SCOTT SIMON, host: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.  I'm Scott Simon.</s>SCOTT SIMON, host: Today's the day Muggles have been waiting for.  "Harry Potter and the      Half-Blood Prince" went on sale at midnight.  There have been long lines      in bookstores from London to Los Angeles.  Security surrounding the story      of the book's been so tight not even Bob Novak got an advanced look.  But      we've been provided with a copy and are pleased to read the opening      words.</s>SCOTT SIMON, host: `It was nearing midnight and the prime minister was sitting alone in his      office reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without      leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind.  He was waiting for a call      from the president of a far distant country.  And between wondering when      the wretched man would telephone and trying to suppress unpleasant      memories of what had been a very long, tiring and difficult week, there      was not much space in his head for anything else.'</s>SCOTT SIMON, host: Want more?  Buy your own.  Coming up later in our show, they rush to      publish "Harry Potter" in braille.  Stay tuned.
Scott Simon reads the first lines of the new Harry Potter book, which focus on a distracted prime minister who awaits an important phone call.