The book in the picture isn’t one-in-a-million. It’s one of two million. That’s the number cranked out by the Harper Publishing’s printing presses. Two million copies of Harper Lee’s new/old story – Go Set a Watchman.
That’s a lot of books, but it hardly compares to J. K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter release. Twelve million First Editions. Can’t advise holding on to that one until it becomes rare and expensive. Even Dan Brown (you remember Danny, of Da Vinci Code fame…); he had four million copies of Inferno in the publisher’s first run.
That big first printing run total is why I don’t have Ms Lee’s Watchman in stacks and stacks around the book shop. There were probably a million copies pre-sold on Amazon alone. At any rate, there were enough pre-publication orders to give Harper Publishing an idea of how many copies should be printed for the initial release.
Here at the bookstore, the new story has generated its share of conversation. To date, the majority of interested folks have said they are reluctant to read the book, for fear of diminishing their opinion of Atticus Finch, the crusading attorney at the heart of the second half of To Kill a Mockingbird.
There are a lot of arguments being made on all fronts (and some in the dimly-lit back rooms where the origins of the manuscript are being questioned). Perhaps the bottom line is – the book that was reworked for years before it was published was To Kill a Mockingbird. The Atticus Finch in that story is probably the true nature of how Ms Lee intended the character’s portrayal in the end.
And, of course – liking or disliking a book is always a subjective thing. If we all liked the same book, there would be a lot fewer titles out there. I’ve been asked if I liked it.
It only came out Tuesday.
If I read one of the copies, it isn’t new anymore and I’d have to put a used book price tag on it. So – I’ll just wait a bit.
There IS a copy of Watchman on the shelf behind my chair here. It is sitting next to my First Edition copy of Mockingbird. It is one of the five thousand first printings of the book, most of which went to libraries and universities.
It was already one of my favorite stories before I happened onto the First Edition. Since I sell books, I can’t really be a collector. But I’ve allowed myself five titles that I don’t have a price tag on.
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the five. As for Go Set a Watchman – I’ve got a copy for you at $18.95… That’s cheaper than Amazon (when you add in shipping).
Read it and decide for yourself about Atticus Finch and Harper Lee and the legacy of authors and characters.
Come visit!
McHuston
Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main Street, Broken Arrow OK!