I go out of wifi range for a week and you make the cyberpunk talk? Aiee - I am making office wallpaper out of the thread and wishing I could climb back in it timely-like.

But I have never enjoyed one of his books, and tend to finish them only when trapped on a trans-Atlantic flight. I find him a bit pompous.

:: blows Raq kisses and looks at half-finished copy of Difference Engine; hugs William Gibson doll; goes off to flirt some more with Neal Stephenson ::

But the fact this writer goes out of his way to call out two of the more highly-regarded female authors (Le Guin and Willis; I don't know who wrote "Souls") -- a bit suspect, right there on its face.

Nutty - that and the manifesto-punt have my deepest affection.

::sounds of sox slaughtering thread::

I had my job orientation at Barnes & Noble yesterday, and when the manager asked for my availability, I specifically requested to work on Harry Potter night. Their pre-midnight festivities aren't too elaborate (not like the ones in Oak Park), but I still can't wait to see the kids in their outfits all getting excited over a book release!

(Of course, the fact that I'll be there means I can pick up my own book and bring it home after close and start reading it!)

Kathy, can you dress up for the event (assuming you want to)?

And, while I'm not a Harry Potter fan, I'd be tempted to go by just to see the kids in their costumes and getting so excited. (I'm almost that excited about getting Allyson's book in the not-too-distant future.)

I'm sure I could, but I don't have anything that would work, unfortunately. Maybe I can see if my SIL can loan me my niece's graduation robe, get a lightning scar temp tattoo for my forehead, mousse up the hair to get it all messy, buy a cheap broomstick and write "Firebolt" on the handle and go as Harry.

You could be one of the Hogwarts teachers. You could do that with the robe and a wand. Just occasionally say, "25 points for Gryffindor" or "You'll never pass your O.W.L.S. if you don't stop getting detention." You could add some scarves and be Prof. Trelawnly. "I predict you will buy that book. Something exciting will happen on Tuesday. I believe I see kidnapping by unicorns in your future."

If you haven't guessed, I'm in the middle of a Harry Potter reread.

Ooh, Trelawney would be a blast! I'll have to dig through my scarf drawer and see what I can cobble together. My glasses aren't huge, but they'll do in a pinch.

I've just caught up on Harry Potter (got them all out of the library one after the other but I've given in an ordered Deathly Hallows so I don't have to wait - I'm #394 on the holds list, that could take a while) and I just had to go back and read the Literary thread after HPB came out. Fun!

I have even developed my very own crackpot prophecy theory, with extra crack.

My sister and BiL pimped the His Dark Materials series to me heavily on our family vacation, so that's next up in the queue. Or right behind world War Z which I am continuing to dither about reading.

read world war z

since I am home sick I start rereading hp4 not sure how far I'll get - perfect sick reading . interesting enough to keep me occupied, butnot so much to pay attention to that my brain gets lost