Asheville News

Asheville B&N conjures a cluster-eff with release of last Harry Potter book

Jason Sandford July 20, 2007

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

So, yeah, we dig the Harry Potter books. We want the last installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, upon its release at midnight tonight. So we went to our trusty Barnes & Noble down on Tunnel Road Friday night to get the lay of the land.

Last week, we asked about the book release. We gave a clerk our name and number to reserve a copy of the book. The clerk said that on release day, the store would hand out wristbands as a placeholder. So tonight, we went down to get our wristbands.

What a cluster-eff!

Hundreds of people jammed the entrance to the store and lined up in front of the shopping center. And the line wasn’t moving. We walked around, took some pictures, talked to some people. Everyone was getting a little testy.

The deal was you had to stand in line to get a wristband and a numbered ticket, then come back at midnight, pay for your book and find your place in line to pick it up. Just a ridiculous system. Wait in line for a number, then come back and wait in line. Barnes & Noble, you just lost us.

We went across the street to Books A Million. No line. The same festive atmosphere with store employees dressed up like Harry Potter and wizards and witches. We walked up, paid for the book on the spot and received a voucher we’ll show when the line forms at 11:45 p.m. Perfect!

We’re wondering what else people are seeing. Where did you get your book? Amazon? Malaprop’s? Accent on Books? K-Mart?

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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4 Comments

Martha July 25, 2007

We did the B&N fiasco. Thank God it was the last book. The 6th book party wasn’t nearly as bad and seemed waaaay more organized. At least I was home and reading by 1 a.m.

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RoIn July 21, 2007

I was at the Accent on Books party last night. They had a good crowd of well over 100 people, probably closer to 200. Prize winners in their costume contest (lots of costumes) included a Mad Eye Moody, a Delores Umbridge, and even a Saint Mungo (the actual saint, not the wizard hospital). I believe a Harry and a Tonks won in the younger age bracket category. Tea leaf readings for folks by Professor Trelawney and a herbology lesson from Professor Sprout were among the activities before the magic clock stroke midnight. Checkout was a just a wee tad on the chaotic side (mostly due to the line and but one cash register) but nobody seemed to mind in the least after all the fun and festivities and a great time was had by all.

After the books went on sale, local actors read the first chapter aloud. I didn’t stay for that — I wanted to experience the first chapter for myself.

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Kathryn July 21, 2007

Malaprops had a great party, and there were 400 people there, but they were way more organized than B&N, it sounds like. You’d think they hadn’t had 6 other books to practice.

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Edgy July 21, 2007

Cute head. I’ll be at Accent in the morning. Too tired to think about midnight!

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