This new book already has more pre-orders than the final Harry Potter.

Who says books are dead?

It’s not often these days people get super psyched for a book release. But it is happening.

Go Set a Watchman, the much-anticipated second novel by Harper Lee and sequel to American classic To Kill a Mockingbird, is officially the most pre-ordered print title on Amazon.com since the final book in the Harry Potter series.

Since the seventh Harry Potter book. The one where everyone was dying to know who dies in the epic battle at Hogwarts. That is crazy.

(Though with 55 years between the two novels, fans have been waiting a while.)

According to Amazon, the novel – which will be published on Tuesday – is already the best-selling book on the site.

Publisher HarperCollins has ordered an initial US print run of 2 million, a huge print run in the days of digital books, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The book, which was announced in February, has already received a lot of attention. And not much of it good.

A lawyer for Lee said she discovered the old manuscript in 2014 – a claim that raised serious questions the timing of the manuscript’s discovery, Lee’s mental state, and the ability of the 88-year-old to consent to the publication.

As an author, Lee was notoriously publicity-shy and famously resistant to producing a follow-up to her masterpiece.

So did she really want to publish a second novel? Or was she pushed?

The February announcement of the new book divided residents of her hometown, as well as her long-time friends. One faction argues that Ms. Lee’s mental health is too shaky for her to have knowingly authorised the new book, while the other vigorously affirms her competence.

Harper Lee — or Nelle (her real first name), as she is known to many — suffered a stroke in 2007 resulting in serious vision and hearing problems. Friends who regularly visit her say it hasn’t impacted her ability to communicate. She is still able to hold lengthy conversations, as long as visitors raise their voices or write their questions down for her. She reads them with the help of a machine, and paper and a black marker are always kept handy.

But there are reports that paint an entirely different picture.

When a friend, Wayne Flynt, asked her about her new novel, he said she seemed to be “in her own world” at first, and asked, “What novel?” Reminding her of “Watchman,” he told her “You must be so proud,” and she responded with “I’m not so sure anymore.”

Lee has refused any personal publicity for herself or the novel since 1964.

Investigators stepped in and interviewed Lee, as well as employees of the assisted living facility where she resides and several friends and acquaintances.

The Alabama state investigation concluded Lee was not a victim of elder abuse.

The final Harry Potter book sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours of sale in 2007. E.L. Jame’s Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy sold 125 million copies globally.

Whether the novel – written more than five decades ago, in the time of the civil rights movement, and from the perspective of an adult Scout – will reach those epic sales is yet to be seen.

But the excitement over whether the book will be a new American classic is encouraging nonetheless.

Are you busting to read the sequel?

If you’re a bookworm, try these articles:

The ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ sequel theory we really don’t want to believe.

Wonderful news: To Kill a Mockingbird is about to get a sequel.

J.K. Rowling announces a new Harry Potter. Fans can’t cope.

There is a hidden sex scene in the third Harry Potter movie.