The Fine Art of Justification

Next month, two books are being released that have me waiting breathlessly; Suzanne Brockmann's Breaking Point and JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The former will be released on July 12th and the latter four days later on July 16th.

My beach vacation begins on July 25th. Or technically, not until July 26th because the 25th will be a travel day. Nine days after I'll have both copies in my hot little hands.

I would love, love LOVE to have these two amazing reads to enjoy over my vacation. Pure bliss it would be to curl up under a beach umbrella, the sound of the waves of Lake Michigan pounding on the shore, ice cold lemonade within reach, and crack open these two long awaited titles.

Except there is no way in hell I can wait that long. When I got the last Harry Potter book, I purchased it at midnight and had more than half the thing read by four a.m. and only put it down because I was physically unable to hold the book upright any longer. If either of those two books are in my house, I'll be able to resist them as easily as I'd be able to resist a hot fudge banana split after three weeks on South Beach Diet's phase 1. I have zero willpower and consider myself a master at the art of immediate gratification.

I suppose I could do the intelligent thing and just not get the books. My mother works at a Barnes and Noble, and what I could do is have her get the books for me and bring them to our condo since she's joining us on our vacation. If the books aren't in the house, no temptation, right?

Snort. Yeah. Like I'm going to be able to forget that I have three different bookstores within a mile radius of my house. What's likely to happen is for me to cave and end up with two copies of each book. And they're both hardcover editions.

I could just go to my TBR shelf, select a couple of other must-reads and pack them along for the beach. After all, I may find myself really busy while on vacation with little to no time at all for reading. I can't read in the car because I get carsick, and it would be a crime against literature for me to not have finished these books by the time I get home. I mean, what if someone asks me for a recommendation and I'm unable to speak intelligently about what I think of the latest HP? Or what if, due to the media storm sure to ensue, I inadvertantly expose myself to a spoiler? That wouldn't be very good.

So, really, it's my civic duty to get these books as soon as possible and dive right in.

Problem solved, crisis averted. I feel so much better now.

I sure wish these ladies would write a little faster so I wouldn't be faced with these major life dilemmas.