I'm finally working through the series as a book on tape because my daughter really really wants to buy the 7th book on opening day/night. I'm listening to the Jim Dale audio, which I think helps quite a bit. I'm about halfway through the third book, and there really is some wisdom in the series.
Well, I guess I'd also like to know, I've heard that if you pre-order it you can still get it opening day. Does anyone know how that works? I think it might be kind of fun to wait in line, if I can find a place that's doing that locally.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Yes, wait in line for 3 days straight.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
No need to wait that much. Just pre-order it from a largish bookstore, then show up early the previous morning and pick up the necessary ticket for their launch event.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
Amazon will get it to you on release day if you preorder.
As for standing in line...it is kind of fun. I did it when I was in college. It was actually kind of funny to see a couple hundred college students waiting in line for a "kids book"
Most big bookstores should have some sort of event going on (books a million, barnes and noble...). They will likely have people dressed up and such as well.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
I have no helpful advice, it's just good to meet another convert.
I'm thinking of ordering online - if you pre-order from Amazon you can get it for 49% off the cover price, and they guarantee you'll get it on the day it's released. Good enough for me - I don't need to stand in line until midnight to get it.
Last time, we laughed at all our friends who agonized over the choice - those who pre-ordered actually got the books later than those who waited in line at midnight, and were upset at having to wait a few hours. We didn't care about having it the minute it came out; we were going to get it whenever we got around to it. But hubby happened to be shopping at Sam's Club the day it came out and found it for $16, so he bought it. We had it hours earlier than some of our friends who were waiting on delivery, and we didn't have to wait in line for it either.
This time we're junkies, though, and our choice is not when to get it - it's whether to get one copy or two, and who will get to read it first if we only get one.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
What's wrong with Jeev-- I mean Stephen Fry's version?
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Walmart or Sam's Club will have stacks and stacks of them.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
For the sixth book one of my friends went at 9am and picked up all of our tickets at Borders, then we met at 8:30 pm and just hung out though we wouldnt have needed to be there until 11pm. At 11 they lined us up in the order that our tickets had been picked up. We were out by about 12:30. As soon as we got back to her house, a friend called to say he'd been at Kroger or some grocerie and at 12:03 picked up the book and was able to self check out immeadiatly and be home before we were. Our way was still more fun.
I have reserved a book at three seperate bookstores, all of which will just put it back on the shelf if I don't show up sometime saturday. Two are in my town (one chain, one independent) and one is a huge small chain bookstore about 3 hours from here in a town 10,000 horse people, many of whom I know in online communities will be. I'm having a very hard time picking what to do.
Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
I bought book 5 at a grocery store on the release date for a reasonable price. They had stacks of them, and there were no lines.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I loved the lines at Barnes & Noble. I've done the past three and definitely plan on doing the last one. For GoF, we got nametags with numbers on them to give us a place in line - on our way in, a mother was leaving with her son and she gave us her ticket. It moved us up fifty places in line. For OotP, it was a bit more chaotic: we got "Houses" and colors and had to line up by those. There was a fair bit more jostling, but went pretty well.
My favorite one was HBP. I got to B&N about seven hours early and found no line, but plenty of preparations. I wandered around for a while, got a coffee and then found the line just beginning. We waited until the check-in table was set with the numbered bracelets and proceeded. I hadn't pre-ordered the book, so I got bracelet 001 for that line. The only difference was in the color of bracelets and that our line was at the back of the store - otherwise I would have had to wait forever. The moral of the story: you don't have to pre-order your book to get it at the midnight sale.
But it helps.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I guess I'll take it easy and see if my daughter has any friends who are so excited to get it. Otherwise we'll take our chances with the warehouse store (BJ's).
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
For Ootp I had gotten there very late after a horse show, so I had four from the last number they published. But then I knew the boy who had the first number, and somehow his mother, sister, and father had all been in to get him tickets (as he was at camp until 9pm) during the day. He ended up with #1, #39, #82, I got #82 where I think I had had 996 before. Very very happy.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
You guys just got me to pre-order on Amazon.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
Me too. First book I've ever pre-ordered.
'Cause there's no way I'm waiting in line all night!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Amazon will get it to you on release day if you preorder.
ON the release day? I thought it shipped on release day and you had to wait for it.
I've already preordered through Amazon, I'm just curious. Do you have to upgrade the shipping to get it then?
Edit: Nm, I just checked, you have to have chosen standard or above to get it on that Saturday. I had it set for Super Saver, but I think I'm going to change it over to standard.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
From Amazon.com:
quote:Select Standard Shipping to a lower 48 United States address for Guaranteed Release-Date Delivery of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on July 21, 2007--or it's free!
It doesn't apply if you use "FREE Super Saver Shipping", you have to select standard or one- or two-day shipping, but yes, they guarantee you'll get it that day by 7:00 p.m.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
In this case it doesn't make sense to order the one or two day shipping, does it?
Posted by hansenj (Member # 4034) on :
quote:This time we're junkies, though, and our choice is not when to get it - it's whether to get one copy or two, and who will get to read it first if we only get one.
My husband and I are kind of in this boat. We're poor newlyweds, so the choice had to be to only get one book. He's being nice and letting me read it first if I want...though we're considering stretching it out since it's the last book and reading it aloud to each other.
As for preordering, my sister in law is getting married on the release day, so as soon as I get to California we're going to preorder at the nearest Barnes and Noble or Borders, and then we will go to the midnight party the night before the wedding. Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
I preordered from Amazon the last two times, too, and both times it was delivered first thing in the morning on Saturday.
I just had to read them fast before the kids stole them from me...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I just changed my shipping to Standard, so I can have it that weekend. I probably could have waited until the following Monday, but it's already half off, it's only a couple bucks for the delivery so why not?
Might be worth it to escape the spoilers.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
Oh yes. The internet will be off completely in our house until we've finished the book. And we may have to skip church on Sunday, just in case we hear any spoilers in the halls. Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
For the price of shipping, I'm willing to wait a day or two. And Havah hasn't read anything past the third book yet, so I get to read it first.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
It's only like $3.
Considering it's %55 off, I don't think it's that bad, especially for a hardcover.
But then, for the non die hard fan, waiting a couple days for three dollars (which I was originally planning to do) is probably totally worth it, so I can't fault you there.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
Oh, I just noticed that July 21 is a Saturday. So actually, it's a good thing I didn't opt for the guaranteed same day delivery. I'm not allowed to.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
quote:Originally posted by JennaDean: Oh yes. The internet will be off completely in our house until we've finished the book. And we may have to skip church on Sunday, just in case we hear any spoilers in the halls.
And we wonder why people think Harry Potter is the devil. Posted by Occasional (Member # 5860) on :
I like the movies far more than I like the books. Perhaps because I am not spending days on end reading something I don't care that much about. After about the third book, the series gets horribly tedious and wordy. Far more than the stories deserve.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I will need to finish by 11:30 on Sunday. This will take a great deal of frantic reading, I think.
Hmm...I need to find a party to pick up the book. I'll bet there's one around here.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I actually didn't pre-order the last one-- just walked in at 5 PM the day it came out and the table was empty but there was still a stack on the ground at Barnes and Noble.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
(I got the 4th book done in 4 hours, the 5th took a little longer since I had a baby by then-- I think 8.)
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: Oh, I just noticed that July 21 is a Saturday. So actually, it's a good thing I didn't opt for the guaranteed same day delivery. I'm not allowed to.
Which is also why I didn't. Didn't last time either, although they did attempt delivery late Saturday. If it's like last time, they will NOT deliver it to the doorstep, unlike all other Amazon deliveries. (Apparently the theft rate from doorsteps is too high with these books.)
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
I don't care if it does show up on Shabbat. I'll just leave it at the door until after Shabbat is over. But I can't specify that I want it to get here on Shabbat.
I have a container by the door for packages, so I figure they'll leave it in that.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Wow, KQ our Barnes and Noble won't sell any that aren't pre ordered until Sunday. They let the preorders have all of Saturday to pick theirs up.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
This store kept the pre-orders in the back, and ordered about 700 extra for the first day.
I think they understood that if they didn't have extra for people who didn't pre-order, then they were going to lose business to people who did.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Was Emma really born in 03? I thought she was born about the time I graduated high school, so after the 5th book came out.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
quote:After about the third book, the series gets horribly tedious and wordy.
That's funny - I enjoy the later books much more than the first two. I enjoyed them when I first read them, but I can't re-read the first two every time a new one comes out anymore. I have to start with 3 and go from there.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I walked into Media Play at midnight and had my copy within 15-20 minutes.
But Media Play has become FYE so I am not sure what their policy is. I might preorder on Amazon, but I think I'll probably just hit Wal-Mart or FYE the day of and see how things are.
We should set up a contest to see who can read the last book the quickest.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by breyerchic04: Was Emma really born in 03? I thought she was born about the time I graduated high school, so after the 5th book came out.
She was born in 04.
The sixth book is the one I'm talking about. I guess I skipped the 5th, which took me about 3.5 hours to read. Sorry. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
(It's easy to forget the 5th because it came out on my wedding day! My daddy was sweet and went at midnight and gave me a copy, but, um, we were busy with other things on our honeymoon, and I didn't get to it until after we got all unpacked at our new home.)
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The only difference was in the color of bracelets and that our line was at the back of the store - otherwise I would have had to wait forever. The moral of the story: you don't have to pre-order your book to get it at the midnight sale.