Harry Potter fans put the magic back in reading

There's nothing like a Harry Potter party to draw out the witches and wizards in all of us.

Author J.K. Rowling has done more to popularize book reading -- not to mention pointed black hats and black robes -- than any other modern-day author.

Like countless other families, we spent the witching hour at a Barnes & Noble bookstore Friday night.

Normally it takes something like professional wrestling to draw a crowd this big in Cape Girardeau.

But there we were crowded into a bookstore for the unveiling of Rowling's sixth Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

Like everyone else there, we received Potter-style fake eyeglasses and green rubber wrist bracelets.

It was almost impossible to move around in the store because it was crowded with witches and wizards.

There were more black robes here than at a judges' convention.

It's amazing how natural witches' hats seem when everyone is wearing one.

Even some adults dressed up for the occasion, proving that you are never too old for a little sorcery and black lipstick.

Although most partygoers in the room were way under the legal drinking age, no one needed alcoholic beverages to enjoy this party.

Many in the crowd showed up dressed like the famed boy wizard of Rowling's fertile imagination.

Politicians only wish they could draw such an enthusiastic crowd.

Our 9-year-old daughter, Bailey, came to the Potter party straight from Arena Park where she participated in a Friday night softball game.

She loves playing sports. But celebrating at a Potter party was an even bigger thrill for her.

My wife, Joni, had enlisted me to obtain a yellow wristband earlier in the day that would allow us to be near the front of the line when it came to buying the new Potter book.

That's important when you have hundreds of people all waiting for the stroke of midnight for the book to go on sale.

Shortly before midnight, bookstore staff members started wheeling tall stacks of the coveted books to the front of the store.

Personally, I'm surprised U.S. marshals weren't called in to protect the shipments. But thankfully all the witches and wizards were well behaved. There was no rioting or looting.

In the end, we left with a novel that our 13-year-old daughter, Becca, couldn't wait to begin reading. She stayed up several hours just to get a head start on reading the book.

If Hogwarts School was a real place, there would be no shortage of students even though it doesn't have an NCAA football team.

The real magic is how a novelist can capture the interest of so many robe-loving people.

The latest Potter novel sold 6.9 million copies in the United States in its first 24 hours, averaging better than 250,000 sales per hour.

It's great to know that our family was part of the Potter hysteria.

Naturally, I'm thrilled that we added to the bottom line of the richest woman in Britain -- Rowling's even wealthier than the queen.

It takes a lot of magic to make that much money.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.