Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince released

[edyzmedieval]

Well well well....

J.K.Rowling finally released her 6th book from the Harry Potter series.... I've started reading it and it's a very good book until now... Well, not as much as the Osprey books but hey

The sixth Harry Potter book has been published around the world, ending the wait for eager readers.
Fans queued at bookshops for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's release at 0001 BST on 16 July.

Author JK Rowling was at Edinburgh Castle where she read to 70 young fans who won the chance to be at the launch and interview her.

Ten million copies were expected to be sold worldwide within 24 hours, including two million in the UK.

Castle transformed

"I'm excited about this book," Rowling said as she arrived at the castle.

"You get a lot of answers in this book. I can't wait for everyone to read it."

The young competition winners were led into the castle, which has been transformed into the entrance hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the event.

As the book was launched, Rowling appeared from behind a secret panel in the wall - shrouded by smoke - to read to them.


A Potter fan in Mexico City receives a copy of the new book

She told reporters that it meant "everything" to be in her home city for the launch.

"I left my daughter behind with a copy of the book. It is the first time she has had her hands on it," Rowling said.

"When I left she was laughing at something, which was quite encouraging, you can imagine."

The book has gone on sale in 15 countries - including the UK, US, Brazil and the Philippines - with many bookshops holding late night openings and Potter parties.

Book retailer Waterstone's opened 140 of its stores at midnight and online retailer Amazon received 350,000 advance orders in the UK alone.

Royal Mail said 150 extra trucks shifted more than 500,000 copies of the book from warehouses across the UK for delivery on Saturday.

Hundreds of Potter fans began queuing outside the Waterstone's store in London's Oxford Street, many dressed as witches and wizards.

"The atmosphere is amazing," said Rose-Marie De Koning, 19, who travelled from Roosendaal in the Netherlands for the event.


Savannah Mazda, 15, was first in the queue at Waterstone's in London's Oxford Street
"There are a lot of fans here and lots of new friends being made. London is Harry Potter town."

At Mount Prospect, Illinois, more than 10,000 fans will participate in a range of Potter-related activities, while in New York, the world's biggest toy shop - Toys R Us in Times Square - has been transformed into the Hogwarts Academy.

Other countries, including India, Australia and New Zealand are also holding events to mark the occasion.

The first five Harry Potter books have sold more than 265 million copies in 200 countries and have been translated into 62 languages.

But the run-up to the new book's release - the penultimate in the series - was not problem-free.


Israeli bookstore have been heavily promoting the book
A store in Edinburgh apologised after putting the latest Harry Potter book on shelves early, allowing customers to read copies.

Newsround Online reporters were able to read key parts of the book when it went briefly on display in HMV.

The store said it was an honest mistake and took the book off display as soon as it realised its error. No-one was allowed to buy the copies.

One boy in the US, Sylum Mastropaolo, was sold a copy of the book by mistake on Monday, but he and his parents returned it to the shop.

A court order was issued in Canada banning the disclosure of the story's contents after a number of the books were sold by mistake.

[King of Atlantis]

Im getting my reserved copy tomorrow.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Reading it and enjoying it. The start of the book just hooks you and you can't help but turn the pages. Great stuff

[JAG]

Can't say any of them remotely appealed to me.

[edyzmedieval]

Reading it and enjoying it. The start of the book just hooks you and you can't help but turn the pages. Great stuff

The same.... I just got the book at 02:00 a.m.(00:00 at London)....

Great stuff by J.K.Rowling

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I read the first Potter books before they got big, when I was younger. I enjoyed them then, but now, looking objectively at them, I realise that they are really very badly written indeed.

[edyzmedieval]

I read the first Potter books before they got big, when I was younger. I enjoyed them then, but now, looking objectively at them, I realise that they are really very badly written indeed.

Why are they badly written?!

[JAG]

Why are they badly written?!

Probably because they are written for little kiddies.

[Ser Clegane]

Probably because they are written for little kiddies.

Hmm ... does that mean that books that are also directed at a younger audience are automatically badly written?
Why would that be?

BTW, I had to read the previous ones - my wifes likes them and she made me read them to her .
They sure aren't the greatest thing since sliced bread IMO and all the fuss about them is a bit over the top - but I still found them to be very entertaining, and that's what they are supposed to be (although I thought the last one was dragged out too much)

[JAG]

Often when reading a book aimed at a younger age group the language and phrasing used, on reflection often is different and not ad good, on the whole, as a book aimed at an older audience. That is what I have always thought anyway, when looking back on all the books I have read during my time.

[Cygnus X-1]

I also used to read the HP books (up to about Book 4), and i did find it entertaining for a while. But now, i can't stand the franchise. It's not so much that i think they're badly written (I mean, you kind of expect it from children's books), but it's been shoved down our throats so much for the past few years that i'll be glad to see the back of it.

[scooter_the_shooter]

The books are decent but those movies are some of the most annoying things ever made

[BDC]

I went to a 'Harry Potter' party but left before those who were sober enough went to get their copies...

[ICantSpellDawg]

"Better" really is subjective when it comes to books. I am a firm believer that when someone can take the difficult and make it simple, THAT is "better" than taking the simple and making it difficult. That said, from what I've read of the Harry Potter book series, it doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. The movies are only decent stories to be watched with one's brothers and sisters.

[Drisos]

as a 16-year-old I must confess I do like the series. I do understand why others don't. (the story... ) I not wasting my money on it, though. I'll wait for the movie.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

I find them moderatly entertaining, somewhere between 'The Hobbit' by JRR Tolkein and 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell, in terms of how I enjoyed them. Nowhere near 'The Prince' by Macchiavelli, 'Panzer Leader' by Guderian, 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu, 'All Quiet on the Western Front' by Remarque, or 'Catcher in the Rye' by ... er... I forget.
If nothing else, they add pages to my count.

[Steppe Merc]

I'm gonna get it today. Damn it, I know it's supposed to be for kids, but its good! Not as good as most of the books I like, but still good.

[Byzantine Prince]

I can't stand Harry Potter and his antics.
I don't see what's entertaining about him, LOTR is like 100 times better. If HP was pot then LOTR is heroin. Which one one do you think is better kids?

[Steppe Merc]

Lord of the Rings any day. However, it's not like JRR Tolkien is still writing books from his grave, is it?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Whoa...I agree with Steppe Merc and BP! At the same time!

I find the HP books lsightly entertaining, not the be all and end all, but I don't think they are horribly written, and I don't quite understand how being written for kids and not adults automatically makes them terrible. I don't think she's the most original person, but perhaps someone could elaborate more on their reasons for disliking the books.

Crazed Rabbit

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

They're OK books, but I'm not going to get them on the first day (particularly when it's also my birthday, but that's another matter). The movies are rotten, but its funny to watch parts of them on DVD in the dubbed foreign languages.

[Gregoshi]

I know a lot of adults who just love the Harry Potter books. In fact, I know more adults who like HP than I do kids who are fans. I resisted for a long time because I tend to ignore super-hyped things. After a couple of years of talking with a lot of (adult) friends and aquaintences who were big fans, curiosity got the better of me, I decided to read the first one. It was very enjoyable so I bought and read the next two - which were the only ones out in paperback at the time. They are not the best books I've ever read, but they are among the better books I've read. When reading the HP books, I never get the sense that I'm reading a children's book, but maybe that is just me.


Alas, I only get the paperback versions, so I have at least a year to wait before reading The Half-Blood Prince. Unless I borrow a copy...

[edyzmedieval]

Well, got to the 200th page and I can say it's great....

Gripping and electrifying novel. A good book that I recommend to my friends, the members of the Totalwar.org forum.

[King of Atlantis]

IF your on the 200th page already it must be pretty good.

[Ronin]

Let me riff a list of things that I care as little about as the release of another one of these crappy books. Lemme see, uhh.... Low-carb diets. Michael Moore. The Republican National Convention. Kabbalah and all Kabbalah-related products. Hi-def TV, the Bush daughters, wireless hot spots, 'The O.C.', the U.N., recycling, getting Punk'd, Danny Gans, the Latin Grammys, the real Grammys. Jeff, that Wiggle who sleeps too darn much! The Yankees payroll, all the red states, all the blue states, every hybrid car, every talk show host! Everything on the planet, everything in the solar system, everything everything everything everything everything everything, everything that exists, past, present and future, in all discovered and undiscovered dimensions....Oh! And Hugh Jackman!

[Ronin]

Hmm ... does that mean that books that are also directed at a younger audience are automatically badly written?
Why would that be?

well....of course there isn´t a 100% absolute direct connection between being written for little kiddies and being crap.....

but it´s sure as hell one giant step in that direction....

[Gregoshi]

well....of course there isn´t a 100% absolute direct connection between being written for little kiddies and being crap.....

but it´s sure as hell one giant step in that direction....

Muggles!!

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Well, I found the Half-Blood Prince considerably more humerous than the others.

DON'T READ THE QUOTE BELOW! DON'T EVEN LET YOUR EYE PASS OVER IT! YOU MAY REALISE WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE END OF HALF-BLOOD PRINCE!

Dumbledore dies at the end

[Crazed Rabbit]

That spoiler alert isn't working, you just used light text, and I saw, and now I am greatly perturbed. Seriously, I advise taking it out completely.

Crazed Rabbit

[Cygnus X-1]

Well, I found the Half-Blood Prince considerably more humerous than the others.

SPOLIER ALERT:

If anything, that spoiler alert draws your eye towards it!

While i'm not greatly bothered by it, i'm sure more people like Crazed Rabbit would be. I also advise you remove it as soon as possible.