Read Aloud Update and Then I'm Off to Buy Snacks for Future Dungeons and Dragons Nights

We finished The Mysterious Benedict Society before bed last night. The listeners were very contented. Afterwards, the older kids went to read in their own beds before lights out (Holes for him and The Doll People for her) but not until we had decided upon our next family read aloud book. My daughter has an eight year old friend named Shawn who recently finished J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and has been raving about it. Apparently all three of my kids trust Shawn's opinion. It may not be politically correct to say, but I fear I may be opening a Pandora's box of nerdhood here. But, our home is a democracy (when it's convenient to me), so I found a copy described as "Good as New" from Amazon for one cent plus shipping and handling. It should arrive by Monday, giving my voice a much needed vacation. Well, sort of a vacation. My six year old wants me to read the first Harry Potter to him. I've read it aloud twice already, but that was several years ago and he pretty much played with Matchbox cars or fell asleep on my lap while the older kids listened. We've made a deal to read a few pages each day when he arrives home from kindergarten before his siblings. I'd better go unwrap a honey lemon Ricola because that kindergarten bus will be here in no time!