harrypotter

1 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)
July 22, 2007 Sunday
FINAL EDITION
Fans don't read `Potter,' they inhale it
BYLINE: MELISSA CASTRO AND LESLIE KWOH, STAR-LEDGER STAFF
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 2
LENGTH: 814 words
After months of anticipation - capped by a midnight bookstore queue for some of the most hardcore fans -
Potter maniacs are finally facing the Morning After.
Polishing off "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at 4:30 yesterday morning, Zachary Pendleton, an
18-year-old speed reader, exhaled. "It lived up to all my expectations - it was definitely worth reading all
night and still going to work at 8 a.m."
With the final installment in the seven-book series whisking Harry and all his magical friends out of readers'
lives forever, the most dedicated fans gathered at bookstores and libraries to savor the last traces of floo
powder and butterbeer.
The glass doors of the Old Bridge Public Library popped open at exactly 7:01 a.m. yesterday, releasing 33
exhausted but giddy Potter fans who had spent an entire night locked inside to plow through the 759-page
tome.
"We didn't sleep at all, we were running around like maniacs!" 14-year-old Venus Ranieri of Old Bridge
announced breathlessly to a parking lot full of groggy parents as she burst through the doors.
The pajama-clad teens had arrived the night before to celebrate the release of the book, which was
delivered to them shortly after midnight. They downed cups of Dr Pepper and hot chocolate to ensure they
would last through the night.
However, as the teens emerged from their reading bliss and back into daylight yesterday morning, their
elation turned quickly into disbelief and sadness.
"This can't be the last one, it just can't," said Ranieri, shaking her head as she recalled how her mother
read the first Harry Potter book to her nearly 10 years ago, when she was just a toddler.
Some readers felt more resentful. "It's really annoying. I'm starting to feel really sad. I don't know what I'm
going to do after this," said 13-year-old Jacquelyn Olwell, who had made it to Chapter 28 in the
36-chapters-plus-epilogue book.
The midnight bookstore blitzes and library readathons were the grand finale in a summer of Harry hype.
Ubiquitous Potter contests - ranging from creating the best magical creature to the best humorous spell -
kept Harry hounds at bay while Scholastic, the book's U.S. publisher, unleashed a $20 million security blitz to
try to protect the plot from snarky spoilers.
Some swore off the Internet for weeks before the book's release to avoid inadvertent exposure to the
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book's ending. Those same people are now racing through the book.
"I can't wait to get home to read it," said Kathy Kawalec, 46, of East Brunswick, whose 8-year-old son Joey
won a copy of the book in an essay-writing contest. "I want to finish it before someone ruins the ending for
me." Fortunately for Kawalec, Joey is still on Book 5.
Others have already made it to the end. Finding herself asleep with her face plastered to Page 246,
Heather Harner pulled herself awake at 9 a.m. yesterday and willed herself to finish by midafternoon. She
did.
"I hadn't slept in three days from pure excitement about the book coming out," Harner said.
Sporting a Harry Potter T-shirt and a black and purple witch's cape, the 25-year-old Starbucks employee
waited outside the Bridgewater Commons mall for hours before the midnight release.
Bleary-eyed from a week and a half of sleepless nights rereading the entire series, Harner waved her
replica phoenix-core wand around at the event, reliving what it feels like to be a kid who still believes in
magic, she said.
"I'm not a fan, I'm an addict," Harner admitted. As with the previous books, she read the last pages through
tears.
Like other Potter addicts, Harner is trying to figure out how she'll get her fix when she's forced to rejoin the
Muggle world. "There will be a lot of rereading, let's put it that way," said Harner, who has read most of the
books as many as 10 times.
INSTANT NOSTALGIA
For some teenagers, closing the chapter on Harry coincided with the end of a chapter in their own lives.
"Just after my high school graduation, I was sitting on my car and thinking about how I'm never going to see
my friends again and now I have to go out on my own," said Carina Metz, 17, of Manville. Similarly, she said,
"There's never going to be another Harry Potter adventure, or that excitement, again."
"I wish I had a broom," Metz said wistfully.
Some fans, like Ranieri, said they would savor the last book by reading only one page a day for the rest of
the summer, forgetting for a moment that the plan would leave them reading until August 2009.
Still, the fans said, reaching the end of the series was like losing a very close friend. Life just would not be
the same - they would be left with an itchy scar they can't quite scratch.
Staff writers John Holl and Tom Feeney contributed to this report. Melissa Castro may be reached at
mcastro@starledger.com Leslie Kwoh may be reached at lkwoh@starledger.com Both may be reached at
(973) 539-7910.
LOAD-DATE: July 23, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: 1. The New Brunswick Free Public Libraries' Iren Ruschak double-checks the ingredients for a
potion at a Harry Potter book-release party yesterday.
2. Ngozi Esomonu says she has gotten to around Page 250 - a third of the way through - while working at
her family's business, Roxy Pharmacy in Newark, yesterday afternoon.
3. Nancy Parez, 9, helps herself to a fake leech for her potion at a New Brunswick library.
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Fans don't read `Potter,' they inhale it The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) July 22, 2007 Sunday
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
JOURNAL-CODE: nsl
Copyright 2007 Newark Morning Ledger Co.
All Rights Reserved
2 of 19 DOCUMENTS
San Antonio Express-News
July 22, 2007 Sunday
METRO Edition
Readers emotional over rite of passage
BYLINE: Deborah Martin, EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER
SECTION: METRO AND STATE NEWS; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 714 words
Vanessa Gaitan burst into tears as soon as she got into the car with her copy of "Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows" just after midnight Friday.
"It's the last one, the thing I've been waiting for since I read the very first one," said Gaitan, 20, who got into
the Potter series back when she was a "geeky" 10-year-old. "It's like a big leap for me. It's going from
childhood to adolescence to now. After this is over, I can finally consider myself an adult. It's like a
crossroads."
J.K. Rowling's mega-selling series has unfolded in seven installments over 10 years. "Deathly Hallows," the
series finale, went on sale at precisely 12:01 a.m. Saturday, capping all-night release parties at bookstores
and other retailers.
The young wizard at the heart of the series has aged from 11 to 17 in the books, and a lot of fans have
grown up with him. To some of them, that gives the end of the story a lot more weight than earlier
installments have had.
"It's like the end of your childhood," said Karla Yzaguirre, 21, a University of Texas at San Antonio
photography student who discovered the books at 13.
Gaitan, whose understanding manager at H-E-B gave her Saturday off so she could read, vividly recalls
getting into the story a decade ago with the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
"I couldn't stop reading it," she said. "I could not put it down. I remember I got in trouble at school in the fifth
grade for reading when I was supposed to be working on something else."
She started reading "Deathly Hallows" in the car while her boyfriend drove her home, and only stopped to
sleep a few hours Saturday morning and for a few quick meals.
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Fans don't read `Potter,' they inhale it The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) July 22, 2007 Sunday
Yzaguirre said she's had to take short breaks from the story because it's so much darker than those that
came before in the series.
"The book's been stressing me out," she said. "It's been pretty much chaos from the very beginning. It seems
so hopeless; all this bad stuff keeps happening."
She cried a lot as the battle between good and evil progressed, and expected to shed more tears when she
gets to the final page.
Ariana Cruz, 20, finished the book in about 12 hours, including a two-hour nap. She wrapped it up before her
best friend did, and was eagerly waiting for her to call so they could discuss it.
"It's killing me," she said. "I'm kind of stewing here. I'm going nuts for someone to talk to."
Cruz doesn't see finishing the book as a rite of passage for herself. But that's not to say she was blasé after
snapping the orange cover shut. She joked that she's now navigating the five stages of grieving: "I'm kind of
past the denial thing, went through anger and bargaining. I'm in depression and hoping the acceptance will
come."
All in all, she was satisfied by the ending.
"I did not see a lot of it coming," she said. "It was great."
Derek Tingle, 19, planned to spend most of his weekend immersed in an earlier part of the story. He read the
first three books when he was 11 or 12, then stopped a little ways into the fourth, "Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire." About a week ago, though, he keyed into some of his friends' excitement about the
conclusion's approach. He started thinking about the books as a cultural phenomenon and decided to get
back onboard.
"It felt like it was a big generational thing," he said.
He expected to polish off "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the penultimate book, this weekend
before diving into "Deathly Hallows."
"It's fun," he said. "As you read, you get a sense of that childhood experience of being completely sucked
into a book."
He's also picking up on a lot of stuff he figures would have gone over his head when he was younger,
including a progressive political subtext.
"(Rowling) attacks a lot of things in the books," he said.
Gaitan has had a similar feeling each time she has reread one of the earlier books.
"There are certain parts I think were meant more for adults than for children," she said. References to family
-- an important recurring theme, since Harry was orphaned as an infant -- have taken on a deeper resonance
for her as she's grown up.
"As I get older, that becomes more powerful," she said.
She expected to finish the book late Saturday.
"It's been a journey," Gaitan said. "It's the biggest journey I've ever taken in a book."
dlmartin@express-news.net
LOAD-DATE: July 23, 2007
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Readers emotional over rite of passage San Antonio Express-News July 22, 2007 Sunday
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Vanessa Gaitan is deep into the last 'Harry Potter.' She's been hooked on the series since she
picked up the first book when she was 10. PHOTO: THAO NGUYEN/STAFF
DOCUMENT-TYPE: News - Local
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 San Antonio Express-News
All Rights Reserved
3 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Wenatchee World (Washington)
July 22, 2007 Sunday
Harry Potter party attracts 600 fans for finale's release
BYLINE: Leland Ornelaz World staff writer
SECTION: LOCAL NEWS; Pg. A01
LENGTH: 513 words
WENATCHEE - Costumed revelers sporting wizard hats and Harry Potter's lightning-bolt scar waited until the
stroke of midnight to finally learn the secrets hidden in the popular series that has captured their
imaginations.
About 600 fans - young, old and all ages in between - attended the release party at Hastings Book Music and
Video for the final installment in J.K. Rowling's series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The seventh
book in the immensely popular Potter series was released just after midnight Saturday.
Readers were anxious to know what happens to the character they've grown to love since the first book was
published almost 10 years ago.
"I just want to know all the loose ends," said Ashley Techavimol, a 10-year-old Wenatchee resident.
She wanted to know if Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, Potter's fellow wizard schoolmate and romantic
interest, will end up together.
"I hope they live happily ever after," Techavimol said.
Some book fans just want to know which characters are going to get knocked off.
"I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone dies and finding out everything we didn't know about Harry's past,"
said Mackenzee Smith, 19, from East Wenatchee.
The previous book "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was published in 2005.
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Readers emotional over rite of passage San Antonio Express-News July 22, 2007 Sunday
Rowling's series has created a huge fan base around the world. Around 325 million copies have been sold
in 64 languages.
In the Unites States, 12 million have been printed for its first run.
Hastings assistant manager Inez Downey said people started reserving the final book five months ago.
"I was the first," Downey said.
Book department manager Martha Linn said the store has around 1,000-plus of the final Potter book in
stock.
"Enough to take me through two days," she said.
About two-thirds of the books in stock have been reserved, according to Linn.
The Potter celebration began 9 p.m. Friday.
The Wenatchee book store has had a release party for previous Potter books, and they've grown over the
years, Downey said.
The party included Harry Potter trivia, a costume contest and butterbeer, a drink from the book made with
unknown contents but concocted at Hastings with ginger ale and butterscotch.
Linn credits the books popularity on strong characters and plot.
"Everybody has fallen in love with the characters and the plot line has kept everyone on the edge of their
chairs," Linn said.
Tracy Shaw, 34, of East Wenatchee said she has read the books multiple times.
"I like the fantasy and the characters," said Shaw, who brought her seven-year-old daughter Morgan to the
party.
"They're funny," said Morgan, explaining why she likes the books.
Jose Rosales of Wenatchee said he grew up reading Harry Potter.
"I'm gonna go home, and I'm gonna read it now," said the 19-year-old.
Laney Spry, 9, was the first fan at Hastings to receive her book early Saturday morning.
Her father Joe Spry, 44, of East Wenatchee, dressed up as a white-bearded wizard and won the book in a
costume contest.
"I'm so happy," said Laney, hugging her new book with both arms.
Leland Ornelaz: 664-7129
ornelaz@wenworld.com
LOAD-DATE: August 24, 2014
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 The Wenatchee World
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Harry Potter party attracts 600 fans for finale's release The Wenatchee World (Washington) July 22, 2007
Sunday
Distributed by Newsbank, Inc. All Rights Reserved
4 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana)
July 22, 2007 Sunday
Harry Potter fans lose sleep and cars over their passion
BYLINE: John Andrew Prime & Alexandyr Kent
SECTION: FRONT; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 1033 words
By John Andrew Prime
jprime@gannett.com
and Alexandyr Kent
akent@gannett.com
Henry Ford, step aside for Harry Potter, at least in Martha Ritter's world.
"My husband had the nerve to try to take me out to buy me a new car," Shreveporter Ritter said Saturday,
100 pages from the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,"
Like hundreds of other people in Shreveport and Bossier City, she spent hours waiting in line late Friday,
eager to buy the seventh and supposedly last volume in the best-selling series.
Sleep couldn't sway her, and neither could the smell of a new vehicle.
"I said I can't look at new cars, I have to read the book," she said. "Surprisingly, it's pretty much gone the way
I thought it would happen. I had some good theories, and I wrote them down beforehand so I'd have proof."
Jennifer Holt managed to read about an hour before sleep claimed her in the wee hours Saturday after she
got home from Sci-Port Discovery Center where she'd led a Harry Potter release party.
"I'm only on Chapter 8 right now," she fretted just before 5 p.m.
She was in a reading race with her mom, Bossier City's June Valeton.
"She's on Chapter 12, and she keeps calling me to see where I'm at," Holt said. "We're going back and forth."
Some more patient souls waited to buy their piece of Potter on Saturday after some of fuss died down.
"I didn't want to stay up late," said Kathryn McFadden, who picked up her reserved copy at the Tower Book
Shop that afternoon.
She said she may savor the tale, reading over several days.
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Harry Potter party attracts 600 fans for finale's release The Wenatchee World (Washington) July 22, 2007
Sunday
"I want to spread it out," said McFadden, who was introduced to the magic of Harry Potter by her grown son
and now owns all the books and has seen all the movies. "And I don't want to hear how it ends."
Another of the 40 or 50 people who picked up copies at Tower on Saturday was Marcia Unger, a
Shreveporter who admitted she was catching up on her sleep while other Potter fans waited through the
witching hour.
She owns all the books now, though she borrowed the first one.
"I was about 17 when my friends told me about it, and I borrowed the first book because I didn't know
whether or not I'd like it," she said. "I thought it was cute and fun, and I had to finish the series."
Among the lucky readers who snagged a copy when 12:01 a.m. rolled around Saturday was Rani Johnson,
who met up with her pre-ordered copy at Books-A-Million.
"Lookie, lookie, lookie!" she exclaimed as she held high her hardback to a line that snaked around the edge
of the Bossier City bookstore and well out the front door. "I am ecstatic!"
Johnson, who has read the first six books in the series, didn't plan on sleeping until she finished "Deathly
Hallows."
Reaching the end of the popular series will be emotional for devoted fans.
"I cried at the end of the fifth and sixth book," Johnson said.
The book is purported to offer a definitive ending for the series' main plot line: a mortal, epic struggle
between good "" Harry Potter "" and evil "" Lord Voldemort.
Harry Potter look-alike Beau Gaston, 5, won a costume contest at Books-A-Million. His success earned him
the first spot in line.
"I like the magic. I like the snakes!" Beau hissed.
His mother, Carla Gaston, planned to start reading the book right away. "At this point, I've put every scenario
I can possibly think of through my head."
Mark Wade, 18, entertained patient readers by taking part in the Harry Potter tribute band Them Who Shall
Not Be Named, which includes Allison Bohl, 23, Alex Bohl, 20, and Kevin Singletary, 20.
"I'm deeply emotionally attached," Wade said. "This seventh book marks the end of our childhood."
He's read each book six times and has been reading them since sixth grade. Wade wants to finish the final
book quickly.
"After this, I'm a man," Wade said, earning laughs from his three band mates.
Barbara McGuire brought daughter Sadie, 8, to Holt's event at Sci-Port. Both were eager to learn more about
Harry.
"He gets to do all the things we wish we could do," McGuire said. If Harry dies in the final book, it will be for a
good reason. I'm sure he wouldn't make a sacrifice without some gain."
More than 12 million copies of "Deathly Hallows" have been printed for the first run in the United States. The
series has sold 325 million copies worldwide.
Five members of the self-professed Shreveport Harry Potter Watchers and Readers Association of America
"" Rebecca Gorman, 14, Lauren Gieseke, 14, Mary Anna Billingsley, 13, Emily Carson, 14, and Joy Shan, 14
"" showed up at Barnes and Noble in homemade costumes. Their evening was almost ruined by a waiter at
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Harry Potter fans lose sleep and cars over their passion The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) July 22, 2007
Sunday
Chili's who tried to spoil the ending for them.
Luckily, they shut him up.
"I'm not going to turn on the computer until I'm finished," Gorman said. She hopes to read the last page by
Tuesday.
Gorman is not too sad about the release of the final book. "I'll probably read the series over and over again."
At Books-A-Million, Janee Blair brought nephew Jacob Keston, 9, to participate in the costume contest. He
won his age group.
Surveying the anxious crowd, Blair thought the midnight book sale brought out two kinds of readers. "There
is the normal, everyday person. Then there is this underground Harry Potter society."
Blair wouldn't call herself a huge fan but said she's read all the books and loves their imaginative qualities.
"It's disappointing that it's going to end," she said smilingly.
Blair doesn't want to see Harry lose to Voldemort. "I'm hoping that in the epilogue he dies of old age. I'm an
optimist."
Jenna Talley and Amy San Pedro were among the last readers to walk about of Books-A-Millions with copies
of "Deathly Hallows." Both couldn't fathom going to sleep but said they had to show up for early morning
shifts Saturday.
"I'm just too wired to go to bed," Talley said. "It was actually a slight on the schedule that I'm working at 6
a.m., so somebody owes me drinks. I can't believe I'm working on Harry Potter day."
Sales continues at a brisk pace Saturday, Books-A-Million co-manager Thomas Winford said.
By 5 p.m., at least 200 vouchers for reserved books had been redeemed.
"We're not completely out," he said. "We planned for Day 2. There are quite few vouchers out there, but we
have quite enough."
Mugs:
McFadden
Unger
Johnson
B. Gaston
Wade
McGuire
Blair
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
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Harry Potter fans lose sleep and cars over their passion The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) July 22, 2007
Sunday
JOURNAL-CODE: shr
Copyright 2007 The Times (Shreveport, LA)
All Rights Reserved
5 of 19 DOCUMENTS
Sunday News (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
July 22, 2007 Sunday
Harry's world;
Readers spend day with noses in final Potter book
BYLINE: Marty Crisp
SECTION: A; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 678 words
DATELINE: Lancaster, PA
Gillian Graham, 18, says she "grew up with Harry Potter." Currently on summer break between graduation
from Penn Manor High School and the start of fall term at Goucher College, the Millersville teen pulled an
all-nighter to finish "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
"We got three copies, one for my mom, one for my brother, and one for me," said Graham, who went to the
Barnes & Noble release party wearing a "Ron Loves Hermione" T-shirt under a bright orange robe. "My mom
and brother said, 'Don't tell me how it ends,' so I haven't. I was shocked again and again as I read. With each
new chapter, I didn't know what to expect. But by the end, you understand everything. It makes you laugh
and it makes you cry. It's good. But I'm sleepy."
"The Boy Who Lived" was invited to countless such slumber parties this weekend and welcomed into millions
of homes. With 12:01 a.m. Saturday marking the official release minute of "Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows," local fans joined in the bookstore-and-library-sponsored celebrations of J.K. Rowling's seven-book
phenomenon.
"Once you start reading, you can't stop," said Katie Thorsen, 14, of Landisville.
With her dark hair shaded pink, Thorsen came to the Barnes & Noble party as Tonks, and was promptly
"sorted" into the Hogwarts house of Slytherin by Professor McGonagall and her witch's hat. B&N staff
member Carol Ann Sullivan, 64, played McGonagall and chose "kids who look like rebels" (as in dying your
hair pink) for the notorious Slytherin, the house that produced Harry Potter's arch enemy, Lord Voldemort.
"Yes," Thorsen said with a grin, "there've been a lot of bad people in Slytherin, but now that I'm in, I can
change that."
That whole can-do attitude is one positive outcome of the reading frenzy the fictional English wizard has
caused among youngsters (and adults) worldwide.
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Harry Potter fans lose sleep and cars over their passion The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) July 22, 2007
Sunday
"We're all drawn to the feeling the books give you that anybody can turn out to be special," said Alysse
Stehli, 21, of Lititz, an organizer of the book release party at Borders Express in Park City. Stehli, a
Millersville University co-ed, works at Borders Express but was glad to have Saturday off so she could read
the book straight through.
Finishing at 10:30 a.m., she said "There were so many theories about what would happen, but it was very
different from what I expected. It's tough when characters you feel like you know get killed. The book was
more violent than I expected, and it surprised me a lot. But I had to get it read. I had to know."
Fans eager to get started on (or finish) Harry's final adventure turned out all over Lancaster County late
Friday night, dressed in wizarding robes and Hogwarts schoolgirl uniforms, toting stuffed owls and cats. One
young man, dressed as a dreaded Dementor, complained he couldn't walk around without people raising
their wands and throwing "Expecto Patronum" curses at him. Another bold costuming choice was the girl who
turned out as "Moaning Myrtle," the bathroom ghost. She wore a toilet seat around her neck.
Catlin Maywell, 19, of Ephrata, wore a self-made T-shirt with a quote from late Hogwarts headmaster Albus
Dumbledore on the back. It said: "To the Organized Mind, Death is But the Next Great Adventure."
"It's so real," Maywell said of Potter's World, "that I can picture myself there."
Barnes & Noble had 1,000 at their book release party; Borders Express around 1,500, and Aaron's Books in
Lititz had 40, playing Harry Potter Pictionary at the back of their store.
"We ordered 80 new books and we're a used bookstore," said co-owner Sam Dickinson as her 4-year-old
son Aaron ran around happily wearing Harry Potter glasses and carrying a broom. "The thing that's so great
about this is that it gets people to pay attention to books."
Even J.K. Rowling (rhymes with bowling) can't turn all kids into readers.
"I just watch the movies," said Delaney Lowrey, 11, of Paradise, fending off Nargles with her Luna Lovegood
necklace. In a world of leaks and spoilers, she's perfectly happy to wait for the final film, in 2010, to find out
how it ends.
LOAD-DATE: July 23, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Above Brian Frailey dressed in wizard garb displays the final volume of the Harry Potter series at
Dog Star Books 529 W. Chestnut St. At left Katie Trout 15 of Lancaster poses as Hermione Granger at a
late-night party at Borders Express in Park City Center. Jack Leonard, Sunday News
Penny Weis of Lancaster takes notes as Rita Skeeter a malicious reporter who frequently takes aim at Harry
Potter in the later volumes. Weis was at the Park City Center party celebrating the release of the seventh
Potter book. Megan Hart, Sunday News
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
6 of 19 DOCUMENTS
Mail on Sunday (London)
Page 11
Harry's world; Readers spend day with noses in final Potter book Sunday News (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
July 22, 2007 Sunday
July 22, 2007 Sunday
Much less fun but more momentous ... and still genius;
As the whole world goes potty over Harry Potter's final adventure
BYLINE: MELANIE MCDONAGH
SECTION: FB; Pg. 12
LENGTH: 595 words
I BET I wasn't the only one who sat up all night reading Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows from start to
finish, allowing for occasional tea and toast and chocolate breaks.
The seventh and final volume of the Harry Potter stories has its faults, like all the others, but it's worth
pondering J.K. Rowling's extraordinary accomplishment.
What kind of writer has children standing for hours in the rain waiting for the chance to buy her book? An
extraordinary, once-in-a-generation storyteller, that's what.
C.S. Lewis's praise for Tolkien's book The Hobbit comes to mind. Tolkien, he said, had written about a world
that seemed always to have existed. That's what J. K. Rowling has done. She seems not so much to have
created the world of magic, of Hogwarts, as to have drawn it from life.
Children have an unerring instinct for artifice and artificiality - this story and these characters have the
inescapable quality that the author seems as convinced of their reality as the reader.
This book, however, departs radically from earlier volumes in the series - to my mind the better ones.
It's no longer a boarding-school story.
Instead, it's the story of a quest, of a last battle. And so the cycle of the school year isn't the framework for
this book as it was for the earlier ones.
Instead we're in a different sort of narrative, the battle of good against evil, Harry against Voldemort, a
mini-Götterdämmerung. More momentous, less fun.
And, for whole stretches of the story, it is just the three friends against the enemy and for some of it, only two
of them.
But by the end some of the other creatures in this richly populated world come into their own - goblins, the
elves and, all too briefly, the giants.
There's much less of the humour and the comic aspects of the earlier volumes.
There was endless scope for fun with variations on Care of Magical Beasts classes, on the hideous things
that could happen with potions. But here they're absent altogether. You also lose the succession of satirical
minor characters who enlivened the previous books, such as the celebrity wizard Gilderoy Lockhart.
However, this book has something else, a more nuanced depiction of good and evil. Previously the
inexorable villainy of the villains could get monotonous - the notion that nothing good could come out of
Slytherin - when we all know that people are rarely so obliging as to be unremittingly bad.
There are welcome redemptive elements in this story, one quite unexpected. I'm trying really hard in all this
not to give away the plot.
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Much less fun but more momentous ... and still genius; As the whole world goes potty over Harry Potter's
final adventure Mail on Sunday (London) July 22, 2007 Sunday
Yet this final volume deals to an even greater extent than before with the author's conviction that death is not
the worst thing in the world. J.K. Rowling is profoundly, subliminally Christian in her way. These are moral
books. As in fairy stories, the characters can draw on magical powers and extraordinary weapons but the
human virtues of courage and kindness are what matter in the end.
The books are a celebration of friendship, which is precisely why children relate to them so strongly.
Indeed sometimes the author's didacticism is all too evident - the attempts by the Voldemort side to establish
a register of Mudbloods and to discourage marriage between pure-blooded wizards and those of impure and
mixed ancestry have very obvious parallels in history.
If you don't already love J.K. Rowling's creation, her fertility of invention, her extraordinarily various world of
magic, well, you won't care for this book. The prose is vivid but hardly elegant. For the rest of us, this is - alas
- the last opportunity to hail a narrator of genius.
LOAD-DATE: July 23, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Papers
Copyright 2007 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
7 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 22, 2007 Sunday
Main Edition
'Potter' saga ends; its spell doesn't;
Fans shun sleep to learn fate of beloved boy wizard
BYLINE: MEGHA RAJAGOPALAN; Staff
SECTION: METRO NEWS; Pg. 1D
LENGTH: 706 words
At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jason Trapani was an impressive 391 pages into the Harry Potter saga's hefty
finale. All it took was four Red Bulls and a two-hour power nap.
"I'm angry that I fell asleep at all," the 23-year-old Georgia State student said. "I'm going to keep on reading
Page 13
Much less fun but more momentous ... and still genius; As the whole world goes potty over Harry Potter's
final adventure Mail on Sunday (London) July 22, 2007 Sunday
as much as possible."
Content but bleary-eyed, Trapani is one of thousands of Potter fans who found they just couldn't put down
J.K. Rowling's 784-page "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." After its release a minute after midnight
Saturday, fans raced out of bookstores clutching the thick tomes, eager to discover the fate of their boy
wizard hero.
After waiting months for the conclusion to the seven-part series, some fans said they were irritated by
accounts in the media and digital photographs online that gave away the book's ending and plot points. Many
paranoid Potterphiles are steering clear of the Internet and barricading themselves in their rooms to avoid
spoilers.
Take heart, surprise-lovers --- this article, at least, won't be your foil. Without discussing the events of the
plot, here's an early sampling of thoughts from metro Atlanta's would-be wizards.
* Dana Huff, 35, of Roswell, a high school English teacher: "There's clearly a very different tone. The older
Harry gets, the more he learns about the capacity for evil in some people. ... There's a lot of violence. It's not
what I've come to expect from what are considered children's books."
* Crystal Van Wieren, 28, of Woodstock, a homemaker: "It's so full of action, but at the same time [Rowling]
will put in jokes, so it's lighthearted. Literally on the same page, you'll be sad and angry, then you'll be
laughing. ... This totally tops the last book."
* Catherine Mullins, 13, of Buckhead, a seventh-grade student: "I thought it was really good, but so many
parts of it are sad. Harry might not go back to school, and I was really sad about that."
* Jeff Burdett, 37, of Gwinnett County, a medical transcriptionist: "The pace is more quick. It's very satisfying.
It's hard to stop once you pick it up."
* Eleanor Fowler, 19, of Buckhead, a college freshman: "It's a lot darker --- it's the final showdown. With her
sentences, you can see that it's still her style, but they're deeper and more complex."
For longtime fans, months of excitement have culminated in a week of satisfaction, nostalgia and some
sorrow. Though they will finally discover Harry Potter's fate, many are sad the story is ending.
"I'm torn because I want to devour this book, but at the same time, I want to take my time and savor it
because it's the last one," said 29-year-old David Toback, a counselor who lives in Sandy Springs. "It's very
bittersweet."
Huff lamented the end of a series of books that drew many children --- especially boys --- into reading.
"There's something so wonderful about going to a bookstore at midnight, and it's so packed with people that
you can't move," she said. "As an English teacher, I have to love that."
Dressed as a Death Eater --- one of the book's villains --- at Tall Tales Book Shop on Friday night,
10-year-old Jacob Smulian said Rowling had inspired him to become a writer himself, adding that he has
already begun working on his first novel.
"Harry Potter inspired me to read," he said. "I've read hundreds of books now that I've started Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the saga's first book, came out in 1997. Many teenagers now in high
school and college say they feel as though they grew up with Harry and his friends.
"As each book came out, I was basically the same age as the characters," Fowler said. "They have Muggle
problems as well as magic problems."
Fowler said she got hooked on the series while she was away at summer camp, reading late into the night
Page 14
'Potter' saga ends; its spell doesn't; Fans shun sleep to learn fate of beloved boy wizard The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution July 22, 2007 Sunday
under the covers, flashlight in hand. She was 12 then, a year older than Harry is in Rowling's first book. Now,
preparing to leave home for college, she said finishing "Deathly Hallows" will seem like closing a part of her
childhood.
"On the lowest level, it's a fun book about magic, but on the highest level, it's about social things and good
vs. evil," she said. "There's so much going wrong in the world right now, but I think Rowling is telling us to
fight the good fight."
LOAD-DATE: July 22, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Photo: MIKKI K. HARRIS / StaffBenjamin Yarmowich (center), 9, stands among fellow Harry
Potter characters and Batman on Friday night in Buckhead./ImageData* ImageData*
Photo: BEN GRAY / StaffEleanor Fowler, 19, spends Saturday morning on her parents couch in Atlanta
reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Fowler, who bought the book at 1 a.m., had planned to read
the book straight through, but fell asleep at 4 a.m./ImageData*
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspapers
Copyright 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
8 of 19 DOCUMENTS
Chicago Tribune
July 22, 2007 Sunday
Chicagoland Early Edition
Potter fans finally get their hands on books;
Readers snap up 'Deathly Hallows'
BYLINE: By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons, Tribune staff reporter. Freelance writer Steve Schmadeke
contributed to this report.
SECTION: METRO ; ZONE C; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 587 words
At the stroke of midnight Friday, a cart of boxes arrived at the front of the store, triggering a huge ovation.
The first child in line triumphantly held the thick orange book in the air to a roar of cheers.
Jasmine Rogers was among the first to get their hands on a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,"
the seventh and final installment in J.K. Rowling's blockbuster series. The 10-year-old squealed with delight
as she examined the cover with wide eyes.
"Wow, I'm actually holding the last Harry Potter," she said. "I'm too excited."
Jasmine was among hundreds of Harry Potter fans, some of whom had camped out for hours, at the Borders
Page 15
'Potter' saga ends; its spell doesn't; Fans shun sleep to learn fate of beloved boy wizard The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution July 22, 2007 Sunday
bookstore on North Michigan Avenue on Friday for the book.
Ashley Bianchi grabbed her copy and ran to the checkout counter, fumbling for her $22.88 before screaming
and jumping with her friends as they left the store.
"We're very nerdy and very excited," Bianchi, 25, said. "We're ordering pizza and reading until our eyes won't
stay open."
Fans were eager to learn how the Harry Potter adventure ends after following the boy wizard over the last
decade.
Bookshops and libraries across the Chicago area held parties and celebrations Friday to unveil the book at
the bewitching hour, often adding a touch of magic. Among the activities were fortunetelling, tea parties,
potion making and appearances by faculty of Hogwarts, young Potter's school.
Though 12 million copies of the book were produced in the first printing, fans were desperate to get their
hands on one so they could begin poring over its 784 pages.
Previous Potter installments have sold some 325 million books worldwide and netted more than $3.5 billion,
including the revenue from five movies.
Naperville was transformed Friday into Hogsmeade, a magical Scottish village in the books. More than 60
local businesses participated in the event, which included a huge chessboard with human players and a live
raptor exhibit.
Thousands packed the streets for the block party where grown men were dressed as wizards with glued-on
beards. At midnight, the crowd began chanting, "Harry!"
"I don't think I'll see anything like this again in my lifetime," said Becky Anderson, owner of the Naperville
bookstore that organized the event.
Kate Durham said she found the beginning of the end a bittersweet moment. But she can't wait to one day
share the series with her 5-month-old daughter.
"It's really sad that this is the end," she said.
In Oak Park, the Wonder Works Children's Museum held a sleepover where lights would burn all night in
some rooms to accommodate eager readers.
Readers had dozens of questions they hoped the book would resolve, but most of the chatter Friday was
focused on the ultimate fate of its hero. Rowling only increased the hype last year when she said that two
characters would die in the final book.
Speculation over Harry's possible demise and theories about how a final battle with the sinister Lord
Voldemort might play out were rampant among the faithful.
The hype even sent some fans into hiding in recent days.
When a friend of Kate Robinson's posted information about the book's ending online, she closed the Web
site immediately.
"I've made a point not to read any spoilers because I want to be surprised," Robinson, 19, said Friday
outside a North Side bookstore.
Joel Sawyer, 30, a librarian from Mt. Prospect, was pained to think he will have to say goodbye to the
characters he has come to know so well.
But he knows he must.
Page 16
Potter fans finally get their hands on books; Readers snap up 'Deathly Hallows' Chicago Tribune July 22,
2007 Sunday
"I'm going to try to savor the moment," he said.
efitzsimmons@tribune.com
LOAD-DATE: July 22, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Photo: Joni Gardner (left), daughter Brittany, 21, and Joni's husband, Larry, wait Friday at the
Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park.
Photo: Kelly Herz, 17, of Wasco is the first in line at the Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park to get a copy of
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" early Saturday.
Tribune photos by John Smierciak
Photo(s)
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 Chicago Tribune Company
9 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Roanoke Times (Virginia)
July 22, 2007 Sunday
Metro Edition
SLEEP DEPRIVATION GRIPS THE REGION
BYLINE: By Angela Manese-Lee angela.manese-lee@roanoke.com 381-8621
SECTION: VIRGINIA; Pg. B1
LENGTH: 729 words
It took a few cups of chai tea, some quick laps around her Blacksburg home and almost 12 hours of
determined reading, but Emily Grace Sarver-Wolf is done.
At times, the 16-year-old admitted, the journey through 759 pages of magic and mayhem was intense. But by
the time the sleep-deprived teen put "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" down about noon Saturday, she
was almost giddy.
"I'm really excited about the way she ended it," Emily Grace said of Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling.
"For a while there I wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but she really did a good job. It seemed like it
would have been hard to come up with an end for such a legacy, but I really feel she made a good stab at it
-- or maybe it's because what I wanted to happen, happened."
Like perhaps millions of other Harry Potter fans worldwide, Emily Grace went without sleep Friday. There
was, she figured, simply too much at stake.
"It's so much fun, it's just so festive [and] you can't really go to bed," she said. "I just wanted to know what
Page 17
Potter fans finally get their hands on books; Readers snap up 'Deathly Hallows' Chicago Tribune July 22,
2007 Sunday
happens."
Motivated by a similar curiosity, 13-year-old Ethan Wright brought a book light to the Books-A-Million in
Roanoke on Friday night so he could read the seventh Harry Potter book as soon as he got it and continue
reading on the 10- to 15-minute ride back home to Troutville.
Unlike Emily Grace, however, Ethan made it to about 1:50 a.m.
"I literally fell asleep on the book," he said.
Also temporarily waylaid by sleep, the Wynne family of Blacksburg spent much of Saturday in almost total
silence.
"Nobody has said a word, pretty much," Cindy Wynne said about 2 p.m. "We have barely eaten."
What food the family did consume was done so over copies of the book, Wynne noted. "We're pretty much
attached to it."
By early afternoon, Wynne was more than halfway through the book. Her daughter, Hannah, had about 100
pages to go, and her husband, Randy, was done.
To prevent spoiling the ending for others, "we are all bound to strict silence," Randy Wynne said. And "we'll
continue to be complete hermits until we're all done."
When that time comes, Randy Wynne expects there will be feelings of satisfaction, at questions now
answered; pride, at a series now completed; and also, feelings of sadness.
"It is such a big part of this family growing up together," said the 43-year-old father of Hannah, 11, and
Jacob, 7. "It is kind of sad seeing it all coming to an end."
Yet it did so with a flourish.
At midnight release parties throughout the region, Harry Potter enthusiasts spent hours trading trivia,
discussing potential endings and guessing at how long it would take them to finish Book 7, and with it, the
Harry Potter series.
By 11:55 p.m. Friday, lines of costumed fans had formed in several Roanoke Valley and New River Valley
bookstores. And once the books became available at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, near-hysteria ensued.
Eager readers in Roanoke screamed "Oh my God! Oh my God!" and clapped as they caught sight of the
large crates containing the books being pulled to the registers at Books-A-Million.
As staff cut through the wrapping and opened the boxes, camera phones snapped pictures and girls jumped
up and down. One teen fanned her face with a voucher.
"It's like Christmas," said Erin Hogan, 18, of Vinton.
In Blacksburg, the atmosphere was more reminiscent of New Year's Eve.
At the 10-seconds-to-midnight mark, Easy Chair Bookstore co-owner Russell Chisholm began a countdown.
When the crowd reached one, cheers rang out and, perhaps forgetting what she was celebrating, 9-year-old
Grace Ross yelled, "Happy ...!"
At 12:01 a.m., 11-year-old Anna Newman of Salem was handed the Roanoke Books-A-Million's first book.
She was quickly followed by a flood of people, grabbing white bags and bolting for the door.
Casey Claar, 15, of Franklin County and Cynthia Woods, 16, of Roanoke County walked out with their arms
Page 18
SLEEP DEPRIVATION GRIPS THE REGION The Roanoke Times (Virginia) July 22, 2007 Sunday
around each other, sobbing.
"This is like the worst and best day of my life," Claar said. "I've grown up with the books. It just makes me so
sad it's the last one."
Woods said she didn't think she could open to the first page without hyperventilating.
"This is one of the best moments of my entire life," she said, rubbing the book.
Back inside the bookstore, the end of the line was nearing the cash register.
And by 12:15 a.m., almost everyone had rushed out of the store.
Staff writer Amanda Codispoti contributed to this report.
LOAD-DATE: August 6, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Photos by MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times. 1.The Wynne family of Blacksburg -- Randy
(from left), Hannah, Cindy and Jacob -- gets three copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at
Volume II bookstore Saturday at University Mall. "We are all bound to strict silence," Randy Wynne said.
2.Elias Sarver-Wolf, 9, sports a costume as "Sir Cadogan" while attending a party at the Easy Chair
Bookstore in Blacksburg. 3.Josh Robson, 12, prepares his Harry Potter costume Friday night at University
Mall in Blacksburg. 4.Ruth Howe, 19, roams through University Mall dressed as a dragon during Friday
night's Harry Potter party in Blacksburg. photo- book cover
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 The Roanoke Times
All Rights Reserved
10 of 19 DOCUMENTS
Chicago Daily Herald
July 22, 2007 Sunday
All Editions
Potter fans out-reading spoilers Some read through the night after
picking up final book just after midnight
BYLINE: Erin Holmes
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 605 words
eholmes@dailyherald.com
Page 19
SLEEP DEPRIVATION GRIPS THE REGION The Roanoke Times (Virginia) July 22, 2007 Sunday
There are 759 pages.
Maria Benner tackled them hungrily, plowing through the final book in the Harry Potter series in 11 hours - a
desperate effort to digest the text before heading into the city with her husband for their 16th anniversary
dinner together on Saturday night. "I didn't think it would be very romantic to bring it along," laughs the Glen
Ellyn mom, who got hooked on Harry when previewing the first book to make sure it was OK for her daughter
to read.
All said, Benner polished off the long-awaited "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" finale at a rate of one
page every 42.69 seconds, a pace her foggy brain mildly registered at points during her all-night spree.
She wanted to savor it, she said, yet she couldn't help but turn the pages quickly.
"I'm sure you will find a lot of people did what I did," Benner predicted, noting a sheer love of the books -
coupled with a frantic need to discover the ending before it's spoiled on the Web or elsewhere - likely drove
fans to read for hours.
And all that reading, mind you, came after waiting in line for hours the day before to snatch the book detailing
Harry's expected show-down with Lord Voldemort off the shelves at midnight.
Benner's daughter Jenny, 13, who's grown up with Harry, managed to read until about 5 a.m. before throwing
in the towel for a few hours' rest. She started in again at 9:30 a.m., and was a solid third of the way into her
coveted copy by mid-Saturday.
By that same time, Brian Duda - an Elgin father of four in a household of Potter fans - had made it about
halfway. His daughter, who hadn't started reading, opted to give Dad the silent treatment so as not to risk the
chance that he'd give something away.
Duda began his book in the wee hours Saturday morning, but was so exhausted from a Potter party the night
before (he'd dressed up like Voldemort) that "I got some sleep, and figured I'd hit it bright and early in the
morning."
True to his word, he dove in around 6:30 a.m., reading for six hours straight and bravely resisting the urge to
just flip to the last page.
"I should be done tonight or tomorrow," Duda said just after noon Saturday. "I want to know what happens."
Miles away in Naperville, Mary Farmer wasn't so lucky.
A mother of two kids under the age of 4, Farmer was so busy she'd only managed to make it to Chapter Four
by 12:30 p.m. Saturday. With the help of her husband, though, she got back to her book.
"I'm sitting in the back yard, and my husband has the kids in the front yard," she said. "So I can read."
What she had seen of the book so far, she'd loved -"It's awesome," she gushed - and other suburban fans
shared the same early verdict.
"There were moments in there where I literally, out loud, said, 'Whoa.' I couldn't believe that, wow, that had
happened," Benner said.
Author J.K. Rowling, who turned a tale of an orphaned boy wizard into a massive, seven-book and
five-movie (so far) literary phenomenon, "did a good job" with the last book, Benner added. "The way she
wove everything together, it was worth the wait."
Dara Shapiro thinks so, too, though the high school senior from Buffalo Grove succumbed to seven hours of
sleep around 5 a.m. (a common hour, it seems, for the Potter faithful to have petered out) and admitted she'd
only reached Page 106 by 1 p.m.
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Potter fans out-reading spoilers Some read through the night after picking up final book just after midnight
Chicago Daily Herald July 22, 2007 Sunday
"I wanted to ... read as much as I could," she said, "but I also wanted to get some sleep so I would have
energy when I'm reading."
So far, though, "It's good," Shapiro said, noting there have been "some hints" and "a few crucial clues" about
an ending that eventually will see Harry - oh, never mind.
We won't ruin it for you.
LOAD-DATE: July 25, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: potterread-ne072107br Judy Brownfield of Books at Sunset in Elgin stocks shelves Saturday with
the final book in the Harry Potter series. Customers were lined up outside her door when the store was due
to open. BRIAN HILL/bhill@@dailyherald.com
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 Paddock Publications, Inc.
11 of 19 DOCUMENTS
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
July 22, 2007 Sunday
FIRST EDITION
Potter fans have one word: Silencio! Millions have the final book in
hand, and none will stop reading until they learn the boy wizard's fate
BYLINE: MICHAEL J. MOONEY, Staff Writer mmooney@dallasnews.com
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 1041 words
Sprawled on a couch and loveseat, Carrie Steingruber and Joni Hutcherson prepared for a marathon reading
session on Saturday. They had their M&Ms, potato chips and water ready.
Finally, after waiting more than a year, they cracked open their brand-new copies of Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment in J.K. Rowling's epic series. Carrie began reading aloud
and Joni followed along in her book.
This is a tradition for the 17-year-old life-long friends. Since the fifth book was published, Joni, who lives in
the Houston area, has come up to Carrollton to read with Carrie. "Harry is something we share with each
Page 21
Potter fans out-reading spoilers Some read through the night after picking up final book just after midnight
Chicago Daily Herald July 22, 2007 Sunday
other," Joni said. "We like to stay on the same page. That's just how we do it. We read the entire thing
together."
The two teens were among millions of Potter fanatics around the globe who retired into solitude. The book
was released Saturday morning at 12:01 a.m. with a storm of parties in every time zone.
Then: silence.
Part of the Potter release's magic is that people around the world are discovering the fate of their hero -
together.
The number of readers reveling in the Potter phenomenon is staggering. Scholastic Corp., the American
distributor of the series, has more than 12 million copies of the new book in print. Pre-orders started in
February. Amazon.com had more than 2.2 million orders. UPS and the U.S. Postal Service teamed up to
deliver almost 2 million copies of the book Saturday morning.
First delivery
The first delivery in North Texas went to Jonathan Fisher, 10, at a family reunion at Moss Lake in Gainesville.
Jonathan, who lives in Austin with his parents and younger brothers, won a contest sponsored by Amazon.
The "Harry Potter Owl Delivery Writing Adventure" called for children to submit short essays about their
favorite character in the series. Jonathan wrote about Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend.
A few weeks ago, when Jonathan's mother, Jennifer, came into his bedroom to tell him he won the contest,
Jonathan had his nose in the first book in the series. He reread all the books in anticipation of the final
release. As one of nine winners across the country, Jonathan received a midnight delivery of the new book
along with a prize package full of Harry Potter merchandise.
The family greeted the UPS truck with sparklers and Potter-themed costumes. "The delivery guys were
great," Ms. Fisher said. "They got here early and waited until exactly 12:01 to unveil the book. I guess this
really was a special delivery."
Ms. Fisher will get the book when Jonathan completes it. Then she will pace herself as she reads the book
aloud to Jonathan's two younger brothers, William, 7, and Davis, 4. Though the youngest one can't read yet,
he carries the books around like he can. All of the Fishers "are Harry Potter fans," the mother said, "even the
ones who only know him from the movies."
"This is so cool," Jonathan said. "I'm really excited."
Jonathan hesitates to read the book because he doesn't want it to be over. But Ms. Fisher expects Jonathan
to finish the book quickly. "He really reads a lot," she said. "I'll give him two days. Then I'm taking over the
book whether he's finished or not."
Potter universe
Across North Texas, fans jumped back into the Potter universe.
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in downtown Dallas threw a Potter reading party Saturday morning.
Children aged 5 to 17 listened intently as a librarian - who was dressed as a Hogwarts student - read the first
chapter. The kids wore temporary lightning-scar tattoos on their foreheads and snacked on cookies and fruit.
Then, they played a "Harry Potter Jeopardy" game, with categories like "Which Witch" and "Magical and
Muggle Places." In a costume contest, children dressed as Harry, Hermione and Hagrid. Davis Tucker, 8, of
Dallas, won with his Harry attire. It included glasses, a cape, a wand and a stuffed Hedwig owl he got from
Santa Claus.
Children weren't the only ones enjoying this fantasy world. Craig Bass, 48, listened to an audiobook version
Page 22
Potter fans have one word: Silencio! Millions have the final book in hand, and none will stop reading until
they learn the boy wizard's fate THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS July 22, 2007 Sunday
of Deathly Hallows. Mr. Bass started listening to the 21-hour, 17-disc set in his car on the way home from a
midnight party at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in Plano.
"I've never actually read a word in any of the books," he said. "And even if I hear if he [Potter] lives or dies, it
won't bother me. It's all in the 'how.'"
He and his friend Debra Austin of Carrollton plan to take a road trip to the Hill Country at the end of the week
to finish the book.
In Plano, Madelyn Wheat asked for time off from her job at a Blockbuster video store. Ms. Wheat, 19, said
she knew months in advance which days she would need off so she could read the book.
In Richardson, Kelly Siefkas went into seclusion. She planned to read the book cover to cover straight
through, while listening to the audio book. "I already told my family I won't answer my phone," Ms. Siefkas,
33, said. "There's no chance I'm falling asleep until it's over, either. I've got soda and microwavable snacks
on standby ready to go."
Nonstop reading
Back in Carrollton, Carrie and Joni read through the day and into Saturday evening. They stopped only for a
quick refresher nap around 5 a.m. and for lunch at noon. By lunch, they were halfway through.
"It's very suspenseful," Carrie said during their lunch break. "We're trying to figure things out as we go along,
and she [Ms. Rowling] keeps tricking us."
"It's amazing that there are so many people out there reading this right now," Joni said.
But some fans have already finished the book. Elizabeth Fain, 23, of Denton, knew she would attend a
wedding in Houston this weekend. The Texas Woman's University graduate student read a copy that had
been photographed and posted to the Web.
"I just couldn't wait. I had to have it," she said. Ms. Fain started reading late Wednesday night and finished at
3 a.m. Friday.
"I had so much adrenaline going through me, I didn't even feel tired. I was even reading it at work," she said.
"Usually I'm not this dorky about books, but this book resounded with me - the characters, the storyline,
everything."
Ms. Fain initially didn't want to buy into the worldwide wizard trend. "When everyone's doing it, you want to
be different and not do it," she said. "But with Harry Potter, it's different."
LOAD-DATE: July 22, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTO(S): 1. (REX C. CURRY/Special Contributor) Megara Ward and son Dylan were the first
to get a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a Dallas bookstore shortly after midnight Saturday.
2. (LAWRENCE JENKINS/Special Contributor) Rachel Drazner, 10, was among those at a reading party
Saturday morning at the library in downtown Dallas.
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Page 23
Potter fans have one word: Silencio! Millions have the final book in hand, and none will stop reading until
they learn the boy wizard's fate THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS July 22, 2007 Sunday
12 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Houston Chronicle
July 22, 2007 Sunday
4 STAR EDITION
HARRY POTTER PHENOMENON;
Little sleep needed for devoted;
Rain or shine, readers spend the weekend indoors
BYLINE: LINDSAY WISE, Staff
SECTION: B; Pg. 3
LENGTH: 816 words
Fourteen-year-old Ashley Waronoff spent most of Saturday in her pajamas, curled up in bed with a copy of
``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.''
"It's excellent, my heart is pounding," said Ashley, who pried herself away from the book to talk to a reporter
by telephone midway through the afternoon. "I've booked all today for reading and if I don't finish it, I'll finish it
tomorrow."
Ashley and her sister Rebecca, 13, started reading the final book in J.K. Rowling's seven-volume series at 8
a.m. Saturday after failing to persuade their mother to stop by a Houston-area Wal-Mart immediately after
the stroke of midnight Friday.
"There were big lines," Rebecca said. "We gave up and went home at one in the morning. I was like, `Mom,
please! Australia has been reading it for like 11 hours now, and even Florida's one hour ahead of us.' "
By lunchtime, though, Rebecca had blazed through 11 chapters out of the 37.
"It's pretty scary so far. There's like twists and you never know what's going to happen next," she said. "It's
really depressing at some points, but it's really good. J.K. Rowling's really outdone herself."
Rebecca said she's fighting the urge to peek at the ending to find out if Harry and his friends survive the
ultimate showdown with evil Lord Voldemort. "I want to just skip to the last page and find out what happens,
but I'm resisting."
With 133.5 million copies in print in the U.S. and 325 million sold worldwide in 64 different languages,
Rowling's series about orphaned boy-wizard Harry Potter has become an unprecedented publishing
sensation, generating blockbuster films and a seemingly endless array of merchandise, from video games
and action figures to Potter-themed LEGOs, clothing and candy.
Edge of exhaustion
Like "Pottermaniacs" of all ages the world over, Houston-area fans wasted no time diving into the series'
much-hyped final installment.
In Katy, the May family was on the edge of exhaustion.
"My 9-year-old is two steps short of toast because of all this adventurous reading," said Kathryn May, whose
Page 24
HARRY POTTER PHENOMENON; Little sleep needed for devoted; Rain or shine, readers spend the
weekend indoors The Houston Chronicle July 22, 2007 Sunday
son, Alex, read all the way home from the bookstore by the glow of the car light. He finally fell asleep about
1:30 a.m. only to wake up at 5:15 in the morning, eager to keep reading. By 4 p.m. Saturday, Alex had
reached page 274.
The book is great, but "a little sad," he reported, his voice slurred with sleepiness.
"We're really enjoying it," said his mom, who managed to get halfway though the 759-page novel while Alex
was at a Boy Scout event Saturday morning. "It's intense," she said. "I'm anxious. You feel like you can't let
your guard down."
May said she expects her family to spend most of the weekend reading. "The goal is to keep going until
we're finished. We're marathoners, just trying to get through."
Savoring the story
In contrast, 18-year-old Cristina Cordua is taking her sweet time. After partying at a Barnes & Noble on
Westheimer dressed as a pink-haired witch named Tonks, Cristina and her friends snapped photos of
themselves with the book and sneaked a peek at the title pages before heading home.
"We were really excited and really sad at the same time," she said. "I wanted to start reading right away, but I
also wanted to take my time and savor the experience because it's the last."
Late Saturday afternoon, Cristina was still in bed, still in her PJ's, swimming in mixed emotions. She said
reading the book feels like a rite of passage.
"I've been hooked ever since the fifth grade," she said. "With my age group going off to college this fall, it's
the end of our life here in Houston. It's the last summer, last book, last everything."
Like Cristina, 15-year-old Nicole welcomes the Harry Potter books as an excuse to let the kid in her out to
play. At a release party at Blue Willow Bookshop, she dressed up as Hogwarts' Professor of Divination,
complete with a crystal ball, colorful cloak and costume jewelry.
Nicole was 11 when she started reading the series, the same age as Harry in the first book, ``Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer's Stone.''
"It feels like I've grown up with Harry," she said. "At school, (college and career) counselors are always
pushing you to think about your future, but when you just sit down and read Harry Potter, it's like all those
things don't matter any more."
Few breaks
Determined to finish ``The Deathly Hallows'' by today, Nicole has a game plan: Short breaks for food and lots
of caffeine.
Her mom, Jacqueline Lockwood, credits Rowling with igniting a passion for reading in her daughter.
"She struggled with reading as a kid, so it probably did help her because the story was so good she really
wanted to read it and it motivated her," Lockwood said. "I'm hoping the magic rubs off on her younger sister,
too."
So what will devoted fans like Nicole do when it's all over? "I'll probably go back to the first book and read
'em all over again," she said. "And someday, I'll read them with my kids."
LOAD-DATE: July 22, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Page 25
HARRY POTTER PHENOMENON; Little sleep needed for devoted; Rain or shine, readers spend the
weekend indoors The Houston Chronicle July 22, 2007 Sunday
NOTES: lindsay.wise@chron.com
GRAPHIC: Photo: STEADY READING: Jacob Henski, 16, of Katy, is awaiting a lung and heart transplant at
Texas Children's Hospital. He passes time reading ``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' one of 200
books donated to patients by Amegy Bank.
JOHNNY HANSON : FOR THE CHRONICLE
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
13 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK)
July 22, 2007 Sunday
City Edition
Just after midnight, fans ward off spoiler talk and line up to experience
the ... ;
First and last moments of Harry Potter;
Some readers said they attended the events for the atmosphere.
BYLINE: Matthew Price, Entertainment Writer
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 8A
LENGTH: 683 words
Hundreds of fans of the "Harry Potter" series swarmed Oklahoma bookstores at midnight Friday to be
among the first to read the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
At the Borders store at 300 Norman Center Court in Norman, dozens of wizards' capes were slung over the
backs of excited attendees.
Lines snaked through the store as "The Grand Hallows Ball" featured wizard-themed games and employees
dressed as characters from the books.
Anxious fans paged through other books about the boy wizard, including "The Great Snape Debate," with
contributors including Orson Scott Card, and "The End of Harry Potter," by David Langford.
Fans wore T-shirts declaring "I Love Ron," and "Dumbledore's Army," and more children sported
lightning-bolt shaped scars on their head than could be explained by even the most rambunctious of
roughhousing.
Jordan Turner, 20, was making a return trip to Borders for this year's Potter event. She said Borders'
grandiose theme party for the Potter releases made for an enjoyable evening.
Page 26
HARRY POTTER PHENOMENON; Little sleep needed for devoted; Rain or shine, readers spend the
weekend indoors The Houston Chronicle July 22, 2007 Sunday
Turner brought friends Brooke Dockery, 20, and Tesia Zientek, 20.
The three attended Bethel High School together. Turner and Dockery now attend Oklahoma Baptist
University, and Zientek attends Notre Dame.
"I love Harry Potter a lot, a lot, a lot," Zientek said, adding that her mother bought her "Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone," the first book in the series, during its original release.
Zientek has grown up with Harry Potter. She was about Potter's age when the first book came out, and she
is now finishing the series only slightly older than he is in the final book. "It's frustrating when people talk
about how lame and young Harry Potter is," Zientek said. "When it came out it was targeted toward us."
Dockery's exposure is limited to the films, and she was at the bookstore solely for the experience.
"I enjoy the atmosphere," she said. "There's nothing wrong with hanging out in a bookstore for three hours,
especially when you're an English major."
Brent Hazelrigg, 46, of Washington, OK, said he reads the books with his daughters, 10 and 12.
"My wife, Kristi, is a librarian, so we're very into reading," he said.
Hazelrigg said he is hoping for a happy ending to the series.
"Other than that, I'm just hoping for a good story," he said.
Turner and Zientek said they would be OK with a more melancholy ending.
"I hope that, obviously, Voldemort loses," Turner said, referring to Potter's arch-enemy. "(But) I don't want it
to be too happy. I think it would be out of character for the last book to be light and happy when the last three
have been really dark."
At Best of Books at 1313 W Danforth Road in Edmond, Kelsey Bozeman, 11, was first in line to buy the new
book. The Enid seventh-grader said she'd read the previous six books at least 10 times each.
Decked out in wizard attire were Tory Scott, 10, and his little sister Taylor. Though Tory had only read the
first book, his mother, Lori, said she'd read the entire series.
Edmond North High School student Laura Bock recalled reading the first book before her ninth birthday -
hoping that she would receive her invitation to Hogwarts.
"I thought it was coming," she said. "I really did."
Julie Hovis, one of the store owners, said she was surprised at the turnout; about 70 people filled the store.
"I didn't expect all this," she said. "This is many more than I thought would come tonight."
Most Potter fanatics were attempting to avoid spoilers in the days leading up to the book's release.
"I want it to be a surprise," Turner said.
Zientek said she's stayed away from Internet sites purporting to reveal "Hallows" secrets.
And now that the final Potter book has been released, what do Harry's legion of fans plan to do next?
Hazelrigg said his family would look into another fantasy series to read and would remain interested in future
books by author J.K. Rowling.
Zientek wasn't going to let Harry Potter's world slip by so quickly.
Page 27
Just after midnight, fans ward off spoiler talk and line up to experience the ... ; First and last moments of
Harry Potter; Some readers said they attended the events for the atmosphere. The Oklahoman (Oklahoma
City, OK) July 22, 2007 Sunday
"I think after this series ends, I am going to reread them all in sequence to make sure I get it all," she said.
Contributing: Staff Writer Greg Elwell
LOAD-DATE: July 24, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
NOTES: Contributing: Staff Writer Greg Elwell
GRAPHIC: A crowd of Harry Potter fans, many wearing "Potterabilia," wait in line Friday night at a Borders
bookstore for the long-awaited release of the seventh and final book in the series. - BY BRYAN TERRY, THE
OKLAHOMAN
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 The Oklahoman, All Rights Reserved
14 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Houston Chronicle
July 21, 2007 Saturday
3 STAR EDITION
A MAGICAL MIDNIGHT;
Taking a final journey with Harry Potter;
Crowds of Muggles short and tall gather to see where the boy wizard
will leave them
BYLINE: LINDSAY WISE, TINA MARIE MACIAS, Staff
SECTION: B; Pg. 1 Metfront
LENGTH: 833 words
THE wait is over.
A minute after the stroke of midnight Friday, the adventures of boy-wizard Harry Potter came to an end with
the release of J.K. Rowling's seventh and final book.
At a Barnes & Noble near Voss and Westheimer, 19-year-old Samantha Burton was the first customer to
receive a copy of ``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' at 12:01 a.m., but the teenager from Sharpstown
said she plans to hold off reading it until she finishes rereading all the other books in the series.
"I don't know if I'm going to be able to wait," Samantha said breathlessly. "I may actually end up having to
start reading the first few chapters right away."
Page 28
Just after midnight, fans ward off spoiler talk and line up to experience the ... ; First and last moments of
Harry Potter; Some readers said they attended the events for the atmosphere. The Oklahoman (Oklahoma
City, OK) July 22, 2007 Sunday
Like their counterparts the world over, Samantha and other diehard Houston-area "Muggles" - the wizard
term for non-magic folk - celebrated at elaborate Harry Potter release parties hosted by bookstores and fan
clubs.
Saundra Isreal couldn't think of a better place for a book release than the mystical Children's Museum of
Houston. Isreal, 43, her elderly father, and five of her children and young relatives were among the mass of
500 Harry Potter fans who packed into the museum Friday night for Perfectus. Presented by the Houston
Harry Potter Meet-Up group, Perfectus is arguably the largest book release in the South.
"I was little when I saw the first movie, and I fell in love," Bambi Isreal, 14, said.
The family dressed in floppy witch hats, holding illuminating wands and standing below the aviator decor that
covers the museum's main hall. In the auditorium, a heated debate stirred about whether Professor Severus
Snape is good or evil. "I have to admit that when I entered the debate I was on the fence, and all the facts led
me to believe he is good," Margret Alvis, 20, said. "I'm really looking forward to finding out if I'm right."
Among the crowd of diverse Harry Potter fans, few were without costume.
Wizards and wands
At the Blue Willow Bookshop on Memorial, employee Katie O'Sullivan, 19, compared homemade wands with
Owen May, an "almost" 7-year-old who came to the store's release party dressed as Harry's best friend, Ron,
complete with a bright shock of dyed red hair.
Owen's brother Alex, who described himself as "9 and three quarters," could hardly stand still. Dressed as
Harry in long robes with a lightning scar painted on his forehead, Alex bounced from one foot to the other,
electric with excitement.
O'Sullivan, who organized Blue Willow's party, beamed as she skipped off to mingle with the growing crowd
of costumed witches and wizards gathered in the store's parking lot to count off the hours to midnight as they
competed for door prizes in Harry Potter trivia quizzes, decorated owl-shaped magnets and debated the
ultimate fate of "The Boy Who Lived."
"I grew up with Harry Potter, so it's really awesome that this night is finally here, but it's also really sad that
it's finally ending," said O'Sullivan, a sophomore at Rice who started reading Rowling's series when she was
in elementary school.
Sullivan says she has been avoiding plot spoilers "like the plague" ever since she heard early copies of
``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' were leaked onto the Internet.
"I stopped going online completely," she said. "I have my theories, but I don't want to look silly in the
morning, because by the morning I'll be done. I'm not leaving my house till I'm finished."
The final showdown
Rowling's seven-book series began in 1997 when a bespectacled orphan with a lightning-shaped scar on his
forehead discovered magical powers and started classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in
``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.''
A decade later, the now-teenage hero faces a final showdown with arch-enemy Lord Voldemort in ``Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows.''
In the past 10 years, the Harry Potter books have become a record-breaking publishing phenomenon. The
sixth book in the series, ``Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,'' was the fastest-selling book in history
when it was released on July 16, 2005, with readers snapping up 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours.
Anticipating even better sales for the final installment, publisher Scholastic is printing a record-breaking 12
million copies.
Page 29
A MAGICAL MIDNIGHT; Taking a final journey with Harry Potter; Crowds of Muggles short and tall gather to
see where the boy wizard will leave them The Houston Chronicle July 21, 2007 Saturday
For Stephanie Simon and Dana Barnes, both 13, the celebration at a Barnes & Noble felt like the end of an
era.
"It's kind of bittersweet," said Stephanie, in her floppy witch's hat with a fuzzy purple trim. She said she
started reading Harry Potter books when she was 10. "I can't believe this is it."
"We're kind of addicted," said Dana, wearing a silver cape. "You're happy for it but you can't exactly believe
it. You're all teary and happy at the same time."
The friends plan to read the book slowly, to savor Harry's final adventure. Stephanie says she is bracing
herself for the possibility Harry will die. Dana isn't so sure.
"I don't think she'll kill Harry because too many people will be upset," she said. "But I can see her killing him
because then people can't ask her to write any more books."
LOAD-DATE: July 21, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
NOTES: lindsay.wise@chron.com tina.macias@chron.com chron.com Check out our live blog of the final
Harry Potter installment, new video and photos at chron.com
GRAPHIC: Photos: 1. LOOK-ALIKE: Wand in hand, Connor Marshall, 4, stays up late for a peek at ``Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' the final book in the series about the boy wizard.; 2. LOADING UP:
Scholastic employee Bob Howard and Jessica Ray with IBC Bank unload copies of ``Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows'' ahead of a book release party Friday. (p. 5); 3. READ THE NEW HARRY POTTER BOOK:
Didn't venture out at midnight to buy ``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?'' Well, there may be a few
copies available. (Sec. A, p. 1)
1. BILLY SMITH II : CHRONICLE, 2. BRETT COOMER : CHRONICLE
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
15 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
July 21, 2007 Saturday
Pottermania hits home with release of last book
BYLINE: Hillary Davis, The Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff
SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS
LENGTH: 676 words
Page 30
A MAGICAL MIDNIGHT; Taking a final journey with Harry Potter; Crowds of Muggles short and tall gather to
see where the boy wizard will leave them The Houston Chronicle July 21, 2007 Saturday
Jul. 21--The excitement inside Barnes & Noble bubbled over like so much potion in a cauldron Friday night
as wizards of all ages began the final countdown to the release of the latest, and ultimate, Harry Potter book.
The buzz behind the launch of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" had built to a fever pitch in the United
States and beyond as the official release of the book, slated for 12:01 a.m. today, approached.
Flagstaff was no exception.
Ryan Fazio, 17, made the short road trip from Sedona with her younger sister, a friend and her boyfriend.
Looking fetching in oversized glow-in-the-dark Harry glasses, Ryan and company giddily shared their love for
the boy wizard and his crew.
Ryan has been reading the series since she was 11, the same age Harry was when he learned he had been
accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"I thought I was gonna get a letter from Hogwarts," she said.
"Oh me too," chimed in her younger friend Drew Huffman. "When I turned 12, I was so sad."
While Ryan was clearly a devoted follower, Drew seemed a far more acute case.
"So obsessed," she gushed. "I can admit it, though."
Already the bookish type, Drew said the Potter books, which she began devouring at about age 7, propelled
her love of reading.
"My siblings were all reading it and I decided to pick up the first one when I was in second grade," she said.
"I fell in love with them and read all of them."
The girls planned to read their books on the way home by the light of their cell phones.
Gioia Wood began reading the series before her children did. Then, when daughter Giovanna was 5, she
expressed an interest in the stories, allowing Wood -- who hung out with family and friends while dressed as
Professor Trelawney -- to read them again.
Now 8, Giovanna, who bears a resemblance to the young actress who plays Harry's gal pal Hermione
Granger in the films, has caught up on the series and can read the books on her own. But mother and
daughter plan on taking turns reading the final book to each other.
Woods promised Giovanna they could share one paragraph immediately after they get their books.
"She wants to read a chapter. I'm not sure," she said. "We'll have to see how exhausted we are."
Wood's younger son Leo, 4, bounced about nearby practicing spells with his sister and her friends, his curly
baby hair dyed red for Harry's friend Ron Weasley. He's also a fan, who gets the less-intense passages read
to him.
Even thought he series is coming to an end, Woods said the magic will live on with the family as Leo follows
Harry's story.
An in-store party at Barnes & Noble included a costume contest and activity booths to keep the scores of
guests entertained while they waited.
Fans seemed most interested in the wand-making and face-painting opportunities. One of the more popular
face-paint designs was the lightning-bolt scar that Harry bears after the dastardly Lord Voldemort tried to kill
him (of course).
While guests milled about, the cash registers stood sentry over the white and red boxes containing hundreds
Page 31
Pottermania hits home with release of last book The Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff) July 21, 2007 Saturday
of books.
Barnes & Noble manager Kelly Wise said the store had received about 1,600 copies of the book, with
between 900 and 1,000 reserved. People began lining up before the store opened at 9 a.m. on Friday to get
the wristbands that proved that they were authorized midnight Potter purchasers.
Wise said she expected at least as much of a crowd today, even without the draw of the party.
At Hastings, 1540 S. Riordan Ranch St., a similar party was in the works.
Manager Michael Fritschie said the store had received more than 700 copies of the book, with about 300 of
them already spoken for.
To see more of The Arizona Daily Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.azdailysun.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to
847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025,
USA.
LOAD-DATE: July 25, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ACC-NO: 20070721-FF-HARRY-POTTER-20070721
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
JOURNAL-CODE: FF
Copyright 2007 The Arizona Daily Sun
16 of 19 DOCUMENTS
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
July 21, 2007 Saturday
4 State / Suncoast Edition
AT MIDNIGHT, THE SPELL WAS BROKEN
BYLINE: SARAH MISHKIN; STEPHANIE GARRY, Times Staff Writers
SECTION: LOCAL & STATE; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 853 words
HIGHLIGHT: The last Potter book is released to eager fans.
Page 32
Pottermania hits home with release of last book The Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff) July 21, 2007 Saturday
Ten years ago, a scrawny 11-year-old with a weird scar on his forehead learned something fantastic: He was
a wizard. Harry Potter, the boy who lived.
Millions of readers went along with Harry as he made his way into a world of dragons, broomsticks and
Potions class.
On Friday, they couldn't wait to read about his latest adventures.
The Carrollwood Barnes and Noble filled to capacity Friday night, and approximately 50 customers waited in
line just to get into the store about 10:30 p.m.
Gaby Lopez, 17, of Tampa said she has been reading the books since fourth grade and was sad that,
between graduating from high school and reading the last Harry Potter book, it felt as if her childhood was
ending.
"But I'm glad that so many people got into it," she said, laughing.
By 12:01 Saturday morning, the Era of Harry had reached its finale.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series, reached the hands of readers, thousands
of whom queued up hours early at book sellers around Tampa Bay to get a copy.
Emotions were mixed as fans, many in costume, paced stores, waiting.
Since the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, released in England in 1997, millions of
readers have fallen for the magical world created by author J.K. Rowling. The first six books have sold more
than 325-million copies in at least 63 languages. The series has spawned feature films, and a Potter theme
park will open at Universal Orlando in late 2009.
At Border's in Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, employees dressed as Harry Potter characters for the
"Grand Hallows Ball." They held a spelling bee and a costume contest.
Manager Ryan Peel said he's been reserving books since February. "I think the weekend's more important
than the first initial day," Peel said.
Fans sad to see it end
At nearby Barnes & Noble on Tyrone Boulevard, customers started waiting outside the store at noon.
Employees let them in at 6 p.m., giving them wristbands to distinguish those who had reserved books from
those who hadn't.
To keep them busy, the store held a trivia contest and offered a crafts table where fans could make
medallions representing their favorite house - Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.
The books trace the coming of age of Harry Potter and his best friends as they fight to prevent the
resurgence of Lord Voldemort, an evil wizard who had terrorized the wizarding world until he vanished after
trying to murder the infant Harry. Twelve-million copies of this last book were printed by Scholastic Inc.,
Rowling's American publisher.
Keleneka Stansel of Lutz worried that the ending of the series will mean an end to the community of Potter
fans who have found each other online.
When Stansel miscarried last year and was hospitalized for three weeks, her Potter friends deluged her and
her family with hundreds of cards and gifts and books, she said.
"Friendship and loyalty, and Harry Potter learning to trust people and be able to depend on that trust - that's
what the books are all about really, more so than the battle of good against evil," she said.
Page 33
AT MIDNIGHT, THE SPELL WAS BROKEN St. Petersburg Times (Florida) July 21, 2007 Saturday
Potter 'like folklore'
Still, she said, fans will spend months, at least, picking apart Rowling's intricate plotting and foreshadowing,
trying to answer the questions - there will surely be some - left unanswered.
"Harry Potter has achieved a status somewhat like folklore," said Daniel Nexon, an assistant professor of
political science at Georgetown University and editor of Harry Potter and International Relations. "The
characters have escaped the novels and become part of our common currency of meanings and symbols."
The story is just such a well-written, human story that fans and scholars of literature alike will surely keep
reading it, finding resonance between it and their own lives, said English professor James Thomas, who
taught an introductory English class about Harry Potter at Pepperdine University.
"They're kissing their Cho Changs with great trepidation while they're reading it," Thomas said of his
students, referring to adolescent Harry's awkward first kiss in the fifth book. "I did that 40 years ago, but it all
came back."
Local bookstore managers expected to sell hundreds of books at midnight and said they stocked up enough
books to last through the weekend.
Dan Noah, the manager at a Border's in Clearwater, said the excitement is unprecedented, a 35 percent
increase in book reservations since the last release.
Palm Harbor resident Julia Ceraolo, 14, won an essay contest two years ago for a piece she wrote about
sharing a love of Harry Potter as her sister Olivia, 16, died of bone cancer in 2004.
Winning the contest got Julia, who lives in Palm Harbor, a ticket to London for the release of the sixth book,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Julia went to New York on Thursday for a Harry Potter release
reunion outside the publisher's headquarters.
"I'm excited because it's another book, but it's still really sad because we'll never have this kind of moment
again," said Julia, who will be a freshman at East Lake High School this fall.
Sarah Mishkin can be reached at smishkin@sptimes.com or (813) 225 3110.
LOAD-DATE: July 21, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTO: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 Times Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
17 of 19 DOCUMENTS
Page 34
AT MIDNIGHT, THE SPELL WAS BROKEN St. Petersburg Times (Florida) July 21, 2007 Saturday
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)
July 21, 2007 Saturday
FINAL EDITION
THE MAGIC MOMENT ARRIVES;
WIZARD'S DEVOTED FOLLOWERS RUSH TO BEGIN THE ENDING
BYLINE: By Laura T. Ryan Staff writer
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A1
LENGTH: 709 words
At 11:57 p.m. Friday, Cali Shaw sliced open a box, clambered onto a counter at Barnes & Noble in DeWitt
and heaved a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" over her head. And a tidal wave of riotous,
joyous noise splashed back at the blushing bookstore clerk.
Four minutes later, Shannon Wells, of Manlius, bought the coveted book, after starting her day at the
bookstore 14 hours earlier.
"The jealousy would have driven me crazy to see someone else get it before me," Wells said. "I'm excited
and sad and I just can't wait to get home and stay up all night and read it."
The boy wizard who bewitched the literary world for a decade flew into bookstores one last time early today,
and Muggles arrived en masse Friday night to say goodbye.
Customers eager to hold their own copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final story in a
seven-book series from British author J.K. Rowling, lined up at area bookstores for the official 12:01 a.m.
release.
At Barnes & Noble in DeWitt, employees donned wigs, pointy hats and velvet cloaks to play the parts of
characters in the popular books - including Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Trelawney and Snape -
and quizzed customers on Harry trivia. A talking "sorting hat," meanwhile, assigned children to one of the
four houses in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. There were also designated stations for
wand-making, Polaroids with a cardboard Harry cutout and Quidditch.
Tina Feldman, aka Professor McGonagall, glided around in green velvet cloak, quizzing children about life at
Hogwarts. She's actually a former Barnes & Noble employee who volunteered to reprise the role.
Likewise for the man portraying Severus Snape.
"Snape used to work here but now he's at Raymour & Flanigan," said community relations manager Marie
Kulikowsky.
Kids and grown-ups alike - who crowded into the bookstore by the costumed hundreds - seemed to delight in
the make-believe.
"You feel like you're there," said Katrina Velazquez, 10, of Syracuse, one of scores of girls dressed as
Hermione Granger.
Page 35
THE MAGIC MOMENT ARRIVES; WIZARD'S DEVOTED FOLLOWERS RUSH TO BEGIN THE ENDING
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York) July 21, 2007 Saturday
"They make everything seem so real," said Colleen Ferguson, 10, of Marcellus, another Hermione. "It's so
exciting to be here. But I wish I could wake up and it'd be tomorrow."
Ditto for Adriane O'Hare, 17, who has been reading Rowling's books since age 9.
"I'm so set on getting this book," said Adriane, dressed in the signature green and gray of Harry's archrivals,
the Slytherins. "It's bittersweet for me, because I'm waiting for the end, but there's no more books."
Some Potterphiles celebrated the day before the sun went down.
Carol Mowers spent Friday afternoon handing out color-coded wristbands to customers who reserved a copy
of "Deathly Hallows" at Borders in Carousel Center. She said the store received 3,300 pre-orders for the
book.
"I just love it," said Mowers, a retired history teacher from Cicero-North Syracuse High School. "This means
they read six of these books and now want to read the seventh. I think it's just wonderful."
Mowers gave raffle tickets for prizes to customers who dropped off an article of clothing at the bookstore, to
be donated to the Salvation Army. By 5 p.m., a rear storage room had a 6-foot-wide pile of garment-filled
plastic bags.
At Liverpool Public Library, youth services librarian Anne Royer quizzed about 15 youngsters on the finer
points of life at Hogwarts, then invited them to mix potions, make owls out of paper and glue and create "Do
Not Disturb"-style door-hangers, to keep pesky parents out of their rooms.
Gregg Welcher, 9, spray-dyed his blond hair black and draped a wizard cloak around his shoulders for the
occasion. His mother, Michelle, wore soda-bottle glasses and a cape. The family planned to host their own
Harry Potter party at home later, with games such as guess-the-flavor of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans.
Gregg, a fifth-grader at Soule Road Elementary, admitted he sampled a few jelly beans in advance and
declared the booger-flavored one "sweetish and bad-ish."
Of the book series' imminent conclusion, he said forlornly: "I wish there was more, because I don't want to be
done."
Sarah Waters, 9, a sixth-grader at Solvay Middle School, chooses to believe Rowling will keep writing.
"I'm hoping that she'll do many books," she said.
LOAD-DATE: August 13, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTO Jim Commentucci/Staff photographer SHANNON THEOBALD (right) and Amanda
Mikesell, both 10 and from DeWitt, buy their copies of the latest and last Harry Potter novel just after
midnight this morning at Barnes & Noble in DeWitt. Margaret Fenton/Contributing photographer IN
LIVERPOOL: Kids concoct potions using a variety of drinks at the Harry Potter book release party at the
Liverpool Public Library. Participating are: (from left) Gregg Welcher, 9, Sarah Waters, 10, Allison
Deschamps, 8, and Sammie Waters, 8. Celia Tobin/Contributing photographer IN DEWITT: Erin Burnett
(right), 10, of Fayetteville, waits with her dad, Brian Burnett, as Holly Smith crosses their names off the
reservation list for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at Barnes & Noble in DeWitt Friday evening. Also
waiting are Peyton Burnett, 7, and his sister Megan, 5 (center). Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated Press IN
LONDON: British author J.K. Rowling sits with children Friday at the Natural History Museum for the release
of her latest Harry Potter book.
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Page 36
THE MAGIC MOMENT ARRIVES; WIZARD'S DEVOTED FOLLOWERS RUSH TO BEGIN THE ENDING
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York) July 21, 2007 Saturday
Copyright 2007 Post-Standard
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.
18 of 19 DOCUMENTS
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne)
July 21, 2007 Saturday
Wild about;
At a glance Fans of Harry Potter flocked to Barnes & Noble Booksellers
on Friday night as guests of a special party. They awaited the 12:01 a.m.
Saturday release of the final book in the series.
BYLINE: Becky Orr
SECTION: LOCAL NEWS; Main; Pg. A1
LENGTH: 695 words
By Becky Orr
borr@wyomingnews.com
CHEYENNE - Dillon Coker pushed his owl-eyed shaped spectacles up on his nose with one hand and held
his wand with the other.
With the cape that he wore, the 7-year-old easily could have passed for the fictional young wizard known the
world over as Harry Potter.
Coker was among those who flocked to Barnes & Noble Booksellers Friday night. The crowd celebrated the
release of the seventh and final book about the boy with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, and his
friends and enemies.
The crowd waited for the 12:01 a.m. Saturday release of the much-anticipated book, "Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows."
"We just had to come," Coker, 7, said, and smiled. He came to the party with his parents, Judy and Tom
Coker. They drove to Cheyenne from their home in Thornton, Colo.
"I feel really good, kinda sad, kinda good," he said in anticipation of the new book.
He referred to the cryptic announcement from English author J.K. Rowling that two characters will die in the
book.
"I think Voldemort is going to die," Dillon said, mentioning the arch villain in the story.
See MUGGLES, page A10
Page 37
THE MAGIC MOMENT ARRIVES; WIZARD'S DEVOTED FOLLOWERS RUSH TO BEGIN THE ENDING
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York) July 21, 2007 Saturday
Continued from A1
"If Harry dies, then darkness rules," he said. "It can't happen like that. I just really hope Harry doesn't die. If
Dumbledore doesn't come back, all is lost," he said of the late headmaster at the school Harry attends.
Dillon and his dad read the books together. "I love it," Dillon said of the books. "It's really exciting." He also
performed a spell to make people freeze. But the effect soon would wear off, he said.
Friday was a night of magic for the Muggles (those in the non-magic community) who came to the
celebration.
It was as if the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where Harry and his friends are schooled got
plunked down at the bookstore on Dell Range Boulevard.
Children dressed in the Hogwarts capes roamed about the store. They stood in long lines to listen to people
dispense spells on demand - like the cure for a messy room.
People gathered around a table of potions and got their faces painted.
Store manager Cynthia Luthy said she expected anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people at the Midnight Magic
Party that started around 8 p.m. Friday.
She has never witnessed anything quite like the popularity of the Potter books. "People of all ages can
relate," she said.
Aniko Bennett, 35, of Cheyenne, planned to read the book as soon as she got home.
"Harry Potter is for everyone," Bennett said. "There's a little bit of Harry Potter in all of us. I think they have a
moral to the story - that age-old saying that good always conquers over evil."
Rebecca Waters, 9, of Cheyenne came with her mom, Deb Waters. They planned to stay until the minute
after midnight release to get the two copies the family had reserved.
Rebecca said her mom promised her she could read a chapter when she got home. Saturday would be
spent reading the book. "I love those books," she said.
The youngster wore a cape and carried a wooden stick. "I've read all the books," she said.
"She's read the series at least 10 times over," said her mom.
Rebecca got her brothers Max and Cody interested in them as well as her mom and dad. Her dad really
loves the books, the youngster said.
Deb Waters read the series, too, and gave the books a thumbs up. "We have a lot of fun with it as a family,"
she said.
Rebecca doesn't know what will happen. "I think Hermione will die and become a ghost teacher," she said.
Hermione is a best friend of Potter and a fellow student.
Juliette Givhan, 11, of Cheyenne walked away from the face-painting line with a cheery yellow broom painted
on her cheek.
She is a big fan of the Potter books. "I like how after you get home from school you can just read it," she
said. "It so inspires you and it's a good adventure. And also you're reading."
She said it's sad that Rowling won't write any more books about Harry. "I love her books. I'll probably re-read
the whole series. And then I'll go to the Charlie Bone books," she said. Those books are similar to the Potter
saga.
Page 38
Wild about; At a glance Fans of Harry Potter flocked to Barnes & Noble Booksellers on Friday night as
guests of a special party. They awaited the 12:01 a.m. Saturday release of the final book in the series.
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne) July 21, 2007 Saturday
Dillon Coker knows that this book will be the last. But he's not too upset. "Then Harry Potter will be a classic
forever," he said. "It really is."
LOAD-DATE: July 21, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: BRANDON QUESTER/WTE ; Above - Dillon Coker, 7, plays with his magic toy wand Friday night
at Barnes & Noble bookstore as he waits for the release of the final Harry Potter book. BRANDON
QUESTER/WTE Rebecca Waters, 9, waits in her Harry Potter outfit at the Barnes & Noble bookstore Friday
evening in anticipation of the release of the final Harry Potter book.
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2007 Cheyenne Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
19 of 19 DOCUMENTS
The Jerusalem Post
July 22, 2007, Sunday
Harry Potter fans break Shabbat spell flock to Tel Aviv Port for gala
launch
BYLINE: Ron Friedman
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 562 words
After taking on the likes of evil Lord Voldemort teen wizard Harry Potter had no trouble this weekend
defeating Shas Minister of Industry Trade and Labor Eli Yishai. Hundreds of fans waited with anticipation to
buy or pick up pre-ordered copies of the seventh and final Harry Potter book on Friday night at the Tel Aviv
Port despite threats by Yishai to fine businesses opening on Shabbat to sell the novel.
The first copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was sold at 1: 57 a.m. four minutes before the book
was scheduled to go on sale worldwide.
Squeals of delight were heard as the first of the eager fans got hold of the much-anticipated book. "After
waiting in line for nearly three hours I finally have it in my hands. The ending of the series is here and it was
worth every minute said 13-year-old Matan Weisbrott from Hod Hasharon.
The launching, organized by Steimatzky, drew fans of all ages, proving that the Harry Potter books are more
than a children's series - they are a cultural phenomenon.
The line started forming at 11 p.m. and reached halfway along the pier by the time the book went on sale.
Page 39
Wild about; At a glance Fans of Harry Potter flocked to Barnes & Noble Booksellers on Friday night as
guests of a special party. They awaited the 12:01 a.m. Saturday release of the final book in the series.
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne) July 21, 2007 Saturday
Many people had dressed up for the occasion, donning black robes and witch hats, carrying magic wands
and broomsticks and sporting drawn-on lightning-bolt shaped scars on their foreheads.
Magicians, jugglers and human statues costumed as characters from the books entertained the waiting
crowds and large television screens counted down the seconds until the book was launched. Copies were
piled high, waiting to be picked up, purchased and read.
This is the first time we've ever done something like this in Israel. We're part of a huge party that's taking
place all around the world said Steimatzky general manager Iris Barel.
We have thousands of copies waiting to be sold and many more that have been pre-sold and are waiting for
the customers to come pick them up from the stores."
Eight-year-old Ariel Goldman from England who was visiting Israel with his family came to experience the
excitement at the port despite being only halfway through the sixth book. "I can't wait to buy the new book
because then I can continue reading without having to wait to buy the next one he said.
The big question on everybody's mind was: How will it end?" Every fan knows that this is the last Harry
Potter book. The main characters of the series are all scheduled to graduate from the Hogwarts school of
magic and author J.K. Rowling has said that she will not write any more Harry Potter books.
People are expecting a climactic ending more so because Rowling has already told readers that several of
the main characters were going to die.
Days ahead of the international launch spoilers appeared in newspapers and on the Internet. Rowling
addressed her fans asking them to ignore speculation and wait for the book to come out. She even
admonished the New York Times and other publications for giving away aspects of the plot in presale
write-ups.
Faced with an end to a series of books that has enthralled them for a decade Harry Potter fans are divided
into two groups: those that plan to finish the book as soon as possible and those who want to savor the
experience.
Israelis who don't read English however will have to wait. Barel said that the Hebrew translation won't be out
until December.
LOAD-DATE: July 29, 2007
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: 2 photos: HARRY POTTER fans can barely contain their excitement as they line up in Tel Aviv
Port on Friday night. (Credit: Ap)
Copyright 2007 The Jerusalem Post
Page 40
Harry Potter fans break Shabbat spell flock to Tel Aviv Port for gala launch The Jerusalem Post July 22,
2007, Sunday