The Times continues to speculate about what on earth the poor sad book publishing industry will do once series-closer Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows kills off Ron Weasley this summer. (What? Come on, you know it's gonna happen.) The article, co-penned by Motoko Rich and Julie Bosman, hits the usual alarmist notes: what will Scholastic do now?? (A: continue to sell lots of other books, just like they've always done), how will this affect stockholders (who cares), and will children stop reading books and start just start staring raptly into their video iPods all the time (well, yes). One question remains, though: what will be Rich's and Bosman's new beats once Pottermania dies down? Seriously, the ladies are obsessed. Watch your back, Ginny Weasley!

'Bye Harry,' Sob Booksellers, Investors . . . Oh, And Kids [NYT]