Reading the last book

I did mention that I wasn't feeling well enough last weekend to go out and pick up my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, didn't I? Well, yes, I was sorely disappointed not to be able to get it right away and start reading it during the weekend. I so wanted to beat the articles or reactions with the usual spoilers that surely would be popping up all over the Internet and other media. Last weekend seemed to be the best time to laze around and read a good book as I wasn't feeling too well to do anything else and had no class-related things to catch up on.

But I got a surprise yesterday (Monday) morning. A friend lent me his copy of the book--if you know what I mean. Naturally, I thought I could put off reading it til I got home that evening but I made the big mistake of reading the opening chapter. The trouble with J.K. Rowling is like any other brilliant author she makes sure that once you start reading her books, you can't let go until the end. Just like peanuts... or Pringles: "once you pop, you can't stop" sort-of-thing. And so there I was reading Deathly Hallows--it was around 10am--just stopping to have lunch and to go my hour-long lecture class at 1pm. It was a miracle nobody came by to interrupt me that afternoon when I resumed reading. By the time it was time for me to get going home around 6:15pm, I had read until the beginning of Chapter 20. Of course, I began reading again soon after I got home and only managed to tear myself away from it after finishing Chapter 30 at 1am. You see, I had to make sure I got enough sleep for the next day (today) when I'd have my three lecture classes, the first of which starts at 8am.

So this morning, after my 8am class, I began reading from where I left off the night before, then broke off (I was in the middle of Chapter 31 then) to go to my 10am lecture after which, needless to say, I resumed reading. I was thoroughly enjoying a most crucial and intriguing Chapter 33 when I had to leave to buy lunch. I managed to complete the next chapter before I had to leave once again this time for my 1pm class. I had a meeting as well to attend after my class, unfortunately, so I had to patiently wait until just past 3pm before I could get back to reading. I finally finished the last three chapters (including the epilogue) about an hour later, sat back, took a deep breath and thought, "Wow!"

Right now back here at my laptop, I just feel drained and think I will make it an early night. Reading Deathly Hallows was like going on a journey myself. It was exhausting physically and emotionally and a good night's sleep should help me recover after a total of 15 hours of reading. I suppose I'll just have to write about my reactions to the book --with spoilers, of course--next time.