While it is still true that Molly's wardrobe out acted her in Betsy's Wedding she is still one of my favorite parts of it. Don't get me going on Anthony Lapaglia! oops, too late

I didn't realize the Alienist was abridged, but now that you mention it, the book IS pretty hefty. And while I can understand wanting the real deal, I still seriously recommend it.

I am glad for the two year wait. I think the two years between 5 and 6 was well spent. A tighter book.

The Amazing Adventures of Lethem and Chabon.

Heh. Around SF Eggers/Chabon is the OTP.

Am I a dummy, or is Michael Chabon's first name not Jonathan?? Also, Dave Eggers's first name is not Jonathan. There seems to be somewhat of a loose Jonathan requirement to get into that club, you know?

One wonders what the female equivalent of that club is. The blurb under the cartoon implied that The Jonathans need to exist, in part, because of their maleness, because they're in dialogue with masculinity. Still, does that mean I have to go to chick lit to join a club? Hope not.

Am I a dummy, or is Michael Chabon's first name not Jonathan??

There were some dopey elements to that comic. I thought the villain should've been that critic/author who tore into Franzen and those guys. Whassisname. The guy who wrote Thumbsucker?

I also think Gawker is obsessed with Jonathan Chaben and got confused. They've fixed it now.

Just finished Harry Potter. Wow. The ending really hit me hard. It's reminding me of some of the darker parts of BTVS, where the things Buffy/Harry has to do are things that no *child* should ever have to do.

I figured that Dumbledore would be the one who died in this book -- I've been expecting it since book 4. And while it really will seem like a cop-out to pull a Gandalf and bring Dumbledore back, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Rowling does in book 7, and here's why -- there were far too many flame/fire/phoenix references to chalk up to coincidence, especially about Dumbledore surviving whatever it was that flash-fried his hand. Oh, and also the Aslan-like gesture of Dumbledore dying in a sacrificial gesture.

I found it very interesting that this is the first book in which not only was there no showdown between Harry and Voldemort, in fact, Voldemort wasn't even in the book. Not one bit.

I actually feel sorry for Draco -- he clearly didn't want to kill Dumbledore -- oh, and how much did I *love* Dumbledore saying "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now," to Draco? -- and seemed utterly sick at the thought that he let the badass werewolf into Hogwarts, where his friends are. Draco clearly got in over his head, in love with the idea of how powerful purebloods are, wanting to impress his father, and took on the task to kill Dumbledore. (Did we ever see if Draco has the Dark Mark?) And then he realized he couldn't do it. I think we're going to see a very different Draco in book 7.

And finally (for now) -- Snape! He's no woobie to me, but my heart really broke for him in this book. Clearly, he killed Dumbledore because (1) he made the Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa, and if Draco couldn't kill Dumbledore, Snape had to, or else Draco would die, and I can't see Snape letting any student die if he can help it, (2) like everyone else has mentioned, the scene that Hagrid overhears, where Snape says he doesn't want to do what he promised any more, it's too hard, and Dumbledore says that he must, they were clearly talking about Snape killing Dumbledore and (3) I think Dumbledore was dying from the potion that guarded the faux Horcrux, and when he was pleading with Snape, it was for Snape to kill him, not for Snape to relent.

Good stuff.

Wasn't Voldemort completely missing in Prisoner of Azkaban?

Over at Mugglenet, the first two parts of a three-part interview with JKR are up (Part 3 will be posted tomorrow, I think). Excellent stuff, very filled with spoilers about HBP.

Wasn't Voldemort completely missing in Prisoner of Azkaban?

Was he? Now I can't remember....