I did finish Harry Potter but I don’t feel like writing a whole review of it. For a real in depth review, see here.
I was mostly satisfied with the way things turned out. I’m not sad to see the stories end; I think it ran its course and adding any more chapters to it would have been unnecessary. However, I do think the epilogue was cheesy and trite. I don’t like that she wrapped everything up in such a neat little package. I would have preferred to been left wondering what happened to everyone than to have it laid out for me in what seemed like a hokey and forced manner.
Oh, and one of the predictions I made at the end of the previous book was right! I won’t discuss it in full though, because I know some of you have not finished reading it yet.
Now that that’s over, I started in on JPod by Douglas Coupland. Enjoying it so far, which is not a surprise, as I’ve enjoyed all his books.
I also finished Neil Gaiman’s Stardust (for the third or fourth time, I lost count), and I’m looking forward to the movie version.
My son is reading A Separate Peace (required, not by choice). His other choice was Jack London’s White Fang and I had this conversation with a bitchy little woman in the bookstore regarding my choice:
Her: What are you looking for?
Me (rattling off the summer reading list): Annie, A Separate Peace, White Fang…
Her: Boy or girl? What grade?
Me: Ninth grade boy/
Her (all haughty): Forget Annie. That’s for girls.
Me: Ok…then I’ll get A Separate Peace.
Her (rolling eyes): Please. Every boy wants to read Jack London.
Me: Not my boy.
Her: I’ll have you know White Fang is what got me reading. It made me what I am today.
Me (to myself, not out loud): An obnoxious book store clerk?
Me: (out loud): I think he’d rather read A Separate Peace.
Her: Then you don’t know your son so well. Boys want Jack London.
Me: Jack London is boring.
Her: What?? (she looks at me with such utter disdain I almost laugh. I notice she looks like a disgruntled weasel)
Me: I’ll get the other book myself, thanks.
She follows me to where there is a display of summer reading books. She picks up A Separate Peace before I can.
Her: Is your son a reader?
Me: Not so much.
Her: Then he’ll hate this.
Me: Trust me, he’ll hate Jack London more.
Her: But this takes place during WWII, I don’t think he’ll….
Me: Great. I’ll take it. He loves WWII.
Her: But….it’s not about the war….he’d much rather read White Fang….Jack London….
Me: Thanks for your help.
Her: Whatever.
And she slams the copy of White Fang down on the table and walks away.
My son better damn well LOVE A Separate Peace just so I can go back to the bookstore and shove it in that weasel’s face.
I suppose it would be a bad time to mention that my sons love Jack London. It actually turned my one son into a reader.
But, I’m so glad I home school and I can pick and choose what they are “forced” to read.
The ending was cheesy and trite? You do remember that this series was written for ten year olds, right?
I hate(d) Jack London and loved A Separate Peace, but I’m also not a boy.
I hate Jack London. I loved A Separate Peace. I’m rooting for you on this one. Obnoxious bitch…
Good grief, I can’t believe what a bitch that clerk was. I thought it was bad enough when music store clerks got that way. Thank god for downloadable music so I never have to deal with their snobbery again.
And what everyone else said: Boo Jack London. Yay A Separate Peace.
I don’t really care about Jack London one way or the other, but I hated A Separate Peace.
But that’s just me. And that bookstore clerk was a nosy bitch.
The hell?
“I’ve never met your son and you’ve lived with him for fourteen years but I’m going to tell you what he will like to read anyway.”
At least she didn’t try to push the Left Behind series on you; I’ve had that happen to me. I finally had to lie and claim I didn’t read novels to get the lady to shut up.