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Pre-order Harry
Potter and the Half Blood Prince!
Buy it from amazon.com by clicking the Buy button on the
right
Harry Potter fans have been eagerly awaiting a release date for the sixth Harry Potter book since "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"--the fifth book in the series and Amazon.com's largest pre-order ever--was published in June 2003.
Now, Muggles everywhere can go to Amazon.com and, without leaving their home or office, ensure they'll be among the first to receive a copy of this wildly anticipated book when it hits the shelves in July 2005.
Pre-order the book from Amazon.com here >>
We hear that the new Harry Potter and the Half blood prince will have 672 pages.
Half Blood Prince -
Rumours,. hints and speculation
The countdown to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a great
opportunity for parents and teachers to encourage kids to read more books.
Studies show that children who spend more time reading, will become better
skilled and lifelong readers. According to National Assessment of Education
Progress (NAEP) findings from the U.S. Department of Education, "one of the
strongest indications that children are developing the skills and positive
attitudes that lead to a lifelong desire to read is the amount of reading they
choose to do for fun." The study found that children ages 9-17 years-old who
read for fun at least monthly scored higher reading scores than those that
never read for fun.
With the new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book due to be released this year, the speculation grows on what the plot will be, and which character may die. The Star-Telegram newspaper has an article that says possible clues to Harry's future may be found in Lord of the Rings or from the legend of King Arthur.
"Either by accident or intent, Rowling is taking Harry down story paths that, among others, King Arthur and Frodo have already trod. Arthur, of course, has been a fictional stalwart since the 900s, when bards began singing about him. (T.H. White nailed the modern version in The Once and Future King.) Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien was, like Rowling after him, an educator who was well-versed in literary history.
Rowling so far has recycled familiar material, albeit in an exceptionally interesting way. For instance, there's the orphan angle. Arthur Pendragon and Frodo Baggins were raised by uncles, too, though Sir Ector and Bilbo, respectively, were considerably more congenial than Vernon Dursley. "A-great-wizard-as-mentor" plot line provided Arthur with Merlin and Frodo with Gandalf. Harry has Dumbledore. In each instance, the young protagonist is aided by a motley crew of associates, and someone evil (Morgan le Fay, Sauron, Voldemort) has considerable dark magic to wield against them."
The article goes on to list 4 possible elements or events likely to happen. They are : A key character or characters must die, at a crucial moment Harry will suffer long-term loss of Dumbledore's protection, Harry must be betrayed by someone he trusts, and Harry won't live happily ever after. Please note, registration is required, but free, to read the entire article here.
In related news, the Atlantic has an article about all the betting on the death of a character in The Half-Blood Prince. In an piece titled "Which Harry Potter Character Gets Whacked?", the article says betting odds are favoring Hagrid as the character most likely to meet his end in the next book.
Commenting on the pre-order launch, Rachel Russell, Books Business Unit Director said: "Harry Potter is a huge phenomenon and the announcement that the penultimate book will be released this year has already sparked a frenzy amongst Potter fans. Having sold more of the previous Harry Potter books than any other retailer, we want to ensure our customers get fantastic value for money and an opportunity to be the first to buy their copy."
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