And now that Harry is over....
Wanted to post here what I posted on my myspace blog.
No spoilers here. Not yet. But the next post after this probably will.
Don't worry, I'll warn you again and put it behind a cut when I post my full review and final thoughts on Harry's book 7.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
And now that Harry is finished...
Deep breath. Well, I finished the infamous Book 7: Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows.
I suppose I should put down my thoughts on that. Probably should have done it right after I finished it. But it was 2:30 in the morning 3 days after I received the book, as promised on July 21st by Amazon, and I honestly didn't want to spoil anyone.
If you read my previous blog, the night before I received this last tome, you'll know I was torn about how quickly/slowly I was going to read through the 759 pages of text (784 offical book pages). Well, a few hours after that blog entry on July 20th, that decision was kind of made for me.
Quick story that brought me to said decision...
So, I was just finishing up that post and it was around 10pm-ish and the phone rings. I see by my caller id, that is Nath, my best friend. I'm like....hmmmmm, why is she calling so late? So I pick up the phone and I barely get a hello out of my mouth and she's like, "so, can you explain to me why we are not at a book store right now experiencing the whole book final book of Harry Potter release at 12:010am?" And I'm like, holy crap...I don't know. I had no freaking idea why we didn't plan to be somewhere to experiencing this event. And my heart sank. What the fuck were we thinking?
Recovering quickly and taking the hypogriff by the beak, I'm like "where do you want to go?" The second was, "I'll pick you up, what book store is doing something good?"
And being Nath, she was at that moment online reading about all the Harry Potter book parties going on at some local book stores. We decide to go an do something. Spur of the moment stuff is always what's remembered as the best times, so I told her I was going to call my sister and see if she wanted to come. There was no way I could possibly leave her out of the fun.
So I call Cath at her house. Still at work. Call her cell. Voice mail. Damnit. Leave a message with the details: Nath and I are going to experience the release of the FINAL Harry Potter book...call me back if you want to come.
Like a minute later, she calls me back. "I'm leaving work now, where are we going?"
After coordinating who's picking up who and where we're meeting, I get off the phone, tell my husband I'm going out, make a quick change into my seeker shirt and my Slytherin Quidditch jacket, grab my Zonko's wand (totally serious about the wand, by the way...it has 25 different sound effects) and jump in the car to meet them.
We finally decide on the Barnes and Nobel in Garden City, right by Roosevelt Field Mall. Okay, so I get there and it's beyond packed. I'm wandering aimlessly in the parking lot trying to find a place to park and the phone rings. Cath is like, "we just saw you drive by. Go behind the building and park, you'll see us." So I do as told and we get out and get on line. It's 11:00pm. T-61 minutes until Harry's last hurrah is sold. Now mind you, my book was coming on Saturday...so was Nath's. Who was actually on line to purchase the book...Cath.
Okay, yeah. The freaking line was around the entire building and snaked past the dumpsters. We got on line at the stop sign in the parking lot. Was on line for about 10 minutes when the B&N people decide to move us and everyone that was now behind us, say oh, about another 50 people on the other side of the dumpsters. In the 50 or so minutes we stood against the back wall of the building on the side of the dumpsters that smelled like...I'll say it...piss, the line continued to snake even further along the other side wall deep, deep into the parking lot.
Words cannot express how many freaking people were there. Thousands? Maybe not, but a freaking lot. And do the freaks come out at night? Oh, hells yes. Oh, Harry was there. So was Ginny. Taking pictures with anyone who asked. And was there a second Harry, with English accent and all being driven around whilst sticking out of a moon roof of a truck?...oh yes. And McGonagall? yepper. And I might add, a GOOD McGonagall - she looked great. But how long were we supposed to stand there?
Well, as promised the line moved at midnight. We moved about 15 feet. At about 12:15, we finally moved past the pissy smell of the back wall and now we're standing in the parking pretty much exactly where we started....at the fucking stop sign. Nice.
Those first few people that came out to their cars with book in hand were happy, really, really happy. You could just tell that they were going to go home and probably start reading. Or at least, get a good night's sleep then start in bright and early in the morning.
Now, there happens to be a Stop and Shop in this shopping center where the B&N is and Cath is like, "I'm sure they're selling the book there, they've got to be to compete with B&N, they'd be crazy not to sell them tonight." So she decides to take a little walk leaving me and Nath on the B&N line. Basically, we have our cells phones to check in with each other, so she who gets to the front of either line first, buys the book for Cath. So she leaves.
Now Nath and I are just rounding the stop sign to snake past the dumpsters again and then along the other side of the back wall of the store. And who was in front of us this whole time? Well, I guess the nicest way to put it was a bunch of chicken heads. Bock, bock, bock, about Harry Potter and rumors about the book and I don't want to tell you this, but I really do want to tell, but don't let me tell you, bock bock bockoaaahhh. Annoying to the point that as the line moved, Nath and I stood back about 5-6 feet just so we would be out of direct earshot.
Then...the assholes came out. The ones who, while walking back to their cars, flipped to the back of the book to read the ending. Watch out for the angry caps now...WHO THE FUCK DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF A LINE FULL OF CLEARLY CRAZY FANS?
Well, these mother fuckers did.
So back and forth on the phone with Cath a few times and now we're on the side of the building. And was there a guy in the back of a minivan with the side door open reading the last few pages of the book? Yeah. And as he passed, did he scream out something about Voldemort? oh yes. Thankfully, we saw it coming and put our hands over our ears to block out any would be spoilers. ASSHOLE! Who are these fucking people?
Now, it's about 12:30 and we're just about at the front of the building. Called Cath again, she had about 10 people in front of her paying for books. We finally get in the building. Hooray! We have to weave through all the book stacks like cattle being lead to the slaughter. We made it almost to the back of the store (this time on the inside) and Cath calls me, "I have my book in hand, meet me at the car." I turn to Nath and I'm like, "abort mission, abort mission. Cath has Hallows in hand, let's get the fuck out of here."
So the two of us are laughing and we get off the line to head back towards the front of the store and there's this guy handing out flyers. So Nath grabs one, I grab one, then ask for another for Cath. He was nice enough to give it to me. So we walk outside and I start screaming, "We got the FLYER!!! We got the FLYER!!!" Like that was the only reason we were on line that night. Nath is hysterical! I'm hysterical. What a freaking crazy night. We met Cath at the car and beheld the final book of Harry's illustrious life. We took a moment. And then the moment passed and Cath left and I took Nath home.
Okay, so not such a quick story...but it was good right? Maybe you had to be there to get all the funny/crazy parts, but I'm so glad Nath called me that night and I'm so glad I got to do something spontaneous with my best friend and my sister. It's something we'll definately look back on and say, "remember that night when book 7 was released and we went to that Barnes and Noble?" Ah, good times.
So why did I decide to read it so quickly, well after reading this story I would think it was pretty obvious. I really, really, really didn't want to be spoiled. And I knew that if I took my time, somebody on the train, or waiting for the subway would have said something and I would have overheard it and then I would be so pissed off, I'd have to kill the person for ruining it for me. When Nath and I were in the car that night she told me she was going to have to read it quickly and I agreed with her. There are too many assholes out there.
So my decision was made. It wasn't a race between the 3 of us. Not at all. Though I did end up finishing first, I really didn't push myself on Monday night for bragging rights, that I finished it first. I did it because by 11pm on Monday evening I only had about 150 pages to go. And I knew if I didn't finish it that night, I would end of finishing it Tuesday on the train. I wasn't at any emotional point of the book yet, but I just knew one would be coming, either in the written word or just for the sheer fact that the book was ending...my Harry was going to be over. I knew that would kill me either way. And I was soooo not going to cry like a lunatic on the train in front of strangers. I had to do that alone, in the wee hours of the morning with my cats Harry and Hermione sitting on my lap.
And man am I glad I made that choice. For I did cry. So much so that I could barely get through that one chapter. The raw emotion in that chapter was probably the best part of the book for me. And I know if I re-read just that one chapter right now, she'll have me crying again.
Whew. Well, I'm tired and my typing is getting a little sloppy. I'll have to give my full review and feelings on the book in another post. I just can't tonight.
Later my lovlies.
-meo
No spoilers here. Not yet. But the next post after this probably will.
Don't worry, I'll warn you again and put it behind a cut when I post my full review and final thoughts on Harry's book 7.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
And now that Harry is finished...
Deep breath. Well, I finished the infamous Book 7: Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows.
I suppose I should put down my thoughts on that. Probably should have done it right after I finished it. But it was 2:30 in the morning 3 days after I received the book, as promised on July 21st by Amazon, and I honestly didn't want to spoil anyone.
If you read my previous blog, the night before I received this last tome, you'll know I was torn about how quickly/slowly I was going to read through the 759 pages of text (784 offical book pages). Well, a few hours after that blog entry on July 20th, that decision was kind of made for me.
Quick story that brought me to said decision...
So, I was just finishing up that post and it was around 10pm-ish and the phone rings. I see by my caller id, that is Nath, my best friend. I'm like....hmmmmm, why is she calling so late? So I pick up the phone and I barely get a hello out of my mouth and she's like, "so, can you explain to me why we are not at a book store right now experiencing the whole book final book of Harry Potter release at 12:010am?" And I'm like, holy crap...I don't know. I had no freaking idea why we didn't plan to be somewhere to experiencing this event. And my heart sank. What the fuck were we thinking?
Recovering quickly and taking the hypogriff by the beak, I'm like "where do you want to go?" The second was, "I'll pick you up, what book store is doing something good?"
And being Nath, she was at that moment online reading about all the Harry Potter book parties going on at some local book stores. We decide to go an do something. Spur of the moment stuff is always what's remembered as the best times, so I told her I was going to call my sister and see if she wanted to come. There was no way I could possibly leave her out of the fun.
So I call Cath at her house. Still at work. Call her cell. Voice mail. Damnit. Leave a message with the details: Nath and I are going to experience the release of the FINAL Harry Potter book...call me back if you want to come.
Like a minute later, she calls me back. "I'm leaving work now, where are we going?"
After coordinating who's picking up who and where we're meeting, I get off the phone, tell my husband I'm going out, make a quick change into my seeker shirt and my Slytherin Quidditch jacket, grab my Zonko's wand (totally serious about the wand, by the way...it has 25 different sound effects) and jump in the car to meet them.
We finally decide on the Barnes and Nobel in Garden City, right by Roosevelt Field Mall. Okay, so I get there and it's beyond packed. I'm wandering aimlessly in the parking lot trying to find a place to park and the phone rings. Cath is like, "we just saw you drive by. Go behind the building and park, you'll see us." So I do as told and we get out and get on line. It's 11:00pm. T-61 minutes until Harry's last hurrah is sold. Now mind you, my book was coming on Saturday...so was Nath's. Who was actually on line to purchase the book...Cath.
Okay, yeah. The freaking line was around the entire building and snaked past the dumpsters. We got on line at the stop sign in the parking lot. Was on line for about 10 minutes when the B&N people decide to move us and everyone that was now behind us, say oh, about another 50 people on the other side of the dumpsters. In the 50 or so minutes we stood against the back wall of the building on the side of the dumpsters that smelled like...I'll say it...piss, the line continued to snake even further along the other side wall deep, deep into the parking lot.
Words cannot express how many freaking people were there. Thousands? Maybe not, but a freaking lot. And do the freaks come out at night? Oh, hells yes. Oh, Harry was there. So was Ginny. Taking pictures with anyone who asked. And was there a second Harry, with English accent and all being driven around whilst sticking out of a moon roof of a truck?...oh yes. And McGonagall? yepper. And I might add, a GOOD McGonagall - she looked great. But how long were we supposed to stand there?
Well, as promised the line moved at midnight. We moved about 15 feet. At about 12:15, we finally moved past the pissy smell of the back wall and now we're standing in the parking pretty much exactly where we started....at the fucking stop sign. Nice.
Those first few people that came out to their cars with book in hand were happy, really, really happy. You could just tell that they were going to go home and probably start reading. Or at least, get a good night's sleep then start in bright and early in the morning.
Now, there happens to be a Stop and Shop in this shopping center where the B&N is and Cath is like, "I'm sure they're selling the book there, they've got to be to compete with B&N, they'd be crazy not to sell them tonight." So she decides to take a little walk leaving me and Nath on the B&N line. Basically, we have our cells phones to check in with each other, so she who gets to the front of either line first, buys the book for Cath. So she leaves.
Now Nath and I are just rounding the stop sign to snake past the dumpsters again and then along the other side of the back wall of the store. And who was in front of us this whole time? Well, I guess the nicest way to put it was a bunch of chicken heads. Bock, bock, bock, about Harry Potter and rumors about the book and I don't want to tell you this, but I really do want to tell, but don't let me tell you, bock bock bockoaaahhh. Annoying to the point that as the line moved, Nath and I stood back about 5-6 feet just so we would be out of direct earshot.
Then...the assholes came out. The ones who, while walking back to their cars, flipped to the back of the book to read the ending. Watch out for the angry caps now...WHO THE FUCK DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF A LINE FULL OF CLEARLY CRAZY FANS?
Well, these mother fuckers did.
So back and forth on the phone with Cath a few times and now we're on the side of the building. And was there a guy in the back of a minivan with the side door open reading the last few pages of the book? Yeah. And as he passed, did he scream out something about Voldemort? oh yes. Thankfully, we saw it coming and put our hands over our ears to block out any would be spoilers. ASSHOLE! Who are these fucking people?
Now, it's about 12:30 and we're just about at the front of the building. Called Cath again, she had about 10 people in front of her paying for books. We finally get in the building. Hooray! We have to weave through all the book stacks like cattle being lead to the slaughter. We made it almost to the back of the store (this time on the inside) and Cath calls me, "I have my book in hand, meet me at the car." I turn to Nath and I'm like, "abort mission, abort mission. Cath has Hallows in hand, let's get the fuck out of here."
So the two of us are laughing and we get off the line to head back towards the front of the store and there's this guy handing out flyers. So Nath grabs one, I grab one, then ask for another for Cath. He was nice enough to give it to me. So we walk outside and I start screaming, "We got the FLYER!!! We got the FLYER!!!" Like that was the only reason we were on line that night. Nath is hysterical! I'm hysterical. What a freaking crazy night. We met Cath at the car and beheld the final book of Harry's illustrious life. We took a moment. And then the moment passed and Cath left and I took Nath home.
Okay, so not such a quick story...but it was good right? Maybe you had to be there to get all the funny/crazy parts, but I'm so glad Nath called me that night and I'm so glad I got to do something spontaneous with my best friend and my sister. It's something we'll definately look back on and say, "remember that night when book 7 was released and we went to that Barnes and Noble?" Ah, good times.
So why did I decide to read it so quickly, well after reading this story I would think it was pretty obvious. I really, really, really didn't want to be spoiled. And I knew that if I took my time, somebody on the train, or waiting for the subway would have said something and I would have overheard it and then I would be so pissed off, I'd have to kill the person for ruining it for me. When Nath and I were in the car that night she told me she was going to have to read it quickly and I agreed with her. There are too many assholes out there.
So my decision was made. It wasn't a race between the 3 of us. Not at all. Though I did end up finishing first, I really didn't push myself on Monday night for bragging rights, that I finished it first. I did it because by 11pm on Monday evening I only had about 150 pages to go. And I knew if I didn't finish it that night, I would end of finishing it Tuesday on the train. I wasn't at any emotional point of the book yet, but I just knew one would be coming, either in the written word or just for the sheer fact that the book was ending...my Harry was going to be over. I knew that would kill me either way. And I was soooo not going to cry like a lunatic on the train in front of strangers. I had to do that alone, in the wee hours of the morning with my cats Harry and Hermione sitting on my lap.
And man am I glad I made that choice. For I did cry. So much so that I could barely get through that one chapter. The raw emotion in that chapter was probably the best part of the book for me. And I know if I re-read just that one chapter right now, she'll have me crying again.
Whew. Well, I'm tired and my typing is getting a little sloppy. I'll have to give my full review and feelings on the book in another post. I just can't tonight.
Later my lovlies.
-meo