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The Series That Must Not Be Named, or FloutedJuly 20, 2007Frequent readers know that I'm a bit of a sourpuss when it comes to The Series that Must Not Be Named, or Harry Potter, but please allow me to explain fully: it's not because I'm not a fan. I'll be reading along avidly from about But a quick IM conversation with my friend C. yesterday gave me a new perspective on the hype – and alerted me to a very odd thing indeed. Here’s how it went: I read Michiko Kakutani’s NYT review of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,’ alternately cackling and gasping at her chutzpah. [NB: Keep reading… you’ll see… ] I pinged C. “What is Michiko Kakutani thinking?” I typed. “Michiko is just being Michiko,” she responded. “But her point is well taken [NB: keep reading… you’ll see… ]. Scholastic needs to realize that things have changed since the first few books in the series came out. This cloak-and-dagger stuff is old.” I agree, but evidently the Gray Lady does not. This a.m. I clicked over to Kakutani’s piece to create a link, and noticed a few things… missing. Like her conclusion to every paragraph. The concluding sentences that made her worth-taking point. Unless the NYT mistakenly allowed an impish programmer to add text to a staff writer's article, Michiko Kakutani's Harry Potter review has been scrubbed of every spoiler. Posted by Bethanne Patrick on July 20, 2007 | Comments (5)
July 20, 2007
In response to: The Series That Must Not Be Named, or Flouted ALEX SMITH commented: I think most readers will aviod the reviews if they don't want to hear plot details. However you can't stop others who have read the review from discussing it in other areas. And that ,I think, is where the problem lies.
July 20, 2007
In response to: The Series That Must Not Be Named, or Flouted Mike commented: I've been in bookselling or publishing since 1977. Back in day, new books had a "release date" and a "pub date", and many still do (not the extraordinary one-day laydowns).
July 20, 2007
In response to: The Series That Must Not Be Named, or Flouted HP fan commented: What Mike said. I for one would like to know how the NY Times just happened to find a retailer in NYC who sold them the book. The breach of the embargo is the real story, not the review itself.
July 20, 2007
In response to: The Series That Must Not Be Named, or Flouted Alice W commented: And once the book is released, isn't everyone in terrible ghastly danger of being spoiled by every single person who is a faster reader, wantonly discussing the book in public? Goodness, if you don't want to hear spoilers, don't read the reviews, and ask your impatient friends not to tell you, just as you'll have to do after the official release.
July 21, 2007
In response to: The Series That Must Not Be Named, or Flouted amy@wozabooks.com commented: Bethanne:
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