obsession

So the real reason behind my cyber-scarceness isn't entirely due to the fact that I spent the better part of last week in Austin scoping out my new digs. Or that I have been researching an upcoming European vacation. Although, yes, that is partially to blame.

The truth is, I've been having an affair.

A short while back I was able to come to terms with my infidelity to A, and so did he. In fact, I think he's come to accept my indiscretions as one of my many endearing charms.

The new infatuation in my life? Harry Potter.

For the past decade or so, I've constantly strived not to fall victim to formulaic young adult literature. This goal has not been that hard to accomplish - since the Babysitters' Club series there really hasn't been a collection of easy reading that could hold a candle. That and I've lately taken a liking to political biographies.

My fall from grace can be blamed entirely on the allure of getting a great deal. Of sticking it to the man. You see, my coworker recently invested in the HP series 1-6 on CD, unabridged and in all of its glory. In total, she probably spent a few hundred bucks on the collection - an unusually good deal for 1,380 audio files, or 3.9 consecutive days of pure, uninterrupted literary escape. So when she offered to let me borrow - ahem - convert them to iPod-friendly files, I couldn't possibly turn her down. Hell, I would burn a copy of I Am the Cheese narrated by Ben Stein if someone was giving it away. I have always been a sucker for free shit.

Even so, I never expected to get sucked in the way I did. And at first, I didn't. I had seen the first 2 movies and thought they were moderately entertaining. I had even tried to read The Sorcerer's Stone a while back, but could never get into it. After the second book, however, I started to enjoy my drives to and from work a little more (all hail the almighty auxiliary input). Something about Jim Dale's voice made the story much more engaging than reading or watching it. By The Prisoner of Azkaban, I was completely immersed in the story. How could I stop listening with all that character development??

Despite that the Half-Blood Prince was 18.5 hours (17 discs!) long, I finished it in about a week. I listened to it as I got ready for work in the morning. I listened on my way to work. I listened during lunch at my desk. I listened on the way home. I let my TiVo do its job as I headed to bed early, preferring the company of HP and friends over 24's broody Jack Bauer. By the end, I was spent, emotionally and physically, having stayed up into the wee hours night after night.

And then the questions. Who is RAB? (I think I know.) Why did JKR have to kill off so many key characters? Who will die in the end?

Good thing there's only one book left. With any luck it will be released during an extended school vacation.

And I'm not talking about one of those sissy 3-day weekends.