So, I’ve written previously about my dilemma regarding the upcoming release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The agony of decision. Where best to make this all-important purchase?
I’m almost done with this ridiculous problem. Almost. I think.
I went to Borders a couple weeks ago with the girls with the specific intent to pre-order Book 7. But of course, the girls wanted to buy a book themselves. And because I’m a sucker for books and the cute kids who want them, I told them they could each choose ONE book that I would purchase for them, because I love them so very much.
Remember, I told them…. ONE book each. And ONE book only.
And they descended upon the children’s section of our local Borders with delight.
My six-year-old found what she wanted quickly. It was a copy of Wag A Tail, a children’s picture book we’d just gotten from the library earlier that month. I pointed out to her that we still had that library book in our house at that moment and asked if she would prefer to pick something new, something she hadn’t read before. She said no, and I let it drop.
My 4-year-old picked out six of her favorite titles not long after and brought them to me. I told her to pick ONE. She insisted on six. I insisted on ONE. She insisted LOUDER on six. I suggested that she needed to pick ONE or else she’d be leaving with NONE. Zero. Zip. She pouted and threw the books to the ground. I said, Okay, no books then. Let’s go. And she shrieked and picked one of the books up and ran after me.
By now, People Were Looking At Us, and I was irritated as all hell over the whole damn thing. My 4-year-old gave me another battle over who got to place the books up on the counter so I could pay for them, and People Were STILL Looking At Us. I could feel their judgemental eyes upon me and kept my eyes unfocused and then asked the clerk if I could pre-order Harry Potter. He told me I needed to go to the Information Desk for that, so I backtracked through the store to the Information Desk and waited for a clerk while my 4-year-old tugged at me and told me repeatedly that she was quite ready to go.
The clerk’s name was Susan. It said so on her employee identification badge. I told her I wished to pre-order Harry Potter. She sighed and took down my information and entered it into a computer. Then she rattled off an admonition that I should not expect to receive a personalized phone call telling me the book was in because of the high quantity of pre-orders they had already received. At best, I’d get an automated recording.
I asked her if she anticipated a long line of people on the day of release. And she then proceeded to tell me (eyes rolling and chest heaving in overly-theatrical exasperation) that she couldn’t really say for sure how it would go, but that Harry Potter releases were the reason she’d gotten out of the book-selling business. Harry Potter releases had been, apparently, the LAST STRAW.
“Book 6 was that bad, huh?” I said with a small smile to this woman who had been so psychologically traumatized by Harry Potter release dates.
(And all the time I was wondering if she’d noticed yet that she had accidentally STUMBLED BACK INTO the bookselling business, and I was wondering if I should maybe point it out to her. Just in case she hadn’t noticed.)
“Oh, I didn’t DO Book 6,” she assured me. “I’m talking about Book 5.”
I left soon after with a receipt for my pre-order, a cranky preschooler, and the beginnings of a headache. I told my husband the whole story later that night and told him I was thinking about maybe just driving over to Target on July 23. Maybe Target won’t have long lines. They certainly won’t have Susan, the-bookseller-who’s-not-in-the-bookselling-business-anymore. If Target has long lines, I’ll just go on over to Borders and pick up my pre-order. But maybe Target will be my best bet.
He knowingly narrowed his eyes at me and said: “We’re gonna end up with two copies of this book just like last time, aren’t we?”
I promised him that wouldn’t happen. I’m pretty sure it’s a promise I’ll keep. Yeah, pretty sure. Sort of.
You do know that Amazon guarantees release date delivery or it’s free, don’t you? No driving, no lines, no heaving chests… That’s the option I’m leaning towards.
(love your blog, by the way)
I ordered from Amazon ages ago. One copy. I tried to order two but for some reason it didn’t work. I gave up, and am waiting for the ONE I got. My daughter is going to the book release party at Borders with a friend, and will get a copy then. I’ll have to wrestle both kids to get a chance to read it. So yes, we’ll end up with two copies. Oh well. I can justify two… but I’d prefer three, really.
Hey sleepy jeanne,
Yes, I know, but Amazon messed me up a bit on Book 6. The book didn’t arrive until that evening, and I found the wait interminable. My husband ended up going out to the grocery store to get me another copy about midmorning.
So, I’ve decided against Amazon for books I want to read as soon as possible.
Ami,
I wonder if Amazon is only allowing one copy per household for the release? It makes no sense to me, but that’s all I can think of.
I guess I’m glad my kids are still too little for Harry Potter. Because if I had to, I’d pull Mommy-Rank to read it first. They could take it to their therapist later, but I’d still read it first.
The only time I ever let my son pick out his own book from the bookstore (he got a gift card from Christmas), we ended up with A My Little Pony book with Stickers. After mulitple reading of “Pinkie Pie said to Star Flight,” I vowed he would never be alowed to chose again!
Just wanted to let you know that I’m tagging you for another meme. This one is to list songs that you can’t help singing along with.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Borders has the suckiest clerks in the universe. Well, okay, within the universe of bookstores they have the suckiest clerks.
You guys are making me laugh on a day when I need a laugh. A whole lotta thanks goin’ your way tonight.
hj, my daughters also frequently pick out those hideous My Little Pony (or worse!) Barbie books. They’re just awful. It should be a crime that trees died to print those literary pieces of garbage.
I think it was Mental Multivitamin who said that sometimes we need the literary equivalent of a bag of M&M’s. And I agree with that. Completely. But these My Little Pony and Barbie books that are out there seem to go beyond the standard stash of candy. If you ask me, they’re the equivalent of a too-large order of Chicken McNuggets doused in Barbeque sauce and a super size order of french fries — the kind of thing your body just doesn’t EVER need.
But I let the kids buy ‘em. Just like everyone once in a GREAT while, I take ‘em to McDonalds. (sigh)
Gail,
Yeah, and the scary thing is, it seems that they might not realize that not only are they selling books, but they also just suck at it.
Hey Sara,
I’m posting my music meme next.
- RM
Customer Service is down the drain in these parts too! I’d vote for Target! But I’m a fan – so it’s expected. Of Target, that is.
You should put this little Harry Potter thingy on your blog. Look at it over at Sushi’s site.
http://adayinthelifeofapursefairy.blogspot.com/
It has the countdown thing on it and we can all watch in anticipation of your book buying event.
Ya know, how much do you all want to bet I’ll be able to just run into the closest grocery store for a copy? That’s what happened for Book 6. My husband just wandered into the local supermarket and found dozens of copies just waiting to be purchased. No crowds. No lines. No wait. No big deal.
Of course, that was Colorado. And it wasn’t “BOOK 7.”
Argh.
Again…the things I worry about! It’s a bit embarrassing.