I am not a person who has the gift of dreamless sleep. In fact, it's most remarkable for me if I wake up from a night's rest fresh and without any lingering thoughts. However, that is, unfortunately, not how I awoke today (or, technically, yesterday). I heard the sounds of faint knocking at my door – my brain informs me that there were eight knocks on the door although I don't have any recollection of this exact number. When I heard the knocks, I had no idea whether they were in my dream (which, to my annoyance, politely modified its storyline such that the inclusion of eight knocks seemed entirely natural) or whether they were real.
However, having gone to sleep with the thought of waking up to a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I thought it was worth getting up from bed to verify whether the knocks had been real or not, because, if they had, the reward would be well worth it. So, I get up from bed, snatch my glasses, sink my feet into an extremely comfortable pair of slippers (a birthday present, in fact) and walk as fast as I can towards the main door. When, I see no one standing in front of me with a copy of the book I so dearly desired to read (devour might be a better word), I thought the mailman might be walking back to his truck, so I rushed out of the house hoping to spot a retreating back dressed in USPS uniform, but there was nothing. At this point, I also realized that the slippers I was wearing were not supposed to be worn outside the house. So, disappointed, I started walking back towards the door thinking what a waste it had all been – waking up and blasphemizing my most comfortable pair of slippers. However – and I'm sure you've been expecting this – just as I was about to walk back inside my apartment, my still-bleary eyes noticed a white-and-red box next to the door. A slightly closer inspection determined the following words printed upon its immediately visible side, "Attention Muggles: Do not deliver or open before July 21". (It was in all capital letters but I'll spare that eye-sore here. It would look dreadful in Georgia.)
Anyway, at 10.10am (the 'right' time, so to speak), I began reading. Of course, I am not a very gifted reader and it was a little before 5.30pm when I finished the first 389 pages. I was waiting for the situation in the story to stabilize a bit before I could 'safely' leave the trio and go grab some food because I was hungry beyond words. I finally finished reading the book at 1.33am.
Yes, it is a most astoundingly good piece of literature and if it is really only just a children's book, then I'm proud to be a child who is in love with it. It added a brilliantly woven storyline to the series, answered every question I could throw at it in the most cunning fashion, and had a happy ending to boot. In fact, this happy of an ending, I confess, I wasn't expecting. The geek in me will generously reveal itself now when I say that it feels like the end of a very long C program with a lot of memory being freed at last. Above all, after reading this book, I am satisfied and relieved, and that is not something I can say about most of the books I've read. In essence, what I'm trying to say is that is not a book that you can shake a stick at.
Of course I'll re-read it. I reckon I'll be listening to it since I already have it on audio, but there is simply nothing that compares to a first-read.
However, having gone to sleep with the thought of waking up to a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I thought it was worth getting up from bed to verify whether the knocks had been real or not, because, if they had, the reward would be well worth it. So, I get up from bed, snatch my glasses, sink my feet into an extremely comfortable pair of slippers (a birthday present, in fact) and walk as fast as I can towards the main door. When, I see no one standing in front of me with a copy of the book I so dearly desired to read (devour might be a better word), I thought the mailman might be walking back to his truck, so I rushed out of the house hoping to spot a retreating back dressed in USPS uniform, but there was nothing. At this point, I also realized that the slippers I was wearing were not supposed to be worn outside the house. So, disappointed, I started walking back towards the door thinking what a waste it had all been – waking up and blasphemizing my most comfortable pair of slippers. However – and I'm sure you've been expecting this – just as I was about to walk back inside my apartment, my still-bleary eyes noticed a white-and-red box next to the door. A slightly closer inspection determined the following words printed upon its immediately visible side, "Attention Muggles: Do not deliver or open before July 21". (It was in all capital letters but I'll spare that eye-sore here. It would look dreadful in Georgia.)
Anyway, at 10.10am (the 'right' time, so to speak), I began reading. Of course, I am not a very gifted reader and it was a little before 5.30pm when I finished the first 389 pages. I was waiting for the situation in the story to stabilize a bit before I could 'safely' leave the trio and go grab some food because I was hungry beyond words. I finally finished reading the book at 1.33am.
Yes, it is a most astoundingly good piece of literature and if it is really only just a children's book, then I'm proud to be a child who is in love with it. It added a brilliantly woven storyline to the series, answered every question I could throw at it in the most cunning fashion, and had a happy ending to boot. In fact, this happy of an ending, I confess, I wasn't expecting. The geek in me will generously reveal itself now when I say that it feels like the end of a very long C program with a lot of memory being freed at last. Above all, after reading this book, I am satisfied and relieved, and that is not something I can say about most of the books I've read. In essence, what I'm trying to say is that is not a book that you can shake a stick at.
Of course I'll re-read it. I reckon I'll be listening to it since I already have it on audio, but there is simply nothing that compares to a first-read.
Labels: English
1 comments
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Oh yes!! The first read, is nothing compared to the second, the third or the subsequent ones. The first read is hurried, there is tension in the air, a kind of uncertainty as to what happens. The other times, you know the story, you're simply reading to analyse it, or refresh your memory about the minute details.
