Awhile back I joined the Kinokuniya loyalty club, and today I found an e-mail in my Inbox with a couple 20% off coupons. That’s as good an excuse as any to go book shopping! I’ve been wanting to read March by Geraldine Brooks ever since Mary-Helen recommended it so I picked up a copy (one of their last!) as well as a new copy of Little Women. I’ve read LW several times before (and I’m sure it’s sitting in my Mom’s basement somewhere) but I figured I ought to read it again before I tackle March. I also put in an order for Jeffrey Steingarten‘s The Man Who Ate Everything (since it’s always out of stock). Then I moseyed on over to the comics section – I love the looks on the geek guys’ faces – where I was excited to see that Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was finally available. I’ve always liked Batman, and I’m trying to hit some of the big high points in the comics canon. (Did I mention I read The Watchmen? That’s a whole ‘nother post, really…) So that’s three new books to add to the pile on my bedside table. I’m currently about halfway through Peter Carey’s The True History of the Kelly Gang, and so far I’m really enjoying it. (Ned Kelly was sorta the Australian equivalent of Jesse James.) Yay! The only thing that makes chilly winter nights bearable is a warm husband, a thick duvet, and a stack of new books…

I was just in Glebe where I discovered that Gleebooks is hosting a train trip to Hogsmeade to celebrate the launch of the new book. Anybody else want to join me and the Snook? (I think he’s going to have to be a Slytherin.)

Come-come-commala.
It’s been over ten years… but I’ve finally come to the clearing at the end of the path. I have finished Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. In fact, I read over six hundred pages today; I couldn’t put it down. You remember how I thought the sixth book kinda sucked? Well, this one didn’t. It tied up loose ends and hurtled from action sequence to action sequence with a speed that left me shaking my head. (“Snookums, he spent all of that last book setting up cliffhangers that were resolved in the first forty pages!”) When the ka-tet was finally broken about halfway through the book, I sobbed like a baby for half an hour. I’m still tearing up just thinking about it. (“F**king ka!”) I found King’s inclusion of himself as a character much less irritating this time around, mostly because he wasn’t in it much. I liked finding out what happened to Randall Flag, Ted Brautigan, and Patrick Danville. And as for the ending, which probably pissed a lot of people off? I think what happens to Roland makes a weird sort of sense. It’s not exactly satisfying but it’s not the cop-out I feared. I’m left with hope. As for the rest of the ka-tet… I think that was a bit of a cop-out, but I’m still a sucker for a happy(-ish) ending.

Man, I hope the Harry Potter series ends as well.