Thursday, July 19, 2007

Now I've Done It

I broke down. I caved to commercialism. When I walked into the Barnes & Noble by Union Square, I had intended to merely wander through aisles and shelves -- to strech my legs and figure out what I might want to buy with the Amazon gift certificates I've received for writing a couple book reviews. (Man does not live on free books and garage sales alone!)

But there were fewer tables in the front than usual. And upstairs, there was more open space. Why? Well, Harry Potter is coming, of course! There was a sign that gave the time till the book went on sale (just a little more than a day), and it was obvious that all sorts of displays and ancillary stuff would fill the space soon.

That's when it happened. I decided to buy my first Harry Potter book. I started at the beginning, of course: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It appears to be manageable, as debut novels should be. The new movie out now, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was from a book that clocked in at around 250,000 words. I don't expect to write a review of Stone -- Lord knows there's enough out there already about J.K. Rowling's books. But I am looking forward to determining for myself whether it's written as well as many people say it is.

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