New ‘Potter’ book in print, audio July 16

Listen up, Potter fans: The audiobook of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will go on sale July 16, the same day as the hardcover release, with a record first printing of 635,000 copies.

The audiobook again will be narrated by Grammy winner Jim Dale.

The hardcover is more than 600 pages, and the unabridged audio version runs 19 hours, filling 18 CDS or 12 cassettes. As noted by Listening Library, the company releasing the audiobook, it lasts as long as a nonstop drive from New York City to Memphis, Tenn.

Dale’s version of J.K. Rowling’s previous novel, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” sold more than 100,000 copies in its first week, more than most audiobook titles sell all year.

Potter audiobooks have sold more than 4 million copies in North America alone. The print versions have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.