It had to happen sometime - and, lo, an era has ended. After a 10-year run, and less than a year after the seventh and final book in J.?K. Rowling's series was published, the Harry Potter books have fallen - as of the May 11 issue of the Book Review, which went to press last night - off The Times's best-seller list.

Seattle's literary seeds have been here for decades, with local authors, abundant writing courses and robust independent bookstores, according to J. A. Jance, the Seattle mystery author whose books have sold 15 million copies over the last 20 years. "Maybe it's the rain, but Seattle has always been a reading town," she said.