Robert Atwood tried his best not to become a Harry Potter fan.“I resisted for as long as possible not wanting to read it because it was a kids’ book,” he said.But his curiosity could not be overcome, and he soon found himself “hooked,” he said. He bought the first three books in 2003 and has now read all the Potter books several times. He has also watched each movie again and again.Atwood, 27, is not alone. There are many local fans like him all over Greater Nashua and across the country who cannot get enough of the fantasy novels.Atwood lives in Nashua and says he is a hardcore fan. He has already reserved a hardcopy and CD version of the next Harry Potter book at Barnes & Noble. The book is the final volume in the series written by J.K. Rowling. It will be released Saturday, July 21, at 12:01 a.m.Atwood plans to be at the store by about 6 p.m. the night before to celebrate with other local fans. Once he gets it he will “basically lock myself in my room,” so he can read it, he said.Atwood also plans to get his tickets to the next Potter movie, also coming out in July, two to three weeks in advance. He will watch it again several times in the theater, he added.

Bob Collins, the director of marketing for the Cinemagic theater in Merrimack, said employees are used to seeing large crowds of fans when the movies open.“They want to be the first to see it,” he said.The Harry Potter movies are about as popular as “Star Wars” and “Spider-Man” movies, he said. They all draw a large crowd.People of all different ages go to see the movie, he added and at the midnight showing many people watch in costume.David Oelerich, owner of Costumes of Nashua in Hudson, says the demand for Harry Potter costumes goes in waves. He gets the most requests before the book is about to come out.“The demand for Harry has probably been equivalent to what we have done with ‘Star Wars,’ ” Oelerich said.

Many of the people looking for Potter costumes are children, but he also gets adult customers. He has even had as many as 10 people order costumes of different characters from the book to wear to the same event.Sue Carita, the children’s book specialist at The Toadstool Bookshop in Milford, also has customers of all ages.She has been excited by the series not only because they are great books, but because they have “opened people’s eyes to a lot of other good authors,” she said.Kids now come to her and ask her what to read in between Harry Potter books, she said. She is able to point them to a lot of similar books that keep them reading.“Local kids have grown up with him over the years,” she said of the young wizard.

The store will also be selling the books at 12:01 a.m. July 21. Each year, the employees try to have something interesting for people to do or watch while they are waiting in line. One year, the store had a lady with an owl speak, and last year, it had a fortune-teller at the event.Most of the kids go home and read all night, she added.This year, Carita is both excited and upset to see the next book come out. She worries that since it is the last book in the series, children will lose interest in reading.“It’s going to be sad for many different reasons,” she said.She wants children to know there will still be many exciting books to read even after the Harry Potter series is finished.