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January 30, 2008
Sabrina Beachamp and the Sorcerer's Soap
Last night I wiped out* HARD running, the first time I have really done that, ever. And today, sitting on my bum all day, half cocked sideways to avoid my right hip? Eek.
So tonight, I treated myself to a bath, which, hell, I do every other morning and have written about before. BUT, this time I added, not only bubbles, but also a glass of wine (red, which I'm not so sure about with the heat of the bath, next time I will try champagne (or, more likely, it's cheaper, trashier cousin, cava)), a tiny little piece of bitter dark chocolate (in this cooking class I took the instructor raved about how one tiny piece of bitter dark was as satisfying as a half-pound of milk; verdict = um, no.), and Harry Potter.
I have resisted Harry Potter, for, lo, these many years since he took hold of readers everywhere. I developed my resistance to NY Times bestsellers when I used to review them for a now-defunct women's website and HOLY COW, the stuff that passed for readable? "She's Come Undone," do not get me started (no offense if you liked it, plenty of people decry Joan Didion, one of my favorites). Oh, the swamps of ill-begotten metaphors and teenage logic I had to trudge through.
See, I am completely thrilled to read crap that is sold as crap (Sidney Sheldon and Dominick Dunne, I heart thee), but I hate reading crap that is sold as Literary when it is actually Crap. You know?
In any case, I have finally succumbed to my family's urging and taken up Harry. At first I was nonplussed, yeah, this is fun and I read the first one in about 45 minutes, but what is the Big Deal? BUT, now I am heading into book 3, and I have to say, I am hooked. So much so that my fingers and toes got extra prune-y in my bath, and I'll probably finish up the book in bed tonight.
And that, for someone who reads contracts and regulations all day and comes home with tired eyes, is MAGIC.
*This reminds me that my first two 45s ever? "Wipeout" by the Fat Boys, and Boy Meets Girl, "Waiting for a Star to Fall." Oh, the awesomeness.**
**Now THAT reminds me that my first musical purchases were 45s. I AM OLD.***
***Which reminds me that I cannot believe NKOTB is staging a come-back. Has anyone heard their new song? Any good?
Posted by jen at January 30, 2008 10:43 PM
Comments
I said no to Harry at first as well. But then 9/11 found me stranded in Virginia. And someone gave me some Harry Potter books -- the first two to be exact. I breezed through those. And then I was still stranded so I went to Target to get the third. By the time I landed in SF, I had finished that one. And also had the knowledge that the fourth was in hardback. I rushed to pick up the fourth one the next day. Because I had to know. By the time the seventh was released, I actually headed out to pick it up at midnight.
And the thing that makes me love Harry Potter so much is that the books taught kids that reading doesn't have to be a chore. And anything that does that is alright with me.
Posted by: Dagny at January 30, 2008 11:55 PM
I think I am going to check out the Harry Potter books on cd and put them on my ipod to listen to during my commute. Not having to use my contract-reading eyes to "read" Harry Potter = magic!
Posted by: -R- at January 31, 2008 06:54 AM
I resisted Harry Potter too (and in librarian world this was nutso). But in the end it got me too.
And I totally remember buying 45s at the record store. Two for three bucks.
Posted by: Librarian Girl at January 31, 2008 11:45 AM
Oh, just wait until you read the third one. You think you're hooked now?
I, too, resisted HP until a coworker handed me the first book and said "I promise, you will like". That was years ago... only the first four books were in print... but since then, I have read the entire series three times from start to finish. Every time a new book was published, I started re-reading months in advance to be prepared. (Yeah, I know, so dorky. Feel free to make fun.)
Posted by: Noelle at January 31, 2008 12:10 PM
NKOTB comeback? But they just did one...in like 1997. I hope Donnie Wahlberg doesn't come back. I rather prefer him as an actor.
Ugh, I have read most of the Harry Potter books and I am an avid hater. I did really enjoy the first 2, but then it just got trivial and outlandish and ridiculous and stupid and much, much too long (which equals boring to me). I really don't need the first chapter repeated in every book, thanks. Does Harry never learn to repair his own damn glasses? As for childrens books, there are so many that are much better and I wish they received some celebrity time.
Although I did enjoy She's Come Undone, so perhaps opinion isn't everything...
Also loved White Oleander and Paint it Black.
Posted by: American Spy at February 4, 2008 10:08 AM
I loved the Harry Potter books but then again, I hated almost every book every listed in Oprah Winfrey's Book Club. I'm still mad about the book about the girl who lived in the Wal-Mart and had a baby.
Hee hee--my first major musical purchase was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album. My best friend bought the record while I, being on the cutting edge, bought the cassette so I could listen to it in the car!
I had 45s but they were mostly limited to the "when you hear this sound...(insert sound here)...turn the page" read-along stories.
Posted by: SusannahS at February 6, 2008 02:45 PM
Hey, I just had to add that a collector's edition of When Harry Met Sally 20th anniversary was released last month (don't fall for the "special edition" of 2001). Reviews of it actually say it doesn't add much, but I'm glad to see it on shelves again...
Posted by: americanspy at February 7, 2008 09:18 AM
Oh how I LOVED the Fat Boys, and HATED She's Come Undone. I thought I was the only person. Thank God you said that!! Oh and the Oprah Book Club - me, too - HATE all those. We should start our own list!
Posted by: Amy at February 8, 2008 11:40 AM
i read one and two and was kinda bored so i stopped. (i always recommend phillip pullman and/or madeleine l'engle instead. i find them much more entrancing.) but i figure at some point i MUST read all of HP anyway just b/c they're going to become the cultural references of the next generation and you know i still want to be "with it" when i'm 90 and reading the music & book mags of people younger than i. ;)
Posted by: carolyn at February 21, 2008 08:50 AM