This Can't Still Be Spoiled, Can it?

I've been holding off doing a post on Book 7 but I figured most everyone who wants to read it has (unless you live in Burkina Faso...or France.) Then I realized this post wasn't actually going to continue any spoilers and since I'm going to be gone next week I need to do it now before I forget. There won't be any spoilers though I remember watching Keith Olbermann lay out his theory (that you can watch here) and as he continued actually getting freaked out because it seemed so plausible. Which is more than I can say about this story in the New York Times today about Chinese Bootlegs of the series. It is an absolutely hilarious article with summaries of each "book." Here is the summary of the Chinese Book 7 " Harry Potter and The Showdown"

Harry makes his last visit to No. 4 Privet Drive, and his aunt and uncle are surprisingly kind to him. Snape shows up unexpectedly to ruin Bill’s wedding. Professor McGonagall reopens Hogwarts with Professor Slughorn as her deputy.

Snape breaks into Hogwarts and rescues Lucius Malfoy from Azkaban Prison. Harry believes that he can defeat Snape and Voldemort only by strenuously practicing charms. Professor Slughorn, inspired by a book from the East provided by Cho Chang called “Thirty-Six Strategies,” devises a plan enabling Harry to seize Snape in the Ministry of Magic. But Gryffindor’s sword, which hung in the headmaster’s office, assassinates Professor McGonagall.

When Harry confronts Voldemort at Azkaban, the Dark Lord tries to win Harry over as a fellow descendant of Slytherin. Harry refuses, and together with Ron and Hermione, kills Voldemort instead. Now what will Harry do about his two girlfriends?

Bloody Brilliant.

About the book, it took me quite awhile (a week) to get through it just because I wanted to keep on reading it and in my mind the longer it took to finish the longer I could savor it (I've always favored the journey so much more than reaching the end of the road) and also whenever something exciting happened or there was any danger I would get so tense and not want to read anymore because I had become way too emotionally invested in all of the characters. I really did enjoy how JK fleshed out and gave Dumbledore a character instead of just being that symbol of good and paragon of virtue (and that she didn't have Ron actually be Dumbledore as a friend, who I won't shame, theorized.) Her influences were pretty obvious throughout, with certain segments and elements being reminiscent of King Arthur, The Lord of the Rings, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe among others. But I was quite happy with it, everything wrapped up in a very suitable way and I know it's crass and rude to say but I'm okay with everyone who died. No one too special to me met their end. And about the end, it took me a full day to turn the "19 years Later" page because I wanted to be able to dream of all of their futures in my own way. I must admit though that I never really liked Ginny and still think Harry's too good for her, I mean he saved the world he could sleep with any witch he wanted. But I was so happy that Neville and Luna played such important parts; they are my two favorite characters ( and I sort of hoped Luna would be the one to end up with Harry.) And if you wanna know more about what happened to some of the characters JK did a live chat where some questions are answered ( though I thought a lot of the time she was just thinking about them on the fly, kind of like that one Simpsons Lord of the Flies episode where at the end the kids are still on the island but the narrator wraps it up "and they were eventually saved by... Oh let's say Moe)

As happens to me for a lot of books that I read, certain songs would get stuck in my head as I read; I remember when I read It I had Outkast's Aquemini and Chonkyfire stuck in my head constantly. Anyway for Book 7 these were the songs that came in and out of my head .

50 Cent-Wanksta (mp3)
The Notorious B.I.G.- Somebody's Gotta Die (mp3)
Crowded House- Don't Dream It's Over (mp3)
Star Wars ( John Williams)- Duel of The Fates (mp3)
Morrissey- There is A Place in Hell For Me And My Friends (mp3)
(and only in the past few days realizing that it is actually over)
Bob Dylan- It's All Over Now, Baby Blue. (mp3)

Sigh, I guess we all have to move on sometime... (like eating something; I haven't done that in a while. I think I can afford it; down to 9.6 stone!)

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