Literary Terrorism and Such

I must admit that I am getting a real charge out of the righteous indignation being spewed by hundreds, if not thousands, of people who feel affronted by the New York Times' early review and capsule summary of the new Harry Potter book prior to its release date. They castigate the Times and everyone associated with the dastardly deed. Rowling has mentioned the term "literary terrorism" in a recent interview, and there are reports of children weeping uncontrollably when they hear about the plot prior to their Friday night/Saturday morning/afternoom/evening date with the folks from Hogwarts. I have this to say, "IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, DON'T READ THE DAMN REVIEW!!!" It's capitalized because I'm shouting now, something my wife says I do frequently. It's just that idiocy really angers me. Why would you begin to read a review, find that it gives away treasured information, AND THEN KEEP READING? The "does Harry die" phenomenon is much akin to the controversy created by The Beatles' Abbey Road album. McCartney is still alive as we speak. The problem is that we've become elitist: no one must know what happens before I do. Please, give it a rest. It's not like Harry will ever really go away.
The New York Times is currently asking readers to report on their favorite literary memories from childhood. Thus far, there have been more than 500 responses, including mine, and it makes for fascinating reading. What it really does, though, is show that readers' favorites never really go away...they get passed down to succeeding generations and become timeless. The Boxcar Children is a perfect example. While I had never read (or even heard of) the series as a child, my wife chose to share it with our grandson who now eagerly devours every new volume. Thus, the series retains an immortal quality that is gratifying to readers everywhere.
So, don't rip the Times or any other source for "leaking" such must-know information. It will be a classic soon enough, and I'm not about to fight hundreds of screaming 10-yr. olds and their mothers to get my hands on a copy of the latest (and,ostensibly, the last) tome concerning Harry. Besides, staying up until midnight? I don't think so. Now if it were a new Doc Savage adventure, that would be altogether different!