I'm reading Old Met at Midnight by Chaim Potok. I picked it up because the summary on the back cover made it seem like it was about Ilana Davita Dinn, who is one of my favorite of his characters (from the book Davita's Harp), but she's barely in this book at all. The book has three stories. The first one, she's the main character, but it really could have been almost anybody -- she's just there to set the stage for someone else's story. And in the second story, she's just there for the first few pages -- the rest of the story is, again, someone else telling her his story. And this time, it's not even in a conversation with her, it's in a letter to her. One of the reviews on the back cover includes, "The sheer power that Davita's presence unleashes in this collection is nothing short of spellbinding." I feel like that reviewer must have read a different book than the one that I'm reading.

The Marketing genius of Pottermore.

Imagine, if you will, the perfect 21st-century marketing campaign. First, you'd probably want to start with a teaser. Perhaps a little clue somewhere that will lead people to a branded "coming soon" webpage that will attract 100,000s of Twitter followers within hours. A day or so later, you'd tell a story guaranteeing you blanket press coverage surrounding your product. You'd want to use that free advertising to direct millions of people to your own corner of the web, where you would extract their email address and build up their sense of anticipation and excitement by telling them that something "unique" will be happening there soon. This unique thing will then enable you to tease out further demographic details from the website's visitors. You will also be able to flood them with information about a brand new and reasonably priced range of products which cost you next to nothing to produce and which will garner you (at a rough estimate) several gazillion pounds sterling. On the way, you'll also be able to slip in some advertising for the products you already have out on the market, not to mention reminding everyone that (as luck has it) you also have a film coming out in a month too. Yes, Pottermore.com is a stroke of genius.

Once again, JK Rowling and her marketing team have left the rest of the publishing world standing while she blazes a trail into the record books. I'll eat my hardback copy of The Deathly Hallows if the Harry Potters aren't the fastest-selling ebooks in history by the end of this year – and I can only tip my hat in admiration.

First, there's the simplicity and brilliance of the marketing campaign outlined above. Then, there is the clever way the Rowling machine has ensured fans new and old will want to visit the new, ebook-selling platform by offering them what sounds like a genuinely enjoyable and worthwhile experience. Is there a Harry Potter devotee anywhere who isn't just a little curious about advertised nuggets such as the story of "Professor McGonagall's love for a Muggle as a young woman" or how Mr and Mrs Dursley met? What Potter fan wouldn't want to answer a Rowling-devised questionnaire to sort them into the relevant wizarding house, or go through the process of finding the right wand? It's also easy to imagine that millions (and I don't use that figure loosely) will want to add their own contributions to the site. It promises to be an excellent interactive experience – just the sort of thing to give you a warm glow and put you in the right frame of mind to start buying.

Oooh! McGonagall backstory!

Oooh! Amazon just told me that my copy of the next Parasol Protectorate book has shipped!

I will have to put that off as I read the Uglies series before Comic-Con! It's starting off kind of slow. I know I can't expect all YA dystopias to be The Hunger Games, but I hope it gets more exciting. I'm allowed to like Shay more than Tally, right? Because I do.

Damn, that's fast! I thought the street date for Heartless was 7/1!

I haven't read the Uglies series, but it's in my TBR pile. One of my colleagues taught Uglies in her Freshman English class, and many students really enjoyed it.

P-C NOT a fan of Westerfield and Uglies at all...Wanted to push Tally under a bus.

P-C NOT a fan of Westerfield and Uglies at all...Wanted to push Tally under a bus.

Intriguing. We're finally getting around to "Disturbing Dystopias" for our book salon and I decided to read Uglies (in addition to Fahrenheit 451, since that one is so short).

P-C NOT a fan of Westerfield and Uglies at all...Wanted to push Tally under a bus.

Ha! I mean, she's definitely no Katniss so far, but I've heard really good things about Westerfeld and the series, so I look forward to coolness.

Damn, that's fast! I thought the street date for Heartless was 7/1!

Occasionally Amazon sends me things early, and I get very excited.

I don't blame you! I know it's awful for author sales tracking, but I get SO HAPPY whenever an ebook releases a day early.

When my sister worked at Borders, they would get books early, of course, and would have to sit on them for the street date...

She was usually extremely rigid about it, but once or twice I bludgeoned her into letting me see a copy early (she wouldn't sell it to me until the street date, but she did slip me a couple of ARC's for an afternoon, and I sucked them down with joy.)

Screw state secrets -- there's nothing more exciting than reading a new book before it hits the streets.

I'm tapping my fingers for the new Jacqueline Carey on Wednesday.