This NYT article infuriated me. I realize it is just Michelle Slatalla opining about the Harry Potter release and the lengths her daughters will go to in order to buy a copy. But does it every occur to her to try an independent? She makes it sound like B&N and Amazon are her only online choices (besides the Scholastic site) and B&N is the only store around!

And will I drive them to a local Barnes & Noble as the clock strikes midnight on July 16 to stand in line with other devotees to get the new book?…..With Scholastic printing 10.8 million copies of the book, how hard could it be to get my hands on one without standing in line? The first step was to compare the preorder offers at three Internet sites: Amazon.com, Scholastic.com and Barnes & Noble’s BN.com.

I know this comes off like some sour grapes but she presents the case in her article as if there were no other choices. It just pisses me off. B&N is not your local bookstore.