After a number of customer requests, we have now launched pre-ordering on selected upcoming big release titles.  Customers will now be able to place an order well in advance of the release of a title. We are initially only offering this on a small range of titles, but are working on expanding this out to eventually cover thousands of new releases.

The first two big titles that are available for pre-ordering are:

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

I think this is the big one for 2008. The first release from J.K. Rowling since the last Harry Potter, we expect this to trump most other releases. This is a book referred to in the Harry Potter series and comprises five fairy tales. Release date is the 4th of December, making this an easy Christmas gift for any Harry Potter fan.

Inheritance #3: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

This one is going to be interesting. I got a call the other day from a marketing person at the publisher of this title, who enthusiastically told me this was going to be the biggest release since Harry Potter. I’m always a tad sceptical when wild statements like this are presented, but I do think there is a large following of the Eragon series that will be eagerly anticipating the release of this title, the third installment in the series.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, this is a huge fantasy series with a film-tie in, written by Christopher Paolini, who is only 24 years of age. The first two books have been big movers: Eragon and Eldest. Release date is just over a month away.