Pottermania sweeps the nation

It's official. I loved the last book. And since I can't talk about the book. I will tell things around the book.

My book arrived by mail on Saturday. Rachel and I both got ours from Amazon and paid the extra to guarantee release date delivery. As I was walking out the door to go the hardware store (more info in a minute) she called to tell me that the postman had climbed the stairs to her 3rd floor apartment to knock on her door and hand deliver the parcel to her. I told her I too was waiting on the postman and was eager to get my grubby paws on the book.

Then we drove by the mail truck on my street. "There it is," I told Lyle, "my book is in there." As we continued to the hardware store, I began to fret. What if they wouldn't leave the book at my house. What if I needed to be there in person to receive it? What if they passed me by and left a notice for pick-up and I couldn't get the book until Monday!?

Lyle offered to turn around. "I'll be okay," I told him as I played out various scenarios in my head.

We returned from hardware world and I could see the mail truck parking in the next block down. If needed, I would run in my flip-flops to retrieve my prize. But wait, what's that on my step? A BOX!!!

Now back to my real life. We had plans to tear out the master bedroom closet this weekend. I had already emptied it out of all out clothes while Lyle took the dogs rollerblading. Then we gutted it of all fixtures and shelves. At the hardware store we purchased hang bar supports, copper pipe for hang bars (I like a pretty closet), lumber for shelving and aromatic cedar planks for lining the back wall.

Task? Book? Task? Book? It was tearing me apart... so we went out for coffee.

By the time I had started my book, Rachel had already called to ask me a question about my reaction to the book. But she was asking about a part of the book I hadn't read. Then I foolishly repeated how Rachel had broken the discussing embargo to Lyle. Who then pointed out that I had just done the same thing to him. CRAP. So all talk ceased right then for good.

That night Rachel came for dinner and we watched the DVD of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". Another friend came over who had just seen the new movie but wanted to go back and watch the Goblet movie. As we kept joking about our not talking about what happens in the current book, Lyle committed the next spoiler crime.

"You know, Dumbledore dies in the new book." and he laughed. Because EVERYONE knows he dies in the book before... unless you're not reading the books and you are only watching the movies. In which case you have to wait for the NEXT movie (not the current one).

Uh-oh.

"Lyle, Tony isn't reading the Harry Potter books. He is only watching the movies. You could possibly be SPOILING the next few movies for him... Tony, Lyle is kidding. He also meant to say that Santa Claus will be in the next movie."

I made Lyle take Rachel home that night so I could catch up to her (click here for her experience reading about Harry Potter). She was 200 pages ahead of me. I stayed up until 3:30 (which is actually pretty normal for me) reading (not the standard activity).

The next day we needed to finish the closet. And then we invited a another friend over for dinner. After dinner, I sat down and finished my book.

Lyle kept telling me to slow down and enjoy the book, to pace myself. Stop reading. Close that damn book... And so on... but I explained that its like watching a thrilling movie and no one says you should just stop the movie and walk away for a day then come back to see the last half hour. I couldn't stop.

Last night I handed the man the book. He started reading in bed about 10 pm. When I went to bed at 3 (see, normal) there he was with the light on! The man usually goes to bed at 9:30 every night!

I told him I didn't want to hear anymore about savoring the book and slowing down to enjoy it.