Sunday, July 22, 2007

Random Harry Potter #7 (**spoilers in comments**)

***Comments contain spoilers!!! So, consider yourself warned.***


I'm done reading!
Whew!

My copy finally showed up Saturday afternoon a little after 2pm.
The children learned the hard way that saying, "Hey, Mother! It's a brown truck!" was NOT funny.
As it turned out, the post office delivered it, not UPS as my e-mail confirmations from Amazon had read. (Rumor has it UPS delivered to the post office, though, so...)

I ran out to the mailbox as the mail truck pulled up.
I was afraid to ask. All my friends had their books.
I felt like Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz after the Wizard had emptied his bag of gifts. The part where Dorothy looks up with sad eyes and says, You don't have anything left in that bag for me.
Especially when the mail lady handed me a fistful of envelopes.
My heart sank.
In a very small voice, I pleaded, "Do you have a book in there for me?"
"Yes, I do!" she gleefully told me. "You are the first person to actually meet me at the mailbox!"
"Are you kidding?!? I nearly ran you down when you came around there!" And I pointed around the corner.
She chuckled. But it was kind of an uncomfortable chuckle.
And she drove away kinda faster than usual.

*****

I read it all in two days. I took breaks here and there.
I found it disappointingly easy to set down.
At first.
But then...!
Once they were greeted by Neville, it was non-stop reading for me!

*****

The closer I got to the end, the less I spoke in English:
"How many more pages do you have to go?"
"Two hundred! Now leave me alone!"
"Now how many more pages?"
"One hundred. Go 'way!"
"How many more..."
"Fifty. SH!!"
"How many..."
"AAAAaaaaagh!"
"How..."
::frantic waving of arms::

*****

I also suffered two Deathly Hallows injuries:
1) When I accepted my book from the postal carrier, its surprising weight yanked my arm down, and I pulled a muscle in my shoulder, and
2) Near the end when I couldn't read fast enough, I turned a page and got a paper cut on the back of my hand... which made me think of Dolores Umbridge. (shudder)

*****

Now that I'm done with the story, I'd like to say that I guessed some things, but since I didn't post any predictions, I can't very well bask in any self-glory. Oh well.
I can't wait to read it again... only slower.

6 comments:

Thumper said...

I ran out to Costco yesterday morning to get it and promptly sat my ample tush in a chair and read with only a few breaks until I was finished.

My predictions were mostly wrong, she did at least one thing I *really* didn't agree with, but overall the book kicked a$$ and I'll definitely read it again.

Richmond said...

I am ready to start again... Definitely. :)

Anonymous said...

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* Don't read further unless you've already read it. I mean it. Don't read any further...okay, now. I loved the book, but I almost felt like doing a 'body count' like fans do for episodes of '24'. The saddest one of all for me was at Bill and Fleur's place. Dammit.

Anonymous said...

****ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT!!!****
StopStopStopStopStopStopStopStopStopStop


Mrs. Who: When the first death happened so early practically over the Dursley's house, it reeeeally ticked me off.
"Fine," I thought, "So that's how it's gonna be, huh? No one is sacred."
After that, I suspected every paragraph was going to be someone's last.

Thumper: Was it some of the curses Harry used? That bothered me.

Thumper said...

No, the language was appropriate for the circumstances of the book. There was a death early on that I felt was completely unnecessary to the story, other than to say "hey, look, it's gonna be a bloody ride." There was no point to it other than waving that particular flag, and it did not advance the story.

Anonymous said...

***more spoilers***
Thumper: Oh, I'm all with you on that first death.

But when I said curses, heh, I meant spells. :)
(Now that you mention it, though, was there any swearing?)
Anyway, it bothered me that Harry used Unforgivable Curses.