[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching Coronation Street ]
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE SEVENTH HARRY POTTER BOOK – You have been warned.

So I finished it last night, very late.

And I must say that this is a worthy end to this series. The deaths come fast and furious, but so do the scenes you have been waiting seven books for. The final battle scene is poignant and wonderful at the same time.

The loss of Remus and Tonks killed me. I loved those two fanfic faves, and the fact they don’t make it through is brutal.

New fave character? Molly Weasley. The "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" just rocked.

And Neville – love the resolution of his story. Now Rowling, throw me a bone and write about his and Luna’s wedding.

I’ve seen images of a Saudi Arabian man setting himself on fire when some sparks from an American flag he was gently roasting found their way to his polo shirt, courtesy of a strong wind from God. I was a mere seven feet away from a war protester in Los Angeles who screamed so loud for so long, that she vomited into her megaphone. And while this group might count as ever so slightly a more bat shit insane crowd (I want to ghost write the memoirs of that topless lesbian grandmother who glued her bangs to her chin), I must say that without a doubt, South Korean protesters are my favorite.

This gentleman, who is probably sad that he is not dead, was upset about an upcoming marine survey by the Japanese government. And yet there are even more insane things to do for even more insane reasons. Somebody, get Seoul the internet before they nuke themselves, those bitches are bored.

[  Mood: Scared ]
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE SEVENTH HARRY POTTER BOOK – You have been warned.

Okay – obviously I didn’t read far enough ahead. Someone else bites it that isn’t mentioned in the last few chapters, and it’s an emotionally draining one for me.

Tears rolling down my face, I told my husband that the slaughter is freaking biblical in this book.

Okay it wasn’t that melodramatic, but you get the picture.

[  Mood: Happy ]
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE SEVENTH HARRY POTTER BOOK – You have been warned.

So Harry has arrived at my house and I am working my way through it. But let me tell you one thing about me.

I am a spoiler fanatic.

I like to find out what is going to happen and when it is going to happen in my fave movies and books. I knew that Wash was going to bite it in Serenity. I have a bad tendency to read the last few pages of a book before I read the rest of it.

Where does this come from? I blame my tendency to get emotionally attached to characters. The last time I didn’t read the spoilers was when Buffy stabbed Angel to death with a really big sword. This lead to a hysterical phone call to my then boyfriend about Angel being dead. I was sobbing uncontrollably, he was confused, having not watched the show. He tried to comfort me the best he could, but I was a wreck.

Yet he still married me.

Anywho, fast forward to the seventh book. I made it five chapters in without knowing anything about what was going to happen. Five chapters. That is colossal.

Then I caved like a house of cards and read the last few chapters.

So now I know what happened and am working my way forward, comforted by the knowledge of who makes it through and who doesn’t. Not happy with some of the deaths, and believe me, it is a bloodbath (I have seen fewer bodies in horror movies), but at least I am coping.

[  Mood: Silly ]
[ Currently: Drinking Royal Begal Tiger Tea ]
This is another solid offering from Pierce and covers Kel’s second to fourth years of as a page.

Once again it is a tale of school as Kel learns the art of knighthood. There are also animals galore as Kel continues her relationships with the sparrows that live outside her dorm and her illtempered horse, Peachbloosm. Added to that mix is Jump, a terrier that has seen better days.

One of the things I really like about this series is that Kel is not a petite little flower. She is a girl who is big for her age and solidly built, up to the task of becoming a knight, yet she still manages to be the object of at least one crush.

But don’t worry, this isn’t a bodice ripper. There is action as Kel gets ambushed by bandits, starts fights and engages in training. She slowly wins many of her classmates and teachers over to the idea of her being a knight. Pierce has also given her some real human foibles, namely a crippling fear of heights.

Good work.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio One Podcast – Quirks and Quarks ]
This book is the sequel to Gregory Maguire’s hugely succesful Wicked.

This is the tale of Liir, the son of the Wicked Witch of the West. The tale follows Liir from just after Elphaba’s death to his eventual realization that he has powers and must do something to continue his mother’s legacy. Not as solid a book as Wicked, nor as gripping as Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, but still a good read.

[  Mood: Angelic ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast ]
Just finished Sandry’s Book, book one in Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic series. A very nice genre kids book. This one focuses on four children who posses elemental magic. They are brought to the Winding Circle temple where they begin to learn about their powers and teamwork.

Pierce is a very good author and her books get better as she goes along. Her world building is well crafted and thought out. And her characterization is well developed. Every girl is not petite and blond. The boys aren’t all strapping and handsome.

Neat piece about friendship.

[  Mood: Fed Up WIth Life ]
[  Currently: Reading Sandry’s Book ]
Just finished Twelve Sharp, by Janet Evanovich. (Blew my back out gardening so lying on my side with a book is about all I can do. And no, Harry Potter has not arrived yet.)

This series tells the story of Stephanie Plum, a not so good New Jersey bounty hunter. She tends to go after the lower level skips along with Lula, the former prostitute, turned file clerk, turned bounty hunter, turned back-up singer. Higher level skips are given to Ranger, a mysterious ex-marine who would like to get between the sheets with Stephanie. Her on-again/off-again bed partner is Morelli, a New Jersy cop.

Part Harlequin, part keystone cops this entry sees Stephanie learning more about the mysterious Ranger. There’s a woman who claims to be his wife and his daughter has been kidnapped. On top of it all, Ranger has disappeared and Stephanie is being stalked by a Ranger wanna be. Oh yeah, and with Ranger gone, she gets to go after the bigger fish. And bigger fish tend to be more dangerous.

A pretty good outing for Evanovich this time. We find out more about Ranger, but once again the Range/Morelli issue is not resolved. Which is getting frustrating for me.

She should just dump Morelli and go with the Ranger man. Who cares if he won’t marry you? He has a housekeeper!

A gripping autobiography of Ayan Hirsi Ali, the Somali woman who became a member of the Dutch Parliament. She later went to make on a film called Submission Part 1 with Theo Van Gogh, who was later murdered because of it. She provides a fascinating look at the clan culture of Somalia (where many of my students come from) and the modern Dutch society (my father was born in the Netherlands).

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching Coronation Street ]
Just finished reading this lovely memoire and although it is not a genre book, I had to mention it here.

A beautifully written book about Marlena’s falling in love with a Venetian man she has just met. Apparently the man, Fernando, had been in love with her since he first saw her a year ago. A whirlwind romance follows and Marlena moves to Venice to live with Fernando and negotiates her way through her new life.

The language is beautiful in this book. There were turns of phrase that had me alternately chuckling and weeping. For example: "I pull an Aereonautica Militaire sweatshirt over one of Victoria’s oldest Secrets, slip into Wellies." And given that she is a food writer, Marlena includes recipes of some of the food she cooked.

Go get this and read it. Very beautiful.