Friday night we took the kids to the next town north of us for the big Harry Potter shindig (it even made FOXNews). The town, whose book store is, appropriately, called the Learned Owl, turned Main Street into Diagon Alley. There was Gringotts Bank, Olivanders, Bertie Bott's Jelly Beans, balloons shaped like Hedwig the owl, and plenty of people dressed up as their favorite Harry Potter characters. There was also a very, very long line to get the book. At 11:00, it extended for three blocks, and the tickets they were giving away for a place in line were up to number 650. The kids, who had pooled their money to buy the book, decided to go home. They went to Borders at 9:00 the next morning and bought it. No line.

They played a Magic Tournament to decide who would read it first, second, third, and fourth. It'll be a while before I can read it, but so far two of them have finished it after marathon reading sessions. The ten year old says that the climax is "spectacular." The eleven year old says that it's a "gripping story" and not at all ponderous as some reviews have suggested. He disagrees about the climax, however, and says that it isn't quite as good as the previous books. It was good enough, however, to keep him up until 2AM last night reading. Obviously, Harry Potter still rules.