Harry Potter and the Serial Number of Doom

The new Harry Potter book cast its spell over our local postwoman this week; she lugged the book to my front door and passed it over with a rueful grin, four more peeking out from her satchel. In less than 24 hours, my brother-in-law managed to devour the entire novel, closing it with a thump and a sigh early Sunday afternoon. This was about as fast as one could reasonably expect the book to be read, making him one of the first to know Harry's eventual fate.