Visiting visiting

Ahh...

The Holiday weekend is upon us ... well almost.

Apon us enough to worry a bit about getting the foodstuff for the 4th ... as well as beyond.

Must get the Dog out earlier

I must get the dog out earlier. ie, must rearrange my schedule such that Blanche gets walked before the sun gets hot and the dew turns into humidity.

On another note ... the (water) meter reader was reading meters today. He was built like a South Beach Back ... which is to say very very buff.... excuse me... Buff! Who would have ever expected that from Peter Greeter.

And so it begins ... and ends

The Child Harry Potter is Dead. Long live the Child Harry Potter.

I've finished book 5 of the Harry Potter series. I finished it up somewhere around 1:30 this morning. I felt bad that I was neglecting Markie over this, a weekend where he has off. However, we balanced our time and spent time together in addition to doing our own things.

What do I think?

I think that it's a good book.
I think that it's a good series.
I think that JK Rowling is both honing her craft as a writer as well as being given license to do more in her books. Yes, more as in adding in 400 or so more pages than the first 3 books. But more importantly, she's able to flesh out a world whose detail span many decades prior to the action that takes place. The history is both sweeping as well as personal. The Universe of Harry Potter is very rich indeed.

I'm inclined to agree with the NPR review I heard by Marah Gubar One shouldn't focus on Harry. To be honest, throughout the book I find myself thinking he's a dense twit. But then again, I'm speaking as a n adult looking back on a child. More on that and Harry in a second. Professor Guban recommends that we focus on the characters being fleshed out here. Fred and George Weasley, for instance. They're more than just pranksters for pranksters sake. We see them as loving sons, brothers caught in family drama, and as two youngsters siezing their destiny. Professor Guban's got a lot more to say on this. It's a good listen for all.

Harry ...

I'll be honest, I spent much of the time thinking Harry was an impatient twit. That he was too angry, too emotional. Too blind to the things obvious to the 3rd party observer.

However, I realized, at the end of the book, that this was part of fhe setup. For here, in this book, Harry finally realizes his destiny. It finally hits home. In so many ways, he has to loose and let go of his Childhood. He has to shoulder the burdens of a man. A man, without a plan, but with a destiny. Ready or not...

... and all of this at age 15.

The Child Harry Potter is Dead! Long live The Child Harry Potter.