Well, the countdown is almost done.
Thousands upon hundreds of thousands of muggles wait in baited breath for the next, second to last installment of the popular Harry Potter series from J.K. Rowling. The US publishers have already accepted over 1 million pre-orders, no doubt increased in the last week before the storm breaks.
My local Chapters Books has already painted their front windows in a Hogwarts/Potter theme for the book. J.K. has already set up a bunch of readings to commense after the release. My local Macs convienence store is holding a Harry Potter madness sale on the 16th to get people to come in. On top of that, the fourth movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is due out this year also.
So, again, as with HP:OotP, we see the Harry machine start up again. I myself have started re-reading the other books in preperation, and reading the rumors of the book has done nothing but wish for the book to come out sooner. There is something very magical about Harry Potter, Hogwarts aside. Much like Lord of the Rings, HP has become a generations epic saga. The story elements are as old as time, but the spin that is put into the writing and ideas is what makes it great. I was conversing with a friend on the popularity of HP, and he said simply " It makes us kids again."
I guess that is true. The moodiness of Order aside, the outlines of this book are a little scarcer. People are caught up in the ending of the last book, seemingly propelling Neville into a spotlight, rumors of Ron and Hermione, who will be the next Defense of the Dark Arts teacher...and best of all, who is the Half Blood Prince.
J.K. Rowling has been busy on her website discounting some of the rumors, and it appears that the next main character will be someone entirely new. With jsut four days to go at the writing, I guess we will all find out soon enough.