From bad to worse
(for posting and book-time...)
So we've had a dry spell, apparently, brought on by more Ethan-studying (hence computer-monopolizing) and then my parents coming to visit for a few days which tends to suck out most of my recreational time aside from sleeping. It was a nice visit though, especially since I can't go home much any more with great ease, except of course for the timing - during Ethan's last exam and then the new Harry Potter. Of course I went to buy it from 57th Street Books because my mother believes in supporting the local, independent bookstore which is a good cause, certainly, but to think I could have bought it for $15 less at Barnes and Noble is slightly painful. But then again how often do I actually pay for books? So I suppose the average cost of my reading this summer is around $2 a books right now, less if you think about the things that Ethan reads also. Still more expensive than a free trip to the library, but there's a time-cost there and a small selection. Despite the other distractions this week I did pick up A Time to Kill (good airplane reading, perhaps) and something else which I naturally can't think of at the moment. And the Dorrie book which I was so terribly excited about has mysteriously disappeared. I suppose when I saw Call of the Wild I put it down to dig in the box and never picked it up again.
So. Walden still trucks along (it's finally winter - there's hope of a end!) and I've learned about the delights and the less-delightful of communist Moscow in the 60s (people apparently have really wonderful public athletic facilities that no one uses, and small not modernized apartments. Unsurprising - this happens in non-communist countries too, after all, although apparently crime is rare and somewhat odd - like stealing windshield wiper blades. I suppose it makes more sense than hubcaps?). I managed to sneak in Murder on the Orient Express, my first Agatha Christie ever in print after a childhood of seeing a bunch of Poirot on Mystery or maybe Masterpiece Theatre (probably Mystery though), and it was sadly disappointing. I prefer Rex Stout, as it turns out, with the massive Nero Wolfe to steer things along. I suppose Archie makes for a livelier narrator. I also spent a few minutes with Hoyle Up-To-Date checking out rules for Euchre (when with relatives, we play cards) and then momentarily fascinated by the complicated layout of the Oh Hell section which details a bidding strategy that I suppose I really ought to learn.
And of course Harry Potter. I really feel that I ought to be nominated for sainthood or something (which I'm sure precludes me from the office) for going out Saturday morning to get it for Ethan so I could leave with my parents and let him sit around and read all morning without us. I didn't get my first crack at it until Saturday night after my parents had left to go to sleep in their hotel (one chapter). Sunday was mildly better but not by much - I think I made it up to Chapter 4 while Ethan barreled ahead to somewhere in the middle. Monday (haha!) I managed to wake up much earlier and sneak it out of the bedroom for an hour of clandestine reading, and Monday night Ethan stayed up to 2 to finish which meant Tuesday it was all mine. And over quickly. But that's restraint! I mean granted I had parents to occupy my time (mostly) but in the dual-possibility-reading-time I (mostly) ceded to Ethan who, it's true, has had a pretty hard and stressful couple of weeks. I wonder what my holy day will be. :}
I found the writing style less disappointing than I had in The Half-Blood Prince which either is due to its improvement or that my expectations have been subconsciously lowered. And some of the plot points were unexpected although others were not and one particular thing that Ethan and I had really hoped would not happen did. So that's too bad. The very last chapter seemed more like a "I really don't want to keep writing this stuff, will this make you happy?" sort of chapter than a really necessary one although I tend alternate mindsets about how much I like things wrapped up at the end of books or movies. People sometimes complain about directors leaving the end open for a sequel but I wonder if you can't also chalk that up to room for imagination.
So we've had a dry spell, apparently, brought on by more Ethan-studying (hence computer-monopolizing) and then my parents coming to visit for a few days which tends to suck out most of my recreational time aside from sleeping. It was a nice visit though, especially since I can't go home much any more with great ease, except of course for the timing - during Ethan's last exam and then the new Harry Potter. Of course I went to buy it from 57th Street Books because my mother believes in supporting the local, independent bookstore which is a good cause, certainly, but to think I could have bought it for $15 less at Barnes and Noble is slightly painful. But then again how often do I actually pay for books? So I suppose the average cost of my reading this summer is around $2 a books right now, less if you think about the things that Ethan reads also. Still more expensive than a free trip to the library, but there's a time-cost there and a small selection. Despite the other distractions this week I did pick up A Time to Kill (good airplane reading, perhaps) and something else which I naturally can't think of at the moment. And the Dorrie book which I was so terribly excited about has mysteriously disappeared. I suppose when I saw Call of the Wild I put it down to dig in the box and never picked it up again.
So. Walden still trucks along (it's finally winter - there's hope of a end!) and I've learned about the delights and the less-delightful of communist Moscow in the 60s (people apparently have really wonderful public athletic facilities that no one uses, and small not modernized apartments. Unsurprising - this happens in non-communist countries too, after all, although apparently crime is rare and somewhat odd - like stealing windshield wiper blades. I suppose it makes more sense than hubcaps?). I managed to sneak in Murder on the Orient Express, my first Agatha Christie ever in print after a childhood of seeing a bunch of Poirot on Mystery or maybe Masterpiece Theatre (probably Mystery though), and it was sadly disappointing. I prefer Rex Stout, as it turns out, with the massive Nero Wolfe to steer things along. I suppose Archie makes for a livelier narrator. I also spent a few minutes with Hoyle Up-To-Date checking out rules for Euchre (when with relatives, we play cards) and then momentarily fascinated by the complicated layout of the Oh Hell section which details a bidding strategy that I suppose I really ought to learn.
And of course Harry Potter. I really feel that I ought to be nominated for sainthood or something (which I'm sure precludes me from the office) for going out Saturday morning to get it for Ethan so I could leave with my parents and let him sit around and read all morning without us. I didn't get my first crack at it until Saturday night after my parents had left to go to sleep in their hotel (one chapter). Sunday was mildly better but not by much - I think I made it up to Chapter 4 while Ethan barreled ahead to somewhere in the middle. Monday (haha!) I managed to wake up much earlier and sneak it out of the bedroom for an hour of clandestine reading, and Monday night Ethan stayed up to 2 to finish which meant Tuesday it was all mine. And over quickly. But that's restraint! I mean granted I had parents to occupy my time (mostly) but in the dual-possibility-reading-time I (mostly) ceded to Ethan who, it's true, has had a pretty hard and stressful couple of weeks. I wonder what my holy day will be. :}
I found the writing style less disappointing than I had in The Half-Blood Prince which either is due to its improvement or that my expectations have been subconsciously lowered. And some of the plot points were unexpected although others were not and one particular thing that Ethan and I had really hoped would not happen did. So that's too bad. The very last chapter seemed more like a "I really don't want to keep writing this stuff, will this make you happy?" sort of chapter than a really necessary one although I tend alternate mindsets about how much I like things wrapped up at the end of books or movies. People sometimes complain about directors leaving the end open for a sequel but I wonder if you can't also chalk that up to room for imagination.
posted by trophywife at 8:21 AM
3 Comments:
Did you find the book a bit predictable? It was very entertaining, no doubt, but I felt a little bit disappointed that I wasn't shocked/surprised as often as I would have liked to be.
Also, will you guys be in Chicago Aug 8-17?
Predictable in some ways, not in others. The last-last chapter was a bit of a letdown I thought and the wrapping up information At Kings Cross and about Snape seemed overdone somehow. Sigh. Good think I like the characters :} And it's obviously too late but No, to your question. See above post.
I think it would have been better to leave Snape a giant question mark... there was enough doubt there that I think most of us pieced him together, his motivations, and his true loyalties.
What I did not like about the last novel was the Hallows. Completely superfluous to the plot. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.
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