Avoiding Spoilers (was Harry's fate WAS: Re: RE Snape and Petunia

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 155949

> >>Mike:
> > BTW, on July 16, 2005 at 1:30 am I was walking out of Barnes and
> > Noble with my copy of HBP when I overheard a couple of teenagers,
> > talking loudly, say,"Dumbledore dies... around page 600". Boy   
> > was I miffed. I don't know how they knew, heard from someone in 
> > England? I don't want this to happen again for book 7. Anybody   
> > got any suggestions can email me off list. Thanks :-)

Betsy Hp:
I'm pretty hard core "no-spoiler", so I take the extreme measure of 
cutting myself totally off of Harry Potter stuff when a new book is 
due.  I stay away from computer sites, tv spots, radio spots, etc.  
I disconnected for HBP about a week to two weeks before the 
release.  I avoided news-type sites pretty much from the time JKR 
announced that HBP was done.

I'd managed to read OotP without knowing that anyone was going to 
die, so Sirius was a shock.  And I liked that.  So I wanted to be 
similarly ignorant for HBP. And I was. <g>

> >>Potioncat
> <snip>
> I don't know how you can protect yourself from idiots and jerks.   
> But I had prepared several things to say at the bookstore if      
> anyone was talking too much. Of course, once you hear something,   
> that's it. 
> Has anyone ordered the book to be delivered? Does it come quickly 
> on release day?

Betsy Hp:
I live ages away from the nearest bookstore, so I did Amazon.com.  
It arrived in my Post Office box on the day of release at the time 
that mail is supposed to be delivered to your box (10am for us).

I'll probably do the same for book 7, though we're getting mail at 
our house now, so I'll be haunting my front door. :)

As to avoiding spoiler-sports actually *inside* the bookstore...  
I'd send in a patsy <g>.  Get a friend who could care less, but is 
decent enough not to report any rumors they might hear, to walk in 
and pick up the book for you. They'll enjoy a peek inside the 
frenzy. <g>

Betsy Hp