Well, look at you. You got the book. Congratulations. Now what?
Read it, of course. But where? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (do tell us if you find out what one of them is) is 759 pages and the size of a small stereo. You can't just sit anywhere for this. You need someplace comfortable and magical, with good lighting and delicious snacks. Many will read at home, but we have some other ideas, too.
Also, you'll need to avoid spoilers and find people to discuss the book with when you're finished. If you don't have the book, you first need a place to buy it, or a library where you can borrow it. And when you're done with Potter, you'll need something to read next.
If you didn't make it to any of the Potter parties at area bookstores last night, fear not. Copies of the book are still available. Major bookstore chains say they have plenty to sell through the weekend. Barnes & Noble, which received 1.4 million preorders for the book, expects today to be its most successful sales day in its history. The Children's Bookstore in Roland Park is also holding back a few copies to sell to walk-ins.
Potter will be harder to find at libraries. The Enoch Pratt Free Library has ordered 115 copies of the book and by yesterday morning had 144 reservations. The system also ordered 73 audio copies of the book, with 33 already on hold.
The Baltimore County Public Library ordered 740 copies of the book and 275 audio versions. All the audio copies and 652 books had been reserved by yesterday - meaning people who get to certain branches this morning have a chance of snagging a copy. And today, the entire staff of the system's Hereford branch will be dressed as Potter characters.
"I've never seen such excitement about a release," said library spokesman Bob Hughes.
So where to read?
If the weather cooperates, the Patterson Park Pagoda is a good choice. You can't go inside the octagonal, 60-foot-high, four-story tower today, but find a spot on the grass nearby and imagine the ornate 19th-century pagoda fitting in nicely as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The 745-acre Druid Hill Park has its own magic. Plenty of trees provide shade for reading, or stop by the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and imagine the lions and elephants taking on magical powers to help you conquer the dark forces.
A bit farther north, the Evergreen House and Evergreen Meadow, off Charles Street near Loyola College, are full of gardens, benches and, yes, meadows. Take a picnic and, when you're done with the book, stick around for the work of another beloved English writer - the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's production of The Tragedy of Macbeth begins at 7:30 p.m.
If you need some caffeine to get through the book, and we don't blame you, try a coffee shop such as One World Cafe near the Johns Hopkins University, Common Ground in Hampden or the Daily Grind in Fells Point. The new Starbucks in Roland Park has outdoor seating and is around the corner from the Children's Bookstore.
One of the advantages of reading the book in public is that other Potter fans will recognize you as a compatriot, and you can form an impromptu book club on the spot.
"In this day and age, when there's very little to bring people together, something like this is exciting and it shows you that we can have things in common," said Jennifer Haire, manager of the Towson branch of the Baltimore County library.
Liz Byrnes planned to celebrate her 28th birthday yesterday by seeing the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with friends and then heading to Borders in Annapolis to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Then she'll go back to her home in Glen Burnie to read until she's done.
"I'll probably stay up because I have in the past, so I'll make it a tradition," said Byrnes, an art handler at the Maryland Historical Society. She plans to curl up in a green papasan chair in her living room.
For others, the heft of the book is a consideration. Emma Casale reads the Potter books in bed, placing each book on top of a pillow so she doesn't have to hold it open herself. She planned to get the book at the Children's Bookstore early this morning, then return home to Abingdon and head straight to bed - to read.
"With the Harry Potter books, they're so heavy that it's a real strain on your body to read them," said Casale, 28. To maintain her energy, she'll dip into the treat bag the bookstore planned to provide to customers last night: sugar cookies with pumpkin filling, chocolate cupcakes and gummy rats.
Some readers expect the experience of the final Potter to be so enveloping that they won't even notice their surroundings.
"I think the book will be so great," said JoAnn Fruchtman, owner of the Children's Bookstore, "that it won't matter where you are, you'll just be in it."
stephen.kiehl@baltsun.com
Other fantastic books
Like Harry Potter? Try these:
The Redwall series by Brian Jacques, a good vs. evil fantasy tale told with animals in a quasi-medieval setting, is for upper elementary-age children. The writing is even better than Potter, said the Baltimore County Public Library's Jennifer Haire. "The quality and depth of the characters is just delightful."
For teens, Selma Levi, supervisor of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, recommends Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. It's also a fantasy that she says pits "a 12-year-old mastermind against the legions of the fairy world."
For teens and adults, the classic Lord of the Rings trilogy is endorsed by Darcy Cahill, manager of the Randallstown branch of the Baltimore County library. "It's a similar kind of experience" to Potter, she said. "You become absorbed in another world. And the characters are so well drawn, they become a part of your life."
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. Levi says, "Put yourself in his shoes. His little sister has disappeared in the laundry room. He follows her down to a land of giant rats and cockroaches, then discovers his name is integral to the prophecy to save the people underground."
Lionboy by Zizou Corder, about a boy who speaks the language of cats.
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. An orphan growing up near Oxford University deals with demons, witches and disappearing children. Darker than Potter, but just as fun.
[STEPHEN KIEHL]