Before coming to India, I resolved that I would wait till September to purchase and read the American version of the new Harry Potter book. That resolution didn't last too long. After being bombarded with advertisements for "Deathly Hollows," I decided to brave the lines this morning and attempt to purchase a copy of the book. I figure the British and American versions can't be too different.
It turns out that I succeeded. There are a few large bookstores here, with Landmark and Higginbotham's among the most popular. Anticipating huge lines, I scouted out smaller bookstores and found a Higginbotham's satellite store about 0.5 km from where I am staying. A few days of observation revealed that crowds (on a typical day) were minimal. I found my target.
I got up this morning around 6 AM to go wait in line for the book. I head to the store and....no line. Not only that, I was the only one in the store! Everyone else had pre-ordered their copies and I was able to get an unclaimed copy for myself..it was almost too easy.
There is one small disappointment: I was kind of looking forward to exchanging elbows with Indian parents and their children while fighting for a coveted copy of the book.
(Ed: I will NOT talk about the 7th book until Jan 2008, so as not to spoil the ending for anyone. See? We at the blog care about YOU)
2 comments:
higginbotham's! i love that place. great selection of tinkle digests. my favorite bookstore is gangaram's in bangalore.
i think it would be wise to avoid jostling with indian aunties and uncles until the use of deodorant becomes more widespread.
my friend who is living in mumbai preordered her book too - even though she's moving back to the US this week : )
-v
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