Hogwarts & Narnia will wait

I picked up Eragon from the library. So far, so good. It's not the greatest book I've ever read, but it's probably the best book I've ever read that was written by a fifteen year old.

I Think It's About Time

I think I may re-read all six of the current Harry Potter books again. It may be too soon since Deathly Hallows doesn't come out until July 21st. Of course, I can always read them again in July.

I also need to re-read The Chronicles of Narnia. It has been a long time since I read them.

The Fires of Mortor?

Saw this over at The Thinklings. Had me laughing aloud.

Marathon Reading Sessions

Word came out this week that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released at Midnight on July 21, 2007. Melissa, John & Sue from PotterCast issued this week's Blog Challenge in Episode #75, which was released Sunday. This week's challenge is for listeners to predict how long it will take them to read Deathly Hallows in its entirety.

I believe it is reasonable to assume that Deathly Hallows will be somewhere in the neighborhood of the length of books 4, 5, & 6. So, extrapolating from my experience with those books, I should be able to come up with a fairly accurate guess as to how long it will take me to read the ultimate entry in the Harry Potter series. When I bought Half-Blood Prince right at Midnight when it came out, I took it straight home and read for about an hour before going to sleep. When I woke up Saturday morning, I embarked on an all-day reading session, taking breaks only to eat, help take care of my four daughters, and take care of other necessary functions. I read past midnight, finally finishing at around 1:30 a.m. Clock time from purchase to completion was 25 1/2 hours, but actual reading time was less than twelve.

This time around, my daughters are all older, so I shouldn't have to take as many breaks to help with them. Meals don't have to take a long time, and reading can actually be accomplished during some of the other "necessary business," so there's no reason to believe that I couldn't finish the final book in about nine or ten hours if I could go uninterrupted. HOWEVER, there's a chance I might be in production for a musical with Garland Summer Musicals at the release date. In fact, I may be performing in Opening Night of Thoroughly Modern Millie on the evening of July 20th. If that's the case, I'll be more tired on the 21st, and I'll have to be back at the theatre by 7:00 p.m. for the 8 o'clock curtain. That would mean if I wasn't finished by about 6 p.m., I would have to put the book down for the night's performance. I've never been the type who can read something unrelated to the current show in the middle of a performance.

Also complicating matters is that if I am in that show, I won't be able to pick up my copy as early as I might have otherwise.

So, what does this all mean? I'm not sure, but if forced to guess, I'd say that I will probably get Deathly Hallows finished before I have to leave the house for the theatre. Hey, the forced deadline might even make me read faster.

My prediction is that I will have the book finished no later than 6:00 p.m. on July 21, 2007. Total reading time will be no more than ten hours. It would be fun to be at the performance that night and torture any fellow HP fans by telling them I have already finished and teasing them that I might spoil the ending for them. I'd never actually do that, but it would be funny to see how many people go screaming out of the green room with their fingers in their ears.

Insomnia

While I'm waiting to get sleepy, let me make a few recommendations:

Book: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I finished it a couple of days ago. It sort of gets weaker toward the end, but after years of reading fiction, I have come to the conclusion that ending a book might be one of the hardest things out there.

Film: Thank You for Smoking. Rented this one from Blockbuster and thoroughly enjoyed it.

TV: "Heroes". I have really liked the first three episodes of this show. I'll have to catch episode four on NBC's website tomorrow. I had a meeting tonight and forgot to set the VCR.

Music: Altar Boyz Off-Broadway Soundtrack. I purchased this one from iTunes. I appreciate the humor, and quite honestly, some of the lyrics are great.

"Everybody Fits"

Somedays, you just can't begin
You feel, outside looking in
It's like, you're the odd man out

Let me, help you
End your doubt

It doesn't matter
If you're different and out of place
It doesn't matter
If there's acne upon your face
It doesn't matter
Take my hand and then
You will see
Everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay

Strangers
Seem to, stop and stare
Wonderin'
Why you're, even there

Feeling
So left out and wrong
I'll show
You that
You belong

It doesn't matter
If you have a gigantic nose
It doesn't matter
If you're born with eleven toes
It doesn't matter
You can trust and
Believe in me
Everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay

In the family of God you'll learn
That there is no such thing as others
All the woman and men on Earth
Can be your
Sisters and your brothers

Sisters and your brothers!

It doesn't matter
If you're wrinkled and old and grey
It doesn't matter
If you face Mecca when you pray
It doesn't matter
Won't you listen and
Here my plea, everbody fits
It doesn't matter
If you're yellow or white or red
It doesn't matter
If you're pregnant and you're unwed
It doesn't matter
'Cause the truth it can
Set you free, everbody fits

Everybody fits!

It doesn't matter
Every murderer on death row
It doesn't matter
Every prostitute that you know
It doesn't matter
Welcome to the
Fraternity, everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay, you and maay
We fit into the fam-a-lay... yeaaah!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

Don't miss it. Don't even be late.

Today, well actually yesterday since it is after Midnight, I ventured into the world of the State Fair of Texas. I was accompanied on this journey by my wife, our four daughters, my wife's cousin and her husband, and their three children. We only spent four hours there, but it seemed like more. It wasn't bad, really, it just seemed like it was more than 4 hours.

I ate two Fletcher's Corny Dogs and a Funnel Cake. Not too bad when I think about it. I didn't get any deep-fried Oreo's™ like I did last year, but that's mainly because I didn't see the place to get them.

I highly recommend going to the fair on OU/Texas gameday. The only bad time was when we had to buy some more fair coupons, which are required for riding rides or buying food and beverage. We were trying to get some at about the same time that all the football game attenders were arriving at the park. They were all, it seemed, trying to get coupons to buy their lunches and probably a beer or two or twelve before they entered the Cotton Bowl (you can't buy alcohol in the stadium for some inexplicable reason). Once the crowd started making its way into the game, the fair was great. No wait for rides. You could walk the Midway without ever touching another person. It was the most empty I've ever seen the fairgrounds on a day the Fair is open.

After we got home, I was pretty tired, and I almost fell asleep on the living room couch, but when I finally tried to go to sleep in my own bed at 10:30, all of a sudden, I was wide awake. It goes back to my weird sleep patterns.

I'm gonna go back upstairs and read a little to see if it will help put me to sleep. I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. So far, I am really enjoying it.

The Dark Lord Returns Soon

I'm sure I won't be able to sustain the excitement for 7 months, but I'm psyched that Book 6 of the Harry Potter series has an official release date.

It will be fun to put all the rumors and guessing to bed about this book once July 16th rolls around.

Of course, then all the rumors and guessing will start flying regarding Book 7.

Random Lines in Books

Saw this on another blog (http://piecesofsusanlee.blogspot.com/) and thought it was interesting.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal, along with these instructions.


"If he is obedient to God, he is preaching the truth; if he does not love his wife, he is speaking apostasy and lies—but he is always talking."
    Reforming Marriage—Douglas Wilson

One Tired Puppy

Sorry I haven't put anything on here in the past couple of days. Between my two jobs and the new baby, I've just been swamped.

COMING SOON: My review of Stephen King's The Dark Tower (Volume VII): The Dark Tower

UPDATE (12-10-06): Sorry that review never materialized.