A Publishing Phenomenon
22 June

I ordered our copy from the local bookshop back in April.

Recently, the staff told me that, in order to enter into the spirit of the thing, they would be opening up at midnight so that they could sell their first copies just at the point of entry into 21 June. They thought it unlikely that there would be many people who would take them up on the offer but at least it was a gesture.

I didn't want them to feel that no-one cared so I stayed up late and trotted down to Crosby just before midnight. I needn't have bothered. There was a queue of about fifty people lined up and waiting for the witching (or wizarding) hour.

So, I trotted home again and waited until the morning. I was there at 9 o' clock only to find that they'd already been open an hour to catch the early birds and, in fact, hadn't closed until nigh on 2am.

Was it all worth it?

Well, it is a grand achievement. I like the way the young people are growing up. I like the way that they are discovering that the adult world is more complex than they thought and that Harry, in particular, is having to re-adjust his feelings towards his dead parents. I like the way the young people bicker and are not too sanitised. I like the way Harry in particular is not very good at self-awareness and is prone to flying off the handle in almost any unprovoked situation. I like the way that at 15/16 the young people are aware of their sexuality. There is a kiss.

However, this is good, clean, middle class fiction for kids. The boys don't wank. They still make poo and fart jokes rather than crude sexual jokes. None of the boys appears to be shaving yet and that really is a missed opportunity because communal shaving really is a male bonding thing. There is a formula to the books which is maintained - start in Privet Drive, go through trials, end up in Dumbledore's study where things are explained.

It's a reasonably good read. I stuck at it over the weekend and polished it off. I did feel that there was too much detail and that we could have lost a couple of hundred of the 780 pages without loss. So, I think that it's three stars rather than four.