Christmas in July

It's Christmas in July! Well not really, but Christmas and Harry Potter are the subject of our newest poll in our lounge asking where will Harry spend his holidays in Book six.
Yesterday's poll was about The Chamber of Secrets, and what else might still be found in that mysterious place. The overwhelming winner was "SalazarContinued...

Bookseller's HP Launch Party Moved from King's Cross

Following last week's bombings in London, bookseller W.H. Smith has decided to move their launch party for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from the Underground station at King's Cross to a store in Wimbleton.
Thanks to Peter and Victoria for the links.

ADMIN: BOOK SPOILERS

We've had several posts in the comments section and on Leaky Lounge that contain spoilers or that link to web pages that contain spoilers. We've disabled comments to issue this official warning - STOP. Posting ANY spoilers here is utterly disrespectful of Jo Rowling, the publishers, your fellow readers, and the peopleContinued...

Scarborough Country Debates HP

JuneRose let us know that MSNBC's Scarborough Country discussed the series on their July 12 episode, and featured a British woman who complained that the series teaches children about witchcraft.
UPDATE: And here's the transcript!

More articles profile fanfic writers and adult fans

The San Jose Mercury News and Denver Post both report today on how some adult fans of the Harry Potter series share their love of the books through participation in the fanfic-writing community. The Post also has an article on how Potter is "magic for grownups".

More Harry-Fan Bashing by Disgruntled Muggles

The Sydney Morning Herald's Emma MacDonald joins Joel Stein from the LA Times in criticizing adult fans of the Harry Potter series. One of her "criticisms" is interesting, because JK Rowling herself has said that she never intended the books to be children's books. MacDonald writes:Continued...

Scholastic Video of JKR signing Half-Blood Prince Books

Yesterday we told you of Bloomsbury, the UK publishers of the Harry Potter books, posting some video of JKR signing copies of Half-Blood Prince. Well today, US Potter publishers Scholastic have now posted a very cool, long video segment set to music, of the book signing, and it beingContinued...

Jim Dale Video of" Today" Show Reading

Jim Dale, the narrator for the US Harry Potter audio books, appeared on NBC's Today Show, and gave a reading from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The video of his performance is now up on the website. To view, click here, then scroll down under the "Countdown To Harry Potter" banner,Continued...

Poll of the Day: Lurking in the Chamber of Secrets?

Does the Chamber of Secrets hold any more secrets? Could there be things still lurking down in that mysterious place? If you think that it's possible, be sure to check out our new poll of the day about the Chamber of Secrets in the lounge.
Yesterday's poll about who will be the next GryffindorContinued...

"Dumbledore" Calling Books A Million Pre-order Customers

"Dumbledore" has been calling Books-a-Million customers to remind them to pick up their books this weekend, so between those messages and the pre-recorded message Jim Dale did for Borders, you never know who will be on the other end of your phone when you answer it this week!

Greenpeace Urges U.S. to Buy Canadian

Greenpeace and the U.S. National Wildlife Federation are urging American readers to buy the new Potter book from Canada.
The two environmental groups are protesting that unlike Canadian publisher Raincoast, American publisher Scholastic has failed to use 100% recycled paper. Scholastic representative Kyle GoodContinued...

Wal-Mart Pre-order Delivery Date Question

Several readers have emailed to let us know that they received a notice from Wal-Mart, stating that pre-orders of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will not be delivered until July 20th.
UPDATE:
Leaky spoke to Wal-mart and received confirmation that the email was a mistake - everyone who ordered theContinued...

Raincoast obtains injunction against early distribution of HBP

EDITOR'S NOTE: We posted this the evening before last, but are "bumping" it up, as we have since received many emails from our readers who saw it this morning on CNN, as well as on other sites - including CBC Arts, which features an interview with Leaky's own B.K.Continued...

Amazon Packs and Ships HBP Books, Releases Pics

Amazon.com released some pics today of HBP being packed up and shipped; check them out below - some great closeups of the book herein:

HBP packed up by Amazon, images 1-4
HBP packed up by Amazon, images 5-8
HBP packed up by Amazon, images 13-16
HBP packed up by Amazon, images 17-18

Half-Blood Prince Books Being Delivered

Several pieces of news about the Half-Blood Prince books being delivered here in the states.
First, Scholastic has announced that the JKRowling specially signed copy of HBP for the winning library of the Scholastic contest arrived here in the States under much elaborate security.

After J.K. Rowling signedContinued...