So I did get the book the day it was out (in the mail, not through the ridiculous tsunami of people at the bookstore), but I have not read it yet. I have decided instead to re-read the entire series in one shot. I figure this is the last Harry Potter, so why not fully enjoy it.
However, this does mark the first time in my life that I’ve ever re-read a book. I never read a book twice, just because the way I look at it is “I’ve already read this, and I have all these other books I haven’t read yet, so why waste my time on this again?” So far I’m only about half way through the first one, as I don’t spend nearly as much time reading as I wish I did, but so far it’s pretty good, but I do have continually justify re-reading it to myself. In other words, while I’m reading I’ll think “I already know what happens, why am I reading this?” and then the other side of my brain says “Yeah, but you don’t remember the way everything happens because it’s not just like the movie, and see there’s something new that’s kind of cool that you didn’t catch the first time, and this is the last Harry Potter so this is the last chance to read anything like this, so just do it!” and the other side of my brain responds “oh alright.”
So all that to say that it’s probably going to be October before I get to the new book, and if I make it that far without someone ruining the ending, I will be amazed. I hate being that guy who doesn’t know how it ends yet, but I’m hoping it’ll be worth it.
And those of you who already have read it, I’ll be chatting with you about how it ends in like 4 months.
I still havent’ read book six and I will be a fulltime student with a halftime job starting in about 2 weeks, so I’ll read book seven over christmas. We can share our astonishment then.
I could totally justify the rereading, because I remember being totally freaked out by movie 2 because it had been about 3 years since I read the book, and I forgot most of it.
I’ll save you the time by telling you the ending:
Voldemort and Harry engage in an epic magic wand battle that leads out to a huge chasm. As they approach the chasm, Harry is losing; Voldemort strikes him with a spell and cuts off Harry’s hand. As Harry is clinging to a tree at the cliff’s edge, about to fall off, Voldemort tells Harry that he is Harry’s father, and that they could rule the magic world as father and son. Harry cries out “NOOOO!!!!” and lets go, falling to what would most certainly be his death… until Han Solo catches him in the Millennium Falcon and Chewie blasts Voldemort to pieces with lasers.
It’s one of those endings you totally don’t see coming.
Oh, and Rosebud is Harry’s sled.
In the end it turns out that Harry was a ghost all along, and then he wanders onto the beach and sees part of the Statue of Liberty and realizes that he was on Earth all along. And he’s a woman.
Hermione’s a dude.
(with apologies to Stephen Colbert)
I like Jimmy’s ending. 😉
Since I don’t actually retain details from books *at all*, I do a lot of rereading. I forget a lot of everything–sometimes to the point where I remember, like, two scenes, and that’s it. Not even the plot.
But then, I’m a Foster, so “First I heard of it” isn’t necessarily an uncommon phrase. 😉
Ha, indeed.