To J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter faithful, what the Times did in reviewing the series' final installment yesterday — an apparent violation of an industry-wide embargo — was akin to telling a 4-year-old that Santa isn't real, the Easter Bunny is a creation of Cadbury's marketing division and your Mom put that dollar under your pillow, retard.

The Times readers, too, were miffed — as evidenced by today's letters-to-the-editor. Except this one, from a Tricia Lugger of Royal Oak, Michigan:

To the Editor:

I know you're going to get blasted for "spoiling" the midnight launching of the newest Harry Potter book, but thank you for remembering that The Times is a newspaper and not an advertising engine. While I can appreciate that J. K. Rowling would like total control of who reads her book and when, the news should never allow the owner of content to control the dissemination of discussions.

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