Potter has Dubai spellbound

At 3.01am, the gleeful nine-year-old Katya Sheth ran into Magrudy’s, received her pre-ordered copy of the Deathly Hallows, struggled to hold the book high in her small hands, and gasped: "I like the magic. And Hermione!" She then sprinted away to immerse herself in the spell-binding story.
Hundreds of fans began lining up outside bookshops across the UAE from early Friday evening with some dedicated fans, like 13-year-old Abdulla Moaswes, travelling from Sharjah to Ibn Battuta Mall where some of the biggest celebrations were held.
As Potter aficionados joined the serpentine queues, a magician conjured card tricks and stilt walkers amused the visitors, while at other malls, coffee after coffee was served, wizard quizzes completed and wands and witches' hats created.
Hibah Abuhamdieh, 14, her sisters and friends waited nine and a half hours in a queue, until 3.01am yesterday, to be among the first few to get their hands on the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in JK Rowling’s series.
But why? As Hibah said, “It’s different from any other book. When you start reading it, you can’t stop.”
Hibah has read the series several times and the sixth book, her favourite, 11 times. Sarah Husain, 21, stood in the queue from 9pm on Friday and remarked, “Some people do go a bit overboard,” but wasn’t taking any chance with her copy.
“I’ve reserved a copy, but I wanted to get my hands on the book as soon as possible,” she said.
In the run-up to the book’s worldwide launch at 3.01am due to an embargo and high security, avid readers of the hugely popular series re-read previous instalments and made their predictions for the final book.
“Ron and Hermione will die and Harry will have to kill Voldemort all on his own,” Sarah said.
Rohit Iyengar, 12, had an even more dire conclusion. “Harry Potter is going to have to kill himself because he finds out Voldemort is part of him,” he said.
But despite all the hints from the author and predictions from readers, the fans said nothing would beat reading the book, something sales have already indicated.
Jashanmal's Retail, Marketing and Development Manager Nusrat Ebrahim said the store had recorded more than 1,800 reservations for the book and, according to media reports Amazon had 2.2 million orders.
Meanwhile, at Jashanmal's Mall of the Emirates, 'Harry Potter' himself, well Dhaval Dave of India, made a special appearance to launch the first book.
After he waded through a frenzy of Potter fans, he pulled out the first book to the cheers and applauds of the ecstatic crowd.No sooner did children and adults alike get their hands on the book then the first page was turned, the last page only hours away for many as they planned to lock themselves in their rooms and homes devoid of any possible interruptions to find out exactly what is in store for Harry Potter and his friends. Source

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.