It's been 3 years since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in over 90 countries on July 21st, 2007, close to 10 years after the launch of the series with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (not Phlosopher, or Philospher). The Deathly Hallows release incited price wars between retailers on a scale never before seen. The most shocking was U.K. supermarket chain Asda selling the book as a loss leader for only 5 pounds (around $10 US), attempting to muscle out bookstores.
U.S. research analyst Michael Norris got a little philosophical about the battle, stating that “You are not only lowering the price of the book. At this point, you are lowering the value of reading.” The supermarket chain, by contrast, declared they wanted to make the book affordable for kids.
Whichever way you argue it, as a librarian I'm just happy to see people getting so emotional over books.
(Photo of a Borders bookstore in California, 5 minutes before the midnight release, from Wikimedia Commons.)
Leanne Olson
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