so i finished it. and i loved it. i was berated by my 11 year old friend bethany for being far too slow - well i think a week is pretty decent going considering i had to work for half of it! bek tells me it is even better on the second reading, but my mother has commandeered the book so i won't be able to revisit it for a while.

now, alas, i am once again in the harry potter wasteland. how long till the next one, joanne? i have to say i think it was worth the wait anyway, and although that brick of a book was very difficult to read in bed comfortably, it's very satisfying to know how much book you have to look forward to. :) reading books like this is like eating chocolate pudding, totally indulgent and probably not very nourishing but extremely enjoyable and comforting. i agreed with most of andrew shead's review (a christian perspective, if you need warning).

now i have oryx and crake by ms atwood and wee free men by mr pratchett (this is not counting uni books of course because they never count). i also want to get hold of coraline and american gods by mr gaiman, but that will probably have to wait until the next pay packet.

speaking of mr gaiman, where the hell does he get the time to do everything he does? his must be the most comprehensively updated blog i've come across - well, that actually has interesting content - where he gives great insights into the life of a writer, as well as answering rather a lot of fan mail. and he travels all the time and gives speeches and does signings. and he manages to write amazing stuff across a wide range of media. i have a great admiration for the man. and i also get very, very tired thinking about it.