I was going to ignore the last Harry Potter book but...

Yes, I had every intention of ignoring the last Harry Potter book, at least until the price dropped. It's not as if I have nothing else to read. But, a friend wanted to see the new Potter film and so off we went. Well, after that it was inevitable. I went out and bought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the next day. I had to know what was to become of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, not to mention 'You know who'. So my plan was, no daytime reading; this is for bedtime consumption only I told myself! Unfortunately, my rational, 'I have to finish this manuscript I'm working on and if spend all my time reading I never will and therefore won't be able to pay bills' self lost out to the 'but I want to know' self, and I cheated. I did start out, reading only a few chapters at night, but as the pace quickened, my resolve dissipated. I had to know. Today I finished it, and my 8 hour work day dwindled down to about 3 1/2 hours. I've got to hand it to Rowlings; she hooked me on the first page, and my interest never wained. Writing a series consisting of seven books with each one being more compelling than the previous one is not something most writers can pull off. As far as I can see, she has improved her craft with every book and of that I am even more envious than of her millions. After all, I doubt any of us enter this business with the view to making money. (Check your sanity if you have).From what I read in Publisher's Weekly, sales in the first 24 hours in the U.S. alone topped 8 1/2 million copies. Imagine that many people wanting to read your books! The thing that I find so encouraging here, is that if you write something wonderful and people hear about it, they'll read it; even in this media driven world that we inhabit, they will stop and read. How could I not be grateful to J.K. She has ensured interest in the written word for a generation of kids whom we feared wouldn't willingly pick up a book. As Allison Taylor-McBryde, one of our wonderful youth librarians as well as a UBC professor says, "Harry Potter is an a librarians dream opportunity." Besides, it gives the rest of us a bit of hope that the next book a child or teenager picks up just might be ours. J. K. you go girl!!!