Tuesday, August 30

Long time no S

An old friend of ours whom we haven't spoken to in quite a while called today. She has had quite a rough time over the past few years, but now she was feeling much better. Not elated or ecstatic or anything like that, but better.
I realized just how long ago we spoke when she told me that she had gotten her drivers licence and when she got really surprised about my new job.
I did start it in April.

That's what's so nice about having friends that are almost more like relatives or family. If you need to lay low for a while (quite a long while in this case) it's okay. And when you find the energy to pick up the phone again, the friendship is still there, unscathed.
I can't wait to meet her boyfriend. Hubby is a bit skeptic in a big brotherly kind of way, but I'm sure he's a good guy. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

But not for too long, I hope.

posted by Stella at 21:35

Sunday, August 7

Bitten by the magic bug

Even though it came out some seven years ago, I had not read the "Harry Potter"-books before. Sure, I had seen the films and quite enjoyed them, but I hadn't actually opened up the pages in any of the books. I don't know why. Perhaps an anti-reaction to something so immensely popular. As we all know, immensely popular things are always bad, aren't they?

Anyway, about a month ago I stepped into one of those mini-book shops at the big train station, on the hunt for something to entertain me on my way home from the office a few hours later, and there, in the english section, a book with gold letters on the cover beckoned me to pick it up. It was "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". I bought it with the intention to start reading it on the train ride home but, as it was a Friday, I ended up with the paper instead. You know, the one that comes with a fashion and celebrity paper attached to it. When I had done some shopping, I picked up my hubby from work. Or rather: I went there just in time for him to get off work so that I could get a lift home with all my heavy bags. As I was so excited to read it, I showed him the book that I had bought. And then I never saw it again. It was as if someone had magically made it disappear from my possession.
Strange, isn't it?

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was in one of the internet book shops, buying a book on the now so popular puzzle "sudoku" for hubby, when I got the idea to order the strangely lost book from there instead. It arrived in the mail a few days later, and the "Harry Potter" then spent a week or so on my shelf, along with a few other books I had ordered, since at the time I was engulfed by "What I Loved" by Siri Hustvedt.

It sat there until a few days ago, when I picked it up and fell head over heals in love with it. I finished it quickly - sometimes with tears in my eyes, often with a smile on my face - knowing that I had five more finished ones ahead of me. I read number two just as swiftley - and then realized that I should have bought the whole lot at once. I am going through a massive "Harry Potter"-withdrawal right now. So much so that I watched the first movie (which happened to be hiding in the back row of our film shelf) last night just to experience some of the magical feelings it brings. I won't be able to buy the next one until Tuesday when I go to the office to do some time coding.

Am I going nuts? Is this some kind of early (really early) middle age desire to return to childhood?
Or is it just a really well written, really cosy and exciting series of books, packed with recognisible elements from history, literature and culture to boot?

I've got to hand it to you, J.K. Well done.

posted by Stella at 21:47