-order was being readied for shipment via UPS. Then I remembered that UPS doesn't usually deliver on Saturdays! So I alerted them to call me (they have this very tight new technology that has them call me when I'm ready ... now ... in 5 min. ... in 10 min. ... in 15 min). The nice voice on the other end of the phone assured me that Amazon had a special arrangement with UPS to deliver Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to readers this Saturday as promised. So in case you were worried, it's been taken care of.
To try their Amazon.com's call technology, you need to go to Amazon Help and look for the Contact Us box on the righthand side with the Customer Service button inside. You'll have to log in. Let me know what you think.
To try their Amazon.com's call technology, you need to go to Amazon Help and look for the Contact Us box on the righthand side with the Customer Service button inside. You'll have to log in. Let me know what you think.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Harry Potter Books Have Shipped for B&N Stores
Barnes & Noble starts shipping copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to its stores today, according to The Book Standard. Meanwhile, 700 of their stores will be holding parties for the official release of the book. Oh, the magic and mayhem!
You can still pre-order your copy at Amazon for delivery by July 21 (see article below) -- barely. But honestly, with the record-breaking first printing I'm having a hard time believing you won't be able to walk into your favorite bookstore on July 21 (not right after midnight ... early the morning of the 21st) and get a copy off the shelf or off a special display. When I worked at a bookstore, hundreds showed up for the other parties, stood in line to get their copy just past midnight, then the next morning we had plenty of copies to sell to those patient enough to wait. In fact, we had plenty for months after. One year, my sister pre-ordered hers on Amazon and actually got it before the midnight partygoers got theirs!
You can still pre-order your copy at Amazon for delivery by July 21 (see article below) -- barely. But honestly, with the record-breaking first printing I'm having a hard time believing you won't be able to walk into your favorite bookstore on July 21 (not right after midnight ... early the morning of the 21st) and get a copy off the shelf or off a special display. When I worked at a bookstore, hundreds showed up for the other parties, stood in line to get their copy just past midnight, then the next morning we had plenty of copies to sell to those patient enough to wait. In fact, we had plenty for months after. One year, my sister pre-ordered hers on Amazon and actually got it before the midnight partygoers got theirs!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Harry Potter to Go Green..er
According to Scholastic Inc., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling's seventh and final installment in the world-popular series, will be printed in the U.S. to meet tighter environmental standards. This according to an Associated Press story released on MSNBC.com today ( See "Final Potter book goes easier on trees").
The paper used for printing will be comprised of nearly a third of post-consumer waste fiber (environmentalese for "recycled paper"). And a limited-run deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be printed on entirely post-consumer waste fiber paper.
Considering Scholastic will do 12 million copies on the first printing, that could save a lot of trees. Congratulations to whoever at Scholastic made the decision.
The paper used for printing will be comprised of nearly a third of post-consumer waste fiber (environmentalese for "recycled paper"). And a limited-run deluxe edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be printed on entirely post-consumer waste fiber paper.
Considering Scholastic will do 12 million copies on the first printing, that could save a lot of trees. Congratulations to whoever at Scholastic made the decision.
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