A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

NOW THAT'S SOME SPEED READING: It's barely past midnight on the East Coast, but Michiko Kakutani already has her review up. It's got a few plot details in it I didn't want to know yet (such as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher), so be sure you want to read it before clicking. Just know that she loved it, concluding:

Indeed, the achievement of the Potter books is the same as that of the great classics of children's literature, from the Oz novels to 'The Lord of the Rings': the creation of a richly imagined and utterly singular world, as detailed, as improbable and as mortal as our own.