Do I even need to mention that, for a short while, my journal will be exceedingly Harry Potter heavy?

I took a sabbatical from fic after HBP but, post-DH, I'm reading almost everything I can get my hands on. r_becca has a round up of all of the Deathly Hallows fic she can find over here. My recs are below.

( Eight fic recs set during or post Deathly Hallows. SPOILERS ahoy )

I'm trying to figure out how long I should wait before posting these recs to Moonshot. There's no cutting for spoilers so, for the time being, I have them all saved in drafts. A week? Two? A month?

ETA:A few more recs added.

No spoilers. Just some of my favorite photos from the midnight party my sister and I attended. Click for a larger version.



This little Luna was ADORABLE. She had a handmade Quibbler with her and a note taped to her back that said, "My name is Looney." Adorable.

( Some more... )

( Meta and more in depth reactions on Deathly Hallows )

( My notes as I read the book... )

Actual meta, reactions, likes/dislikes later...

• My mother, sister, and grandmother were supposed to arrive in town tonight at 6:30pm but their flight was canceled due to bad weather somewhere between NYC ad Detroit. They're booked on a 6am flight tomorrow but we lost one of our three nights together. I'm sad.
  
  
• I finished Deathly Hallows last night (the scans) and I'm not sure how to absorb and accept that it's over. Canon is closed. I feel the same way I did when I boarded a plane to fly home from college graduation knowing that an amazing, irreplaceable experience was over i.e. heaving sobs.
  
  
• I have a lot more to say about the book itself (OBVIOUSLY) but will save it for a post specific to one HP cut tag.
  
  
• My company had an Officer off-site all day today and the Directors in my functional area were invited to present and then stay for the day. I was nervous - I never know what the CEO will ask - but it all went fine. (Thanks, I imagine, to hours of prep.)

I'm feeling nostalgic - almost painfully so - about next weekend's release of Deathly Hallows. I want the book RIGHT NOW and also NEVER. I read Chamber of Secrets in 1999 just prior to the release of PoA and that was it. Love. It took me another five years to succumb to HP fandom. On April 1, 2004, I wrote this: I've started reading HP fic specifically, and only, Harry/Snape. There are enablers of the evil sort lurking around here. For years I swore that I would never read HP fic. I even had a soapbox. But, Harry/Snape. There's something there. Hahaha! All these years and pairings later, I'm still a Harry/Snape girl at heart.

Deathly Hallows will joss fic the same way every book always has but, before that happens, I've been reading some of my favorite stories - post HBP and otherwise. The end result is a list of my favorite 22 pre-Deathly Hallows stories. With the exception of Harry/Snape fic, I tried to limit it to my favorite story for each of the pairings I read. (And, by "pairings I read", I mean you're not going to find much Sirius or MWPP fic.) I think the strain of picking favorites burst a few blood vessels in my head. After all this time, my favorites haven't changed much. Maybe it's nostalgia but almost all of these are stories I've loved for years.

Saturn's Definitive Harry Potter Fic Recs

Harry/Ron #1: Close Enough by helenish (NC-17) We've got some dysfunctional boys here, folks, but it's breathtaking watching them try to get their act together. Post-war.

Harry/Ron #2: Credulous Hearts by callmesandy (PG) Ron's wife is dead and he's a mess. But then he's not. Their friendship is real and tangible and underneath everything. Post-war.

Ron/Draco: A Soft Spot for Lost Causes by helenish (NC-17) Ron struggles to give Draco what he needs but only because it's something he wants, too. Post Hogwarts.

Ron/Snape: The Tao of Diogenes by thetreacletart (R) The war is finally over and two veterans meet again...for the very first time. This is one of my all time favorite Ron/Snape stories.

Trio: Bed and Board by resonant8 (NC-17) The war's over and others think they know best. Maybe Ron and Hermione really do.

Snape/Draco: Reveillon by femmequixotic (NC-17) Plot driven and well paced with excellent characterizations, this is an excellent post-HBP story. You can't help but root for Draco, Snape, and even Narcissa all along knowing where their loyalties lie.

Hermione/Snape: Body of Knowledge by arsenicjade (NC-17) Prequel to Origins of Myth. Hermione loses Draco. She finds Severus. This is one of my favorite Hermione/Snape stories. Really, though, Arsenic writes all the best Hermione/Snape. She respects Hermione tremendously and I love here Snape. You can find all of her fic here. After – or before - reading Body of Knowledge, you're also going to want to be sure you've read Origins of Myth (Ron/Draco).

Harry/Draco #1: Tissue of Silver by Fearless Diva (R) Harry is the auror sent to protect Draco from a mysterious assailant.

Harry/Draco #2: Transfigurations by resonant8 (NC-17) The war is over and it’s time to rebuild Hogwarts. Stunning story.

Black/Snape: Rat's Alley by fabularasa (NC-17) Snape’s a vampire. In six parts. This is one of the best Black/Snape stories I’ve read. Certainly required reading for anyone interested in the best of the pairing.

Lupin/Snape: The Way of the World by scribbulus_ink (NC-17) This is the story that introduced me to the pairing and it remains a favorite.

Harry/Snape: A Choriambic Progression by Mairead Triste and Aristide (NC-17) One of my all time favorite Harry/Snape stories. This is gorgeous. Just go read.

( Eleven more of my favorite Harry/Snape stories )

As always, all 275+ of my Harry Potter recs can be found over at Moonshot. You'll see I shamelessly nicked these reviews from what I said over there. :)

Anyone have favorites of their own to share?

( Order of the Phoenix!! )

Off to see Oceans 13 tonight.

I really have to post about the movie and there are all sorts of other things going on but it's bedtime and I can't go to sleep until post this video of Dan, Emma, and Rupert on Moviefone Unscripted. It's super. It's just them answering viewer questions and being all together adorable. My favorite bit is the discussion about US state abbreviations.

At movie theater! Four midnight shows are already sold out. The theater is crazy for Harry!! YAY!

• I tried to watch Dr. Who when the first season premiered on Sci-Fi but it didn't take. It was a little too campy for me. So I never watched Torchwood either but now I'm watching this video of John Barrowman singing "Anything Goes" in the DVD extras and wondering if I should give Torchwood a shot. He's so charming!
  
  
• In the midst of my Rob Lowe fangirling, I fell for Brothers & Sisters. I only have the season finale left and I might actually wait until the end of August to watch. Here's my roundup (with a reserve to change my mind after I watch the finale):
  
  • Characters I love: Nora, Tommy, Justin, Kitty (yes, Kitty!), and Senator McAllistor. *swoon*
    
  • Characters too self involved for me to like them: Sarah and Kevin.
    
  • Character I used to love before I realized she's EVIL: Rebecca.
    
  • Character I love to hate: Holly.
  
  
  
• Work is hard.
  
  
• Plans are all set for tomorrow night. My friend is coming back to my place after work to nap and then we're meeting colleagues at a restaurant across from the theater at 9:30pm. Eeeep!!
  
  
• My dad died 24 years ago today. The day doesn't loom like it used to and I don't feel it like I used to but I'll always, especially, think of him on his birthday and on father's day and on July 9th. He was a good dad. We played Sorry and Trouble on the floor of our den. He loved watching Star Trek and Tarzan and Abbot & Costello on WPIX 11. We went for bike rides. He made Halloween costumes for me. He was everything a little girl needed in a father and, a few times a year, he deserves me saying that publicly. He was also only 32 when he died, one month shy of his 33rd birthday. At 31, I'm acutely aware of just how young that was.

• My Deathly Hallows spoiler policy: I will be off-line from Friday morning, 7/20 until I finish the book. My sister, mother, and grandmother are visiting that weekend so I expect it will be sometime on Monday. After that, I'll post all DH spoilers behind a cut for a month. After that, it's fair game in my journal. (I'll post a reminder before I post anything outside of a cut so you can filter me out of your reading list if you still haven't finished the book.)
  
  
• I am currently spoiler free and plan to stay that way. ( Things I expect will happen in Deathly Hallows )
  
  What are your predictions?
  
  
• And on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning?), a few colleagues and I are going to see the 12:10am showing of OotP!! I have a long work day on Wednesday followed by a dinner but I'm so looking forward to this. ( Things I hope for/am looking forward to in the film )

Rob Lowe is, perhaps, the most flawless human being on the planet. (I say perhaps to be magnanimous. I really mean is. Period.) Where he goes, I go. For the past few years that's meant bad TV shows (Lion's Den) and bad TV miniseries (Summer Sisters Beach Girls). But he's worth it if only so I can sit at stare at the screen in awe of the pretty. So I set up "Brothers & Sisters" on my DVR knowing I'd have to catch up over the summer because a) it was up against BSG during the regular season and b) see a. I'm a few episodes in now and it's actually a good show with a great cast but let's be serious. I don't care. It could be a public access basket weaving special and I'd still watch for Rob.

( Come see how gorgeous he is on the show. Don't you want to lie in bed on a Sunday morning next to Rob Lowe and his New York Times? )

It's totally trashy to say this but I wish his sex tape was on-line.

Lovely, busy weekend up ahead. A friend is having a party tomorrow afternoon at her lake house and then I have brunch at another friend's house on Sunday. I'm determined to make it to the gym tomorrow morning. I am. Typing it makes it so.

I'm curious. Or narcissistic. Maybe both. Anyway, is there anything you want to know about me? Ask away. Maybe I'll answer honestly.

I left work at 5:30pm today and I feel like I've been home forever. It's probably related to yesterday which was a very, very lazy day. I read a lot "" of fic. I could use it though. Work is stressful. I'm starting to think I might break my company. I only wish I was kidding. On the plus side, a new manager starts on Monday which should, eventually relieve some of the burden. Also, I'm dating someone who I like very much and who makes me smile and who is leaving tomorrow for three weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam. It's been a long time since I've been in a position to actively miss a guy. Usually I can't wait until they leave. But this feels different and a little unsettling.

See how boring this post is? You can make it interesting by asking me questions.

Includes in this issue:
* Stargate: Atlantis readies for season four
* MGM Reveals DVD Movie Storylines
* Interview with Michael Shanks
* Interview with Claudia Black
* Interview with Chris Judge
* Interview with Ben Browder
* The Unending - snapshots taken on the set as filming wrapped
* Interview with Amanda Tapping
* Stargate SG-1 Yearbook (with notes written by all of the cast members)

Other features that I didn't scan:
* Interview with Will Waring
* Interview with Dan Shea
* Interview with Beau Bridges
* Perfect 10 - Brad Wright takes readers through a decade of intergalactic action

Download 48 pages of scans here. zip file, 56.6mb, right click/save, please comment. Feel free to share the scans or direct people to this post but do not share the link.

My favorite bit is this, from Martin Wood, in the Yearbook section: "I'll tell you honestly what I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss the core cast, because there is no replacing carter, Daniel, Teal', and O'Neill. I really feel like that. I miss O'Neill a lot, and I miss that core cast together." Me, too!

• Pretty substantial friends list overhaul today based on divergent interests and/or no engagement with each other's journals. As always - keep me around or reciprocate - whatever works for you.
  
  
• I went to happy hour with a colleague last night and couldn't drive home so I ended taking a cab home, sobering up, and then grabbed a cab back to my car a few hours later. It's been a long time since I needed a cab to get me home but I was just buzzed enough that driving was not an option.
  
  
• Community Rec: slashybookworm - "Looking for good gay themed books? Always stuck going to chapters and searching in the general fiction section for that one lone books that will have the gay theme? Post your findings here so others can find the books and avoid an headache!"
  
  
• The property management guy who handled the rental on my FL property sucks. He was recommended by my real estate agent but he's unresponsive and, it seems, irresponsible. I got a call from the community association about "what looked like a moving van" in front of my place. They need to approve any tenants so the fact that they didn't know someone was moving in is an issue. There's a showing of the place at 3pm today and, OH MY GOD, I hope they want to buy it. ( More about the finances on the FL property )
  
  ETA: Just heard from the property manager. The tenants are freaking out because they didn't realize that a) the lease allows for showings and b) if it's sold they have to vacate in 90 days. I'm so frustrated. Didn't these people read the lease?
  
  
• SPN Fic Rec: Stopped At The Crossroads by dark_reaction. Summary: There are no demons, only night terrors. There are no funerals, only family in-fighting. What would Sam and Dean be like in a world without demons? I loved this story. It's all about how Sam and Dean are SamandDean in any universe and I loved the multiple POVs.
  
  PS. This mood icon is perfect. Look at how frustrated Jack is. (Probably with Daniel.)
  

What will I post about when Borders stops releasing HP on-line content? Upon further thought, I imagine I'll move on to Deathly Hallows OMG SO SOON WANT.

Just now up is Borders' footage of Quidditch, Wizard Rock, and Bourbon St. Harry Potter Interviews from Phoenix Rising. All of it's awesome but I'm partial to the Quidditch and the Man on the Street interviews. Bourbon St. was the perfect backdrop. So much so, that the Beaubuxton girls fit right in on the street!

6pm conference call with Australia and then it's a sushi date. Mmmmmm. Sushi.

• Here's a roundup of Moonshot's June recs:
  31 June recs:
  18 SPN
  6 HP
  3 SGA
  2 SG-1
  2 BSG
  
  I wish I had an easier time culling through all of the BSG fic. BSG is the first fandom where I prefer gen or PG het to slash but the show offers so much by itself that I'm incredibly picky about what I like. (And what I like are character studies. Sex of any kind - and I can't believe I'm saying this - is complete optional.)
  
  
• I meant to start Slaughterhouse Five today but I was asleep five minutes after I climbed into the hammock and didn't wake up for almost three hours. Then I fell into another spn_j2_bigbang fic, The Far Side of the Sea by ellipsisblack. (Fabulous story. Amazing premise. It reads like folklore of its own.)
  
  
• Sally is asleep on the couch looking entirely adorable and as precious as the day she became mine I became hers.
  
  
• The current double issue of EW is full of all kinds of fannish goodies in their list of 100 Stars they love:
  
  
  
  • #04 (movies): Alan Rickman. OotP in 10 days!
    
  • #07 (movies): Laura Linney. Forever my favorite.
    
  • #25 (movies): The Golden Compass. Okay. I admit I'm just starting the book series but I still can't wait for this movie. Also on my personal list is The Dark is Rising. Christopher Eccelson as
    
  • #27 (movies): Zoe Kravitz. Never knew about her before this issue of EW but she scored the best of the gene pool from both Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz. Holy crap.
    
  • #39 (tv): Michael Hogan and Katee Sackhoff. Katee for obvious reasons but I love seeing Hogan get his due. Tigh rocks.
    
  • #41 (tv): Marg Helgenberger. It's more about CSI than Helgenberger because, to be honest, Catherine drives me crazy.
    
  • #44 (tv): George Takei & Masi Oka. The best father/son pairing EVER.
    
  • #45 (tv): Robert Sean Leonard. Because who's House without Wilson?
    
  • #68 (music): Justin. Period.
    
  • #77 (books): Khaled Hosseini. Please tell me someone else has read A Thousand Splendid Suns.
    
  • #84 (books): J.K. Rowing. 20 days OMG.
    
    
  
  
• I found this House/Wilson sketch by elicia8 while I was putting together today's house_notice newsletter. It's, I'd say, PG-13 and gorgeous. Licia has another one here that's closer to the G side of the spectrum and equally fabulous.
  
  
• Happiest birthday wishes to coolwhipdiva!!
  
  
• I finally caught up on last week's, ( So You Think You Can Dance )
  

You will love this if you a) love acapella or b) love Justin. You will especially love this if you love acapella and Justin.



I am, again, up later than I should be. I have an 8:45am flight and then it's Philadelphia until late Friday afternoon. Exciting for this trip is that I FINALLY (meaning 6 months after it was requested) have web access to my company's site (e-mail, intranet, shared drives, etc.) so I can take my own laptop instead of my work laptop with the iffy VPN connection, annoying firewall, and frustrating mouse pad.

alittleblue!!

( The 4400 casting spoiler )

• This is not just a plug it is FULL OF AWESOME! And a plug. But mostly it's awesome. Harry Potter swag as far as the eye can see!
  
  
• ( Did you know 80% of rivers recently sampled tested positive for medications like antibiotics, birth control hormones, and antidepressants? )
  
  
• I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE So You Think You Can Dance. Danny is my favorite boy and Sara is my favorite girl. I have a three way tie for my favorite couple, though: Lacy & Kameron, Jessi & Pasha, and Anya & Danny.
  
  
• Huh. That's all I've got. NYC tomorrow!!