Last night, Caitlin & I went to Borders at midnight to get the final Harry Potter book, and it was madness, simply madness. By my count there must have been in excess of five hundred people (given that everyone was issued a colored bracelet, 150 people per color, and there were at least four colors). To think, this was just one little bookstore in a city with a dozen more like it. Which got me thinking...what would life be like in a culture where the new Gary Lutz (which I just received a couple weeks ago) had such a following?

I like to imagine a parallel universe where writers like Lutz get the recognition they deserve. Where Lutz's former editor, Gordon Lish, is properly revered for his insight and contribution to literature. Where sentences are held in higher esteem than stories. Where other of Lish's writers: Ben Marcus, Amy Hempel, Barry Hannah, etc., are also enthusiastically championed by the masses.

This is not meant to take anything away from J.K. Rowling, who has done a wonderful thing by creating this world in which so many people find happiness. It's merely a thought I had as I waded through wizards and witches last night.

After you finish reading The Deathly Hallows, why not order a copy of Gary Lutz's newest minicollection, Partial List of People to Bleach, for only $6.00 from Future Tense Books? Then you could have the best of both worlds.