Newest Harry Potter in Braille and Audio formats

A press release from Scholastic today says that, in conjunction with the National Braille Press, they plan to release a Braille edition of the newest Harry Potter book within a week of its July 16 printed text release. This is a big improvement over the lag time of months or even years that many popular novels take in getting a Braille edition, and a sign that someone has noticed how kids' reading culture works--reading an OLD HP book isn't any fun when your friends are all reading the latest. (On the other hand: the Braille edition will be a nine-volume, eleven-pound stack of books, requiring more than a foot of shelf space--hardly backpack material.) For Potter fans who don't read printed text or Braille, there will be an unabridged audio version recorded by volunteers in a marathon session ON July 16; that should be available within the week as well.