ILLUSTRATION COURTESY SCHOLASTIC INC.Bookstores brace for
the return of Harry Potter
Booksellers are bracing for the onslaught, and they figure they may as well make it fun. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," book No. 5 in the phenomenal-would-be-too-tame-a-word series by J.K. Rowling, arrives Saturday amid much pomp and circumstance.
Expect lines, expect some small measure of happy chaos, expect to trip over small humans in pointed wizard hats. Expect a big, heavy book.
Where things stand in Potter land
At the end of Book 4, the evil Lord Voldemort had succeeded in regaining human form, using a magic cauldron, a forearm cut off of his servant Wormtail and a bit of Harry's blood. The Minister of Magic refused to take steps to stop the evil wizard, so Dumbledore began making preparations of his own. Harry and his friends left Hogwarts for the summer, realizing they will soon face an extraordinary fight.
Bookstores are marking the occasion with costume contests, trivia tests, prize drawings, wand-making activities and more. Some will have storytellers reading from past books in the boy-wizard series. About half will stay open late tomorrow to distribute the book at one minute past midnight. Others are opening early Saturday.
Stores are reporting reservations for the book running as high, if not higher, than the last installment, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," released three years ago.
Waldenbooks stopped taking reservations June 1, but a manager at the Kahala Mall store said calls keep coming in -- "more than I've seen in the seven years I've worked in books. I didn't realize there were that many people on this island."
Most stores say they will have ample supply to cover their reservations and still satisfy customers who didn't plan ahead. But some say it will be close.
Les Honda, area marketing manager for Borders Books & Music, said Borders did sell out last time around -- "with that in mind, corporate is very careful to make sure we do not run out."
Some stores, though, say they can't be sure until they start filling their reservation lists. "Some people have left their name at every store on the island," Beverly Richey at Waldenbooks Pearlridge said. "How it shakes down we won't know."
Most stores will only hold reserved books through Sunday -- so beware if you reserved a copy but plan to avoid the crush of opening weekend.
Wizarding tip: If you're trying to hunt up a book on Saturday, head for a place where there aren't a lot of kids. Bestsellers Books & Music in Bishop Square downtown will have plenty of books, said Brian Melzack, who insists that his title is "humble servant of my wife, who owns the store."
Hundreds of books have been pre-ordered, he said, but thousands will be in stock.
STAR-BULLETIN PHOTO 2000
Costume contests will be part of bookstore celebrations, as they were in 2000 when Claire Gordon dressed up as Harry Potter.
The store with the most elaborate plans seems to be Waldenbooks at Windward Mall, which is dressing for the occasion, literally. The front of the store will be decked out to look like Diagon Alley, the shopping mall for wizards in Harry Potter's world, and everyone on staff has been told to report in costume. The shy ones say they're coming as Muggles (regular humans).
The store's manager asked not to be named, which is sort of scary when you think about Lord Voldemort, the evil wizard also known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But he plans to appear as the good Professor Dumbledore.
He's also planning a Bernie Bott's Fear Factor Contest, which involves keeping a straight face while eating the yucky flavors out of the Harry Potter jelly bean box -- black pepper, booger, ear wax, vomit, spinach, sardines ... "There's not going to be any good flavors in there."
As a preventive measure, the staff will not unpack the books early. Three years ago, he said, "Goblet of Fire" books were unpacked and stacked into a big display at the front of the store.
As soon as the doors opened, customers started grabbing books off the display. "Think of piranha grabbing ahold of something and all that's left is bare bones."
The last "Harry Potter" was released before the movie series began. Books 1 and 2 have been released in big-screen form in the years since. They're available on video as well. But none of that seems to have diluted interest in the printed word.
"We're still seeing great sales on Harry Potter's backlist," Borders' Honda said. "This leads me to believe there are more and more readers who are discovering Harry Potter. The effect is just snowballing."
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Potter party plans
These Oahu bookstores are celebrating the release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" with special eventstomorrow night and Saturday:
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Kahala Mall: Books will be distributed at midnight tomorrow. "Midnight Magic" begins at 7 p.m. with coloring, costume and trivia contests, and storytelling from the first four books in the series. Call 737-3323.
Bestsellers Books & Music
Bishop Square: Store opens at 7 a.m. Saturday with free coffee and "Harry Danish." First 50 customers receive a free Harry Potter hat. All Bestsellers stores will honor Scholastic coupons for the book for those who ordered directly from the publisher. Call 528-2378.
Borders Books & Music
Waikele: Activities begin at 10 p.m. tomorrow, with the book distributed at midnight. Make wizard wands and participate in a "readiness review" of the other books in the series. The last chapter of the fourth book will be read in the music department. The cafe will serve Harry Potter Butterbeer (a root beer float). Call 676-6699.Ward Centre: Trivia questions will be issued over the public-address system every 15 minutes beginning at 10 p.m. tomorrow, with prizes for the first person to deliver the answer. Books distributed at midnight. A Saturday release party begins at 10 a.m. with magic-wand making, story time and a character look-alike contest. Call 591-8995.
Waldenbooks
Kahala Mall: Store opens at 6 a.m. Saturday, offering games such as "How Many Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans Are in the Jar?" Call 737-9550.Mililani Town Center: Store opens at 7 a.m. Saturday, serving cookies and punch. Call 623-2138.
Pearlridge: Store will be open from midnight tomorrow to 1:30 a.m. Doors reopen at 6 a.m. Saturday; door prizes. Call 488-9488.
Waikiki Shopping Plaza: Store opens at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free balloons. Call 922-4154.
Windward Mall: Harry Potter Night, begins at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow with a magic show at the mall's Centerstage and children's activities outside the bookstore. Games include a Bernie Bott's Fear Factor Contest. Store opens at 7 a.m. Saturday to distribute books; the mall will open at 6 a.m. to accommodate lines. Store will be decorated as Diagon Alley, and staff will be in costume. Prize drawings for people in line, coloring contest, snacks and juice. Call 235-8044.
By the numbers
896: Pages in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (255,000 words, 38 chapters)
8.5 million: The initial press run, the largest ever. More than 730,000 books have sold in advance.
26 1/2: Number of hours in the audio book
$29.99: List price, although stores are offering discounts of up to 40 percent
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