GazChap wrote:
Dudley wrote:
Please tell me you're joking because if not that's very sad.
Why? No harm in it, as the spoiler I shouted out wasn't actually true. Not like I actually spoiled the end of the book for them or anything
It's still a very cunty thing to do. I hate it when people shout at queues, real spoiler or fake spoiler.
What it sounds like you're actually shouting is, "I think I'm better than you sad nerds! Ha ha ha!"
It comes across as abusive, basically, whether it's meant that way or not.
And you've got to remember you're the thousandth person that evening to shout at the queue.
It's like running up to Richard Wilson and shouting "I don't believe it!" and thinking you're really funny.
GazChap wrote:
I just don't see the logic in queueing up for hours to get something at midnight when you know you've got a guaranteed copy. Why not just wait until the morning so that you can go down there when there aren't any queues, then have all day to read it instead of feeling proper tired because you've spent the entire night queueing and falling asleep after page 5?
But the point isn't just to get the book OMG AT MIDNIGHT EXACTLY!!!!!!!!! - though that's obviously a part of it - but it's the whole experience, the build up. It turns just getting a new game or book or seeing a new film into a proper event. It's fun and the atmosphere and camaraderie is usually amazing at these things. (GTA IV was a bit of a damp squib, mind, but it was still fun.)
I get excited about stuff I love, like new movies or games, so I love to have an event that celebrates and indulges that excitement and allows me to share that excitement with other people.
Harry Potter was slightly different in that I wasn't very excited about beforehand. I wanted to avoid spoilers before reading it - which meant getting it early - but I've had been happy with getting it during the day or at the weekend or whatever. (I like Harry Potter, but I wouldn't class myself as any sort of fan.) It was my wife who wanted to go at midnight. But it was excellent and I'm glad I went. It's one of those times I remember with great fondness - the Death Eaters roaming the streets, the balloons, the excitement of some of the kids who were there way after their bedtimes, the friendly rivalry with the other bookshops' queues, all that.
It's like a carnival more than anything else and, possibly, it taps into a need for community that we have but which doesn't exist in modern society - if you want to get a bit deep and wanky.
And when we got home from the Harry Potter thing we took turns reading the book to each other over the weekend and finished it with sore throats in a couple of days, spoiler-free, which was obviously excellent.
Reading out loud >>>>> reading silently to yourself.