Last Saturday, Cathy and I ventured out to Powerbooks Trinoma to get our copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last installment of J.K. Rowling’s tale of a boy wizard. It was the last book, after all, and we wanted to be part of literary history by contributing to the undoubtedly phenomenal sales figures. (Update: 8.3 million books sold in the USA in the first 24 hours! That’s 5,000 books every minute. More than 80 books a second. Oh.My.Gosh.)
It was a fun book launch. No host or anything, just a looooooot of Harry Potter fans, all geared up to read whether Harry dies or not and how he will triumph – of course, he’s got to triumph, right? Altogether: TRIUMPH! – over Lord Voldemort. There were free donuts and coffee. A replica of Hogwarts. Everything was Potter, Potter, Potter. There were at least two fanboys and two fangirls in authentic Hogwarts garb, complete with Gryffindor seals. (Although, frankly, with the snooty attitude of some of those kids, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sorting Hat made a mistake, when they might’ve been better off at Slytherin.)
I even bought one of the boxes – yes, the boxes that the books came in, sealed with ‘Do Not Open Until July 21, 2007’ tape, for Php10.
We are neither freaks nor crazy fankids. We just wanted to take in the entire experience. And it was fun. All photos of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book launch at Powerbooks Trinoma up at my Multiply site.
Oh, the book! I completed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in a little less than 24 hours. No spoilers, but I promise you this: this is the best Potter book ever. Fast-paced. Action-packed. All loose ends, tied together neatly. Rowling has outdone herself. THE MOVIE WILL BE SPECTACULAR.