Kathmandu:

The day has arrived to celebrate for all Potter fans. The last book in Potter series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on July 21. All the major bookstores in Kathmandu saw a huge number of Potter fans waiting for the books to arrive from New Delhi.

“All the fans had been waiting for the books to arrive since 9:00 am, but due to the flight delay, it came at 5:00 pm — three hours late,” says Prof Ishwor Bahadur Shrestha of Education Book House (EBH). They had organised a launch programme, which was inaugurated by Prof Abhi Subedi.

“Around 200 books have come and more is coming, over 100 were sold. We had bookings for 120 copies, but the over-the-counter sale was higher than those who came to collect their booked copies,” says Prof Shrestha.

At the programme Prof Subedi handed out the books to all customers. The Potter series has fans of all ages and Subedi is one of them. “I read Potter series for its literary value. Since this is the last part of Potter’s journey, it has more significance. During the launch at EBH today, I saw this festivity going on. The kids were having a great time. This novel has brought back the book culture,” says Prof Subedi.

Similarly at United Books, Thamel the place was crowded since early morning.

“We did not have many advance booking, but over 100 books have already been sold and we are expecting more sales tomorrow,” says Lars Braaten of United Books.

At Pilgrims Book Store and Mandala Book store, they received less books than they had ordered for.

“We will be receiving rest of the stock tomorrow. We have only two/three books left,” says Madan Shrestha of Pilgrims Books House.

Talking about Rowling’s take on the last book in the Potter series, Prof Subedi said, “I watched JK Rowling talking to journalists on television where she said she has taken a decision, if she had not put an end to the saga it would have been very difficult for her to come out of it.”

Talking about its popularity among children he said, “Firstly the kids can identify with the main character, and secondly kids just love the suspense and magic.”

Potter survives last fight:

LONDON: The Harry Potter saga has apparently closed with a magical finale. In the novel released at 23.00 GMT on Friday in Europe, Africa and Asia, author JK Rowling has let the title character survive the last instalment of his dangerous adventures.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sees the schoolboy wizard triumph in a final battle over evil.

For months, speculation had raged among Rowling fans about which major characters, perhaps including Potter himself, might meet their demise to conclude the seven-book series. Several million copies of the Deathly Hallows are expected to be sold within a day of its official release. — DPA