Leaping From The Box

No, it did not take me all this time to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I began it at 11:00 Thursday morning and finished it around 7:00 Friday evening. And I did other things during that time, like sleeping, eating, chatting and working on webpages. But I was so into that book that I dreamt about it Thursday night. What a great story it is! I plan to reread book seven soon, though, since I read it so quickly just to find out what was going to happen and to whom. I feel like I gorged on a Thanksgiving Dinner, eating everything in sight but not really tasting much of anything. Time to go back for leftovers, try a bit of pie, taste some stuffing. Savor the story.

One thing that did strike me (well, one of the things) about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was how much the non-human creatures played in the storyline. How humans treated them, especially HP and friends, in the previous six books played such an important role in the eventual outcome in book seven.

Now I can begin to tackle the stack of books that I have set aside in order to read the HP series. Let me see, here’s what I have waiting for me to read:

• The Sunne in Splendour, by Sharon Kay Penman
• Earthly Joys, by Philippa Gregory
• Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts
• The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman

Three of these books I acquired through PaperbackSwap. A great way to swap books online. Check it out! And if you decide to sign up, I would appreciate it if you would list me as a referring member (use my e-mail address, wdkmg@pipeline.com. Doing so will give me an additional book credit, and you know I need more books!

So many books, so little time!

So much for getting anything done today! Charles finished THE book last night; it was sitting on the kitchen counter this morning, just waiting for me. I held off for several hours, walked the dog, walked me, did some webpage work. But then I decided to just crack the cover and read Chapter 1. Right. So this is official notice that you will not see any more posts here until I have finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Accio Book!

This morning I finished Year 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I am so glad I reread it. I really did not remember nearly enough to have been ready to read Year 7. But I am ready now! Only I have to wait for Charles to finish with it. I think he has less than 200 pages, so likely he will finish it today. I sure hope so … I am not sure I can wait much longer than that!

After rereading Year 6, I no longer think that Dumbledore is still alive. Last time I read it, I was in such disbelief that Rowling had killed Dumbledore that I just did not want to believe it. So I glossed over certain statements made in the final chapters and finished the book believing that Dumbledore was under a spell or enchantment or perhaps Hagrid had spirited him away somewhere prearranged and he (Dumbledore) would come back alive in Year 7. I no longer think that will happen. He really is dead (although I will be more than pleased if I am proven wrong when I read HP and the Deathly Hallows!).