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Potter-mania sweeps bookstoresThe big weekend read
(CNN) -- The waiting is finally finished for the thousands of fans who lined up all over the world to snap up the fifth and latest book of J.K. Rowling's phenomenally successful Harry Potter series. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was greeted in the United States by crowds of children, many of whom stayed up well past their bedtimes to buy the book when it went on sale at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. But some of the first Americans to pick up the book were U.S. tourists visiting London -- where the magic hour of midnight came five hours ahead of midnight in New York. The Kinnane family from Atlanta, Georgia, joined a queue of 3,000 outside Waterstone's bookshop in Piccadilly -- finally getting to the head of the line at 2:45 a.m. -- still two hours 15 minutes ahead of the book going on sale in the U.S. By Saturday lunchtime Archie Kinnane, 6 -- his favorite characters are Ron and Harry -- had reached page 15. "It's good" he said. "Just as good as the last one I read, the second. So far Harry seems really worried about something." His sister Jamison, 12 -- her favorite character is Ron -- had reached Page 31 and said, "Something's going to happen in the book, I am sure I won't have to wait long to find out. "The book is better than the first few, though 'Goblet of Fire' is still my favorite." Another sister Nally, 9 -- she likes Hermoine -- said, "It's my third Harry Potter book. I really like it." In the States, 12-year-old Alexandra Korves told The Associated Press after buying the book at a New York bookstore, "I've been waiting so long for this." She had been in line with almost 200 people. In Hudson, Ohio, Nicole Rosales, 15, was the first person in line at the Learned Owl Bookshop and cried when she got her copy, according to the AP. "We're not going to sleep tonight," she told the AP. The line of fans stretched for two blocks at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in West Des Moines, Iowa. Some of the fans had come as early as 6 p.m. to begin the vigil. Home team hitIn London, where the book went on sale a few hours earlier, the tome was selling like hotcakes, CNN's Richard Quest reported from a London bookstore early Saturday, with fans -- who had endured a three-year wait for the next Harry Potter installment -- buying not one or two copies, but three or four each. "I love it so much I get goosebumps," 12-year-old Lisa Brummett, from Mesa, Arizona, said who waited four hours at the W.H. Smith shop at King's Cross rail station in London, The Associated Press reported. "Harry Potter is the most magic thing there is," Lisa told the AP, clutching the book to her chest. "Once I get out of here, I will start reading and will probably be through by the time we get to the hotel." Potter fans queued outside bookstores in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand early Saturday to be among the first to read the 800-plus pages that form the latest in the adventures of the boy-wizard. Europe and Asia got a head start on the United States. Wizard festivities took over many bookstores across the United States during Friday night parties in the countdown to the release launch at 1 minute past midnight Saturday.
Rowling's new novel has been released amidst unprecedented publicity and hype. Thirteen million copies have been published and distributed around the world -- meaning the latest book is also set to break publishing records as well as records for items ordered on the Internet. All things PotterIn the three years since the last Potter book "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was released, author J.K. Rowling has married, had a second child and become richer than Britain's Queen Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Hollywood has released movies based on the first two books, 2001's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" ("Sorcerer's Stone" in the United States) and 2002's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," both of which have become two of the biggest box office successes in history. The third movie, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," is currently in production. But Harry has remained a child in the new book. Now in his fifth year at Hogwarts school, Headmaster Dumbledore sits Harry down to tell him everything. And a major character dies. The latest installment will be first book in the series to be printed with a colorful cover for children and a different cover for adult readers. "All of us have the capacity to be enchanted and I think probably there is more acceptance of an enjoyment of children and of being childlike in our society today," psychoanalyst Marilyn Mathew told CNN. Security surrounding "Phoenix" has been tight. Retailers signed agreements not to put the book on sale early. But that hasn't stopped intrepid muggles (as nonmagical folks are called in the Potter books) from trying to get their hands on a copy. In early May, two copies were found dumped in a field in eastern England. They were suspected of being stolen from a nearby printworks and eventually returned to the publisher. But more than 8,000 copies were stolen from a trading estate in Merseyside, northwest England this week (Full story) Scholastic is publishing 8.5 million copies of the new Potter book for the American market -- the largest first printing ever. A sizable percentage of the books has already been spoken for. Amazon.com's Potter Meter, which keeps tabs on the number of orders to the Web site, had exceeded 770,000 by Thursday -- and that's just for American orders. Throw in sites internationally, and the company has taken more than 1 million orders. Almost 200 million copies of the first four books have been sold, having been translated into 55 languages in 200 countries. CNN's Todd Leopold and Richard Quest contributed to this report. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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