Harry! [no spoilers]

These are the boxes that held the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows books at last week's Harry Potter release party at Barnes & Noble. It was a fun shindig, with kids and adults in costume, story circles where an employee dressed as Harry read from The Half-Blood Prince, and a Harry Potter-themed band, singing songs like "I was a teenaged werewolf". I didn't stick around for the big release, though; I did that last time, and it was a very uncomfortable and frustrating zoo. This time, I left shortly before midnight, went to the grocery store, stocked up on snacks for the weekend, and bought my book there.

The book was excellent--extremely intense, but excellent. I've spent the past week anchoring myself in the Harry Potter world by reading and posting on discussion boards, watching the dvds after work, and laughing at the crazy people.

If you would care to join me, follow these links:

Here's a wonderful discussion going on at one of my favorite boards. Be warned, it's all spoilers, all the time, so don't go there if you haven't read the final book.
LibraryThing.com's discussion groups Look for Hogwarts Express discussions first, then branch out to others.
If My Friends List Wrote DH Hilariously funny, deeply spoilery, and heavy with the slash. If you don't know what slash is, you may find the story disturbing, but try it anyway.
First six HP books, summarized in 100 words or less From readers of the BBC.
Potterpuffs Cleverly drawn artwork illustrating a few of the scenes from the book.
Rowling reveals character points that wouldn't fit in the book. Squeeeee!
Readers' reactions From MSNBC's employees, and I assume their children (The realization that one of the greatest series is over will take a few weeks to handle. Just like how Voldemort wanted, there will be no more happiness. -- From a 10 year old!)
A scripted parody of the final scenes
The beginnings of what could be an awesome Neville fic

That should keep you busy. ;-D

Polgara on 07.26.07 @ 03:50 PM PST [link]

To-Be-Read shelf

This is a picture of my to-be-read shelf, a bookshelf devoted to the books I have yet to read. These aren't all of my TBR books, since they wouldn't all fit; it's more my top priority TBR books.

If you click on the image for a larger view, you might be able to detect two copies of The Hobbit--one fully illustrated; more than one Christopher Golden book (I'm a terrible, terrible friend); Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which my mom bought for me on my birthday three weeks before she died, and which I've only read half of (I can't help it, it's boring--who knew my reading tates would be so far off the general public's?); lots of Harry Dresden books, which I'll be picking up again once the last Harry Potter has been devoured this weekend; and, well, lots of others.

You might notice a picture of J, the daughter of my friends Tony and Tricia, over there on the left--isn't she cute? And you might also be wondering what that feathery thing is--that, my friends, is my "COQ" ring, a sequined and feathered symbol of my position as HotKaGoF (Head of the Kitchen and Goddess of Fun) (at least, I think that's what the "H" stood for, it's been a few years) in the Court of Quidam. It'd take too long to explain, and you'd just think I'm weider than you already do; just suffice to say it was a gift from a dear friend.

This post has been brought to you by my desire to justify the continued existence of this otherwise neglected blog. :-D
Polgara on 07.20.07 @ 10:55 AM PST [link]

Orange!

I've been on an orange kick lately--the color, not the fruit. Just can't seem to get enough orange! On my commute today, I was behind this Mazda that was the most brilliantly amazing shade of coppery orange ever! I decided I loved it so much, I had to have a picture of it. Unfortunately, the picture was taken through my windshield, so the color isn't entirely accurate, which makes me sad. But still, I wanted the memory of the shiny, sunset-colored car to be preserved forever right here. Lucky you!
Polgara on 07.19.07 @ 11:47 AM PST [link]

Vampire People @ Barnes & Noble

It's here! My friend Allyson's first book, Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?, became available exclusively at Barnes & Noble stores across the country on Friday, about a week earlier than any of us expected. Friends from NY to Florida, Iowa to Texas and California, have been reporting back with stories on how they found the book, how they chatted up the store employees to generate bookseller interest, how they took pictures (and posted them) of the book on display, and finally how they felt upon reading the essays nestled within the covers. It's been a big weekend for those of us chronicled in this book about how an internet community based around fandom (in this case, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly fandoms) can change a life. Specifically, it's about how it changed Allyson's life, but so much of it describes how it changed many lives, mine included.

If you're reading this blog, I'd wager your life has also been changed by online interactions with strangers around the world, and if that's true, you should stop by your local B&N and look for Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? by Allyson Beatrice. Leaf through it, maybe read a page or two (I'd recommend the chapter entitled "The Internet Wants Your Daughters"), and if you like what you see, buy a copy and bring it home. And as you're reading it, everytime you come across a mention of Allyson's friend Paula, you can think to yourself, "Hey, I know her--I read her blog!"

P.S. It'll be available in all other bookstores as of August 1st!
Polgara on 07.08.07 @ 12:55 PM PST [link]

Happy Fourth!

Wow, two months since an update. I suck. I'm so sorry to be neglecting this blog so grievously; I guess I've been spending too much of my time updating my knitting blog. Sorry!

Anyway, I was just in my LJ talking about tomorrow's holiday. Growing up, the 4th of July was the awesomest holiday ever. Mom would take us to the park near Grandma's house, where they had all kinds of races and contests for the kids (I once came in third in a potato sack race, won a frisbee!), and rides for the really small kids, and lots of bbq and ice cream. The local Eagles club would have an open house, and my cousins and sister and I would run around the function hall screaming and yelling, or downstairs at the bar, begging Uncle Jack to take the cover off the pool table for us (he didn't give in until we were in our twenties). Sometimes they'd give us sparklers to play with after dark, or we'd go to the nearby bridge to watch the fireworks over Boston, or we'd just watch them on the bar tv. It was a day spent with family--uncles, aunts, cousins--and it was awesome. I looked forward to it every year, even when we outgrew the park (and became old enough to drink more than Shirley Temples from the bar).

The park two blocks from me does a lot of the same stuff I remember as a kid--rides and races and free food. The Hollywood Bowl is doing fireworks this year (which I find odd, given the lack of rain). But it's just not the same. For me, it's a family holiday. I suspect this year will be spent either on the couch reading The Goblet of Fire or watching Independence Day and 1776, or else at the movies watching Transformers. It's nice to have a day off in the middle of the week, but nowadays, that's really all it is.

For those of you for whom it's something more, I wish you a wonderful and fun-filled holiday! For me, I'm thinking cheeseburger, ice cream, and my couch. Woot!
Polgara on 07.03.07 @ 02:50 PM PST [link]