End of an era

I finally finished the final Harry Potter book today...Deathly Hallows. Seeing as how I took my sweet time to complete I won't say anything other than WOW in case there are others taking even longer.

I milked it for all it was worth because for the past 10 years, we had a new book to look forward to every 18 months or so. I remember back in 1997 hearing about it and on a whim picked up the first book o a whim, never expected to get so into a children's book. WRONG! I was rabid from day 1.

I'm really going to miss a new adventure with 'people' we've come to know and love over the 10 years they've been published. It was an awesome series, I'm really happy that J.K. has had such incredible success, she was so deserving of it. There was a lot to take from it.

My only desire now is to obtain the complete British series of books so I can read them as they were written.I have been annoyed the entire series of the Americanisation of them. I would gladly trade my US set for the hardbound,first editions of the British series if they're in excellent condition. My eyes stick to American spellings like "color" because I have never in my life spelled that way- for starters- so it grates on my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard. It was a British series, it should have been left as such. I'll quit there or this will get into a long drawn out tirade but suffice to say, this has been an ongoing thing with me for MANY years, and not just with Harry Potter. The Frank monster in Hellraiser was another one-deemed too British, he was dubbed with an American actor. ACK. He was far scarier from the clips I saw with his British accent, not to mention it made for a far more cohesive film. The talented Alida Valli, an Italian actress who spoke perfect English, had her voice dubbed by an American in Argento's film Inferno when her beautiful, CLEARLY UNDERSTANDABLE voice was not dubbed in Suspiria several years earlier. Conversely, Pans Labyrinth was not advertised as a Spanish film and I loved how the tv ads for it you didn't hear a single word of the dialogue.. it was left all in Spanish...how come it was not dubbed WTF??? It was a lousy movie and frame for frame the 1986 masterpiece Legend was a far better movie. I hate being misled that way. There is a whole world outside of the USA but it only seems to be selectively applied.

Anyway, Thank you J.K. for such a brilliant series. Something this special comes but once in a lifetime and I'm glad it came in mine.

What a journey!