Tuesday, July 24, 2007

harry who?

i really don't understand what the fuss is all about.

firstly, people camping outside bookstores at 5am just to be the 1st few to get their hands on a book about a boy wizard. & when the stores are opened at exactly 7.01am, they leave their manners & decent upbringing at the doors, follow their animal instincts & trample over each other to entrap their inanimate prey.

secondly, the bookstores themselves argue over how much profit to fleece from the aforementioned misbehaving customers, ignoring the fact that books, unlike sugar & flour, have never been a price-controlled item.

like i said, i don't understand the ruckus, maybe because i'm neither a fanatic of the wizard nor ever harboured the thought of queuing up at unearthly hours for a book, or any book, for that matter. but i did thank my friend WW who sent me an email with a PDF attachment, labelled simply HP7. ah, the demons ...er, i mean, pirates are at work already.

while oblivious to all that aggravation was taking place at the bookstores, i was embroiled in my own world of political manoeuvring & high drama - all for just RM8.




jeffrey archer, anyone?

**i personally believe that the misbehaving few who shoved & pushed form only a small minority of the book-loving masses**

16 comments:

eve said...

Ehhhhhhhhhhh...rm8 oni?..mana dapat ler?..I always get mine at ard rm 30++..ish..I think I have read almost all his books..and I am no fan of HArry Potter..

Alex Tang said...

like doc, I guess I can never understand some human behaviour too. Lining up to get a copy of a Harry Potter first so that you can read the story first is so lame.

a fan of Jeffrey Archer? Is it the author or the price, I wonder?

Anyway, Jeffrey Archer's novels reminds me of Rowling's. Only that Archer's demons and witches wear suit and dresses and engage in political magik.

doc said...

eve,

we do have some things in common!

i managed to get 2 of Archer's books (this one & Not a penny more) for rm8 each at Times clearance sale - i blogged on this on may 6.

my colleague just got his copy of HP7. at rm69.90, i still think it's over-priced, even for a hard-cover.

doc said...

dear alex,

it's definitely the author, & the price was an added bonus. furthermore, his command of the english language is impeccable, & i'm learning from this.

by the same argument, i wouldn't read HP7 even if sold for rm8.

just me said...

I borrowed all my Jeffrey Archer's books...

With the release of the latest Harry Potter book, I was more interested in the price war taking place, the reason behind it ( own gain? but who cares, the consumer gains in the end) and selfish response of the giant book stores to the low price offered by Tesco and Carrefour...must they win every time?

savante said...

First Among Equals was great. And certainly better than flying wizards :) Different genre of course.

Go try Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.

doc said...

just me,

i buy the books i think i will read again & again, or will pass on to the kids later on. of course, the tax relief helps as well!

unfortunately, i doubt if there will be a price war over jeffrey archer's (or john grisham & sidney sheldon's)) books. too late anyway, as i already have most of his books.

doc said...

hi savante,

i'm in the midst of First Among Equals, & it's turning out to be a cracker! as i've mentioned above, Archer's command of english is impressive.

i read Not A Penny More just before this. twice.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for yr comment on my blog. I can't believe I wrote such a long email to you at your yahoo a/c hahahah

Jonzz said...

It seems the Harry Potter fans have gone a bit potty over Potter. KA KA KA... ok just a lame joke!

doc said...

beng,

thks for the email. reply sent.

doc said...

jonzz,

alex tang already related this "lame" joke. see http://draltang01.blogspot.com/
2007/07/potty-about-harry-potter.html

Anonymous said...

Not a Potter fan.
Never read any of the books nor watch the movies. :p

I prefer Harry Butler. Heard of him? I enjoyed watching his series when I was in Oz. :)

sbanboy said...

Hehe ... my sister finished the book in 12 hours !

doc said...

jem,

i too have never read any of the books, but did see the 1st 2 movies, just to accompany the girl, more than for my own interest.

no, never heard of harry butler before today (isn't rolf harris more famous?), but i googled him & turned out that he may be the predecessor of the crocodile hunter.

the only other fictional harry i can recalled, with fondness i should add, is dirty "make my day" harry. bang! bang!

doc said...

sbanboy,

a true blue potter-maniac!