Harry Potter and the Release Night Frenzy

You could say that I underestimated how many people would show up at Borders to buy their copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As I neared the center with the bookstore and other shops shortly after midnight, I saw that the entire parking lot was full. There were scattered single spaces, but it took some driving around to find them.

The line was out the door just to get wristbands that were needed for another line to buy the book. I've never seen anything like this. Inside it was semi-controlled chaos, with hundreds of people hanging around the store like it was a college dorm lounge. Many were dressed as characters--Gryffindor scarves were a popular adornment--and the excitement level was something like what you might feel standing in the pit at a rock concert before an anticipated show.

I had no idea what I needed to do and asked around until I was pointed in the direction of the table for obtaining a wristband. That's how crowded it was. I didn't see the table upon entering the store. I got number 727, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had nearly a thousand book buyers for the extra hours Borders was open.

By now I knew I was going to have a decent wait, so I headed toward the café hoping to get something to drink, preferably an eye-opener. Although a worker was behind the counter, a handwritten sign read, "Closed and your magic cannot open us." Oh well. I had my bag with me, so I set up shop in the seating area and knit my sock. I knit for an hour while wizards, witches, and their patient parents milled about.

The seating area was closed at 1:15. Luckily by then it was time for me to get in a line that snaked through the fiction stacks, past the children's books, through the music section, and by the film books near the restroom. I wasn't finished with my round when I had to vacate the seats--I was in the middle of the instep stitches--so I knit the rest of the round standing up with the little bit of the remaining skein stuffed into my pocket. After finishing the round I put the sock back in my bag and shortly thereafter was able to procure my copy of the last book in J.K. Rowling's series. I was out the door at 1:30, a much later night than I had expected, but I was curious to see what the experience would be like. Anyway, the knitting made the time fly.

In between two naps, a trip to the yarn store, and a combined lunch/dinner I've read 283 of the 759 pages. I doubt I'll get it finished this weekend, but it's been a very good read so far. No mentions of knitting, though.

I've been enjoying knitting socks, but I also feel like I need something else for a change of pace. I checked out a book from the library that provided an idea for a secret project I began tonight. It calls for some crocheting with the finishing. I'm not sure about that, but I checked out another book that I'm hoping can get me through the necessary crochet work.

Back to the needles or Deathly Hallows? Decisions, decisions...

Clampdown

It's an early post for a change. I'm going to the home of friends to spend some time with them and see their baby. Then I'll brave the bookstore. Have you heard that there's a new Harry Potter book being released tonight?

It is truly amazing to see the feverish coverage there is for a book--a book!--and how newspapers are tripping over themselves to publish early reviews from copies obtained through unofficial channels. The other day I read that CBS News promised not to reveal who gets killed on their Saturday evening newscast. How generous of them.

The lid had been kept on any spoilers for quite some time, but this week they bubbled over, especially from a mass media all too eager to tell everyone what happens despite the book being unavailable for purchase until 12:01 a.m. Saturday. I've been able to avoid most of them, but even an article about J.K. Rowling expressing her displeasure about it managed to reveal how many characters die in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Film critics take a lot of flack for spoilers, justifiably so in some cases, but publications usually don't make a point of turning the biggest surprises into front page news prior to or on the day of release.

Many fans plan self-imposed media deprivation this weekend so they can discover all the twists and turns of the final novel in the series for themselves. I'll take my chances, but I intend to get through the book as quickly as possible lest some jackass ruin it.

I picked up the first book because I thought I ought to read it in preparation for reviewing the first film. I zipped through the first three and waited patiently for the next four. I wasn't feeling the anticipation that some people have, but less than six hours from getting it in my hands (or waiting to pay for it), I'm getting excited. American culture has mostly fractured into niches so that even the most popular music, movies, TV shows, and novels are consumed by fewer and fewer people. To take part in the buzz around the true blockbusters like this Harry Potter book is to regain a smidgen of that.

Back tomorrow with knitting content and maybe, hopefully, possibly, a finished sock.

Alright

I'm back on track!

The sock in Knit Picks Essential Tweed is being worked in the right direction again after hours of unknitting. I know that we learn more from making mistakes than doing things the proper way, but I was getting sick of an education in fixing my screw-ups. There will be plenty more to come, no doubt. I wouldn't mind if the character building was delayed for awhile, though.

What else is new? The absence of the Favorite Color Swap 2 blog on my Blogger dashboard (and the internet) tipped me off that Favorite Color Swap 3 will be taking place in the near future. Get in line.

Is there something I'm missing with the Harry Potter phenomenon being a big thing among knitters? I've read the books and seen the films, so I'm not questioning the popularity. My casual observation is that there are a lot of knitterly activities around all things Potter, which I guess I didn't expect. I finally pre-ordered my copy of the seventh book, and I'm going to a press screening of the fifth film tomorrow. I don't see myself knitting a scarf in one of the house colors, though. That's a bit much for me. But knock yourself out if that's your thing.

OK, is that enough padding for today's entry? It'll have to do.