It hasn’t raised or roused Delhi the way a certain boy wizard did two years ago, neither has it seen teens rushing to bookstores to read about a vampire-human couple who practice restraint with a vengeance. But the release of Dan Brown’s latest book, The Lost Symbol, still saw an early wake-up call as the shutters of Midland Book Store in Hauz Khas rolled up to sell what has been billed as the most anticipated adult fiction novel of the year.

Having opened his shop at 7 am, Mirza Assar Baig of Midland sounded optimistic in the morning that customers would troop in, slow but steady, to pick up their copy of Brown’s latest conspiracy saga. By evening, he was happily reporting sales of 100 copies. “Our original order was for 435 copies and we are giving a hefty discount,” he said. “While the original is priced at Rs 699, it is available at our store for Rs 525.”

Baig said the first customer, a banker, came at 7.20 am and picked up a copy.

On the other hand, the biggest bookshop in Khan Market, Bahrisons, did not bother to change its schedule. “We had ordered 200 copies and so far 80 have been sold. There has been no hue and cry at our store and it’s been business as usual,” said Anuj Bahri.

Oxford Bookstore has gone all out with its display circle of the book, similar to the promotional activity during the release of Stephanie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn — the fourth volume in the Twilight series. “We have sold 20 copies but more and more people have booked their copies and will collect them over the weekend,” said Vijay Singh from Oxford Bookstore.

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