We've got a (US) page count

[dungrollin]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, susiequsie23 at ... wrote:
>
> http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/#article:9634
> 
> Scholastic says the US edition will have 784 pages... less than 
OotP's 870 but more than GoF's 734.  Sounds good to me!
> 
> SSSusan
>

Oh my god I just suddenly got really excited... It's ok, it'll pass 
in a minute...

I still haven't figured out how I'm going to get hold of a copy. 
Negotiations to fly back to the UK at around the right time are not 
going too well. Someone doesn't seem to understand that waiting a 
fortnight, or a month, or forever as the case may be (the Ivorian 
postal workers are striking again, and they have an unfortunate habit 
of making a big bonfire of the backlog) is just not bloody 
acceptable. Whenever I shout "BUT HARRY POTTER IS *IMPORTANT*" I am 
greeted with a sardonic smile and a worryingly calm, "No, it isn't."

I could always scan the lists of people I know will be flying out 
here from europe around the right time (anything up to a week or a 
month late) and demand that they bring a copy. Would I trust them not 
to forget? They're likely to be bloody scientists or charity workers, 
so it's possible if they face weight restrictions on the plane 
they'll decide that their damn project equipment is more important... 
(obviously they'd be wrong). 

I must somehow avoid the waiting, waiting is just not an option. It'd 
be like giving up smoking, only worse. Fidgeting, worrying, 
wondering... occasionally indulging in fantasies of logging on to the 
list, then sticking fingers in ears and shouting LA LA LA LA LA!!! I 
CAN'T HEAR YOU EVIL DESIRE TO NIP DOWN THE ROAD AND GRAB A PACKET OF 
FILTHY TRAFFICKED GAHNAIAN DUNHILLS... Only about HP, obviously.

What the bloody hell am I going to do? (Apart from jump up and down 
shouting "It's not FAIR!" like a small child.) I know - I could fake 
appendicitis like Dahl did in Boy in an attempt to get flown home; 
I'll have four months to read up on the symptoms and make sure I can 
vomit on command... No, perhaps that's excessive.

I'll think of something, I'll HAVE to.