Like circus elephants on parade, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels have lumbered past a dazzled young public for the last 10 years. Now the beloved fantasy series is ending with the release of the seventh volume, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," at midnight July 21. Media coverage is in overdrive and millions of fans are arguing and obsessing over the fate of young Harry in his struggle with the dark wizard, Lord Voldemort. Others in the world of books and reading, meanwhile, are contemplating the end of the historic series. Besides wondering what, if anything, could take its place,...