NO SPOILERS in this post
What a day. Its hard to believe that I am really sitting here with HBP on the desk next to my arm. I feel like I'm slightly floating! Its amazing.
I left early with my friends and went to town to pick up our books. The pizza place next to the bookstore had opened early for the release, and because we were some of the first fifty to order our books, we got free breakfast from them. It was really exciting and quite hilarious sitting there waiting for an hour, with all these little kids running around dressed up with lightning bolts on their heads. There was the weirdest "magician" going around trying to amuse the kids with old tricks (I say trying, but the kids were laughing pretty hard, so it seemed to be working!) It felt sureal, sitting there, eating pizza for breakfast, while the stiring meldramatic music from the Harry Potter films soared around the room. Quite an experiance.
At about 8.50am a lady from the bookstore next door brought in two longish brown boxes with red writing on them, and put them up the back where no one was sitting. Me and my friends all went "Are they the books?" and one went off to the loos (to get there you had to pass the boxes) to get a closer look. We all agreed they were!
And then came the fateful time. They did prizes first, and then the little boy who won the 'best dressed' comp was handed a knife to slice open the top of the box. He held aloft the first copy of HBP and the room resounded with the cheers and clapping of Harry Potter fans, of which I was a very enthusiastic one! I just imagined the thousands of people doing the same all the world over. Again, all I can say is: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was what I was feeling!
I grabbed my ticket and lined up to get a book. Oh, the satisfaction when it fell into my hands. I practically ran back to my table and hugged and kissed the book. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I turned the book over, read the back, read the inside, and then read the dedication, and glanced at the first page. I was overcome, and snapped the book shut again, and just looked up at my friends a grinned. I think that smile has been on my face since then!
I haven't gotten half as far as I thought I would by now. Its been amazing so far, I am loving it. My only problem, is that because I did read a number of spoilers, I think I now know who is going to die. Its horrible, and I really wish I didn't. But because some of the other spoilers have turned out to be true, I'm beginning to think the rest may be. Nooooooooo! Anyway, I can't blame anyone else but me, and since I haven't actually gotten to the end yet, I may yet be proved wrong.
I've taken a rest at the beginning of Chapter 13, waiting for my sister to catch up, so we can squee over it together, and to take my toast to London, the Expired Milk Thread, J.K.Rowling, and just to everyone who I have shared the love of Harry Potter with since I first found him. I raise my mug of warm, milky tea to you all! Cheers.
-Tash
P.S. I was just wondering, if anyone sees this who has a copy of the English edition of HBP, whether at the beginning of Chapter 3, page 42, there is a typo. 6 lines down (AND STILL NO SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T) it says, in my copy, "The misty fug his breath had left..." Do my eyes decieve me, or does it really say "Fug" when it should be "Fog"? Please, someone tell me!
I left early with my friends and went to town to pick up our books. The pizza place next to the bookstore had opened early for the release, and because we were some of the first fifty to order our books, we got free breakfast from them. It was really exciting and quite hilarious sitting there waiting for an hour, with all these little kids running around dressed up with lightning bolts on their heads. There was the weirdest "magician" going around trying to amuse the kids with old tricks (I say trying, but the kids were laughing pretty hard, so it seemed to be working!) It felt sureal, sitting there, eating pizza for breakfast, while the stiring meldramatic music from the Harry Potter films soared around the room. Quite an experiance.
At about 8.50am a lady from the bookstore next door brought in two longish brown boxes with red writing on them, and put them up the back where no one was sitting. Me and my friends all went "Are they the books?" and one went off to the loos (to get there you had to pass the boxes) to get a closer look. We all agreed they were!
And then came the fateful time. They did prizes first, and then the little boy who won the 'best dressed' comp was handed a knife to slice open the top of the box. He held aloft the first copy of HBP and the room resounded with the cheers and clapping of Harry Potter fans, of which I was a very enthusiastic one! I just imagined the thousands of people doing the same all the world over. Again, all I can say is: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was what I was feeling!
I grabbed my ticket and lined up to get a book. Oh, the satisfaction when it fell into my hands. I practically ran back to my table and hugged and kissed the book. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I turned the book over, read the back, read the inside, and then read the dedication, and glanced at the first page. I was overcome, and snapped the book shut again, and just looked up at my friends a grinned. I think that smile has been on my face since then!
I haven't gotten half as far as I thought I would by now. Its been amazing so far, I am loving it. My only problem, is that because I did read a number of spoilers, I think I now know who is going to die. Its horrible, and I really wish I didn't. But because some of the other spoilers have turned out to be true, I'm beginning to think the rest may be. Nooooooooo! Anyway, I can't blame anyone else but me, and since I haven't actually gotten to the end yet, I may yet be proved wrong.
I've taken a rest at the beginning of Chapter 13, waiting for my sister to catch up, so we can squee over it together, and to take my toast to London, the Expired Milk Thread, J.K.Rowling, and just to everyone who I have shared the love of Harry Potter with since I first found him. I raise my mug of warm, milky tea to you all! Cheers.
-Tash
P.S. I was just wondering, if anyone sees this who has a copy of the English edition of HBP, whether at the beginning of Chapter 3, page 42, there is a typo. 6 lines down (AND STILL NO SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T) it says, in my copy, "The misty fug his breath had left..." Do my eyes decieve me, or does it really say "Fug" when it should be "Fog"? Please, someone tell me!