 | | | Excited fans dressed up as wizards |
The fastest-selling book ever up to this week was the sixth Harry Potter book The Half-Blood Prince. However, author J. K. Rowling has broken her own record as the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series is officially the fastest-selling book in the world. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was finally released at midnight in the UK on Friday 20th July. Fans, dressed as characters from the books, lined up outside book shops hours in advance of the book going on sale. One well-known book store in the UK claimed to have sold 15 copies of the book per second in the early hours of Saturday morning. The book sold 11 million copies in the first 24 hours of its release, breaking the 9 million record set by the sixth Harry Potter book. Book shops and supermarkets competed with each other by offering big discounts on the book from its recommended retail price. Author J. K. Rowling read excerpts from the book in a special midnight reading in London at the Natural History Museum. She then went on to sign copies of the book for the rest of the night for the 500-strong crowd who had been specially invited to the event. It wasn't just in the UK where the frenzy to buy the book took place. In Hong Kong book shop staff dressed as wizards. In Australia special "magic" breakfasts were served to customers buying the book. In India customs offices worked on a Friday, which is a holiday there, to ensure people got the book on time. It's been a whole decade since the first Harry Potter book was released. Since then, 325 million books have been sold and Harry Potter has become a global phenomenon. The latest book is being released in 93 countries. Author J. K. Rowling hinted in advance that some of the characters do not survive a final meeting with the Dark Lord Voldemort. But it's not up to BBC Learning English to spoil the plot for you all. Have fun reading the book in your own time. But don't tell us what happens - we haven't read it yet! | 
