I've just come home from Schuler's Books, our local independent bookseller, with my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in tow. Unlike the other release parties, I had to wait in the store by myself tonight because Emma had to work. (No problem, though, because I'd brought plenty of knitting . . . ) She also has to work tomorrow, so she will be forced to break with tradition and NOT read the whole thing cover to cover before she does anything else. (I briefly considered suggesting that she call in sick, but I caught myself in time . . . )

Because, you know, the last Harry Potter book is a Big Deal. Actually, the whole social phenomenon that's Harry Potter is the Big Deal, and I am just tickled pink that I could see it up close and personal, as they say. The buzz around these books reminds me of serial publication in the Victorian era; maybe this is what Dickens' readers felt as they waited for the last installment of Great Expectations or Bleak House. And I've been really happy over the years that we got to experience these books (asynchronous communication) as a synchronous cultural event. Is this likely to happen again in my lifetime, or Emma's? And Emma got to be exactly the same age as Harry (except now, when he's still only 17 and she's turned 18). I think this is entirely cool. These books have punctuated her childhood in a big way.

It's late, but I suppose I better start reading, since I'll have to stay under a rock until I finish anyhow (to avoid the spoilers). But I don't want to start, because if I start, then sooner or later I'll finish, and then the eight-year run that has been Harry Potter will come to a close. I'm not ready for that yet!

Maybe I'll get some sleep before I start reading. At any rate, I'll be back when I'm done . . .