I got to Borders at 11:40 on Friday night. I got my number and waited patiently with about 400 other folks for midnight to roll around. They (the people at Borders) handled it very well. Everything was orderly and you didn't have to get in line until they called the block of 50 numbers that contained yours. I was out by 1am with Harry in a bag.

I finished reading it the following Thursday. It took me a while to plow through the 870 pages because I work full time and take a class two nights a week.

I thought that it was great and hate the thought of waiting who knows how long for the next installment. My one consolation is that because of the gap of about 3 years between this new book and the last one, I find that I need to reread the last two. I can't remember all the important plot twists. So I will pick up the Prisoner of Azkaban and the Goblet of Fire and read them again. Possibly reading the new one over again when I'm done.

I find nothing child-like about these book, other than the innocence of the characters and the complete lack of sex and profanity. I am an avid reader and have devoured Tom Clancy, Anne Rice, John Grisham, J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Critchton, and many others, and find that the Harry Potter books engross me just as profoundly as those "adult" books.

If your a Potter fan it is a "must read", if you haven't tried it, perhaps you should start.

I have a 12 year old son who can't get enough Harry Potter,and I would bet, you could not ask him a question he could'nt answer.I myself have never read one of the Harry Potter books.I would like to know are they (rated wise) OK for him to read and is it better (The last book) or worse than the previous.

keys111359,
I guess it depends on the kid. If he didn't seem too upset by the last book, this one won't bother him either. Like the last book, someone dies in the end of this one. I don't want to give anything away but I will say that the overall feel of the new book is not as "scary" as the Goblet of Fire. If your 12 year old son loves the story enough to read an 870 page book I'd say let him have it. It's not nearly as sad and scarey as Bambi.

The books are pretty kid friendly. There is death, and a lot of action. The books contain no profane language, however, and there is no "adult" content. I also don't think that they promote the ocult as some people tend to think.

Agreed. Harry Potter books promoting the occult is absolutely absurd. It infuriates me every time I hear someone trying to pull for that argument.

I also agree that these books have nothing to do with the occult. There is really no reference to anything of a religious nature except for the fact that two of the biggest holidays at Hogwarts are Christmas and Easter.