Yes, that's right. A copy of the first print run of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (UK) sold for almost $41,000 on auction. Is it just me or does that seem to be an insane amount of money to pay for a newer book? I could see if it was a first edition of, say, War and Peace but this is Harry Potter. I don't mean to poke fun, I enjoyed the Potter series but let's face it, it isn't great literature. They aren't enduring texts that will continue to shape our nation for generations to come. I think the series is great because it inspired a lot of people to start reading for fun again, and for that we are in J.K. Rowling's debt. I do find it interesting that it was part of the original run of only 500 books. I read somewhere in an interview that her publisher didn't think the book would do very well and that's why it had such a small print run. Who would've thought that the boy wizard would become such an inescapable facet of our culture? He's everywhere you look these days.