Reading Harry Potter (no spoilers)

Just like the last book, I was in a bookstore at midnight to get the latest and last of the Harry Potter series. My bookstore of choice was the University Bookstore on the Ave in the U District. While the party was larger, had live music and more activities than for the last party, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. The black frosted cookies and trivia game contest suited me better.

I did have company this time around. Kate came and kept me from standing in line for my book. Turns out it was the smart move. Last time, the pre-paid reserved book line went quickly. This time, it didn't seem to be moving for the first five or ten minutes. Last time, I was out of the store at about 12:05. This time it was about 12:30, but I spent less time in line hanging out with Kate.

I started the book when I got home, and read for about two hours. After sleeping, though, my reading slowed and I found myself doing housework and other chores rather than reading, telling myself I had the whole weekend to read it.

I don't think I wanted it to be over. I made it to 30 pages shy of the half-way point when I went to bed at midnight. Today, knowing that spoilers were bound to grow as folks finished the book, I hunkered down, finishing it a little after 5PM.

I was fortunately able to avoid almost all the pre-release spoilers, hearing only a quote from the author about the headcount being different than she'd thought it would be. (it was more detailed, but since I said no spoilers...) I'm realizing that I can't really say anything without slipping into potential spoilers. I'm just hoping the rest of the Web is being considerate about what they write, at least for the next week or so. If I believed I could have counted on that, I probably wouldn't have read so quickly.