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I picked up my own copy of The Deathly Hallows a couple of hours ago, but I’ve only just gotten around to reading any of it. True to form, there’s an adverb before the end of the first paragraph.

I don’t know if I’m going to be able to manage the sort of marathon reading that will be required to get through all 700-plus pages before the end of the weekend, much less today, but I’ll see what I can do. It’s actually less that I want to read the book (although I do) than that I want to be able to go back online without worrying I’ll run up against spoilers.

Regarding spoilers…I have to say, I agree with Caitlin R. Kiernan on this: there’s a point when avoiding them becomes ridiculous, and J.K. Rowling has gone past it:

Though I have been perplexed and annoyed at the mean-spiritedness of the people leaking spoilers online for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I am equally perplexed and annoyed at Rowling’s anger at today’s review of the novel in The New York Times. The book is being released on Saturday. With most novels, there would have been reviews weeks ago. I mean, yeah, sure, I enjoy the books, and I’m doing all I can to avoid spoilers, and sure she’s the Best-Selling Author of All Time, but I don’t see how that changes the rules. But that’s probably just the Socialist in me talking. Anyway…

What Rowling said, in part, was:

“I am staggered that some American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children…

But I mean, really, are there lots of children reading The New York Times book review section? And I think most people, if they want to remain spoiler-free, can simply avoid reading the review altogether until after they’ve read the book.

Now, the people who have been going out of their way to spoil the book for readers, they can go to hell. But legitimate book reviews nobody’s likely to just stumble upon? Puh-lease.

1. I’ll give you a four-leaf clover
2. “Deja Vu” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, guessed by Eric
   If I had ever been here before I would probably know just what to do
3. “The Ancient Egyptians” by Dog Poi Pondering, guessed by Eric
   People would walk, wherever they had to go
4. “Mother Madam” by Carey Ott
   You’re a big girl in the same small town
5. “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel, guessed by Bryan
   I’ll be anything you need
6. “I Don’t Care If You Don’t Love Me Anymore” by the Mavericks
   You never showed the slightest bit of heartache
7. “New Art for the People” by the Indelicates
   You smell like ash, mildew and hash
8. “Traditional Irish Folk Song” by Denis Leary
   We have no heads, we have no heads
9. “Cecila” by Simon & Garfunkel, guessed by marisa
   I got up to wash my face
10. “Souvenirs” by Christine Fellows
    If you can’t bridge the distance then tell me who can

I mean, it’s a little over-wrought, if not over-long, but it’s very effective. But one thing that struck me was that, for a film that’s ostensibly about how we speak all these different languages and therefore fail to listen, and fail to communicate…there wasn’t a whole lot of that actually happening in the film. Which is to say that the problems the characters face, by and large, don’t arise over differences in language. The Americans don’t speak Arabic, for instance, but there’s a translator ready to help. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that language is almost a non-issue in the film and that, when characters do fail to communicate, it’s on a much more fundamental level. It seems to happen, more often than not, when they are speaking the same language.

This seems to be the case especially in the Japanese sections of the film. Which is maybe why I wanted more of Chieko ultimately (That, and the world of deaf-mute Japanese teenage girls is completely foreign to me and, therefore, more interesting.)

Bestselling author Mitch Albom has sold his very first script to Columbia Pictures and Happy Madison Productions. According to Variety, the untitled film is being set up as a starring project for Adam Sandler. [link]

Which, quite honestly, I couldn’t care less about, having never read a word Albom’s ever written and, amazingly, have only ever seen two of Sandler’s movies in their entirety (Happy Gilmore and Punch-Drunk Love, both of which I actually liked). But I did find this bit amusing:

While it is said to have some “emotional elements”…