When you’re feeling a lot of strain (like when you’re in a rage?), what do you do to relax and to keep you mind off the ugly things? In my case, I read, I watch a movie, go out… or write.
Although my deadline for Tuesday’s (today’s) column wasn’t until Monday (yesterday) at 12.00 noon, I finished it early Saturday afternoon. I just wanted a complete break from anything related to writing and blogging. Writing just wasn’t relaxing at that point.
I shut down the computer and I would not turn it on again until Monday morning. We went to a birthday dinner party in the evening then watched Rush Hour 3. Still, all of that was not enough to calm me down. The moment we got home, I kicked off my shoes (not literally, they’re too expensive for that kind of treatment), I made myself a cup of coffee, curled on the couch and started reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
It wasn’t exactly planned. We were at TriNoma for the birthday dinner and, while waiting for the food, I stepped out of California Pizza Kitchen for a smoke and to take photos. Right beside CPK was Power Books and there was this big sale. I’ve been to a lot of branches looking for a copy of Deathly Hallows, so I knew it was out of stock and I wasn’t really expecting to find a copy there. But I did. And the price was less 20% too.
No spoilers ahead.
Well, save to say that it was a fitting conclusion to the Harry Potter saga. No, it was not disappointing. No, it was not predictable. The twists and turns went on and on right until the final chapter and on to the epilogue. The pace was good, the battle scene was awesome, but it was the characterization that was best.
Albus Dumbledore (warning: spoilers in the Wikipedia link), the Hogwarts headmaster who died in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has always been illustrated as nothing short of a hero. He was an exceptional wizard with an even more exceptional insight into human nature. He was protective, he was a just school administrator and, well… he just seemed perfect.
With Deathly Hallows came the humanization of Dumbledore. It sounds ironic, I know, because he died in Book Six, but that was how it was. In all the previous stories, nothing much had been said about Dumbledore before he became headmaster of Hogwarts. In Deathly Hallows, his life story was told. And, my, it was some story.
But, perhaps, the biggest surprise was the unraveling of Severus Snape. If there ever was a lesson about not judging a book by its cover, nor a person by his appearance and demeanor, this was it.
As to who died and who lived, well, that’s something to write about some months from now when most Harry Potter fans have had a chance to read Deathly Hallows.
i want that bowl of kiwi and whatever. What’s that? looks yummy for me and my blood sugar issues.
Hehehe fresh fruit salad made by my daughter Sam.
My son is reading Goblet of Fire now.
Thanks for the link!
how long does it take for you to finish a book (say this book)?
my wife borrowed a book from her friend before (The Five People You Meet in Heaven ata ‘yun) and it took her weeks before she could finish reading. most of my female friends are the same. mababagal ba talaga magbasa ng books ang mga babae o sadyang mabilis lang ako magbasa? Kase I bought her the One More Day months ago but I read it first before sending it to her. 2 nights ko lang sya tinapos basahin. Nung dati nanghiram ako ng The Little Prince, nagulat ‘yung hiniraman ko nung sinoli ko kinaumagahan.
No need for thanks, Paul. Ikaw naman…
kotsengkuba, ehhhh, nag-speed reading ako before entering the College of Law.
Deathly Hallows… saturday night (4 hrs), sunday afternoon (4 hrs), sunday evening (about 6 hrs). if there were no interruptions, it would be faster but, you know, realities of being a mommy — cooking, grocery… hehehehe
I read the book as soon as I laid my hands on it… Buti nalang Sabado, no work! Hehehe wawa naman asawa ko, di ako makausap habang nagbabasa.
This book is probably my favorite of the series. Exciting yung mga fight “scenes,” you could really feel like you’re there. It’s good to know too that Dumbledore is just human, di na yung image na parang di makabasag-plato
I read somewhere that JK Rowling is planning to write an encyclopedia of sorts. And did you also get to read the live chat with JK answering questions about the book in mugglenet.com? Apparently, Harry became head of the Auror Office, and Ginny was a pro Quidditch player retiring early to become a senior correspondent for The Daily Prophet.
Eww. I’m such a fan. Ang nerd ko
thanks for the spoiler about snape. :p
I love the book too! The twists and turns were awesome sans the epilogue. It was a bit cheesy for me. I’m rather amazed that a lawyer (and a mom, too!) would still find time to read Harry Potter.
Got the book in the morning of the day they got it out in the market. Was able to get one (10% off) even if I didn’t reserve. Read it Sat evening till my eyes were almost dry, Mon evening till Tuesday morning. Was so tired since I had a full day of teaching every Tuesday. This is a pa-morningang sort of reading, can’t-put-it-down book, I’m afraid I might miss something if I put off not reading for a while, like the moving characters in their newspapers, they might move and change hahaha!
Nice no? Cried a little in some parts, laughed out loud in others. Though epilogue was sort of bitin for me. I did write some spoilers in my post. Figures those who had the book must be finished reading by then and those who haven’t already “heard” what happened. My bad.
How was TriNoma? Di ba kayo nahilo sa parking lot maze? We like it there, but not on weekends.
I’ve never thought that reading speed was ever and should ever be an issue. The issue, more often than not, is comprehension, not speed.
I suspected Snape wasn’t such a bad egg, but was disappointed that he barely made a dent in book 7 till the very end, oh well, maybe it was Rowling’s save the best for last pov. I’m glad to see that arc come to a sad, but heroic end. Although, as one review put it, the pacing was weird. If Voldy was so evil, why give your enemy time to recover with an hour of reprieve? What’s with badguys who can’t strategize properly? It was my gripe with Superman returns, when Lex Luther stabs superman in the lower back, instead of just cutting his throat. Hello bad guys! Use your brains! lol
I hope the weekend reading helped you get back on track Connie.
Harry Potter books lang yata from book 1 to 7 ang tinapos basahin ng anak ko. 6 & 7 books niyan, di pa lumalabas, pina reserved na niya sa NBS. Last sunday lang niya nakuha yong book 7 kasi nabusy siya sa kanyang exam, nag na nursing naman siya ngayon eh.
Happy birthday pala sa baby Sam mo.
hmmm… i think this is a way OT pero gusto ko lang sundan ang last comment. i started speed-reading a bit early cause i went to a high school na everybody was addict in paperback. we used to have this 15-minute break in between classes and since borrowed lang ang books, we would read one ‘sweet-valley high’ sa ganun lang ka short na time. half of the story we couldn’t comprehend for sure pero it was fun:) for now, my record siguro is reading 4 books (the loodlum and sheldon type) in one night. as for hp7, i read it for 2 nights, 8 hours, because i had to flip back through the previous pages pag meron akong gustong i-verify (besides, bumagal na nga ang speed ko after laying low for several years now). fave ko na part yung nagproduce ng patronus si snape for harry when dumbledore asked him of his feelings for the boy. nice nice book.
I read the spoilers first (found on the web), then, I followed it. Most of them were really true. What a waste of indulgence for my part!
Connie,
I cheered (as in “YES” *closed fist on the side*) Molly Weasly during the battle. I wanted to star in the next film as her, hahaha.
Kotseng Kuba,
It depends on the book syempre. I could have finished Deathly Hallows in less than 3 days becoz, like Connie said, mommy tasks. I also have this book Emotional Intelligence that I started reading in 1997. Di ko pa rin tapos hanggang ngayon, hehe.
Gail, pareho lang kawawa asawa natin hehehehe Buti na lang sya cook pag sunday. But sunday evening I had to start cooking the kids’ baon for monday so pa break break sa basa.
No I missed the live chat sayang.
I think my favorite among the 7 books is still Order of the Phoenix. Then, Deathly Hallows. Then, Goblet of Fire.
Marta, spoiler ba yun? LOL
Issa, I LOVE children’s books. I love children’s movies too. Am planning on watching Stardust and Enchanted with the kids. Stardust, especially. The trailer was awesome.
Jon, comprehension is part of speed reading class.
Mila, I was also hoping for a more substantial role for Snape in Deathly Hallows, especially after what seemed to be a super-long prologue about him in Half-Blood Prince. Everything’s great from my end, Mila. Thanks.
Thanks, Rosario. We’ve been planning a weekend getaway for her birthday eh panay naman ang ulan. And great to know that your college-age daughter loves Harry Potter too. Some of my kids’ classmates are not allowed by their parents to read Harry Potter.
Ann, re “i had to flip back through the previous pages pag meron akong gustong i-verify”
LOL I was doing it too. I was even referring to Books 5 and 6. hehehe para malinaw, di ba?
Ami, LOL I loved that part too. And she actually said “Bitch” hahahaha Nanay na nanay. Talagang don’t you dare touch my daughter. hehehehe
Re: “Some of my kids’ classmates are not allowed by their parents to read Harry Potter”
I don’t understand this… Can someone clarify? I’ve never read the books but I’ve seen all the movies. So bear with me.
Oh, almost forgot… HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sam! How’s her K800i doing now? Bought a 1GB M2 card for it already? Cheap na lang yon!
The Mentat, some parents still believe that the Harry Potter books are “evil”. As in anti-God.
And, yes, we already bought her a 1gb card and she already returned the pitiful 64mb card that came with my M600i.
Yep. I kept my 64MB card, though. It may have its uses, still. How much did you buy her card for and where? I bought mine for P1.5k.
Hookay… what makes Harry Potter “evil”? Magic? Sorcery? Witchcraft? Hogwash, all of that. Oh, well, the narrow mindedness of such people are sometimes too astounding for me.
Hay, naku, you’ll be surprised. And it is that very narrow-mindedness that is responsible for kids imbibing their parents’ biases. If parents hate people who are “different”, their kids most likely will too.
I just read Deathly Hallows last week. I wasn’t surprised about Snape, was expecting it, and would have been disappointed in JK Rowlings otherwise.
All through the earlier books he’s described as greasy haired. If it’s not fair to judge someone by her flamboyant personality and big hair, then you certainly can’t judge Snape for his grumpiness and lack of acquaintance with hair care products.
(Had a hard time deciding whether to comment here or in the previous post.)
LOL JS, I think you did good posting your comment here and making a reference to the previous entry for better context.
Who decides which books get press (Harry Potter) and which get censored? After all, censorship is becoming America’s favorite past-time. The US gov’t (and their corporate friends), already detain protesters, ban books like “America Deceived” from Amazon and Wikipedia, shut down Imus and fire 21-year tenured, BYU physics professor Steven Jones because he proved explosives, thermite in particular, took down the WTC buildings. Free Speech forever (especially for books).
Last link (before Google Books caves to pressure and drops the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0