A Little Late to the Party

Howdy finished the last Harry Potter book yesterday, on his day off.  I wondered why he hadn't gone to the grocery store like he said he was going to, but then I spied the book sitting triumphantly on his dresser, the bookmark clearly towards the beginning of the book.  I asked him what he thought of it and he said, "I really think I like some of the others better."  He was unwilling to give specifics.

However, it was the kick in the pants I needed to resume my Potter reading.  Yes, I am probably the last person on the planet who's read some of the books, but not all of them.  I left off finishing and enjoying #4, but I was unable to get into #5 and put it aside shortly after its debut.  Never picked up #6.  So, now I figured if I didn't start reading the rest of them, someone was going to spoil it for me, so I lugged the enormous book #5 to work with me today.

Work has been very slow the past couple of days.  So slow, I've had nothing to do.  I finished a book yesterday and didn't go to the library, which is what precipitated this dive into the local shelves.  By the end of the day, I'd been able to read 430 pages. 

I have to tell you, I'm not crazy about it.  Go ahead, lambast me if you will, but it's soooo long and soooo boring and it seems like nothing good is happening at all and there's nothing new to learn about the wizarding world at this point and it's all very depressing.  It's like "The Empire Strikes Back" of HP books.  How many times have we heard Harry whine, "Dumbledore wouldn't want to know about this little thing" in the series already?  It had better improve, or I'll be looking for a quick synopsis of the rest of the series.  Even after finishing half of it, I don't have a strong desire to pick it up again immediately.

So, guess what?  I'm looking for reading suggestions.  I have a few requirements.  It has to have a happy ending.  There are enough unhappy endings in life right now.  Light and fluffy, but not vapid if possible.  

Want my latest suggestions?  I just read Austenland.  It was great.  Read it as a novel about a place trying to emulate Jane Austen's work, not an *author* trying to emulate it and you will enjoy it more.  If you are frightningly familiar with Austen, you will like it even more.  I also recently finished Shoe Addicts Anonymous.  This was much closer to the shallow end of the literary pool, but it was tolerable.  (Think The Shop on Blossom Street, only with shoes, not yarn.  Same kind of thing.)  Crap, I know there were others, but you can't search what you checked out and turned back in at the library!!!

Okay, there's your mission!  Have a spiff weekend!