Midnight party things are terribly, terribly fun, probably mostly because they are a lovely excuse to park oneself down on the floor of Barnes and Noble and read random excerpts from books (in the case of Stefanie and I, Robert Frost poetry, a book dissecting various philosophical/moral issues in HP that was really quite good and I may have to buy at some point, and bits and pieces from a book about MacLean, Burgess, and Philby). Also, B&N staff standing outside dressed as and acting like various Hogworts staff to entertain us while we wait in line at midnight was wonderful. There are pictures.

The height of our geekdom, mind, was our discussion of that essay that breaks down the socio-economic statuses (statusi?) of Harry Potter's class, which I cannot remember the link to, but which y'all should read (especially my fellow Anglophiles).

Last night I told myself that I wasn't going to gulp this book down - generally, I don't like gulping books, and doing so really does tend to give me the emotional equivalent of the stomacheache and regret one has if one gulps down a really good meal. But now there are spoiler-cuts all over my bloody friends page, and I wanna know what happens, damn!



1. ...two people whose names we know dead within the first couple pages? Oh dear. This does not bode well at all. The first chapter, though? So damn awesome. Yay for the poor Muggle Prime Minister and yay for a chapter told from a muggle's point of view (though now that I think of it, the first chapter of GoF was, too, wasn't it?), and oohhhh, another sort of politician for Rowling to (probably) satirize.

2. Black sisters! Squeak! (I would like to point out that my maternal grandmother's maiden name is Black, which just occurred to me right now. This is vaguely disturbing). Considering I have dear Bella in my head, this was read with relish. I'm kind of disturbed that my characterization of her fits pretty well with what's on the page, considering that we really had little of her before. Her interaction with Narcissa especially seems to match the ol' Marauders roleplay interaction of my Bella and dreamsofstars's 'cissa. Hee.

3. Snape is good, Snape is good, Snape is good, damnit! (well, "good" is the wrong word, but you know what I mean). I'm far from a Snape fangirl, but his character fascinates me, and I would be sorely disappointed with Rowling's storytelling ability if he ended up being a traitor.

4. Hee, Fleur! Yay Ginny dating Dean! Yay the twins and their business! Oohhh new DADA professor!

Six-hour shift at work this afternoon, will more likely than not finish the thing there. The darn thing reads too fast, damnit!

Am hungry. Should probably find breakfast (yes, breakfast).