Friday night, 12:01 AMhere in Kansas America, there were a number of Draco Malfoys, Harry Potters, and even a couple of adult Dumbledores--and one creaky old lady running a 102-degree fever (which I didn't know until I got back home) standing in line at the Borders store to pick up our reserved copies. My line-up numbers were 343 and 344. I got my two books at somewhere around 2:00AM.

And I hope I never "grow up" if that means giving up that kind of fun--what a kick to see all the kids, wide-eyed and excited, waiting to find out what happens to their favorite characters next! I had a lovely chat with the 12-year-old and his mother in front of me who had been there all evening (since 9PM) enjoying the party. He was doing his best to talk her into buying two books, so they could both read it right away. But he did not take at all to my suggestion that maybe his mother could read the book to him -- oh, no! He wanted his very own copy and he wanted to read it his very own self.

More power to your pen, Ms. Rowling!!!! Great stuff, but sad in spots; a lot like real life.

And by the way, the first book (before movies or any giant hype) was so successful that Scholastic Books, heretofore a small publishing company, nearly went under trying to meet the demand. So if they want to hype the plot and keep secrets, they've earned it as far as I'm concerned!

Lin