Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince
That’s right. I read Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling. Book six in the series if you’re keeping score at home.

There’s little point in reading this book if you haven’t read the five that preceded it. It’s really very good, and there is a reason that kids read it in one sitting. It holds up for adult reading as well, if you haven’t lost your childlike wonder and you’re belief in……. ***MAGIC****. Sorry. I was channeling Doug Henning there for a minute.
Anyway. That’s all I really have to say about this book. It has been written about and analyzed at length elsewhere. What I did come across, that I thought was really very cool, was The Guardian’s alternative Harry Potter Contest. The idea was to write about the death of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the manner of a famous writer (not a spoiler, because the contest was held well before the book came out). My favorites are in the style of Irvine Welsh, JD Salinger, and the Wooster & Jeeves stories.
August 19th, 2005 at 10:31 am
Given that I wasn’t going to read the book, I went ahead and did some internet research right away to find out who dies at the end of this one, and I can’t believe you spilled it! I didn’t even tell my wife (who is reading it right now, about one hundredth as fast as you). LOVE the Salingeresque writing. I didn’t bother to look at the others, because I wouldn’t recognize their styles if you hit me in the face with them.
And you simply must post a link to the article in The Onion a few years back about how the Harry Potter movies have helped kids avoid reading.
August 19th, 2005 at 10:50 am
I didn’t spill anything. Like I said, that contest ended before the book came out. It was based upon a wild guess. Find the Onion article and we’ll throw it up here.
August 19th, 2005 at 1:19 pm
Jeez, it’s hot out here.
August 19th, 2005 at 1:19 pm
DR J! Back in the house. I am sure that your cross country travels and new job have left plenty of time for catching up on some long neglected books. We look forward to reading all about it.