If it weren’t for the fact that I absolutely abhor crowds, I could have had the last Harry Potter book in my hands right now.
However, I hate crowds, so Amazon will be sending it to my house tomorrow.

So my original plan was that once the book arrived I would remain incommunicado until I finished it. Unfortunately for me, plans were thrown awry, and I must instead head out to my parent’s house at 5, bringing my Dad’s surprise birthday dinner with me. (He’ll be really surprised, since tomorrow isn’t his birthday.)

I was thinking today about all the Harry Potter mania, and why I’m going to read the book tomorrow. It’s not as if I’m absolutely in love with the series. I think it’s good, and I really like some of the things JK Rowling as done with the story and the characters, but it’s by no means my favorite series (See Garth Nix,Lian Hearn, and Runaways for some other excellent series for younger readers)

So why have I fallen victim to Harry Potter mania? It’s simple: I don’t want to learn the ending before I get a chance to read it myself. So the only way to do that is to finish reading the book before going anywhere on the Internet or listening to any news other than NPR (they already promised they wouldn’t discuss any details.)

Plus, if I don’t read it right away, Michael will read it first, and I hate that.

That said, there are a couple of things that will make or break the last book. If Snape isn’t redeemed, will be more than sorely disappointed. I’ll be pissed off. I don’t believe that there are many people in the world that are beyond redemption, and I will be royally pissed off it she makes him evil for the sake of being evil.

I’ll also be unhappy if the door is left open for sequels. To that end, I won’t even be unhappy if Harry dies, because then she won’t be tempted into write more about him. Sometimes it is important to end while you’re still on top.

Other than that, I don’t care what happens, as long as I find out by myself and don’t hear it from anyone else.