Review: HP7(1), A Separate Peace, Looking for Alaska

Apparently, all media over the last few weeks that I've consumed has been entirely focused on teenagers at boarding schools. Ok, so this is Southwold Church, not Hogwarts, but I thought it looked suitably atmospheric. It was FREEZING when we were there!

First, I read A Separate Peace, which was one of those books that all my friends in AP English were assigned (I was non-AP for mysterious reasons known only to the head of NRHS's English department at the time). Meh, I think. I wouldn't have minded reading it in high school, but I definitely didn't love it.

Second, I read Looking for Alaska, by John Green. Again with the moody teenagers at boarding school (this time in Alabama, though, not New Hampshire). I could see why parents might not want their kids reading it, but I also think it's the kind of book that could lead to engagingr discussions in a high school English classroom.

To finish, John and I saw the new Harry Potter movie (Deathly Hallows, part 1) with what seemed like half of Ipswich on Saturday night. I really enjoyed the movie, and thought that it captured the book perfectly. I'd forgotten quite a few of the plot points, since I've only read the book once, right when it first came out. I'm going to need to jump in to a reread, after I finish my new Kate Morton (the waiting list at the library was 100+ people so I caved and bought it).

All done

Well, I've finished the book. Last night at about 9:30, as a matter of fact. I've been trying to ponder what to post here and I'm going to avoid spoilers for a bit.

Apparently I was not the only person annoyed by the HP review in the New York times - they got thousands of letters from angry people. I still think while what they did was technically legal, it was morally wrong. One of the commenters suggested submitting it to Randy Cohen (The Ethicist from the Sunday Times Magazine) - I think it's a great idea.

We went out for a curry with Ian & Caroline on Friday night in Ipswich - we'd reserved our books so we figured that it wouldn't be too bad of a line at Waterstones. Er, yeah, we were wrong. Not only was there a HUGE line of people, going all the way down a v. long block and around several corners, we were only about 150 metres away from the store and we were in line for almost 2 hours after midnight. They only had 3 registers open and it was taking forever. And it was FREEZING cold - I had to put my fleece on over my HP shirt. We were, however, waiting next to a v. nice college student who kept us entertained.

Here they are:


And here's the line:


And here we are WITH OUR BOOKS!


We staggered back to the house, where I read the first chapter and tumbled in to bed. I woke up at 6:30 with the sun streaming in to our room, and started from the beginning again. We left at 9, had the best Little Chef breakfast I've ever had, and then came home, showered, and settled in. John was upstairs on the bed, and I was downstairs on the couch. I had two small interruptions to hang washing on the line, and was about 3/4 of the way through when we left for a bbq at my friend's house.

She's American, married to an Air Force navigator, and we were the only civilians at the party. It was fun, though. We had Bratwurst (she's from Minnesota) and lots of American food from the base. John thought it was all very strange.

We got home about 8, and I read straight through until 9:30. John read until about midnight, and then woke up at 7 this morning to finish.

I thought it was EXTREMELY good, and while I'm definitely feeling HP withdrawal, it's much more of a peaceful feeling than with any of the previous books.

NYT Harry Potter review

Somehow, the New York Times bought a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a store in New York City. Not sure how, but whatever.

They then read the book, wrote a review, and posted it. Fine, except nobody's supposed to get the book AT ALL until tomorrow night at midnight. And their review included SPOILERS. Which I read, by accident. And then tried my best to un-read, but it doesn't work like that. I'm not linking to it here - if you desperately want to read it, you'll be able to find it.

I am NOT a happy bunny. They're mean.

Harry Potter weekend No.1 (of 2)

Our garden has suddenly exploded in a riot of colo(u)r. Here's an arial view of our hanging basket (planted with the M-i-L) and the begonias that we planted with Mom & Dad.

It was a glorious afternoon - we had laundry dancing on the line and I sat out in the back yard and read my book. We've had a bumper crop of coriander, so John and I are going to have a shrimp curry tomorrow to see if we can use some of it up.

Last night we had a bbq with F & T - we spent some time shooting at a tin can in the back yard. John says that the only time he's ever seen his father miss anything was when they were trying to shoot a rabbit in the dark (the garden was overrun with them) and John was shining a flashlight on the rabbit.



We stopped on the way home to take some pictures - the sunset was glorious.


So, Harry Potter, you ask? Indeed. We saw the movie yesterday morning, and I loved it. I really like OOtP anyway (although I tend to stop right before they get in to the Dept of Mysteries - I can't bring myself to read any further). The writing was the best so far - it condensed the book perfectly, removing the extraneous characters and plot lines, without adding any other random filler. Luna was perfect, Umbridge was deliciously awful (and her office was PERFECT), and the Room Of Requirement was only missing a few pillows. I agree with C about how anything that was added sounded like it was written by JK. And I LOVED the scene where Harry was talking to Dumbledore about the prophecy... "You mean, in the end, one of us has to kill the other?" Yup, Harry, and that's NEXT WEEK!!! Oh, and when did Daniel Radcliffe get to be so cute? I know he's 17, but still. Oh, and I'm going to get my 'the end' theory out now, so if you don't care, go read the Times or something.

Snape will help Harry (on purpose or not, I don't know) kill Voldemort. I think this has to happen, although seeing OOtP again calls his loyalty into question again. He DID tell the others that "He's got Padfoot, in the place where it's hidden," but that could still be part of his double-agentness.

I may have to steal HBP from James' room and reread it this week...

We have a date!

The NYT has announced the release date for the next (last!) Harry Potter book. ACK!!! Here's the link to the article.

Happy New Year!

We're off to Ipswich tonight to have dinner with Ian & Caroline...we haven't seen them since the wedding so it will be really nice to catch up. It's not going to be the same as my above-Times Square with alcohol, music, food and bathrooms (and fantastic company!) - thanks Evan! But it should be fun.

Oh, and I can't believe it took me until Christmas to find this (and to today to post it)...the new Harry Potter book's title was released by Jo Rowling on the 21st - it's 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' I'm hoping that it will be released AFTER Lizzie & Greg's wedding so that I can pick up my books from my parents' house in time to read them all again.

Oh, and the Indigo Girls are coming to Cambridge on Valentine's Day...John and I have tickets - he's the best hubby ever. Although I might have to bring mom, Meade and Emily over for the concert too...it won't be the same without them...