The Book Nook packs ’em in for Potter

I felt a bit out of place as I stood in line at The Book Nook in Geneva. I was a twenty-six year old in a sea of seven-to-twelve-year-olds waiting to get a copy of Harry Potter Number Five. Let me tell you – I was prepared to budge in front of every single one of those kids if it meant getting a copy of that book. The Harry Potter phenomenon is more than contagious – it is incurable. There were plenty of costumed wizards and witches present – a few dragons as well. I stood with my credit card in hand through the trivia contest as children – and often times their parents – shouted out answers to questions like “Who was the first student Harry Potter met at Hogwart’s?” and “What kind of dragon did Hagrid win in a poker game?” I got to The Book Nook at 10:45 PM and by midnight there were 75 people in a space comfortable for maybe 30 – not to mention the line trailing out the door but there was a grin on every face. I cannot recall ever feeling as relieved to hand over my credit card as I did when Number Five was safely in my hands (no budging necessary – there were plenty of copies to go around).So what if I am a little older than Harry’s target audience? I wish I could have a magic wand just as much as any kid does. Harry’s problems make me sad, and his successes make me happy and it was nice to see I wasn’t the only person staying up past their bedtime to get a jump-start on the newest Potter installment.