A little confused by Potter-mania

In a few hours, my fiancee and I will go to a local bookstore, where she will be No. 124 in line (she went to the store earlier today to get her numbered ticket) to get a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If available, she may even buy a second copy for me, just so I don't have to wait for her to finish reading it and risk having the ending spoiled. Obviously, we are among the millions of people around the world caught up in the excitement surrounding the seventh and final installment of the boy wizard's saga. But that doesn't mean I completely understand it.

Earlier this week there were stories about photos of each page of the book being posted online. Some of the stories featured Harry Potter fans who said they wouldn't read it because they didn't want to spoil the surprise. Now, I understand the copyright implications of an illegally-released copy, and I understand people not wanting to log on and try to read it. But how does reading it early spoil the surprise? The same goes for a North Carolina couple who received a copy from an online retailer Tuesday. They say they won't open the book until Saturday. Again, it's admirable, I guess. But why wait? While the company that mistakenly shipped their copy early and another company face lawsuits from the publisher, the people who received them didn't do anything wrong. So go ahead and read it. How does waiting for everyone else to get their copy change your enjoyment of it?

To be sure, I'm not saying people should try to get copies before they are supposed to. I just don't understand the rationale of waiting, especially if you're not one of those bad people who plan to ruin the ending for others. I am sure that if a copy wound up on my doorstep Tuesday, I wouldn't have thought twice about starting to read it. You know why? Because the surprises and long-anticipated ending would have been just as exciting then as this weekend or next week.

Alas, I did not have an advanced copy. So I'll have to wait a little longer. Maybe it'll be tonight. Maybe it'll be in a couple of days when my fiancee or someone else finishes their copy. I just ask one thing: Regardless of when you read it, keep quiet for at least the next week. I'm a bit of a slow reader. I'll need the time.