Curse lifted: 5th Potter book a smash

Like bookstores across the country, the Books-A-Million in Sevierville kept its doors open late and transformed the store into a part of the wizarding world for a midnight release of the fifth Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” The long awaited novel had more than 200 pre-sales, some as early as two years ago, at the store. Hundreds more came in and bought guarantee tickets early, while at the stroke of midnight the store was still filled with people waiting to directly purchase copies as well. “I saw a preview for the first movie and have been a fanatic ever since,” said Matthew Hurley, who came dressed as the world’s favorite teenage wizard. Books-A-Million offered face painting, a costume contest and had the store and staff decked out in all things Potter for the event. “This is like a Star Wars premier or something,” said one awestruck adult who later admitted he was buying the book for himself and a second copy for his son. The Potter series has dominated the book market, gaining popularity among adults as well as children. In the largest first printing of a book ever, Scholastic has pressed 8.5 million copies. Even that may not be enough as on-line retailer Amazon.com has already received more than a million orders. Harry Potter’s popularity has reached unprecedented levels for a book: more than 8,000 copies were stolen from a trading estate in Merseyside in northwest England last week, three days before the release date. The book also has separate covers for the United States and for the U.K. Almost 200 million copies of the first four books have been sold, having been translated into 55 languages in 200 countries. Fans eagerly took their book in the bag outside the store and some were reading already as they waited on friends or parents to work their way through the line to join them. The cry of, “There are dementors in the first chapter!” echoed around the parking lot. At over 800 pages the book is the longest in the Harry Potter series but several customers have admitted to finishing the book since early Saturday morning and already wishing for a quick release to book six.