I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yesterday. It was pretty darn good, as are all the Harry Potter books. I estimate a 2008 release for book 7, the final one. I'll be sad to see the series end. Whenever I finish a really good fantasy series that has taken me away to another world, and I now have to return to the real world, I'm left with a feeling of sadness and loss. I won't ever be going back there. Even rereads are never as enveloping as the first time. I'll never forget the first time I read the Lord of the Rings. It was the most amazing experience. I was in 6th grade, and read the three adult size books in about two days each, because I just couldn't put them down. I was right there with Frodo and Gandalf and Merry and Pippen, and when they all said their goodbyes, so did I. I wish that someone would invent selective amnesia so I could forget everything I ever knew about Middle Earth (considering how many times I've read the series and it's associated books, I know a good bit), and read them again for the first time.

Back to Harry Potter. I don't want to give anything away to anyone who hasn't read it yet, but the end was very sad. I suspect, however, that more was going on than we yet know. The person who is made out to be the really bad guy... Well I think he may be deeper undercover than we think. Dumbledore is just not that naive. We'll find out in a few years.