Harry Potter (no spoilers inside)

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I'm sad. I'm sad I have to wait to find out how the whole thing ends. I'm sad because it was a sad ending (in more ways than one). I want more.

I've read a lot of blog posts and news reports that have said this is the best one yet. I did not think the story was the best. I thought it was slow in getting started and that it ended when I finally cared about what was going on. I will say (some of) the characters were stronger, and we learned much of the back story.

I've read varying reports on the writing. Some thought it was the tightest writing yet. Others picked at some misspellings. And, even I found a "memory" shared that was not all written in the POV of the person whose memory it was.

However, the nitpicking is not important. All summer people have obsessed about a BOOK. People waited by their mailboxes and crowded into BOOK stores. It wasn't a movie or a rock concert. People were excited about READING. How cool is that?

Edited to add: I just found this review. If you don't mind mild spoilers, I think this reviewer is right on : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4672183.stm