Publisher’s Weekly reports here that sales have already topped 2 million copies, in North America alone. I admit I’m one of those who preordered the book as soon as I heard it was becoming available. I actually realized that I did it twice so now have 2 copies on their way! Midnight parties across the country attracted kids and adults of all ages.

I just love how a fictional character has caused such a stir in popular culture. It’s such a positive reminder of the lasting impact books can have in a time when there is so much negativity being put out into the media. It’s incredible and practically unfathomable to me that a published play could achieve this level of success. I love theater so it’s heartening to me to know that this medium can generate big numbers, as evidenced by this new Harry Potter as well as the huge success of Hamilton (my other current obsession, more exciting news to come on that in a later post).

We’ve had our own version of Potter fever around here lately. While my oldest daughter is away at sleepaway camp, her younger sister dressed up as Harry for Halloween in July at camp (photo below). I was impressed with how she put the costume together with adult glasses and the scar drawn on a piece of scotch tape, and it helped we still have our wands from our amazing visit to Potter World at Universal in Florida last November.

Have you ordered your copy of Cursed Child yet? If you have and you’ve read it, please let us know what you think. Michiko Kakutani’s review in the New York Times was very positive and she’s one tough critic. She actually refers to it as “a compelling, stay-up-all-night read.” I’m so excited to dive back into the wonderful world of Harry Potter and read it with all the girls when Sam’s back from camp. Will let you know how it goes!

ps- my first copy arrived while I was writing this post, and it’s a beautiful book:

Now, this is a common side-effect of working in publishing – you hear so much buzz that by the time you actually read a book, your chances of coming into it without expectations are practically nil. And it’s also a side-effect of agenting – our brains are trained to look for flaws and pick apart ways to improve, and it can be really difficult to turn that engine off for pleasure reading.

But I was most intrigued to compare these books – let’s call them Red Book and Blue Book to protect the innocent – to books I read and did love. Red Book came out from the same publisher in the same season as a title in the same category – we’ll call it Green Book – that I devoured and have been recommending non-stop! To me, Red Book was tired and unoriginal, Green Book was twisty and unforgettable; yet Red Book has been tremendously outperforming Green Book in both buzz and sales! And coming from the same publisher, with similar marketing campaigns going into publication. Grrrrrrr, I say to myself, but it’s not fair! Green Book is so much better than Red Book!

I had similar feelings about Blue Book, the editor of which had passed on a manuscript I submitted, Yellow Book. I liked Blue Book fine…but Yellow Book is so much better! Yellow Book would appeal to the same readers now buying Blue Book in droves, and is strong in places that Blue Book is flawed. Ugh, wtf, editor!

So you see, agents are not immune to rejection and confusion. As Miriam recently discussed, the “I’m just not loving it” excuse is as valid as it is frustrating. Miriam described the feeling when you don’t like a bestseller: “I always wonder what’s wrong with me as a reader and then, because I’m judgy and have the power of my convictions, what’s wrong with all the other readers.” I too am judgy, with an unshakeable faith in my own taste, so a case like Red Book and Green Book where there are so many similarities makes me think on the X Factor in publishing. You never know what unseeable details of timing and taste are working for or against the story elements and marketing muscle to make one book a bestseller and banish another to obscurity.

So what’s the takeaway? Embrace the lack of control! Just kidding. I love control. And what you CAN control is being as loud as possible for the books you DO love, especially if you see them missing from Best Book of the Whatever lists! Talk about books you love on Twitter and Facebook, leave a copy in an airport, suggest them to friends in book groups and coworkers with free time.

Don’t waste your energy worrying about books you don’t like –keep yelling (or whispering, if you’re in a library) about the ones you can’t forget.

My book club has never had an author visit like this, though we have a few times gone to author events for a book that we read. It’s always a lot of fun to chat with an author about their work, and I imagine even more of a thriller for readers who do not have the pleasure of working in publishing and meeting authors all the time! On the other hand, my book club has often had lively discussions when a couple of us strongly disliked a book – and that certainly can’t happen if the author is present (unless you’re a fan of awkward moments…).

But the really fascinating thing that Nomi Eve experienced was the snowball effect:

What happened was that for every book club I visited, I got invited to another. A book club member’s sister, or cousin, or neighbor, or sister-in-law heard about my book club visits and invited me to their book club. So when I had 20, I really had 40; when I had 40, I really had 80, and so on and so on.

That’s some powerful word-of-mouth when you consider that a book club visit likely means 8-10 books purchased. So 20 visits turning into 40 visits is like 200 books sold turning into 400 books sold!

If you’re in a book club, what do you think about author visits? Ever had one? Authors, would you enjoy meeting with book clubs or would you find it nerve-wracking?

The contagious excitement often leads to borrows, sales, and more – you read it, you love it, and you enact the same dance with someone else. On and on! This is why publicists often spend a lot of time, energy, and postage on getting upcoming titles in the hands of “influencers” – in addition to important reviewers and bloggers, people who are loudmouths about books in their communities, whether it’s on Twitter, in book clubs, or at the dog park.

But the real question is…just what what makes a book you gotta read? Is it something identifiable in plot, characters, setting? Is it just a lucky perfect storm of everyday readers, and bestseller headlines?

Buzzfeed asked their audience recently what books they can’t stop talking about, and the wide variety of answers seem to suggest a third option: it’s simply different for every reader. On this list you’ll find classics, contemporary award winners, scifi, YA (all genres), mysteries and histories. There’s books I loved on this list, and books I’ve hated! So I spent some time thinking about the qualities common to books I tend to force people to read: things like a big twist that I didn’t see coming will get me yelling about a book; a memoir that makes me laugh and cry; or a true story that leads me into a subject I never realized existed. Whatever the factor, it’s definitely something I’m thinking about when reading submissions – am I excited enough about this book that I am dying to recommend it to people…starting with editors?

What makes for a book you can’t stop talking about? Any of your favorite recommends make this list?