Harry Potter arrives

... So Kates got her copy of the seventh and final Harry Potter book tonight ...

... In what's sort of become a tradition of mine, I ordered it a couple weeks ago as a late birthday present for her. And as tough as it was, I never led on or gave her any hints that it was on its way ... She had no idea.

And all the while, as she's done leading up to every new Harry Potter book, she shrugs when someone asks her if she's excited for the new book. She says she doesn't care that much about it, and figures she'll get around to reading it sooner or later ...

But I know better.

So every year I surprise her with the newest book and then she has a completely different attitude ...

Tonight was no different. We'd just arrived home after our weekend on the road, and I immediately checked the mailbox, knowing it would be there. Amazon had even dressed it up in a Harry Potter-themed box -- something Kates didn't even see as I sang and danced and handed it to her in a mini-ceremony ...

When she realized she was the proud owner of the new, final Harry Potter book, her mouth and eyes got wide as the ocean, she held the book tight to her chest and thanked me repeatedly. Like a kid in a candy store. Minutes later, after we'd finished unpacking, she was settling in the chair, and delicately turning the first pages like they were crystal; she looked over the chapter titles and got set to begin the latest journey ...

Now I haven't read any of the books -- maybe I will someday -- but knowing how much Kates enjoys the books (We do own all the movies on DVD, which I have watched with her and enjoyed ...), it's been easy for me to get caught up in all the hype surrounding this last book...

Even I got excited just reading this review in the Baltimore Sun: An inevitable ending to Harry Potter series ...

More stories
a Harry Potter and the Resurgence of Story Telling
a The secret of Harry Potter’s appeal
a Who’s who in the world of Harry Potter
a Under the Spell of Harry Potter
a All Things 'Harry Potter'

About the book
a The story so far — Harry Potter 1 through 6
a Questions remain to be answered in final Harry Potter book
a Spoilers could be the least of some Potter fans’ worries
a The Complications of Killing Off Fictional Characters
a The Wizardly Editor Who Caught the Golden Snitch
a Catching up with ’Harry Potter’ audio-book narrator Jim Dale
a Harry Potter and the Diminished Returns
a A Young Wiz Nurtured by Literary Forebears
a Potter Mania Knows No Age Limit
a Would-be Harry Potter spoilers spread on the Internet
a The Harry Potter Phenomenon: Not Quite a Miracle

About the film
a Latest Potter Film Is Thick and Heavy
a Harry Potter film features the same old magic
a Harry Potter and his army of witches discuss the making of their latest Hogwarts adventure

Harry Potter links
a harrypotter.warnerbros.com
a http://www.jkrowling.com/
a mugglenet.com
a http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/
a www.fuuko.com/hpquiz.html