Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows News Roundup
So it’s been over a week since the release of the seventh (and final) book in the Harry Potter series, and the onslaught of articles and opinions is upon us. Some of my favorite tidbits from around the web:
Not surprisingly, Harry had a record-breaking first day, selling 8.3 million copies in the US alone. At Barnes and Noble, during that all-important first hour of sales at midnight releases, 150 books were being sold per second. Pretty intense! More fun sales figures await here.
I thought this article from Christian Science Monitor “Missing from ‘Harry Potter’ – a real moral struggle” was an interesting read. While I disagree with a few of Ms. Sawyer’s points, it’s apparent she’s a fan of the series and isn’t just critiquing blindly, which seems to happen far too often for my liking when it comes to Harry Potter. What I most enjoyed was her assertion about who the true protagonist was, as my sentiments after finishing the book were quite similar.
Time Magazine’s literary critic Lev Grossman has a well-written review that, unlike the New York Times review, provides insightful commentary without spoiling any plot points. He also has a spoiler-full blog post I found enjoyable as well- I had the same thought about Griphook the goblin’s situation, though Grossman mixes up Bill and Charlie. However, he also calls Snape a “bad-ass,” so you know his head’s in the right place.
Over at Entertainment Weekly, a magazine that’s always been friendly to Harry and co., there’s a seven page “Muggle’s Guide” to the series, if your memory needs any refreshing. They’ve also got answers to readers’ queries about the story, though some of them seem a bit obvious to any reader who paid attention. My favorite, however, was EW’s interview with Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter’s big-screen counterpart. He actually had some good comments, and brought up a bit of information regarding the script of the fourth film that made want to go back and re-read the whole series with an eye open for hints at the story’s resolution. I’m still hoping that Stephen King will write a column or review on the book, his past writings on the subject are simply awesome (like this one).
Scholastic, the US publisher of HP, has just announced the J.K. Rowling and the Open Book Tour Sweepstakes. 1000 lucky fans will be chosen to attend a reading by Jo at Carnegie Hall on October 19th. You can enter the drawing at Scholastic’s website after July 30th.