Harry Potter Day
What a wonderful, memorable day! (I'm talking about the book release as an event, here, not my reaction to the contents.) black_samvara and maharetr really know how to throw a reading party. I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed a social event more in my entire life.
My day started perfectly with a live owl at the bookstore, and just got better with the great group of people and incredible pancake toppings at the party. We read the first three chapters out loud, smoothly changing from one person to the next at the end of each page, then retired to various locations to carry on individually, resurfacing occasionally for more food and to exchange page counts. mynxii maintained a poker face and gave nothing away when she finished mid-afternoon, and black_samvara and maharetr continued to be perfect hosts and keep the house entirely spoiler-free when I was still reading at 10pm!
I was proud of myself for not skipping forward to the end. I feel like a grown-up, who was able to delay gratification and enjoy the experience properly! (maharetr set an excellent example by making pancakes for two hours when she desperately wanted to be reading.) They put the pages in order for a reason!
My favourite parts were Harry coming to terms with the fact that he had to die, which was really impressive, and the confirmation that Snape acted in accordance with Dumbledore's wishes.
I had to stop reading for a while when Ron walked out on Harry, and was extremely relieved when he returned! I didn't much care for the epilogue, but I won't begrudge Rowling finishing the series whatever way she wanted to.
I imagine there were more people simultaneously reading around the world today than at any other time in human history. I really enjoyed sharing the experience with those of you who were there, as well as those of you who were elsewhere!
My day started perfectly with a live owl at the bookstore, and just got better with the great group of people and incredible pancake toppings at the party. We read the first three chapters out loud, smoothly changing from one person to the next at the end of each page, then retired to various locations to carry on individually, resurfacing occasionally for more food and to exchange page counts. mynxii maintained a poker face and gave nothing away when she finished mid-afternoon, and black_samvara and maharetr continued to be perfect hosts and keep the house entirely spoiler-free when I was still reading at 10pm!
I was proud of myself for not skipping forward to the end. I feel like a grown-up, who was able to delay gratification and enjoy the experience properly! (maharetr set an excellent example by making pancakes for two hours when she desperately wanted to be reading.) They put the pages in order for a reason!
My favourite parts were Harry coming to terms with the fact that he had to die, which was really impressive, and the confirmation that Snape acted in accordance with Dumbledore's wishes.
I had to stop reading for a while when Ron walked out on Harry, and was extremely relieved when he returned! I didn't much care for the epilogue, but I won't begrudge Rowling finishing the series whatever way she wanted to.
I imagine there were more people simultaneously reading around the world today than at any other time in human history. I really enjoyed sharing the experience with those of you who were there, as well as those of you who were elsewhere!