Just kidding. We didn’t even peek

Anyway, Harry Potter 7 comes out at 12:01 am Saturday morning. But you knew that already. If not from little siblings or nerdy friends, it’s probably from the fact you, yourself, are a HP freak and have joined Facebook’s Admit It, You Wish You Went to Hogwarts!, or I Trust Snape, or Equus= Harry Potter Naked. Check out the pictures. It’s like Anne Geddes meets NAMBLA.

If you haven’t pre-ordered HP and the DH from Amazon yet, don’t fret. Bwog party planner Stephanie Quan has a few suggestions on where to find this book on July 21st.


kjhCOSTCO
/ BJ’S/ SAM’S CLUB– We kid you not. Every bookstore in Morningside Heights will stock up on these books. But where else other than at a wholesale clubhouse will they definitely NOT RUN OUT? Note: You do need a membership to these clubs in order to buy the books.  $18.19/?/?

B&N / Borders – Along the same lines as the big boxes- they buy in bulk. Be warned, however, that this will be most people’s first choice, so either go early or be prepared to be turned away. Note: Borders has teamed up with Amazon, so you can order this book online for a great price without leaving your room. $20.99 ($18.99 members)/$17.99

Target– Not ready to trek out to the madness downtown? Take the 1 to the first stop in the Bronx. You won’t be able to miss the store. They sell the paraphernalia all year, why not the real books? $17.99

The Strand– This colossus has the older books from SS to HBP for dirt cheap prices. Beware of hipsters, cramped spaces, and long lines. $21.95

Bank Street Bookstore– They specialize in children’s literature, so they will definitely have it the 21st, along with dozens of screaming children. Bonus, they are not that far away. $27.99

Columbia Bookstore-A subsidiary of Barnes and Noble, they will not only have HP7 but also a party at midnight. Plus, it’s not well known for having a large fiction section, so chances are you’ll run into less competition… and you can pay with Flex. Probably $20.99

And for those of you who are particularly festive, or especially impatient (oh you know who are you are, Mister I-read-the-last-book-in-one-huge-sprint-all-night-then spoiled-the-ending-for-everyone-in-class-the-next-morning), here are some places where you can party it up with all the other freaks the night before.

JULY 20TH MIDNIGHT HP PARTIES


hbkjBarnes and Noble
– They really go nuts for this stuff. They’ll have games and contests and really long lines. You can even make your own wand! This year, they got Jim Dale, the narrator for the audiobooks, to come to the Union Square store. He’ll read excerpts from past novels and lead the countdown the midnight. See here. Keep in mind, a long list of pre-ordered books will also have to be dealt with before you can get yours, so you might as well go pre-order now.

Borders– Their store in Atlanta is supposedly to host the largest “Grand Hallows Ball” of them all, complete with a 15 foot snake-shaped cake and life-sized checkers game. You can locate the nearest party to you on their HP website, and watch their panel debates about Snape’s loyalties (on “HP TV” –oh haha…no). As with B&N, there will probably be long lines.

The Strand– Not ready to handle all the families at the big chains? Try the Strand, they’ll sell you this book the day after (just to be different), and throw a hip little party and throw it into a hip little bag so you can pretend you just bought Faulkner. Plus their party is the day after (on Saturday), so you don’t have to sacrifice going out the night before.

Columbia Bookstore– The last party, according to some professors, was pretty good and very kid friendly. And it’s super close so you won’t have ride the subway wearing Quidditch gear.

Also look for: Local bookstores- Mostly geared for neighborhood families, the locals will be great for low key release parties. Once again, you won’t have to travel far and you will be support the small shops.

The Village (in general) – This place is going to go apeshit. The stores will decorate. The cupcakes will flow. The costumed will parade. Diagon Alley in New York.

McNally and Robinson party– The “grownups party”- Like the other parties there will be magicians, astrologers, DJs, face-painting, costume competitions, but where else will there be a party bus and “magic punch” ?  More info here.

 WARNING: Spoilers in comments below (in case you didn’t expect that already)