A Good Day
Well, if you don’t care for Harry Potter, this post will be completely boring for you, because THAT’s what I did today….
I’m done, but I promise not to give anything away–no spoilers here!
The local Barnes & Noble opens at 9:00. This is what the line looked at 9:05 when I walked in. How’d all those people get in there so fast??
This is what the display of books looked like . . . considering it must have been full when they opened . . . again . . . people move fast!
So . . . 9:30, and home, ready to start reading.
The second copy I ordered from Amazon (which will be heading to my sister’s house) arrived at 11:45, by which time I was on page 200. This is exactly why I didn’t just order two copies upfront and then wait for them. (And, really, I had trouble falling asleep last night and I started waking up at about 6:00 this morning . . . I was so excited, you would have thought it was Christmas or something.)
The half-way point, at 1:25
Finished, page 759 at 4:25.
So, seven hours to read the whole thing. That’s about 1.8 pages a minute. See? I told you I was reading as slowly as I could.
What am I willing to tell you that won’t give anything
important away? (Really, I promise.)
Well, for one, I really liked it. Much more than the last one, which felt like she was laying out information we had to have but not so much story-telling. JK Rowling described this book in an interview as a "bloodbath," and she wasn’t wrong about that. There are quite a number of deaths. The war which really started in book 6 is at full-force and it’s not going well for the good guys. You do find out for sure whether Snape was truly evil or not. Dudley was surprising. Luna plays a nice part in this one, as does Neville. (Really, I’m quite proud of Neville.) The Malfoys aren’t doing terribly well at the beginning of the book. A new headmaster at Hogwarts. There’s another visit to the Ministry of Magic, and one to Gringotts. We see dear, dear Umbridge again. Finally, I understand what Deathly Hallows ARE, and I got to officially meet Dumbledore’s little brother. And would it be giving too much away to say that there’s a chapter called "The Battle of Hogwarts?" And Harry? Harry, Ron, and Hermione were just fabulous–brave, resourceful, and (mostly) unflinching. Especially Harry, there at the end. But I won’t tell you if I closed the book with a smile or with tears on my face . . . although that "nineteen years later" epilogue was nice to have, even if some faces were missing.
Really, this, today, is practically my perfect day. Oh sure, you’d think it would include more knitting or spinning or laughing with friends or something, but you have to realize–when I was a kid, there was NOTHING I liked better than to curl up on the couch with a good book. And a good one that I hadn’t read before? The best! And that hasn’t changed–spending a day with a really good book that’s brand-new to me . . . especially if it’s by a favorite author . . . is ideal. Perfection. Add in the extra anticipation surrounding this book AND the rare opportunity to read something that thousands, if not millions, of other people were doing at the exact same time? When does something like that ever happen with a BOOk? And, as I said, I really enjoyed reading this one. I took frequent breaks to rest my eyes, and all, but practically every time I did, there was a smile on my face. Or, well, you understand, depending on what was going on in the book, it wasn’t always a smile, but even the teary parts were surrounded by that "Wow, this is fabulous!" glow. Who cares that I haven’t done any knitting today? This was perfect.
Even if Chappy would really have preferred getting out for a walk or something . . . but at least we sat in the back so he could play in the yard for a while . . . although he spent most of his time staring at me, trying to entice me to come down and play. Hmm. I suppose we could go for a walk now, huh?
Because, come to think of it, there WAS some blue, Saturday sky up there….
Hey–great article here (also, without spoilers). And this article talking about why spoilers are bad things.
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Tannenbaum.
House Calls
So, my predictions seem to have run about 50-50. (I won’t say which is which, in case anyone reading the comments here cares.)
Those people in line? They got there starting at 8:30, or earlier. That’s when I was at my B&N. There were 4-5 people there ahead of me. By 9:03 I was out the door. (Reports that I was muttering about “My Precious…” have been greatly exaggerated.)
I also started around 9:30, finished at 4. DH’s plans got cancelled, so he sat around listening to me say, “Nooooo!” and “Oh, sh*t!” and “Yes!” and “Holy freakin’ (bleep)!” He’s reading now.
A friend’s LiveJournal reports that his book arrived about 10 minutes before I finished mine.
i figured there’d be a battle there, considering where i am in the book. still, tears have definitely flown for this one. sigh. this is definitely an emotion-filled book.
Heh, the audiobook will at least force me to experience it more slowly.
It’s all over…
We were going to go to Borders, but ended up at the local Target store, and there were only 5 others in line. Emily and David have both finished it, now I get to take my time with it
I’m not disappointed at all. Sad at parts, happy at others. I’m really glad I encountered no spoilers, and it was fun to be part of the collective experience.
The question is - will J.K. Rowling write another book, and if she does, will it be any good?
I plan on buying the book today and will probably be up all night reading it. I agree, there’s nothing better than curling up with a good book!
A question. I don’t remember if you see the Harry Potter movies or not. If so, how do they compare to the books? I tend not to see the movie of books I’ve enjoyed, but, for me, the HP movies are in a different category and I’ve liked them as much as the books.
Happy the event is here and sorry for endings. This may very well be a once in a lifetime witnessing for all of us.
i loved how you put your thoughts on the book…
i just now finished…i laughed, cried, cheered, shouted and had my mouth hanging open….ALL of my questions were answered…some of the loose ends were tied up as i expected however there were things added to them that i had not even fathomed but the majority were tied up in ways that i did not contemplate….i am sad and happy all at the same time…no more books
sigh….i hope she comes up with another inventive and cativating world for me to fall into…
Jk rowlings is brilliant…imho this book proves it…whether you like how she finishes it or not…it cannot be denied she is brilliant
I finished mine too. But I don’t read quite that fast. Some parts I just sped on through and others I read each word slowly. Letting them sink in.
It was awesome! I am sure to read it again shortly, probably no later than tomorrow. But slower. Maybe even taking breaks to do something else.
It was definitely like Christmas to me. I had mine delivered, and didn’t get it till Saturday afternoon. I ripped open that box like it was wrapping paper.
And though there won’t be more of these, at least we have this series to enjoy from now on.
So you were done reading by dinner time! I’m starting HP1 as soon as I finish the book I’m reading now. I haven’t been reading much as I ‘ve been distracted by Monkey socks and now the new sock I started this morning.
Oh, Neville. Wasn’t he magnificent?
I have mixed feelings about the book. A second read should help me sort them out properly… much of it was excellent, but I definitely was disappointed by the epilogue (I wanted to know so much more–didn’t you?)
I agree - nothing beats a day with a good book ;o)
I liked that idea too — that around the world people were having a massive shared reading experience. Will probably never happen again.
I agree. The book delivered. Like another of your commenters, I would read and re-read pages just to enjoy the scene.
Yesterday I saw that she was expecting to write a guide to the books with more back stories and epiloges. That would be nice.
Hope you and pup are both feeling better.