Strap me down to Madame Pomfrey's bed, I'm going through withdrawl...

J.K. Rowling has officially announced the title of the sixth book in the Harry Potter Heptad, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Apparently, this title was once considered as a working title for the second book, Chamber of Secrets. I'm not sure exactly why that is significant, but there seem to be people who find it intriguing. I guess it goes to the point that certain elements of the second book might come into play and that this book must be filled with things that have been long-simmering within Ms. Rowling's mind.

What does the title tell us about the upcoming book? Nothing really. Ms. Rowling has let it be known that the Half Blood Prince does not refer to Harry or Voldemort. And now there are online communities filled with a flurry of rash guesses and speculations as to all sorts of things the book may be about. To me it suggests this book may deal more with the fascinating elements of genealogy and racism that the past books have touched upon. The pure-blood/mudblood dynamic that has been brewing since the first book and is exemplified by the various characters has always been the most interesting element of Harry's world for me.

Now that the title is confirmed, but since I would rather wait for the book than theorize and conjecture about the plot, I would be much more interested in a release date. While many fans have been waiting since last summer for the latest installment, and for almost 3 years before that, they are generally used to waiting long to get their next fix of Hogwarts. I have only read the books for the first time this past winter, all five in a row, so I contend I have not been weaned properly for this lag time. My wait is as excruciating as a methodone addict in withdrawal. No one told me the sixth book was no where in sight when I started and by the time I realized I would have to wait I just couldn't shake the primal need to press on, page after page, till I had snorted the last available Every Flavor Bean and injected a Pensieve's worth of information into my Weasley-like head. For someone who waits a month between each small installment of the over 40 continuing stories I follow in comic book form, you'd think I would be a pro at this, but no. Perhaps I'm as obsessed as those giddy speculating kids, and don't even know it.