Waiting over for Harry Potter fans

The wait was finally over this morning as thousands of Harry Potter fans got their hands on copies of the seventh and final book.

Thousands of people queued at book shops and supermarkets around the country, waiting for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to go on sale at midnight.

More than 1,000 fans lined the streets around Waterstones’ flagship store in central London and another 1,000 waited at Asda’s superstore in Pudsey, near Leeds.

Many will have already started reading the book this morning but one of the first to finish it was speed reader Anne Jones, who read more than 199,900 words, on 607 pages, in 47 minutes and one second.

It is believed she has set a new world record by reading 4251 words per minute (wpm) then giving a synopsis of the book to prove she had read it all. That equates to 70 words per second.

The previous record was 3,850wpm, set 15 years ago by Sean Adam.

“I’m really pleased. I didn’t think it was possible,” said Mrs Jones, 55, who set the record at Borders book store, in Charing Cross Road, London.

“I’m an avid Harry Potter fan,” she said. “I don’t think I could have done it with another book. It’s a real page-turner, great fun.

“The kids are going to love it but there are sad moments in it.”

Mrs Jones, who learned speed-reading while teaching in Leicester, has been world speed-reading champion six times.

She trained for her latest record by reading a Harry Potter book every day for several weeks.

She said: “I have read Harry Potter more times than anybody I know!

“I threw in a few Terry Pratchetts and Stephen Kings for light relief.”

Potter fan Kathryn Longwill, 22, was one of the lucky internet winners who were allowed into the Natural History Museum to get a book signed by author JK Rowling.

Miss Longwill said meeting Rowling was “a dream come true”.

She said she had ordered a second copy of the book which she plans to read.

“I don’t want to read my signed copy because it is something I want to treasure,” she said.

“I am going to keep this somewhere safe.”

Around 100 people gathered outside the museum gates hoping for a glimpse of Rowling before her midnight reading from the book. She has confessed she broke down and “absolutely howled” when writing the final instalment.

Debora Reis, 24, who was part of a group of 30 Brazilians who had travelled halfway round the world to catch a glimpse of Rowling, said there was a sense of loss at Harry Potter’s tale coming to an end.

“I will definitely feel lost without any prospect of a Harry Potter book,” she said.

“I have a little bit of hope that she will continue like Conan Doyle.”

Miss Reis said the reason Harry is so well loved is because he is a flawed hero.

“He has his failures, he lies and feels anger. But he is an example of everything people would want to be.

“He has adventures, he’s brave and he is noble. People admire those qualities and identify with them.”

The fans certainly showed their determination to be first to buy the book when they braved yesterday’s torrential rain to queue.

Magicians, face painters and characters from the books mingled with the crowds at Waterstones in Piccadilly, entertaining the lines of excited Potter fans, many of whom were dressed as wizards.

Waterstones’ spokeswoman Claudia Mody said 280 of its UK stores opened at midnight and the company is expecting to sell three million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the first 24 hours.

The wait is over for Harry Potter fans as bookshops across the counrty opern their doors.