Post-Harry Angst (no spoilers) and a Call for Help
Well, I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I started late yesterday evening (maybe 10-ish), continued until about 2 or 2:15 a.m. Went to sleep about 2:30. Woke up at approximately 10. Started reading by 10:30. Finished reading just short of 4 p.m.
Clearly, this is not a book to pick up without having a lot of spare time on one's hands if you are an individual possessing obsessive-compulsive reading habits (as in, cannot put book down until body gives out). Thankfully, with my schedule so full these days ;) I am able to squeeze it in.
And may I say,
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!
I think that I am finally grasping the full dimensions of a facet of my personality that has been nurtured by technology: impatience. (And I am not alone in this, I know.) I have recently been forced to admit aloud the fact that I prefer to watch television shows on DVD, an entire season at a time. I get really annoyed that, after having crammed an entire season of Battlestar Galactica into less than a week, I now have to wait a week at a time for new episodes, plus however long it takes me to get to Joshua's place, where he loyally Tivos episodes for me (well, I guess he watches them, too...). If I call someone on their cellphone and home phone, and still can't talk to them, a small part of me glowers until my call is returned. It only slightly helps to remember how far we've come since the days long before cellphones, when -gasp- not all my friends even had an answering machine.
I am having a fit of angst at the moment, not because the end of summer is only a month away, not because I can't find the "just right" knitting pattern for a sweater for my 3-year-old nephew, not because of my oft-mentioned and probably now yawn-inspiring poverty, but rather because of the cliff-hanger of a book. (And, for God's sake, it's published by Scholastic!)
I hasten to add that my angst isn't entirely driven by impatience to read the last book in the HP series, although I now feel rather confirmed in my usual avoidance of serialized fiction (Robert Jordan and the like). I just don't think that I could take it.
Why else am I experiencing a fit of pique? Because I must discuss the book... pour over it, analyze every detail, and vent. And neither my roommate nor my sister nor my boyfriend have read the book yet. THIS IS A CALL FOR HELP! Please help me regain my calm by helping me process the book.
And, OK, my state of mind may also have something to do with the fact that I haven't eaten since breakfast and it's almost time for dinner.
Maybe I should fix that.
Clearly, this is not a book to pick up without having a lot of spare time on one's hands if you are an individual possessing obsessive-compulsive reading habits (as in, cannot put book down until body gives out). Thankfully, with my schedule so full these days ;) I am able to squeeze it in.
And may I say,
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!
I think that I am finally grasping the full dimensions of a facet of my personality that has been nurtured by technology: impatience. (And I am not alone in this, I know.) I have recently been forced to admit aloud the fact that I prefer to watch television shows on DVD, an entire season at a time. I get really annoyed that, after having crammed an entire season of Battlestar Galactica into less than a week, I now have to wait a week at a time for new episodes, plus however long it takes me to get to Joshua's place, where he loyally Tivos episodes for me (well, I guess he watches them, too...). If I call someone on their cellphone and home phone, and still can't talk to them, a small part of me glowers until my call is returned. It only slightly helps to remember how far we've come since the days long before cellphones, when -gasp- not all my friends even had an answering machine.
I am having a fit of angst at the moment, not because the end of summer is only a month away, not because I can't find the "just right" knitting pattern for a sweater for my 3-year-old nephew, not because of my oft-mentioned and probably now yawn-inspiring poverty, but rather because of the cliff-hanger of a book. (And, for God's sake, it's published by Scholastic!)
I hasten to add that my angst isn't entirely driven by impatience to read the last book in the HP series, although I now feel rather confirmed in my usual avoidance of serialized fiction (Robert Jordan and the like). I just don't think that I could take it.
Why else am I experiencing a fit of pique? Because I must discuss the book... pour over it, analyze every detail, and vent. And neither my roommate nor my sister nor my boyfriend have read the book yet. THIS IS A CALL FOR HELP! Please help me regain my calm by helping me process the book.
And, OK, my state of mind may also have something to do with the fact that I haven't eaten since breakfast and it's almost time for dinner.
Maybe I should fix that.
posted by Rochel Leah at
4:30 PM
4 Comments:
See, I'm waiting to start it until I know I'll have an uninterrupted block of time. If I started it, say, some night after work, then I most likely wouldn't be able to put it down in order to make it to work at a reasonable hour the next day. Soon, soon. :)
By
Anonymous, at 5:38 PM
Now you know how I felt in my recent blog post. I read it in one evening (12:30 am to 4:30 am). Ping me (you use IM?)
By
Anonymous, at 10:06 AM
In "Chamber of Secrets" I believe Ron says to Harry (concerning him wanting to pick up Riddle's soggy diary recently ejected by Moaning Myrtle from a busted toilet) something about (pardon the paraphrasing) "don't do it" and "there are some cursed books out there where you can't stop reading them. People have had to live the rest of their lives doing everything with just one hand."
The Half-Blood Prince is not one of those books. Tell Joshua to stop being a whiney mandrake. Does he want to be like Joe, never understanding his girlfriend properly? Doomed to listen to her (meaning me) whining about how she can't talk to him anymore?
Ba-boo, I can ramble on for DAYS and DAYS about Potter if you wish. And yes, I AM reading all the books over again, and actually, it's kind of a good cure. Bettter 2nd time than you think. Better than trying to curb enthusiasm with Sherlock Holmes or pictures of Damon Albarn.
Love, Beth
By
Anonymous, at 1:53 PM
Harsh! Dearest Beth, Joshua has long ago completed the book... I do like the re-reading cure for Potter-inspired impatience. I always tell little kids that to be patient is to have fun or keep busy while having to wait for something we want.
By
Rochel Leah, at 2:13 PM
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