Is it not possible to be 'concerned about global warming, endangered species, wildlife conservation, nature conservation, human rights and animal welfare' AND have an interest in popular fiction? Or are you too busy saving the world to waste time on such trivial things, Mr. Comerford?

Vanity indeed.

Buck Black, Hemel Hempstead, UK

What an amazing end to the books - couldn't have asked for more, and it proves itself as so much more than a children's book: the subtleties between distinguishing heroism from mere aptitude, the fine boundary between good and evil and how good can come in many forms, and the different ways courage can manifest itself - see Snape for a true example of bravery! make the book a true classic. It teaches us so much about the real 'muggle' world.

Whereas some people (myself included!) dismissed the books initially as merely children's tales about witches and wizards, the book has reached such a vast audience and has as many layers, subtleties, shades of grey, and hidden meaning as any other author of the 'classics'. Harry Potter will truly be a classic in its own day, and Rowling has created one of the greatest literary heroes. I am just so glad that I got to read them all one by one as she intended, and got so into the hype - something I never thought possible about a book! Fantastic.

Caroline, Cambridge,

I was dissapointed to hear Harry dies at the end

Keith, Essex,

I am much more concerned about global warming, endangered species, wildlife conservation, nature conservation, human rights and animal welfare than this insane Harry Potter hysteria and insanity. It's all vanity !

Brien Comerford, Glenview, United States

The problem is that, OK it may seem sad that adults are getting upset about reading spoilers listing the details of deaths and plot line, but then some of these young adults have grown up with the Harry Potter phenomenon over the past 10 years, so why take away the element of suprise from them. That's the magical thing about the Potter books, they keep the reader hooked and make you salivate over the next gripping title. But also spare a thought for children who read the books, and also read newspapers. Shouldn't they have the right to be able to read the books without having to suffer reading the plot before they read it.
Rowling is right to be upset, as have adults and children everywhere.Rowling should be commended as she has made children interested in reading, and in doing so teaching them morals through her story-telling.

Jonathan Ellacott, Croydon, Surrey

It could not have been written any better. Harry has grown up with the rest of the world and turned out to be one of the most inspirational, self-deprecating, modest yet fascinating people of all time. Those who have yet to pick up J.K. Rowlings series would do well to take a moment and read about a boy, wizards, magic, friendship and a love that endured ages.

Dina, Fairfax, VA

James Roberts of Manchester: You have every right to denigrate Ms. Rowling, her book and the "lowbrow tabloid rags" which you claim are responsible for her bogus success.

But the millions of children around the world who love Harry Potter are fans because Rowling wrote a great childrens' saga, not because of "Tabloid Hype". I doubt many youngsters in Hong Kong, Australia or the US read the Sun or the Star.

It is impossible for anyone to sell books, songs or films on this scale over so many years based on marketing alone. JK Rowling is a success because she has talent. She's a great storyteller.

I have to wonder if you were one of those kids who professed to hate the Beatles, just because everybody else liked them.

Donna Trump, Vancouver BC, Canada

Even if I knew where to find the book before publication, I wouldn't look. The magic of Harry Potter has been the story, ...from the beginning of The Philosopher's Stone until the very end of The Deathly Hallows, and the wait for publication has been part of the joy. I expect my copy of Book 7 to arrive in the morning and look forward to discovering what happens. just as the author intended. J.K Rowling, thank you for the story.

PMcL, England, UK

Okay ------- It's 11:15 am est in detroit, michigan and I waiting and going ,,,,,,,,, crazy..... I will be up all night waiting for this book and reading all night Sat. I don't care about the spoilers or anything else - I just want that book...............!!!!

Gayle Gunn, Detroit, USA

Dickens, you say? She's better than that. A few early leaks couldn't spoil her work. I hope she lives long and happily, and writes the whole time...

Michele Rasor, AnnArbor, Michigan, USA

I'll state very simply, if you do not wish to know the ending, then do not read the reviews. The ending has not been spoiled for me, as I have not read any of the reviews.

With all the criticism it has received, you'd think the New York Times published the final chapter verbatim!

Paul M, Aylesbury, Bucks

It is bittersweet,; bitter because it is the end and sweet because it will be a great read. I think that J. K Rowling did a wonderful job of writing a series that all ages can enjoy for many years to come.

jenn, san francisco, california

I don't see what the big deal is. Some people want to know; some don't. Let the ones who want to know, know; let the others who want to wait; wait.

Bonnie, Davenport, fl

Ian Ascough, J K Rowling is ENGLISH not Scottish.

She was born in Gloucestershire. She currently lives in Scotland but was brought up in Wales and England.

Alan, Bristol, UK

Am I the only person in the world not to have had the wool pulled over my eyes as far as JK Rowling is concerned?

The comparisons to Dickens, Tolkein and other literary giants is pure nonsense. She is quite simply a childrens author, who has amalgamated (and dare I say stolen?) a mishmash of ideas from the fantasy genre into a fairly decent fantasy tale for children, but thanks to the hype surrounding her promoted by lowbrow rags like The Sun and The Star, whose readers are notoriously sheeplike, she has been transformed into a modern literary genius, much to my amazement. I have read some of her books and being an adult I found it difficult to understand why so many of my peers were taken in by this tripe.

Lord of the Rings (which almost single handedly created the fantasy genre) was massively popular a long time before Harry Potter came along without the aid of any Tabloid endorsement or Hype.
Popularity through hype is no measure of quality, just look at David Beckham.

James Roberts, Manchester, UK

there are more important things than a fictional harry potter....do your soul a favour and treat your time has priceless and dont waste it on gobbldygook......

harry, london,

Once you create a multi million brand of HP’s magnitude, there sure is enough clever people around to realize that printing and shipping zillions of books worldwide will inevitably lead to a leak. In fact, I am astonished that we haven’t seen more.

Seems that people forget that the beauty of HP’s books (or any books for that matter) is in the process of ‘reading’: yes it’s exciting to learn whether Harry dies or not but its even more exciting to enjoy the fine writing by Ms. Rowling, talk about it with your friends or children and enjoy the journey together. Personally, I see no other ending than Harry dying in order to save all wizards and world, especially as the parallels with Christian tradition and hints to sacrifices seem to point to that direction. But it is not the reason why to read it. It’s the pleasure and joy of reading something that nurtures imagination, and deals with important issues (good vs. evil, responsibility, friendships etc.) in an exciting way.

Hana Kabele Gala , Kiev, Ukraine,

Once you create a multi million brand of HP’s magnitude, there sure is enough clever people around to realize that printing and shipping zillions of books worldwide will inevitably lead to a leak. In fact, I am astonished that we haven’t seen more.

Seems that people forget that the beauty of HP’s books (or any books for that matter) is in the process of ‘reading’: yes it’s exciting to learn whether Harry dies or not but its even more exciting to enjoy the fine writing by Ms. Rowling, talk about it with your friends or children and enjoy the journey together. Personally, I see no other ending than Harry dying in order to save all wizards and world, especially as the parallels with Christian tradition and hints to sacrifices seem to point to that direction. But it is not the reason why to read it. It’s the pleasure and joy of reading something that nurtures imagination, and deals with important issues (good vs. evil, responsibility, friendships etc.) in an exciting way.

Hana Kabele Gala , KIEV , Ukraine

Let's face it, you don't have to be a genius to have a fair stab at what the ending might general consist of.

I haven't read any of the Potter books, mainly due to my preference for adult literature about adults for adults (no disrespect to the achievement of the author - undeniably she has single handedly stemmed the flow of mental decay in the younger generations (and from what I gather quite a fair proportion of the older ones too), but a little bit of reason tells me that it is highly unlikely that a certain Master Potter comes to an untimely demise, if only because of the trauma it would cause to a generation of small children who have grown up with him!

If I was a betting man it would be:

Good Guys 1
Bad Guys 0

Nicholas Ord, Guildford, UK

This is the first HP book since I started reading them years ago that I did not pre-order because of the rumor of Harry not making it through the end. The end of the series is bad enough without losing Harry, too.

Bonnie, Davenport, fl

Why would someone worth £600 million, with advance orders of over 2.5 million, need to advertise at all???

alan, middlesbrough,

My auntie has begun reading the Harry Potter books! She wanted to know what all the fuss was about. She is 87! She likes them!

Mom, San Francisco,

Actually, the name "Michiko" is usualy given to women, not men as infered by this report.

Alex, Boston, MA USA

Michiko Kakutani is a woman, therefore the reference to the critic in paragraph 10 of the article should read "she writes."

While Ms. Rowling's reasons for a coordinated release are sincere, it's unreasonable to expect that any newspaper that came into possession of a book (without subterfuge) would withhold a critique. It's just something for everyone to fuss over while killing time waiting for the big moment. Then let's see how many people who race through the book are able to stifle themselves and wait for everyone else to catch up. Trust me, whether Harry lives or dies will be home page news by 3 a.m. GMT tomorrow.

Kathleen Parr, Falmouth, ME, USA

Can't help but think of those people lined up at the dock in the U.S., as the ship from Britain pulls in, yelling, "Does she live?" They meant Little Nell, a character in Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop." Does he live???????

jellicious, Davis, CA

Michiko Kakutani is a woman (see paragraph 10).

calista, cambridge, uk,

Um, Sheila in the USofA; how is JK Rowling, "the American rags to riches theme we all know to love"?

She's SCOTTISH.

That means she comes from Scotland, by the way. It's a small country bordering Iraq.

Ian Ascough, Harpenden, England

In this day and age, where the press are under so much pressure to get the story first, did we really expect this not to have been published? Moreover, it surprises me that it hasn't reached the press before now!

Stephen Brown, Weymouth, UK

I hope it's true Harry lives. Tomorrow I'll go to the store, read the last chapter, and find out. If Harry lives, I'll buy the book. If he doesn't, I don't want to know what happened and he'll live forever in my mind!

Bonnie, Davenport, fl

Far be it from me to compare to Ms. Rowling to Alexander Pope, but events of this magnitude are not unknown in publishing history. It would be interesting to see what would happen if Mr. Pope were alive today and published his Iliad. Do I detect a collective yawn? Perhaps if he wrote another book on Diana or heaven forbid Paris Hilton.

James Madison, Boise, Idaho

Look, Jo, we love you and everything, but what kid reads the newspaper? Most adults don't. I don't think anyone you're worried about was really spoiled - we all knew that many people would die and Harry wouldn't like his lot. Honestly, the spoilers weren't really spoilers - just a validation of what we already assumed.

Me? I'm going to get my book tonight, even though I already read the first few chapters of the leaked book. : ) Because spoilers? Not everyone's bothered by them. <3

Caroline, Pensacola,

When you sell a few hundred thousand books --as HP did at the beginning all those years ago --you can control its publication date. But when you have millions being sent to reviewers and book shops and online shops worldwide, there's an inevitability about the leaks.
Never mind. A true Harry Potter fan wants to read all the words on all the pages of the book, not just the ending. We will enjoy No. 7 all the same. Thank you, Ms. Rowling.

Stacy Shapiro, Guildford, UK

I don't think anyone has ruined anything by "leaking" the storyline. What about exercising some discipline and wait for the book and read it? My 14 year old daughter is refusing to read or listen to anyone who has read the "leak" in newspapers and on the internet. Try it ! You may have more fun reading the book itself! : )

Sylvia, Paris, France

Get over it, it's a childrens book for children and any adult reading it and getting upset about the ending reallyy needs to get a grip

Martin, Mansfield,

Yes Jeffrey all the previous six Harry Potter books all struggled with sales. I think the final and most eagerly anticipated book of the series needed more publicity or it just wouldn't have sold would it!

Rowling has publicly said that her own daughter will not read the book until the release date so why would she give it to a US critic.

John , Sheffield , England

I've just remembered "Devil wears Prada". Everything is possible for those who have money, inclunding reading a top secret book before it's release.

leandro, goiania, brazil

Look at it this way, reviews are going to start appearing as soon as the book is released, so if you want to spoil the plot for yourself before you read it, you'll have ample opportunity do so come the weekend.

Plus, all these leaks serve to keep the book in the news - hardly a bad marketing ploy

Neil, Manchester, UK

Personaly I realy don't care. What I can say is that all this fuss over the book seens to perpetuate the illogical thinking of this generation. I cannot pass any oppinion on the final chapter myself as I have not read any of the saga, (although I have to admit and admire the writings of JK Rowling since it as given joy to so many). But at what cost are we looking? All it ever seems to do is to give credability to the falicy that nature is not our ruler but mysticisum. What is this teaching our youth I might inquire?

Richard Baxter, Hawkhurst, Kent

Perhaps in the future the early publications of such blockbuster books could be sold with ending omitted. This missing chapters could then be published in the internet at the chosen time.

Ali Dehdashty, Tunbridge Wells, UK

does any one know a site the book has leaked out in to i am trying to see if J.K Rowling publish it by searching J.K Rowling leaked a false version to make people buy the book.

Maddie , Albury, Australia

Don't forget Larry Potter, all you Muggles.

Nancy, London,

they had to ruin the book didn't they . they couldn't keep that information to themselves.

harrison lovell, perth, australia

How did somebody buy a "Top Secret" book before its release? It might be a bad news for Ms Rowling and the publisher, but in an alternative viewpoint, this may be a good way to advertise the book. (Excuse me, I am a business person) After all, Ms Kakutani is a fair critic.

Jeffrey, New York, USA

I ardently admire Ms. Rowling for her amazing "success story," literally the American "rags to riches" theme we all love to love. Ms. Rowling has brought back into the fold the art of reading which has been lost to millions upons million of people-young and older-who have succumbed to television or the computer or the occasional Cliff Note's in lieu of the pleasure of actually reading the printed word when the printed word is written masterly, imaginatively and creatively. Ms. Rowling is a genius and a blessing for bringing back literacy.
Furthermore, Ms. Rowling has every right to be upset and to feel betrayed by the "ne're-do-wells," the money-mongers, the spoilers who tried to leak her novel in a duplicious, untimely, dishonest manner. Shame on them. Praises, kudos to the artistry and integrity of Ms. Rowling; to be compared with one Charles Dickins is an incredible honor.

Sheila Hopkins Phillips, O'Fallon, USA/IL