ice-t would be proud.

...i'm tired and a little sad

07.17.05

Yesterday, I picked up my reserved copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at Borders. They had some sort of crazy thing where if you pre-ordered the book before a certain date, you would get it for 30% off, which I am totally all about.

You may be surprised to know that I didn't even open the book last night.

My energy was focused on something that happened at work that is so entirely ridiculous, I can't even talk about it.

So, when I got home from work, I ate, wrote a very important, and lengthy email to my DM, and then went to bed because I had to get up early this morning to go to an all-day American Crew class thingy that The People Who Sign My Paychecks sponsored for us stylists, in Rosemont. I got tapped to help out at both the morning and the afternoon classes, and there's a whole story about that clusterfuck that I'll probably discuss some other time.

I'm here to talk about Harry Potter.

I knew that today I would have a couple of hours between the two classes to entertain myself, so I brought the book along in my bag.

During that break, I read the first quarter of the book there, and then when I got home around six, I picked it back up, and finished it by 10:15pm.

And yes, it is 652 pages long.

I read quickly, but I may have actually set a new personal record.

And here is what I have to say about the book right now.

1. My eyes hurt, and not just because I have allergies.
   
   
2. It is just as good as all the other books, and makes me really really really want to know how the story ends in the next book, because wow, there's still so much for Harry to accomplish.
   
   
3. This book is really fucking dark.
   
   You have to remember that there are a lot of very nasty people and creatures that don't have morals to live by or consciences to battle running loose in this fictional world right now, wreaking wanton havoc, and there is a lot of violence, some of which is actually fairly graphic. Not to mention a much higher body count than any of the previous novels.
   
   In fact, it almost makes Order of the Phoenix look like a moderately hazardous cake walk.
   
   A lot of people are going to be upset by this book, and I think that most of them will be children.
   
   I predict some nightmares among the book's younger audience.
   
   
4. This book actually manages to keep secrets throughout its pages.
   
   It has twists and turns you don't see. There are unresolved mysteries. Things will make you say, "No way!" out loud.
   
   This is a book full of unexpected happenstances, good and bad, and it's going to be a very long couple of years until we get the final installment of the series.
   
   I just hope that the next book can live up to all the expectations that it's going to have to meet, but there will be many of them from a lot of different sources.
   
   
5. Right now, I think J.K. Rowling is a big ol' bitch. (Much like Kyle's mom.)
   
   And I feel this way for many reasons, none of which I care to list for your viewing pleasure.
   
   There would be more swearing, and I might accidentally spoil the book for someone.
   
   You wanna read what someone else has to say about something? Go read a book for yourself.
   
   

And that would be my take on the subject right now.

I need to go to bed now.

Good night.