Clayton News Daily

By Ryan Whelchel

As the smoke cleared from Friday night's midnight rush to claim the new Harry Potter novel, some of the books are still standing in Clayton County.

The desire to be one of the lucky who are able to own the book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" seems to be the top of many people's priority list.

But smart shoppers turned to non-traditional places like department stores and grocery stores while the bookstores were packed with eager kids dressed like their favorite characters.

At Wal-Mart and Walden's Bookstore, the novel on Tuesday was selling at a steady rate.

Publix Super Markets in Clayton County reported having copies of it and also placed them on sale through today. Kroger's stores in the county also reporting having copies.

Local book store operators said Harry Potter veterans are not the only ones who are jumping at the book. Newcomers are giving into the hype and are buying not only the new novel but the previous ones as well, they said.

At Barnes and Noble in Morrow, every shipment that they have received have sold out, and they are anticipating that the Harry Potter fever will not run cold anytime soon.

"It's definitely not over," said Barnes and Noble manager Jackie Graham. Opening night "was very successful. The last bookseller didn't go home until 4:30 in the morning."

The novel is also going to be released in multiple languages soon, just like its predecessors in French, German, and Spanish. The Spanish version especially is expected to sell briskly with the increase of Spanish speaking residents in Clayton County, book store operators say.