Book-Release Morning

I got up early on the morning of July 20th so I could get in line at Borders to get a numbered wristband which would secure my place in line to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows later that night. I wanted to be sure to get as low a number as possible so I could get out of the store quickly that night--not only so I could get home and start reading, but also so as few people as possible would have a chance to look at the back of the book and spoil anything. The store opened at 9:00, and when I got there at 8:00, there were already well over 50 people ahead of me.

Some of them had lawn chairs, and had apparently been waiting since the night before. That was more dedication than even I was willing to muster. Several news channels were there filming us and interviewing people. There were a few people in costume, including these girls in front of me, who came as The Unforgivable Curses ("Crucio" is behind the girl on the right):

Suzie came about half an hour later, dressed in her full Ravenclaw uniform (you'll see pictures later). The line was practically back to the movie theater by then, so I traded places with her in case the news people might want to interview her. They did, of course. She was on the news for several minues, during which time they asked her several trivia questions that displayed her knowledge of the Harry Potter books--and their complete lack of it. The very first question they asked her was "What position does Harry play in 'Kidditch'?" Suzie corrected them and answered all their questions correctly, nicely displaying her Ravenclaw brains.

Finally, at 9:00, they started letting us in the store. My wristband was #71--not too bad. But as it turned out, I wouldn't need it after all...

Saying Goodbye to Harry

As I'm finally getting around to sorting through all the pictures I took at the Harry Potter book release party at Borders, I thought I would share the whole experience here, even though it's rather late.

I thought the last Harry Potter book merited a bit of hoopla, so I made a considerable amount of effort preparing for the Big Event. Suzie, Bill, Chris, and I all attended and had a great time.

I'll start, today, with pre-party preparations. I went to the last two book release parties alone, and spent a fair amount of time sitting around and waiting. Not wanting that to happen again, my first idea was for something fun to bring to do while we were waiting. I looked online for a Harry Potter puzzle book, but couldn't find a good one. So, I decided I'd have to make a trip to Diagon Alley. Flourish and Blotts had this great book--Battling Boredom, by Q. Long-Si. It was full of crossword puzzles, anagrams, logic puzzles, word searches, riddles, poems, and even paper and instructions for making an origami Golden Snitch. A great find, I must say.

Flourish and Blotts was kind enough to throw in some great bookmarks, which came in handy later.

Of course, with all those puzzles, we would need something to write with. And what better to write with than a quill? Scrivenshaft's is the only place for quills, so I had to make a trip to Hogsmeade as well.

And, yes, the black one writes in red ink...

While I was in Hogsmeade, I couldn't resist a trip to Honeydukes, the best candy store in the world! I picked up a wide variety of treats, including Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Smoked Dragon Liver, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Exploding Bon-Bons, Licorice Wands, Acid Pops, Jelly Slugs, Sugar Quills, and, of course, Honeyduke's Best Chocolate.

I even got to see them making some fresh Cockroach Clusters. Mmmmm!

All in all, a very productive trip. I'll write more tomorrow about the wait for the book, and the actual Book Release Party itself.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Harry Potter's 27th birthday...and J. K. Rowling's 42nd! Happy Birthday to both of them. Here's an appropriate cake I found online:

Dear Severus

An Entertainment Weekly staff writer wrote the following for the "Goodbye, Harry" issue I received yesterday. WARNING: It contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Deathly Hallows and Half-Blood Prince, so proceed with caution if you haven't read them. Scroll over the invisible text below to read it.

Dear Severus,

I want to express my condolences on your untimely death. Yes, I know we've never met. Additionally, you are fictional. But in the same way you loved Lily Evans and risked everything in her name, I have always loved you. It was your hatred of children that drew me to you--that, and the fact that you'd never reciprocate my feelings (apparently my No. 1 criterion in choosing men). Some saw your Slytherin loyalties and torment of Harry as signs of betrayal, but my faith in you never wavered, not even when Dumbledore's body lay crumpled and lifeless. You were the bravest wizard who ever lived, and I was yours to the snakebitten end. With your final breath, you wanted to gaze into Lily's green eyes. Oh, how I wish my Muggle blues could have sufficed! I could have saved you. Or at least convinced you to wash your hair. Give my best to Alan Rickman.

xoxo,
Whitney

Three Cheers for Mary Grand-Pre!

I was browsing over at The Leaky Cauldron, trying to get over some of my post-Harry melancholy, when I came across their page displaying the book covers from many different editions of the Harry Potter books all over the world. My first thought was, "Wow! Look how many different languages and countries these books are published in!" My second thought was, "Thank God we get the American version!!" Seriously, some of these covers are so bad, they make the books look like a cheap, tacky, dime-a-dozen silly kids' series--at best. Allow me to demonstrate. Here, for example, is the Ukranian cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:

Please, tell me where Dumbledore got his hat! I must know! Oh wait, I see...he's just growing out of the castle.

Here is the Czech version of Philosopher's Stone, in which, apparently, the Sorting Hat is a top hat with giant lips:

But my absolute favorite, I have to say, is this Iranian (Iranian?!) version of Prisoner of Azkaban:

Notice the creepy gargoyle heads on the castle. Notice that Harry looks about 9 years old, and appears to be riding a flying armadillo. But in particular, I ask you to please notice the flying squirrel, the toad, and the tiger. Who are they? How did they come to be there? In Book 5, will Harry show up on Platform 9 3/4 with a tiger padding along behind him, hoping Malfoy won't notice anything funny going on? Or, perhaps, is a toad a grim omen of death in Iranian culture? Who exactly is translating these books? And what, exactly, are they going to do when they get to Book 7...?

Giddy

I just got my confirmation email for my book reservation, complete with a nice little message from Jim Dale, voice of the Harry Potter books. I have my costume all ready, and I'm planning some extra fun little treats for those of us who will be attending (details later, as I don't want to spoil the surprises). Suzie and I will be wearing our Hogwarts uniforms, but we couldn't convince Bill or Chris to do the same (go figure!). Right now we're considering making them wear t-shirts with this "Hogwarts Arithmancy Team" logo I designed for them:

It scares me just a little how excited I am about all this... :-)

Pirate Master Update

Bad British Accent Guy (whose name is--I kid you not--Azmyth) is Captain again, and like Louie, he's decided that sharing is overrated. Long ago, he declared that everything was going to be fair and even, and he did split the money evenly the first two times he was Captain. Now a 60-40 split between officers and crew "sounds about right" to him. We'll see how long that lasts. Meanwhile, the women are grumbling about beating the other team so they can kick the boys out of power and have an all-girl trio of Officers. Ah, reality TV.