Done and over with

It was a strange impulse that made me call up the bookstore and book the book a day before its release. Some how I wanted to join all the many (millions as it turned out) people who were going to open a book at the same time (roughly anyways). I mean more than the desire to read the book it was the desire to be part of that massive gang. I guess that's what the people marketing the book wanted too...but I would like to believe that I didn't fall for the marketing bit (coz I would have read the book later anyways)...but it doesn't matter now.
So I rushed from office straight to the store, and with minutes left booked my copy. I was told that the store is opening at 7 in the morning to accommodate the people who had pre-booked. Of course I wasn't going to get up that early on a Saturday :). So I reached at around 11, took my copy...I was interviewed in the process, which was funny, and i was off to McDonald's to munch on something while I scanned the first few pages...and then it started happening - first the table in front of me, a foreigner walks in with the book; then the table to my right got occupied, then a table further up...as excited people started opening their copies. A couple of them looked at me and smiled in acknowledgment.The cacophony of "I wish I could read the end right now..." and "you just wait....this is going to happen...", etc filled the air. The excitement was contagious...really. Then I came home and bought some junk to keep me going when I felt hungry. I started reading and it was all over by Sunday morning...

And in the end the book wasn't bad either. I had started reading the books when the 5th one came out and I was so bugged to find that I ll have to wait 5 years to finish the story. In fact I chided my friend who initiated me into this for initiating me too soon :). But I am surprised that I waited and reread the books in the meantime...lol...anyways I am not getting into the merits of the book or how much of it has been inspired by "The lord of the Rings", I just know that I enjoyed reading all 7 of them and that for some of my friends, this is the only book that they have ever read.

Oh yes, most of my gut feelings came true - though I would have really preferred if Fred hadn't died. And of course I won the race.