I didn’t buy a copy of the latest Harry Potter book this weekend, but more than 8.3 million people did, breaking records set by the last Potter book.

I don’t actually own any of the books (yet), but I did the first two several years ago.

Right now, David is too young to start on the books, and my own “To Be Read” pile is too big to realistically add seven books to it and expect I’ll get to them in the next few years, so I may as well wait.

But I was wondering, as I look at the books on David’s bookshelf, whether Harry Potter will become a children’s must-read classic of the future, like Alice in Wonderland, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island or Baum’s Oz books.

Will it become part of every well-read person’s childhood? Or is it fated to become a very, very big fad that fades over time?

Mr and Mrs American Goldfinch seem to have moved in to the maple tree in front of our house and plan to start a family.  They’re very pretty, and we’re glad to have them.

 Unfortunately, Mr Goldfinch is being macho and when he sees his reflection in my office window, he’s convinced it’s his competiton. Ever since I got back from vacation yesterday afternoon, Mr Goldfinch has been fighting with my windows. I’m rather concerned about him. Or, at least about the state of his beak.

He was making such a fuss, that I didn’t even notice his lady until this afternoon, when I spotted her in the tree. She was watching the commotion with a bemused look.

After doing a bit of research to see if there’s anything I can do to help Mr Goldfinch save his beak, I’ve discovered that I’d need to cover the windows from the outside (difficult since they’re on the second floor), and it might not even help, as the stubborn guy would probably spend enough time searching for the missing competition that he’d find one or more of the other windows on our house, or our neighbor’s.

So, for now, I’ve settled for recruiting David’s help to wave our arms near the window  whenever he starts his attacks, which seems to send him away for a while.