By Bonni Ferguson
BYU students jump on the preorder purchasing bandwagon as they try to get their hands on J. K. Rowling''s fifth Harry Potter book.
'I myself haven''t preordered it yet, but I''m planning on it,' said Jonathon Burgess, 25, from Kingston, NY, majoring in computer science.
Aly Hosford, 19, from Easton, Pa., majoring in English, also said she is considering preordering.
'I really like how the story is going along and I think J. K. Rowling has a lot of talent,' Hosford said.
'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' is already No. 1 on the bestseller list on Amazon.com. The book continues to climb in ratings on other booklists, although it will not be released until June 21.
Janice Card, a children''s book buyer at the BYU Bookstore, is not surprised. Card said that in the past, Harry Potter book sales have been fast and furious.
'The publisher''s preorders are maxed out,' Burgess said. 'Basically what is going to happen is that this book is going to be the best selling book of all time.'
Intense preordering from online merchants may negatively affect bookstore sales around the country.
'We have competition all around us and we can''t order in billions of (Harry Potter) books so we can''t sell them as cheaply as other bookstores can,' Card said.
However, Card said she does not think the BYU Bookstore will suffer any loss of revenue.
'We''ll still sell hundreds of (Harry Potter) books,' she said.
Some students said preordering is unfair to Harry Potter fans whose circumstances will not allow them to order early.
'From a sociological point of view, minorities are being repressed once again because they don''t have access to computers,' said Philip Cardon, 22, from Mesa, Ariz. 'A lot of rich white kids are getting the books before everybody else.'
Other students agree with publishers'' decisions to offer presale.
'I actually prefer preordering,' Burgess said. 'First of all it''s easy. Secondly, it gets delivered straight to you. It''s very foolproof. Lastly, from a publisher''s or author''s point of view, publishers should have a great idea from the preorders how many books they should create.'
Ami Hood, 19, from Edmond, Okla., majoring in psychology, can understand why Rowling''s fifth book is already a bestseller before its release.
'I think that because kids always have such a great imagination, the residual effects of having those fantasies never quite goes away,' Hood said. 'Harry Potter brings out that inner child and identifies with everybody.'
Burgess compared the magnitude of Harry Potter''s influence to earlier epics that have impacted American society.
'Harry Potter is in our day as Star Wars was in 1978,' Burgess said. 'It''s our own personal myth that we''re able to take to our own hearts.'