US exhibited capitalist lapses once upon
a time
Boston Globe Aug 27, 07 9:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Before Americans get on their high horse about China’s recent lapses into substandard products—not to mention those fake Harry Potter translations—they should look long and hard at their own history, the Boston Globe suggests. In the 19th century, it was the US that was considered the nation that cut corners. It’s a normal, if not necessarily forgivable, phase Stephen Mihm calls “adolescent capitalism.”
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Rumor has JK Rowling writing crime novel
Times (UK) Aug 19, 07 12:27 PM CDT
(Newser)
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J.K. Rowling has been spotted writing something in an Edinburgh cafe like the one where she penned the first Harry Potter book, and fellow author Ian Rankin says she's moving in on his territory—crime fiction. Rankin admits he hasn't personally talked to Rowling about her next project; it was his wife who saw her "scribbling away."
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16-year-old who couldn't wait for the French edition won't be punished
BBC Aug 13, 07 11:24 AM CDT
(Newser)
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JK Rowling has agreed not to prosecute a 16-year-old who got the jump on France’s October “Deathly Hallows” release date by posting his own translation online. The young Frenchman said he never attempted to make money from his work, the BBC reported .
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Shia and Sunni students agree on nothing but Harry Potter
Newsweek Aug 10, 07 3:25 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The high-security Iraqi prison that once held Saddam Hussein now hosts a pilot program to reeducate jihadist youth. Newsweek visited Camp Cropper, which for the past two months has offered classes and psychological guidance aimed at deprogramming would-be suicide bombers. But the teachers have struggled because the hatred in the mixed Sunni and Shia students runs deep—and it's often aimed at each other.
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Teen suspected in illicit French version
Associated Press Aug 8, 07 8:53 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A French boy suspected of posting a translation of the latest Harry Potter novel was arrested Monday, the AP reported today. The 16-year-old didn't appear to have financial gain in mind, a prosecutor said—with the French version not due until October, "he just wanted to get the book online."
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Culture of piracy leads to illegal copying, unrelated spin-offs
New York Times Aug 1, 07 10:02 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The titles are unintentionally hilarious— Harry Potter and the Big Funnel, Harry Potter and the Chinese Porcelain Doll —but China's thriving piracy industry is no laughing matter. The Times looks at the phenomenon of "Harry" knockoffs, a problem so widespread that one estimate puts the percentage of illegal books for sale at 40%.
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Faith-based action figures to combat
less godly toys
BBC Jul 30, 07 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Faith-based action figures will soon compete with the latest Bratz and Transformers dolls on the shelves of a Wal-Mart near you. Tales of Glory figurines, including Samson, Jesus and Daniel (complete with the Lions’ Den), are being promoted as "God-honoring toys" in a market full of figures that "glorify evil, destruction, lying, cheating."
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Shares jump 21.4%
as retailer boosts
volume worldwide
Wall Street Journal Jul 25, 07 4:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Amazon.com shares shot up 21.4% in after-hours trading yesterday following a report that profits more than tripled in the second quarter thanks to booming sales and a new membership program that offers express shipping for a flat fee, reports the Wall Street Journal . The bump boosted the stock price from $69.25 to $84.09.
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At least 200 readers have reported printing errors in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Jul 24, 07 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The seventh Harry Potter book sold 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours in print, but at least 200 fans of the teenage wizard have had less than magical experiences with the saga's finale. An irate group of readers on message boards at Amazon.com and eBay are already reporting printing errors and missing pages in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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8.3M copies fly off shelves in 24 hours
New York Times Jul 23, 07 3:33 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The internet leaks don't seem to have weakened any of the boy wizard's magic: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" sold a record-breaking 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale Saturday. The 7th and final installment in the series bested the 6th, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which sold 6.9 million copies in 24 hours two years ago.
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Los Angeles Times Jul 21, 07 7:13 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Eager readers around the globe took part in a massive midnight fete that combined jubilation and bereavement as they snatched up copies of the final installment of the Harry Potter saga. Fans lined up from Ohio to Singapore, many of them in costume, speculating on the fate of their favorite characters and enjoying Potter-themed parties thrown by bookstores.
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Last episode of boy-wizard saga cursed
by leaks
Wall Street Journal Jul 19, 07 5:55 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Despite a massive security program to guard against leaks, an online retailer prematurely shipped out as many as 1,200 copies of the final Harry Potter book, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dozens of people already claim to have Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , including the New York Times book reviewer, who said she picked it up at a local book store.
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Scanned book appears on Internet despite $20M security
Boston Globe Jul 18, 07 5:24 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The world's favorite boy wizard flies onto bookshelves for the final time Saturday, but scanned pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows —some real, some phony—have already landed on the Internet. Photographs of what seem to be every page of the 784-page tome have been posted on several file-sharing sites, despite enormous security measures.
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Order of the Phoenix rakes in $330m worldwide
Box Office Mojo Jul 16, 07 5:26 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix wrought some serious magic at movie theaters to collect $77.4 million for its U.S. weekend debut and zoom past Transformers, Ratatouille and Bruce Willis's Live Free or Die Hard . That brings Potter's five-day domestic take to $140 million—highest of the series and sixth highest on record.
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Publishers hope guard dogs, armored vans will hex 'Hallows' leakers
Daily Telegraph (UK) Jul 15, 07 2:52 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Bloomsbury is shelling out millions to keep the latest and final installment in the Harry Potter series a chamber of secrets until its on-sale date next week. The British publishers are installing extra security and even guard-dogs at way stations as the Deathly Hallows ships to booksellers, and have a coven of lawyers ready to pounce on any breach in protocol.
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