The wait is almost over. Can we stand it?

I figured out last night that the whole Harry Potter thing is bringing out my inner spaz. My sister, reading an article on the New York Times Online about the pages from the last book that have leaked, quoted the article as saying that the final page, despite having been quickly and crudely scanned, was legible. At which I instantly plugged my ears, hunched my shoulders protectively, and shouted, "Don't tell me! I don't want to know!"

Seriously, though, I don't understand the principle of spoilers (which the NYT of course didn't print, so my sister wouldn't have seen the last page, even if she'd wanted to. I kind of wasn't thinking at the time). Why would you want to spoil the ending for yourself?

Maybe to stop anyone else from spoiling it for you? A friend of mine in Berlin lives in a heavily Turkish area, but she's planning to pick up her English copy from a bookstore Friday night, go straight home, and stay in media blackout until she finishes it - no T.V., no radio, no riding the subway or even going outside, in case other people have finished it ahead of her. When we were talking about it, we agreed that the chances of the last one, at least, happening weren't all that great, although it's not impossible that a gang of young Turkish men will go wandering around her neighborhood, weeping and keening, "He's dead! He's dead!"

I'm a little nervous about going to the bookstore to pick up my family's copy, since there's always a chance that someone with grab their book, turn to the last page, and announce the ending. Maybe earplugs are in order. Hey, there are idiots everywhere.

I'm interested in what's going to happen after we know the ending. I figure there are definitely going to be people who are unhappy, no matter what happens. And the New Yorker will probably print a snarky review of it. My guess is that Harry dies, just as a principle of narrative closure - what's Harry going to do without Voldemort, who presumably also has to die? I'll also be disappointed if Snape proves to be ultimately evil. But it'll be interesting to see. Oh, golly.