HP Wrap-up...no spoilers!
I always forget what a sheer pleasure it is to read through one of JK Rowling's pieces for the first time. So much imagination coupled with a gripping story that flows all too well in the third-person (I used to think it should have been done in the first-person but have since recanted as the story grew more complex). This last book held a lot of tension for me because I wasn't sure that she would be able to bring everything together and tie it all up in a single volume, I mean, there were just so many things that had to be covered, and yet...she did it. More brilliantly than expected. She pulled things that I grabbed Half-Blood Prince in order to look through to make sure that she had given herself that leisure...and sure enough, she had. To keep everything together must have taken a tremendous amount of writing ability and maintaining the cohesion of the story was an intellectual obstacle course. But she did it, and with such flair and grace. A befitting end to a series of books that have shaped countless minds and spurred just as many (if not more) imaginations towards creativity, tolerance, and a realization of the power of choices. This book was all about choices, and it made me think of my own. I so often choose to put myself in new environments (going to Moore, then switching back to go to RV, then to UGA, the most drastic of them all) even though I (as we all do to some extent) fear change. But I decided to take a route that would force me to diverse myself and grow in myriad ways. I don't feel like discussing too much (I'm still HP-hungover, but aren't we all?), but needless to say, I enjoy how HP makes me think back on my own life. Well really, all books do...but HP is different because it addresses our age group, we grew up with Harry. He's one of us. We can all see our lives in the lives of him, Hermione, and Ron. I miss them already.
Ugh...well...I am tired...but at work...there will be more of an update later...
Ooh! It's official! My flight leaves Atlanta at 4:05PM on August 2nd! Get excited! That means that I will arrive in Denver at about 5PM (time change helps here)...so yeah! Then I leave again the morning of the 10th, so we've got a lot to cram in there! I hope you're all doing well!
Ben