As the seventh month dies...

Happy birthday to you, J. K. Rowling! ^_^ Obviously, you will never read this birthday message, but I wanted to acknowledge this special day for you and Harry. I've shared many journeys with tou, and I hope to share many more.

Am I a JKR fan for life? *shrugs* Probably. I always said that I couldn't say so for sure until she finished the Harry Potter series and published other works. Well, that has happened, and I'm already behind on reading! Less than a year after the publication of her first non-Potter book, JKR isrevealed as the author of a new mystery novel published under a psuedonym. And I haven't even read The Casual Vacancy... although The Cuckoo's Calling is well underway. ;3 Regardless, I think I will continue to read Rowling's work even if her new adult books don't live up to my expectations. I will always want to find that Potter magic again, but I love JKR for more than her writing. I mean, there's an amazing Harvard commencement speech that I'm too lazy to link to! Maybe it's just that I'm not well-read enough yet to be too nit-picky, but her writing was there during a very crucial part of my life. It refuses to be left in my past and forgotten! At any rate, I will be ready to explore any new world she shares with us.

As for The Cuckoo's Calling itself... it's been a slow process to get through. It's not that I dislike the book at all, but other things have been on my mind as of late. Plus, it *isn't* a Potter book. Therefore, I don't feel the mad frenzy to devour the book as soon as possible.

That being said, I have enjoyed it. There have definitely been moments when I felt that old excitement again. I finished part two last week, and I intend to finish the whole novel before school starts. Like with the Harry Potter books, I have my own ideas about what's really going on in this mystery. I think Lula's reconnection with her biological family is important, and it may have led to her death. I think that American rapper may have been related to her. Most of all, the husband of the couple in the bottom flat seems particularly suspicious. We'll see! Hopefully, JKR can stump me again.. although I *did* work out some of the details in Harry Potter. ^^;

Well, on to Muggle concerns...

Currenlty, I am recovering from a busy weekend. On Friday, I went to see a play at the Shakespeare festival in Griffith Park... except it wasn't Shakespeare! Nor was it Elizabethan. It was She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith. I had never heard of it before, but the recurring tweets about it finally got to me. Overall, it was a fun little romp. Made me think warmly of The Important of Being Earnest. It was an eveing well-spent. After this perforamce and Macbeth, I am eager to see more work by these people.

The rest of my weekend was dominated by a trip to visit extended family. Not my cup of tea. All I can say is that I hope that I didn't come off as too much of a jerk, but I wish I didn't have to go. I'm glad that the world is so much bigger than family gatherings!

As a result of all of this, I have fallen behind on Night Vale. *sighs* I've been trying to pace myself and enjoy a little at a time, but I want to get caught up at the same time. I listened to episodes 13 and 14 tonight last night. I hope to get caught before school starts.