Philip Pullman does odd things with his narration at times, mostly staying in tight third, and then popping out into omniscient, only to jump back into tight third. It's not bad, I just find it a little jarring. It's like I'm riding along with the story, and then, every now and then, a voice whispers "pssst - you're reading a book." And I go " ( Read more... )

Stopped into Barnes and Noble today. I haven't browsed - truly browsed - through a book store in a while. It was very satisfying. It also got me thinking about books and Amazon's e-reader, kindle. Personally, I don't think an e-reader could ever completely replace the physical book. There's something sensual about books that can't be reproduced ( Read more... )

My mom was actually caught by surprise by the events toward the end of Half-Blood Prince. Usually I'm the clueless one, and I thought the foreshadowing there was really bloody obvious. Or maybe I've just gotten more jaded and cynical when it comes to the Harry Potter books; she seems to be getting more out of the last 3 books than I did.