Record print run for final Potter

A record 12 million copies of the final Harry Potter book are to be released in its first US print run.
Publisher Scholastic said July's release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would be supported by a multi-million dollar marketing drive.
The six previous books about the boy wizard have sold 325m copies worldwide and spawned four hit films to date.

The writer had always planned seven books, each following the characters for one school year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Rowling has revealed that two characters die in the final book, prompting bookmakers to take bets on whether Potter could be one of them. We hope Harry to survive. There are adult wizards too....

Harry Potter’s Final Act Is Set for July 21

J. K. Rowling, the author of the record-setting Harry Potter books, announced yesterday that the seventh — and last — installment in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (Link) will be published on July 21.

That will be just eight days after the release of the film version of the fifth book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” promising a huge summer for fans of the young wizard.

Millions of fans around the world are fiercely anticipating the final installment. But the end of the series, in which Ms. Rowling has hinted she may kill off one of the main characters, comes as a bittersweet finale not only for readers but also for the publishing companies, booksellers and licensees that have cashed in on the international phenomenon since it began more than nine years ago with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

It is hard to imagine how the publishing industry will ever replace the sensation that spawned midnight parties and all-night lines to get the books the moment they went on sale. When “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth in the series, was published in July 2005, it sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours.
For this final installment the cover price will rise to $34.99, from $29.99 for the previous volume. Hopefully will be available at the bookshops across Dubai at the middle of July.

Harry Potter's final secret: The Deathly Hallows

Few days before Christmas (Link), the British author JK Rowling (Link) has revealed the title of the final Harry Potter book - 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'.

Fans of the schoolboy wizard series discovered the title of the highly anticipated seventh book after finding and solving a hidden puzzle posted by the British author on her website (Link).

Rowling's publishing house, Bloomsbury (Link), has confirmed the title but refused to reveal when the next instalment will hit shelves.
The 41-year-old author has not yet finished the manuscript, which will take about six months to edit, so the earliest publication date is being touted as next summer.
Rowling recently revealed that she has mixed feelings about finishing the final chapter of the Potter saga.
She said: "I am now writing scenes I have planned for a dozen years.
"I feel alternately elated and overwrought. I both want, and don't want, to finish this book. But don't worry - I will."

The 10 Best Books of 2006

Here are the top 10 books from 2006:

Fiction:

1. Absurdistan
2. The collected stories of Amy Hempel
3. The Emperor's children
4. The lay of the land
5. Special topics in calamity physics

Nonfiction:

6. Falling through the earth
7. The looming tower
8. Mayflower
9. The omnivore's dilemma
10. The places in between

Read more here (Link):