Potter fans line up for latest book

The age of Potter VI officially dawned Saturday, with close to 100 people queuing up for at least an hour at a Susupe bookstore yesterday morning just to get the first copies of J.K. Rowling’s sixth installment of her very popular Harry Potter series.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was finally made available to fans of the fictional young wizard, and its launch on Saipan coincided with the book’s midnight release worldwide, albeit some bookstores in London have moved their release date earlier due to the security alert on the British capital.

Here on Saipan, Media Distributor, Inc.’s Bestseller Bookstore handled the distribution and sale of the book, and manager Marlyn Pery said Harry Potter lovers left the bookstore with an extra spring on their step yesterday.

Pery said the queue at the bookstore reached as far as Ace Hardware before Bestseller opened at exactly 9:01am. DJ Dice of Power 99 helped in the countdown for new book, which only had 200 copies in the bookstore.

In less than an hour, Bestseller had already sold 60 copies of the book, and later in the afternoon, staff Rowena Coloma confirmed that the bookstore had already sold 150. “Hopefully at the end of the day, we will have sold all the 200 copies,” Coloma said. She said there were still people calling for reservations.

Pery said they would be ordering another 100 copies of the book due to the great demand, but no more after that because only a limited number of the hardbound edition is available worldwide.

Eleven-year-old Kassandra Snodgrass, a 6th grader from Mt. Carmel School, said she was already at the store as early as 8:45am for the countdown. She said she is a fan of the Harry Potter series because she finds the stories entertaining. Her favorite character is Cho Chang, the love interest of Harry Potter in the Goblet of Fire. Snodgrass said she likes Chang because of her skills in witchcraft and adeptness in playing Quidditch, a football-like sport, but with players riding on magical broomsticks.

Marianas Visitors Authority public information officer Chris Cabrera, at 26 years old, did not mind queuing up for the latest Harry Potter book. He said he went to the store at 8:30am. Cabrera said he has all the first five books of Rowling. He said he finds the series very fascinating and that everyone could relate to the book. Cabrera said he was glad that Bestseller joined the worldwide countdown.

Fourteen-year-old Terrence Duenas also did not mind waking up early to get a hold of the limited copy of the book and fell in line at 8am. He said he got interested in the book because Harry Potter is now a teenager and is now more into adventures than ever.

A father of a 13-year-old said he was excited to take her daughter to the store for the book. Frank Cabrera, director of the NMI Retirement Fund, took his daughter to the store as early as 8am. His daughter Nakita joined her fellow Harry Potter fans from Grace Christian Academy: Matthew Blanco, 15; Bianca Blanco, 12; and, Oilang Maui, 13.

The group was so excited that they eagerly participated in the fun activities inside the store hosted by DJ Dice. Nakita Cabrera said they love the books more than the films because of its attention to detail.

Prizes given away during the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book release yesterday were two DVDs of Harry Potter Prince of Azkaban, Harry Potter T-shirts and $5 Bestseller Bookstore gift certificates.

Pery said the grand prize was a complete set of the Harry Potter book series from the Sorcerer’s Stone to the Order of the Phoenix. A purchase of one new Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince entitled the fans for the giveaways.

The book only cost $29.99 and no discounts was given even to the members of the bookstore. The first five books in the Harry Potter series are: the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prince of Azkaban, Goblet of fire, and the Order of the Phoenix.

Worldwide, millions of fans from sweaty New York to chilly Australia got their hands on “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and began to read the darkest of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novels.

“I can’t believe that I have the first copy,” said 20-year-old Rachel Grandy, a student at Hunter College, who was first in line at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, arriving early on a sticky summer morning and getting her book at midnight, some 16 hours later. “It’s totally boggling my mind right now.”

In Edinburgh, Scotland, Rowling emerged at the stroke of 12 from behind a secret panel inside a medieval castle, settled into a leather easy chair and read an excerpt to a super-select group of 70 children from around the world.

“You get a lot of answers in this book,” Rowling, a resident of Edinburgh, said as she arrived at the castle before thousands of adoring fans. “I can’t wait for everyone to read it.”

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is Rowling’s most mature story, marked by the death of a major character and the arrival of love in the land of Hogwarts. Harry’s fans can now solve the mysteries that Rowling teasingly hinted at for months: Will Harry’s teenage friends Ron and Hermione find romance? Which character died? Who is the half-blood prince?

It has become publishing’s most lucrative, frantic and joyous ritual: From suburban shopping malls to rural summer camps, fans dressed up, lined up and prepared to stay up late with their treasured copies. (With AP)