#4. Goodbye, Harry Potter

This summer Potter-mania crested with the July 21 debut of the seventh, final, and most satisfying book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The novel came on the heels of the premier of the fifth and most highly acclaimed movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Deathly Hallows sold a record 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours in the U.S. — children and adults alike waited in line all night to buy it, then stayed up all the next night reading it. Author J.K. Rowling didn't disappoint; critics unanimously loved it. Though everyone now knows the fate of the boy wizard, it's unlikely to subdue excitement for the sixth movie, which comes out in 2008. What's next for Rowling? The author has handwritten seven copies of a companion Potter book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard; she will give away six copies privately and has auctioned one through Sotheby's. The winning bid, by Amazon.com: nearly $4 million.