It's taking me quite some time to read Book 5 as I've been plagued by a bad headache (probably carrying over from yesterday) all afternoon. That's the only thing keeping me from going full speed at reading. But it's been FANTASTIC so far, I swear all this has been worth the wait. Three years. Wow. I am on a self-imposed exile from all my HP groups for a few days. I wouldn't be able to bear spoilers now that I actually have the book in my hands.

I am very happy with what I've read so far though. One of the indicators of a good series writer for me is if he or she can keep the readers guessing. And I swear, JKR is keeping my brain racing. I haven't been able to peg one pre-Book 5 guess correctly. Well, except for what the Order of the Phoenix is, but other than that.... Wooo.

Word for the day: Metamorphmagus - a witch/wizard who can change appearances at will, no need to use wands or spells.

Back to reading....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



Saturday, June 21, 2003

Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Very appropriate for the launching of a book that starts with: "The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large square houses of Privet Drive... "

It's been a really really tiring day, but it was all worth it.



Fully Booked opened at 7AM to a short line of eager Potter fans who want to read Book 5 first thing this morning. One or two people have taken to staying at Press Cafe immediately after purchasing the book, and I even saw a girl who immediately turned to the last few pages! Wow. Talk about typical fan behavior. LOL.

Sign-ups for the games started when some kids started trickling in later in the morning. People had quite a ball being sorted. Hey, we even have a new celebrity Gryffindor in the person of local diva, Lani Misalucha.



It was quite disappointing being limited to the activities on the Scholastic Event Planner, but everyone seemed to have fun, just the prospect of being able to read the book when they got home was enough to keep everyone going. And it all turned out to be one big EB for the group as well as other Potter fans, the little kids seemed to enjoy the Name Game and Mugglephone and people seemed to have gotten the hang of making their own wands and wizard hats. :)

Me, Oneal, Niccah, Aids, Rain and Rain's bro scurried off to the 2nd Philippine Toys and Collectibles Convention for a few hours for the Stormballs performance. A performance I initially had some misgivings about considering Moulin Rogue Squadron Pilot Earl Wedgie's reports that the Megamall Conference Center was jampacked with collectors and there wasn't much space to move. At least the performance was well received, some of the people in the crowd were asking for pictures even before the dance number commenced. The Stormballs took the ToyCon by storm alright. On to the next event!

We got back to the wizarding world a little past 8pm and by then, it looked like a different kind of storm swept the bookstore. By the end of the day, Fully Booked's initial 2000+ available copies was reduced to about 300 or so. Wow. I guess Phoenix is bound to become the fastest selling book in history, and the best selling Potter book ever!

.:chronicled by senator skywalker at 5:52:00 AM:.
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