Expecto Patronum! Harry Potter is now an e-book
J.K. Rowling's blockbuster series about the young wizard is finally available as a series of e-books directly through the Pottermore Web site.
Wizards and muggles alike can now buy and download digital versions of their favorite Harry Potter books.
Starting today, the Pottermore Web site shop is conjuring up all seven Harry Potter titles in digital format, beginning with "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" and ending with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The first three titles in the series are $7.99 apiece, while the other four will run $9.99 each. Capturing the entire collection will cost you $57.54. Free samples of each book are also available so you can try before you buy.
The books are being sold in the popular EPUB format, which means they're compatible with Apple's IOS, Android, Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Nobles' Nook, and a variety of other platforms. Owners of the Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader can download the books directly through their accounts and to their devices. Android owners can also pick up the books via their Google Play accounts.
PC users can read the books as well, but they'll need a program that supports the EPUB format, such as Adobe Digital Editions, suggests Pottermore.
The seven books are currently available only in English, both for the U.S. and U.K. But Pottermore says that French, Italian, German, and Spanish editions will pop up in the coming weeks.
Potter fans have been awaiting digital versions of the books ever since Rowling announced last June that they would become available as e-books.
The printed editions of the Harry Potter books have already proved immensely popular, selling around 450 million copies and translated into more than 70 different languages.
Still officially in beta mode until early April, the Pottermore Web site runs an online shop where customers can also buy audiobooks of the Potter series -- $29.99 each for the first three titles, $44.99 each for the other four, and $242.94 for the entire series.