And The Deathly Hallows doesn‘t  miss a beat. Action galore. Magic sublime.

Over 1,000 people showed up at our theater for Friday’s midnight show – over half dressed as one of the characters. For a small town, that must be some kind of record. Balloons and crepe paper festooned the lobby. Everyone partied like there was no tomorrow. And maybe there isn’t.

It’s quite a letdown to know that there will be no future books or movies to look forward to. The fantasy world of Harry, Hermione and Ron has reached its expiration date. What a bummer, but what a fantastic ride!

If you’re hoping to experience the joy, the pathos, and the horrors of the book, save your money. Again, I’ll have to qualify that. When Waltz beats the elephant, it’s horrifying. That’s probably the only time moviegoers wake up out of their stupor.

The intrigue doesn’t stop with the title. Main characters don’t come more fascinating than Lisbeth Salander. Her personality: mysterious, hidden, socially inept, computer savvy (genius hacker), sometimes deadly, cautious, captivating, hold-your-breath nerve wracking.

I wanted to know a little bit more about the author. Larsson lived in Sweden. He died in 2004. But before he died, he delivered three manuscripts, which were published and later translated into English. Lucky for us.

I just finished reading his second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire. Again the troubled, complicated heroine is Salander.

I found this second book to be slightly slower than the first, but only slightly. Both are good reads.

Okay, it’s August, I know that! But, I’m thinking Halloween. Because if you’re planning a getaway in October, you must start planning and reserving rooms now. And it doesn’t get better than Salem, Massachusetts for Halloween.

The truth is, you can go to Salem anytime. There’s lots to see and do. Learn about the famous witch hunts at the Salem Witch Museum, the House of Seven Gables tour is a must-do whether you’ve read the book or not, visit any number of houses that purportedly housed witches back in the 17th century, and if you do go, be sure to visit the trash menagerie at the Peabody Essex Museum.

But getting back to Halloween in Salem, the City is in Halloween-mode for the entire month of October. New this year–

Runnin’ From the Devil Road Race

A new road race is in the works for Halloween morning, and, naturally, it will have an unusual, only-in-the-Witch-City twist. “We’re going to have devils hidden behind the course that will jump out and scare people,”

Other things to look forward to: Costume Balls, Parades, Haunted Houses, Psychic Fairs, Unique Shops, Intriguing Bookshops, Wax Museum, and plenty of good eats and treats.

Oh, I just love Halloween. Don’t you?

It could be time to get creative:

1. Library – Visit your local library. There’s more than books there. Rent some DVDs and video games. Don’t particularly like to read, but you enjoy a good story? Try taking out an audio book. Many libraries offer free movie nights and concerts. There’s almost always activities for the kids. My library always has a 1,000 piece puzzle going so anyone can sit down for a while, unwind, and try your hand at putting in a few pieces. And nowadays, libraries have computers.
2. Birdwatching – Don’t skip over this one (even if it sounds hokey). If you have kids to keep entertained, this is a great one. Buy a bird book. (An excellent one for beginners is the Peterson Field Guide.) Install a bird feeder in the backyard. No backyard? Take a hike at your local park. Begin a “Life List.” When you observe and recognize a bird, check it off your list. Before you know it, you’ll have a pretty lengthy list.
3. Camera Safari – Both adults and kids love taking pictures. Get out there and photograph flowers, bugs, (birds, if they’ll sit long enough for you), other people enjoying nature. Compare all the photos and judge who got the best shot–adult or one of the kids? Post the good ones online.
4. Adult Education Classes – Learn to Paint. Actually, learn to do just about anything. Ballroom dancing, Line dancing, Belly dancing – your city probably offers classes at your local high school or tech school. Do a little research.
5. Fishing – Everybody knows somebody who likes to fish. Find your fishing mentor and spend a day on the water.
6. Picnic – This one is obvious, but the fact is, I hate to picnic on a hot, summer day. My idea is a picnic indoors. It can even be an overnight picnic that includes: inviting one guest each, everyone choosing their own food & helping to prepare it, each guest brings their favorite DVD, and when everyone is dead tired, break out the sleeping bags.
7. Hose ‘Em – Don’t have enough moolah to take the family to a water park. Put on your bathing suit and hook up the hose. Keeping in mind that most communities are trying to conserve water, this is an hour-long fun time that ends with some cool punch and a family board game in wet bathing suits out on the back porch. (Family time – none of us get enough of it these days.)
8. Freebies – Keep your eyes and ears open for free events: Museum Free Days, Art Galleries, Community Fairs and Events, etc.
9. A Bushel-full of Ideas from Pink Like The Color
10. And Last but not Least from Home Baked Education
    

Wii Fun and an Update

We are having a good week.
We blew our summer budget on a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit which has been a really big hit with us both. Cameron is particularly into boxing, jogging and bowling as well as a Ben 10 game we bought with it. This is the first games console we’ve had in years and the first that we’ve really got the hang of. There is quite a bit of healthy competition in the house for getting first place in the games and activities! Much to my surprise Cameron switches off after about an hour of his own accord too – I thought I’d have to be dragging him away to get anything else done.

Here are some other kudos. This one from Mama Monkey

The title alone (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) was enough to have me hooked because I needed to know just want this “society” was.

…tells the story of Juliet Ashton, a British author, and her getting to know the people of Guernsey Island through their letters and eventual meeting.  The story takes place following the second World War.  The people of the island share their stories with Ashton, which eventually gives her the idea of writing a book about the German occupation of the island– and of their Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It has been a long time since I have been so captivated by a story.

From Teddyree in Australia

When Juliet unexpectedly receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, resident of Guernsey and member of the literature society new friendships are formed along with an idea for a new book. As correspondence between Juliet & Dawsey expands to include other members of the literature society, Juliet is captivated by the stories of life on Guernsey during the Occupation and of friends connected through a mutual love of literature and the trauma of war.

The character’s have an authenticity that makes them feel like old friends, I shared their sorrows and joys, laughing out loud, sniggered in places, & at times I sat with tears rolling down my cheeks. Juliet, Dawsey, Sidney (Juliet’s editor), Amelia Maugery, Elizabeth & Kit McKenna, Isola Pribby, Eben Ramsey are portrayed with such humour and colour, they capture your heart, staying with you, like part of your family, long after the story is finished.

Try this one out.

Oglethorpe Square

If you’re looking for southern hospitality, try Savannah, Georgia. On the menu–candy for the eyes. It is chock full of quaint B&Bs, but the main attraction is its charming 22 park squares that are situated throughout the historic district of the city.  Surrounding many of the squares are historic homes and museums.

I found the best way to get acquainted with Savannah was to take the Hop On & Off Trolley Tour. You can spend your entire first day in the city using this trolley. It stops at most of the historic homes that are open to visitors, and if you’re a Girl Scout, you won’t want to miss the Julliette Gordon Lowe House (founder of the Girl Scouts of America). The trolley picks you up at your hotel or B&B, and then it stops every 20 minutes and runs all day until 4:30 p.m. That means if you get off to stroll a museum, or eat lunch, or just sit on a bench at one of the squares, you never wait for the trolley for more than 20 minutes. Excellent!

Be sure to walk along the river where you will find lovely boutiques, antique shops and restaurants. And you’ll also see Florence, the Waving Girl.

Speaking of girls, if you’ve read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, or if you just like visiting cemeteries (and believe it or not, many people love traipsing through an old cemetery), then you won’t want to miss Bird Girl.

Now that I have finished this post, it appears I’ve written a lot about girls: Girl Scouts, Waving Girl and Bird Girl. But Savannah is so much more. Go see for yourself. And if you’ve already been there, feel free to add a comment and let me know what you found exciting or beautiful about the city, because I plan to go back some day.

“I’m not going to feed you that same old baloney about how memory is imperfect…The truth is that while everything in this book happened, it didn’t always happen the way I say it did. Sometimes I changed names or descriptions of people and places. Big deal. Sometimes I altered chronology…made people look foolish when they weren’t so foolish, made people look good when they were fools…–I know you’ll love this one–said things happened in one place when they really happened somewhere else. Okay, so maybe that is a big deal…Some of this stuff is damn funny and some of it’s tragic. Just don’t take the window dressing too literally.”

I suppose Oprah would have apoplexy over that statement. It had the opposite effect on me. I wanted to read more.

You don’t expect a book written by a Jewish fellow to start off with a chapter involving Santa Claus, but this one does. The first chapter is titled Why I Don’t Believe In Santa Claus and it has nothing whatsoever to do with religion. As a matter of fact, Matt didn’t even know he was Jewish until he was in the second grade.

Abandoned as an infant by his mother, Matt was raised by his grandparents, while their daughter, his mother, chose to hobnob across Europe. If this makes the book sound like a tearjerker, pack that notion away. Although some chapters are poignant, for the most part, the book is fresh, humorous and, at times, uproarious.

His grandfather, who was a genteel, aristocratic gentleman, had the good luck to marry a woman who was a real firecracker. She jokingly referred to the Rothschild family as a crazy cult. Speaking to her husband, she made remarks like:

“…your cult’s had so much shock therapy that if they held hands, they could provide enough electricity to power New York City.”

Getting to know Matt’s grandmother through his eyes is an unforgettable trip you won’t want to miss.

Peppered throughout the memoir are other fascinating characters–Elaine, who once convinced him that since they spent so much money in FAO Schwartz they should be entitled to some free gifts, The Petty Thieves.  His short association with a reclusive old woman living in his building, who hadn’t been seen by any of her neighbors in thirty years, Greta Garbo Lives Next Door, leaves you wistful, wishing he had time to find out more about her.  And there was his third-grade teacher, Ms. Wood, who delighted in giving him D’s on his papers, which he hid from his grandparents until they were eventually found, All in the D’s. His grandmother didn’t pull any punches that day,

“Oh, Matthew, what the hell are these?”                                                            .

Although this book is written by a person who lived just steps away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, you never get the impression that it’s from the perspective of a rich kid. If anything, you feel Matt didn’t even realize he was rich until he reached puberty. (That’s another amusing story to read about).

What makes this memoir beautiful is that it is honest, in spite of what Matt tells you in the Author’s Note. His writing is witty, sincere, unerringly compassionate, hilarious and totally entertaining. Pick up this book; it’s a memorable read.

[Goodnight, Mr. Newman. We loved you.]