What is an LJ for if not to bore my friends with things that make me happy?  

As I have mentioned before, I am raising my kiddos to be bilingual, in English and Lithuanian. I am also (yes, I know this will shock you all) an avid fan of the HP series, and this created a dilemma. I want Josh (5, and soon to start kindergarten) to share my enjoyment of all things HP, but I don't want to spend hours reading a book to him in English - he gets that from everyone else in his life.

The obvious solution - buy the translated books, available from an online book club in Lithuania that will, for a price, ship books around the world. Not too bad, actually - I paid less than I would for all 7 books in hardback in the US, and got a copy of "The Amulet of Samarkand" (which I have not read despite recommendations from several HP liking friends) as part of a promotion the club was running for the release of DH (in March, when I originally ordered the books, in Lithuania).

SQUEEEEE! They arrived! And they look nice. They are hardbacks, and use the US cover art, only printed onto the covers instead of on a book jacket (cool, cause I lose/destroy those promptly). And I can complain in great detail about the lousy translation, too!

I am soo looking forward to starting to read them with Josh, hopefully tonight. I already tested the waters with another Lithuanian book I borrowed from my sister, who has older kids (Lindgren's "Brothers Lionheart", not so far as I know available in English), and Josh does has the attention span for chapter books, if they contain adventure. And of course, he has seen the HP movies, so he is primed to like the book... It has been a long wait. The place does nto take credit cards, so I had to mail a paper check in US funds, and then wait for over a month for it to clear with the bank in Lithuania, and then have the books shipped to me.