Hello, muggles

So we got The Book yesterday. Technically, we got TWO books yesterday because we're big babies and won't share a children's book (which at 700= pages, hardly qualifies- wait- does it?) Book seven, baby, and I've even managed to sleep (thanks to a benadryl and a mojito and a beer- I'm not a pill-popping crazy, we were at a friend's house last night and I had an allergic reaction to something and popped a benadryl, which on top of a few drinks= sleepy me). Still, even with the book calling out to me, I have managed to get some stuff done around the house so I don't have boxes everywhere when our friends come to visit next week (Book Club members are invited- seriously! And also, would one of you please tell me why I can't just stop with the parenthetical banter? No? I don't know neither).

*******BIG BAD UGLY SPOILER ALERT SO DON'T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ AT LEAST 200 PAGES SO FAR. SERIOUSLY. I MEAN IT, I DON'T WANT ALL OF YOU MAD AT ME, GOT IT?**********

I got a little choked up when they Dursleys said goodbye to Harry. I always knew Petunia loved her nephew (go ahead, click the link, I wrote a piece of fan fiction.)

I think Mrs. Weasley is under the imperious curse. Snape's got a leak in the Order (or maybe he doesn't and is still working with the Order as a double agent and needs to let Voldemort trust him so he tips his hand a little and Moody is still alive as they never found his body because we know Mundungus disapparated and wasn't hurt or captured as they previously thought. Oh my gosh I'm in my 30's. What is wrong with me? For my next trick- a post in Klingon! Followed by one in Elvish! And then? I move back in with my parents! Who are we kidding, I would much rather learn Klingon.) She was acting strangely but that wouldn't explain why those Death Eaters were on top of the trio so soon after their departure from the Burrow. Anyway, there's just so many plot intersections, I'll be interested to see how she wraps everything up in the next 500 pages.

Dumbledore, like Elvis, lives.

Okay, Muggles, let your theories rip :)

New Book Selection and Member Poll

Hi there everyone. So, whatcha been up to? How ya been? Okay, I'll drop the pleasantries and just come out and apologize for totally ditching Special Topics and recommending Easter Rising which I really liked even though it was a huge downer.

Hey, can you smell that? No? Okay, close your eyes a sec and breathe in. Smell it now? Yeah, that's right, summer is in the air. Memorial Day weekend is just two short days away, can you believe it?

Summer means many things to me~ there's the horror of exposing my blinding white thighs to unsuspecting beachgoers, mosquitoes, and unrelenting humidity (and the big hair that goes with it) but there's also the delicious smell of coppertone and salt after a day building castles on the beach, gin and tonics with extra lime, and fluffy beach reading.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I love beach reads. That's why I'm asking all of you to post (not just comment, like actual posts) with some of your favorite summer paperbacks. What are they and why do you love them? Is there a certain book you've read again and again or does one volume on your shelf evoke memories of a particular summer or favorite place? I like to think you can learn so much about a person by what they drag along to read on vacation.

We've chosen books that are difficult to plow through so far so I'd like to suggest that, as we are all BUSY either tending to young children or jobs (or both) or to schoolwork, that we lighten things up around here. I'm reading a lovely historical fiction confection by Phillipa Gregory and then I'm diving into Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Discussion to follow in late June in time for the release of the 6th Harry Potter, which oh my gosh I can't wait. And we will read that one and I'll be on here like every other day talking about it so if you're not up to date, consider this your chance.

So, yeah. Devil in the White City. Bye!

Notes from the Shameless Self Promotion department

My post over at Lara's site has been nominated as a best of Blog Exchange for this month. It's a trunkated (because it had to be reasonable length for a post on another person's site) version of a story I've had brewing for a while. It is germane to the bookclub and shows the world of my soft white underbelly of geekdom, but I hope you'll check it out. If you like it , I'd appreciate your vote. Thanks!

Herding Cats

We're now up to 13 members and I've had requests from two more bloggers who want to join but who I need to check out. Anyone reading this who wants to read along with us and comment is more than welcome. We're all very nice people, well all except for Arwen. She's mean to people in bakeries. And Melissa once hit me over the head with a tap shoe but I think she was four at the time so I've forgiven her. I mean SURE she SEEMS nice now, just be on your guard around her is all I'm saying.

Here's my attempt to kill the "what book are we reading first?" question once and for all. As we've all proven our staggering literacy I figure it will be tough for the first few months to find ONE book that none of us has read so we all have the option of reading Life of Pi and/or Virgin Suicides. Next month we'll choose two of the many excellent choices suggested so far.

As for admin stuff, I'll continue to do the basic housekeeping around here. Does anyone want to step up to facilitate the Pi and VS discussions? Basically, it will involve keeping the dialogue going and setting dates for completion and discussion and the shape that the discussions will take for one book. We can share facilitator roles so everyone has a shot at moderating discussion.

In the meantime, keep the posts and comments coming! Thanks to Kemp for the JK Rowling scoop! Let's put that on the table for summer discussion!