Strange as it may seem, David Brawn of Harper Collins says he and the Tolkien family fear that too many copies of Tolkien’s books are being sold.
He is said to have told the Independent: “We and the Tolkien family are worried that there is a genuine risk of burnout, that at the end of it there will be nobody left to read this book and we’ll then suffer. Once every household has a copy of the book, there is nobody else to sell it to.”
AOL Time Warner is in a position to reap the benefits of that burnout in a massive way. They own both New Line Cinema, which is underwriting Peter Jackson’s three “Lord of the Rings” movies, and Warner Bros., which is underwriting the first Harry Potter movie.
Writing for Yahoo! News, Paul Majendie says, “The Hobbit is set to go head-to-head with Harry Potter in a battle at the movies that could match their rivalry in the bookstores of the world.” Majendie reports that Tolkien’s books have sold more than 100 million copies in 60 years, but the Harry Potter books have sold as many in just 4 years.
Read the Majendie article here.
