Harry finally arrived yesterday
after B&N rescheduled its delivery. Had I known, I would have bought it at the store on Saturday. So far (I’m on page 349, about to start chapter 17 — I told you I read fast) Harry and Dumbledore are going over Voldemort’s background, and Lupin and Harry are spending Christmas with the Weasley’s.

Meghan Cox Gurdon of the WSJ says it’s Magical Prose: Harry Potter offers a new wonderfully harrowing story with a moral dimension, and the NYTimes liked it. Slate has a nice round-up of links.

Prof. Bainbridge’s asking Is JK Anti-American? and also ponders,

will Alan Rickman’s career survive what Rowling requires Snape to do in the sixth movie? He’ll be one of the screen’s most hated villains!

Heck, if Rickman’s career has survived some of his recent projects, having Snape front-and-center in the HP6 film will almost certainly boost it! (That’s IF he does Snape in HP6. One never knows with actors.)

But back to Prof. Bainbridge’s question, a while ago people were asking if J. K. Rowling was tired of Harry himself, so it probably doesn’t matter. One objection I’ve had of the HP films is that I’ve always pictured the Hogwarts staff wearing traditional academic robes over contemporary clothing, instead of the quasi-Medieval/semi-Victorian garb they wear in the films (except for Lupin, who wore old tweeds under his robe). Rowling’s universe is based not only on mythology and magic, but is also firmly grounded on our everyday muggles’ reality, so much so that I’m sure I wasn’t the only reader who remembered on July 7 that the Hogwarts express leaves from King’s Crossing.

All I hope for is that Rowling won’t have HP7 ending with either Snape or Voldemort saying, “Harry, I’m your father”.