Well, OF COURSE she would say #7 is her favorite - what else could she say until after it is published and done with? I just can't wait. All the theories and speculations will finally come to rest - I'll bet we're in for a lot of surprises!

To me, Harry Potter will not die. He lives in each and every one of us so even though the series will be over, HP still and stay with us forever so think of it like that. HP will live on forever in our hearts.

Aww.. one way I cant wait to read DH, but then, its the last book *cries* Hmmm.. I wonder if they need help editing it? My help is just a phone call away Jo..lol But the way it sounds.. me thinks Harry will die...sad to say, but it does sound like something like that.. him or someone else in the trio

Go Micha! lol. yeah well, do you think that whe she states: " i always knew that harry would end in the final book..." that she meant harry was gonna die? no i think she wouldnt of said that straight out lke it sounded. aweee JO! I LOVE YOU!! (im not lez; i mean in a happy way)

THANK GOD! now people can stop bashing Jo about how "impersonal" she was. Sheesh. And how shes "rushing the book"...yeah, right, I'm sure Jo would rush the last Harry Potter book. Not.

i'm just so relieved she's finished the main draft...i'm still confused as to why the book's not coming out closer to her & harry's bday...7/7/07 could have been sooo cool...but after listening to Mugglecast 74 or 73? i agree it's better to see the hp5 film first then put FULL FOCUS on book 7 afterwards...hp5 film will be a nice lil "appetizer"...(my fave book until 6, and now after what she states about 7...OH YEAH!!!) but since her books come out on saturdays for full weekend of reading... i guess 21 seems more appropriate than the 28th?...since 21 equals 7 x 3...so perhaps that was a good equivalent...not the 7th day of the month but three times so?.... and i've strangely not been sad...not yet anyway...just excited...b/c the more i read comments (thank you brilliant fellow hp fans!) or listen to podcasts (thank you Mugglecast!!! love you brilliant kids!!!) i just get excited to meet fellow fans someday...& listen to more & more theories...JKR's like Shakespeare or other great writings....so much room for multiple interpretations!!!...so i'm syked b/c i think we could be hp-trekking it for years! (like the star-trekkies do, i guess??) for eons to come??? ... & i look fwd to my first UK/scottish HP-tour someday.... and here in la-la land...many cars...full of many "vanity" plates... when i see a plate that says "gryffndor" or "muggle" & hp-related stuff, etc...oh la la....my heart skips a beat or two! xoxo :) :) thank you jo for yer brilliance...what a keen fictional world u'v created...and then 2...what a magical yet "real" world u'v created 2: chock full of fans ...full of amazing communicative exchanges like these!!! thanks!!! xo :) it's almost like a love huge valentine's day card for us all...oh the additional irony, that hermes figure/bust...looking up online...the winged hat, the winged feet...like the u.s. figure for FTD flowers...it's like she set it "in stone" literally for us, ha ha...via the winged messenger..."finished (at last)"...tx Jo!!

thanks, jo! knew you'd make us a nice long diary entry. this is so sad, i can't believe after july we're never going to wait for another hp book again.. :( oh well, lets enjoy it while it lasts!

Oh my gosh, to hear that this is HER favorite! You guys, I'm beyond excited. Stoked. The tension that always builds in the anticipation of a forthcoming hp book...absolutely awesome to experience. All the theorizing and such...but this is the best thing I could possibly hope to hear. Oh my gosh you guys, can you imagine what this book must be like! AHH!

I so hope there is a possibility, however slight it may be, that Jo may someday wite another Harry Potter adventure, whether or not it will take place 'beyond the veil'. I so would like to know J K Rowling...what a wonderful acquaintence that would be!!! Nonetheless, I'd like to thank you Jo fo writing my childhood wish...for magic to be real. I've never enjoyed books more...truly.

Ok, that's great that she ahppy and sad all at the same time about the series now coming to an end, but she also has some things to look forward to: the movies for one, and all the great things that may come from them. But one more thing: Why is she going to wait for the publication date to POSSIBLY give ud the other two titles? I'm dying to know!!!!!!

hahaha omg. has anyone been over to mugglecast.com and seen Andrew's latest post? there is a link to a short article from a newspaper in Australia talking about Mugglecast... I won't say what was so funny about it, see for yourselves! oh, and I loved how Jo was like, "sorry, can't tell you the other titles I almost used." lol

"saying goodbye [to Harry]", "mourning", hmm...interesting. Anyways, *Cheers for more HP* *Yells for the fast-approaching end of a beloved series* *Cheers for more HP* *Yells for the fast-approaching end of a beloved series* *Cheers for more HP* *Yells for the fast-approaching end of a beloved series* (I think you get the picture). I think we all feel similar conflicting emotions, Jo :)

Oh!! She finally updates her diary... I am sad and happy with the series end too... I LOVE HER SO MUCH and I am so grateful for her Harry Potter... and grateful for Brazil to be mentioned three times in the series... THANK YOU JÔ FOR ALL!!!! You give me more than you can imagine!! One of my best dreams is to say to you how I love you personaly. PLEASE JÔ, COME TO BRAZIL COME TO BRAZIL COME TO BRAZIL!!!!! Anyway, sorry my english wrongs... I'm a Brazilian, you know. :D

Wow, that was so intersting!!! J.K. Rowling is officially done with Harry Potter...it's such a scary thought!! I don't know what i''m gonna do when the series ends...there's just no book that's gonna be able to take its place. But i don't have to worry for another 164 days!!! yay!!! ACCIO DEATHLY HALLOWS...!!

ok wow this makes me happy and hopefully it totally "rocks" and i really REALLY hope its soooooooper long!! lyl lyl

i'm so glad that she updated her entry with her thoughts about the seventh book... it's probably going to be so depressing for her after she finishes editing the book and won't write any more HP books... since she said its her favorite, i'm really looking forward to it :)

if Deathy Hallows is her favorite, then I think that's a good sign!

Ms. Rowling, I LOVE YOU! I know Deathly Hallows will be my favorite book of all time too!

Wow what a beautiful statement! I almost cried reading it. I still can't believe we'll be getting the last book in just five month, five months!

I feel so bad!! I wish that she would give us the pleasure of an 8th book! Oh well. I totally know how it feels to finish a book that you absolutly love. I my slef am writeing a book and I can'rt believe that it might get published!! I feel your pain Jo!!!

Matrinka! brilliant! (from 2 hours prior this post.....on the page that ends with "YAY updates, :( sad for deaths")...you are brilliant to suggest that Jo publish her notes & backstories here here!!! it could inspire the WB/DavidHeyman/ChrisColum bus folks to get mr. Kloves to write the PRE-hp stuff into new films after hp7 one day??? like mr. star wars did??? (hee hee...long live HP-stuff) or the back histories to the nite harry got his scar, how james & lily dated etc. etc...and how i'm guessing snape was intertwined in all that? (i keep meaning to email mugglecast about around 71 or so...i think they were soooooo close...snape was in love with Lily...but was on Voldy's bad (good for LV) side....heard half the prophecy, told LV what he heard - only half - just enough to put Lily in grave danger - SS was DEVASTATED for basically causing Lily's death, went to DD on bended knee and sobbing in his heartbrokenness and vowing to do ANYTHING to get back at LV and then& there DD deciding that Lily's strong love was the most powerful force of those many key lives...for HP,SS,DD, the love room, the blood LV is leaching on in his replenished veins...that could make him feel the most LV-tortured feelings if in the love room with HP...and self-implode on the spot w/oHP having to say the evil AK curse...also Mugglecasters...once again you CRACK me up when one of you said what if HP says "nah,can't do it" turns his back and LV tries AK on him again (on 10/31no less)and since the Horcruxes are gone by then it backfires succesffully this time and rmoves HP's scar in the full-circle of it? (ok so i added a few details ...hee hee)...gosh, i get too excited & write too much....oh well, out to the ethers of cyberspace these little letters & symbols go...thank you again Jo for the world you've created and the world of cyberchat/comments u'v inspired!! - at freetranslation dot com the spanish on same page as Matrinka's is such: This is really exciting to hear... I expect that the book ...

If J.K. says its her favorite, its gotta be good . . . . . . . . . . Who here thinks DH is gonna be the best book ever???!!!!!!!!!!

yesssss. hmmm better than poa? *sigh* i can't believe it's going to end....... wow i don't know what to say. *shrugs and walks away*

Thank you JO! U are the best...I wish we culd all share your sacrifice and our happiness with u!:) As sad as this is i cnt help cryin out in ecstasy! I LOVE U JO!!!:)

i'm soooo sad that its almost over . . . . . . . . i seriously feel depressed . . . oh well . . . i'll feel happy later :(

JKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJKJ k RULES!!!!!!!!

its so bittersweet. it hurts to know that this is truly the end......but poor Jo, this was practically her life. I just get sadder and sadder as we draw closer to the release date. At least we can look forward to reading the book, but its over for her. *sigh* i'll really miss harry potter.

wow i cried as i read this... she's actually finished. i know exactly what she means with having conflicting feelings. but when she said that DH was her favorite, i just know that it's going to be my favorite too. i seriously cannot (and yet can) wait for this book!!!! i really really hope she writes that encyclopedia she was talking about. *squee* all of this HP awesomeness. july is going to be the best month of my life!!!

I can't help but notice that many people believe that as this is JK's favourite book, she will not kill off Harry Potter as it couldn't possibly be her favourite if Harry was to die. I beg to differ. As a wannabe writer, I get most excited about my stories when I plan to kill off some of my major characters. The story I'm currently writing will see ALL of my major characters die - including the protagonist - AND the 'evil' character will survive and will ultimately be victorious. Writers love killing off major characters, just like many actors like a death scene - particuarly if they are playing a major character (Daniel Radcliffe has stated he selfishly wants a death scene). Why do authors and actors love it? Because it is different. It is unexpected. A twist that noone sees coming. And it is a great feeling every now and again to have the 'good guys' lose, because you hardly ever see it in books or films. As to Deathly Hallows, I am like all of you. I both want and don't want to read it. I've even considered not reading the final chapter so there is still some part of the Harry Potter universe that is unknown to me. I have no problem in believing that this will be the best of the series. Besides CoS (which I loved) all of the books have gotten better as you go along in the series. The other point I wish to raise is that people are saying that two characters will die? What makes you think it will be ONLY two? JK stated that she decided to kill off two characters whom she hadn't planned to kill off, while one character was 'saved' from certain death. That only means that one MORE character will die than she had originally planned (making at least two). She could have had three other characters planned to die who still do die. I just thought I'd cheer you all up....

i feel awful, but i have a question about her first comment. does that mean harry is going to die? (I always knew that Harry's story would end with the seventh book, but saying goodbye has been just as hard as I always knew it would be.) im personally keeping my hopes up for the trio and ginny to survive... of course i think harry and voldemort are going to kill eachother.

thanks so much to Micah for getting this to us! :) (mugglecasters know what I mean!) JKR is so awesome, I loved that she used a dickens quote. Can't wait for July!

i liked how Jo said something about fans still being able to speculate even after the 7th book. i mean we all probably knew she wouldn't be able all of tie up all of the loose ends, but now we know for sure - she said it herself!

i'm so unbelievably excited and yet saddened by the loss of the series. ): thank you, jo, for writing these books and thank you, micah, for reporting this DELIGHTFUL news!! (:

I don't think I ever realized before this just how hard the end would be. Still, I am extremely pumped that it's her favorite, and that there will continue to be things to speculate about. I think she should definitely write the encyclopedia thing including all the stuff she had to leave out.

It must be really good if its her favorite.

I am so excited for the last book! Except it kind of makes we want to start crying because I'm going to miss waiting for the next book so bad. And I'm going to miss having adventures with my favourite characters of course. But if this is Jo's favourtie book then it's got to be really good. :] Eek i can't wait!

i had tears in my eyes while reading her diary entry..=[ bittersweet...omg

Congrats and thank you, Jo! I can only imagine how difficult it must be to finally end a part of your life that has meant so much to the rest of the world. I am ecstatic to read Deathly Hallows this summer, and I hope Jo will now enjoy a much deserved rest.

i'm assuming hallows has something to do with "gordric's (sp?) hollow" the place where harry is born and he will be venturing off to... :)

My goodness, I can only imagine how she's feeling. That diary update just about made me cry! It's finally sinking in that it's almost over. I'm really, really sad right now. *cries* Awww. . . don't you just love Jo? That woman is amazing! Oh my gosh!!! I can't believe it all . . . ahhhhhhh!!!!!

i feel just like she does (well..not quite, seeing as she wrote the books and all. im sure shes a little sadder!). im soo happy for the final book, but at the same time so sad that its over. no more. done. but...YAY FOR JO! shes finally finished what shes worked so hard for. thanks to her we all have Harry. thats the greatest gift of all. :]

Thats good that deathly hollows is her fav. thats a good way to end a series. If she thinks that it is the best in the series then it must be good. I can't wait to read it, it would be nice if it was the best of all of the books. then the series would end in the perfect way

We love you JK!!! I've been reading since the beginning of the series and I hate to see it end... I'm just scared when she says "the end of Harry's story..." I'm scared to see what that means... And once again, Micah brings home the goods! he he!

wow!! well i guess we all know this is gona be a book to remember! im glad she cleared up why she didnt write up a lot about the release date?!

Why does Dan being naked have more comments than this? That sickens me :-/. Oh well lol. For me this is like the biggest news in the world it deserves more comments :p. I'll probably have her diary entry memorized by tomorrow, I keep re-reading it haha. I love her. She's wonderful.

does anyone else think that book 7 is 652 pages long b/c that was the room number Jo stayed in? It would be SO like her, to do something like that, bless her :) Just a guess, but I think it's possible...

I just can't believe this is all ending. It's been a part of my life for so, so long...and to think that we only have a few more months. That being said, I can only imagine how this must feel for Jo! I think when she says we'll have more to speculate, she just means that there are still going to be elements and such that we can question, etc. As for it being her favorite - I'm SO excited for it now.

Still plenty to argue about? That doesn't sound good. I can't stand loose ends.

She said Deathly Hallows was her favourite, not her favorite.

it will definately be my fav too! (200th comment). the faq is the most awesome news. It's really sad that she's done though...hmm. I was discussing this with some friends at TVRage.com, and we came up with some juicy speculation to the alternative titles.