J.K. Rowlings’ new book "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" hit the shelves yesterday (Thursday) and numerous fans of Harry Potter-like literature took the book stores by storm. The result: the new book sold out in a blink of an eye. The first printing numbered 3.5 million copies.

Within a few hours after it was released, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" joined the ranks of the online best sellers on both Amazon.com and the Barnes & Noble Web site. The book’s retail price is of $12.99, but several readers were willing to pay much more. A $100 collector's edition available on Amazon.com rose from 22 to 778,576 on the “Movers & Shakers List,” a site which tracks the fastest-selling products.

The book is directly connected to the final installment of the exceptional series "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

"This book allows fans to return to that magical world," says Arthur Levine of Scholastic, who co-edited the series.

The author initially made only 7 copies of the new book as a gift for some of her closest friends. One of the books, which were bound in Moroccan leather and embellished with silver talismans and mounted moonstones, sold for $4million to Amazon.com in a 2007 auction.

For those who want to see one of those 7 initial copies, one of them will be on view at the New York Public Library until January 4.

The new book presents five fairy tales with commentary by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, Harry Potter's famous school.