A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love

Wow, the new Harry Potter book is good! I really loved it - it's dark, and funny, and very intriguing. There's only one book left, and it seems like the series should really be winding down, but it feels like we're still being given lots of new information and that the world, and Harry's future, is actually opening up rather than shutting down.

Also, I don't want to give anything away, because I know that not everyone may have had the chance to read it yet, but I think the ending is a lot less straightforward than Harry thinks it is. In fact, I have very strong thoughts on the matter, and if you ask, I will tell you all about it, probably in more detail than you ever dreamed you wanted. And if you haven't read it yet, go! Get reading! It's worth it!

P.S. Many congratulations to Joy and Cory on your engagement! We wish you every happiness together!

Harry Potter, You're So Keen

We had a really nice time with Jill! I'm so glad she was able to come visit. Final Trivial Pursuit tally: 3-3-1. (We had to call one game on account of extreme tiredness.) Other things we did while Jill was here included taking a nice walk at Chain O' Lakes State Park, watching the first season of Coupling, and going to Lake Michigan on a hot day without our swimsuits. We'll know better next time.

The day after Jill left, I got a rejection letter in the mail for a story I had submitted to a magazine for publication! This is actually much more exciting than it might sound, because, 1) this was my first rejection letter ever, and, 2) my rejection letter was personalized and encouraging. Some bigger magazines (which this magazine isn't, really, but still) have as many as 5 or 10 different rejection letters that they send out, depending on how thoroughly they're rejecting the piece. The meanings can range all the way from, "Please don't ever send us anything again," to "We really don't have space in this issue, but this was great, so please try us again." Mine was along the lines of, "We like this, but it's not quite right for us. Try it somewhere else." And an editor had taken the time to write a few notes about the story on the letter, including "Good Luck!" It may not sound like much, but it is encouraging. So...I'll try again.

Also, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes out this Saturday! I pre-ordered it from Amazon, and it should be delivered that day. I'm just frantically trying to finish re-reading the first five books before then - I have only two more to get through, but they are by far the biggest two. Luckily, they're pretty quick reads for me, so I think I should be able to do it. I can't wait!

P.S. You can download a song about Harry Potter here. It's the British-ish version, which is not as good as the non-British-ish version available for sale on that website, but it is free.