Jason Kottke didn’t get his copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on July 21st as promised by Amazon, and he’s not the only one. UPS claimed that a delivery attempt was made and no one was there to receive the parcel. The funny thing is, he was home all day. Amazon, however, was good enough to refund him even though the problem lies with UPS.

Early last week when I left my apartment to check my mail (which is three feet from my apartment door), a UPS notice fluttered to the ground. I picked it up and a delivery attempt had been made to drop a package at my apartment not even an hour earlier. I was, at most, 10 feet from the door the whole day. Sitting here at my dining room table, doing some work online. Why would a UPS driver get out of his truck, walk to my door, and stick a note on it without even attempting to ring the bell or knocking? It took longer for this person to write up the slip and stick it to my door than it would have for them to knock. I don’t get it.

I love the Harry Potter books and the universe they’re based in. I love the fact that this has gotten hundreds of thousands of children to take an interest in reading. I love the movies and the actors and actresses in them. Having said that, I just want to know how the little kiddies are getting through this big big book. When I was in the target demographic for this book, I would’ve definitely been daunted by the side. Hell, I didn’t read Stephen King’s “The Stand” until I was 25 because I didn’t have the attention span for books over 600 pages. I’m just wondering how an 8 or 10 year old is going to plod through this book. Mind you I’m not talking about the obsessive munchkins (you know the ones I’m talking about, especially the little girls on the cusp of puberty that have fallen head over heels for Daniel Radcliffe). I want to know how Joe Kid is doing with this book. Furthermore, as the series progresses, the language and the situations get more complex. This is a real bonus for teens and adults, but how about the kids just getting into it?

About the movie stuff… I wonder how tall Daniel and Rupert (Ron Weasley) are now? They both grew half a foot and their voices dropped an octave or so between the first and second movie. I wonder how much they’re going to tower over Emma (Hermione) in the third movie? I hope that those three get to do all of the movies, and I hope they plan to make at least 5 or so. I don’t know what it is about the chemistry of that cast, but it’s great. After a few years worth of disappointing sequels and overhyped movies (Episode I & II, Matrix: Reloaded), it’s nice to know that chances are the next Harry Potter installment won’t let me down (same for the Lord of the Rings saga).