The Change Mariner

Harry Potter: Bigger than Beatlemania?

Toronto Star.com

[In 1997 no] one had the faintest idea it would be the start of a cultural juggernaut. No one would guess that six years later, boys and girls, children and adults all over North America would be waiting for this day, when the fifth book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, is being released, to obtain their copy by courier from Amazon.com or in midnight lineups at bookstores.

No one predicted, in short, that a printed book would cause a stir equivalent to Beatlemania or to the bursting on the scene of Elvis Presley in the mid-1950s. A printed book, one might add, that nestled cosily in a Victorian setting, possessed a narrative voice with a pronounced English accent, and made references to a good deal of retro-wizardry, such as flying broomsticks and crystal balls. Its spell has spread like an air current in the upper troposphere, covering vast territory.

Pottermainia descended on San Francisco tonight as we got our copy of Phoenix tonight at Book, Inc. in Laurel Village. Our kids did a great job of keeping us adults awake in the accumulated body heat of a couple hundred people waiting to get their hands on the latest J.K. Rowling tome.

After getting to bed so late tonight, we, too, hope to rise like the Phoneix tomorrow morning!

-Tim