Be still my heart! The new Harry Potter made its way from the UK and into my mailbox in record time.

Now for the dilemma: do I give it to its rightful owner and wait my turn or do I take it to work tonight and read it posthaste, not even mentioning it to S. until after I'm finished? I know, I know, but he's in a play on Friday and ought to devote every single moment of his existence between now and then to memorizing and practicing his lines, don't you think? I mean really. What if Harry Potter takes over his brain and there's no room for Homer any more?

Or, I could start it now, give it to him to read while I'm at work, then resume reading once he's gone to bed.

Or, I could state out right to him, "I'm reading it first because you told me who died in the last one and have forfeited any right to ever again read a Harry Potter book first."

Or I could snag the latest Hilary Mantel off the shelf when I go to work tonight and put myself above the fray--there's a wonderful article about it--and Mantel-- here.