Wednesday
Nov232005
In praise of J.K. Rowling
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 at 11:34AM
Saw the new Harry Potter movie with Jeff and Craig last night. I'm enjoying each HP movie more than the one before, probably because they're getting more dark and menacing. I did wish for more of the character development that was in the book, but I sympathise with the moviemakers' challenge of taking that hefty tome and having to cut it down to a kid-friendly movie length. I won't say any more for fear of spoilers, but do read Allison's great comments if you've already seen the movie; be warned her entry has a LOT of spoilers (there's a cut-tag warning) and spoilers for Books 5 and 6 in the comments section beneath the entry...I only let myself go back and read it after I saw the movie.
Whatever you may think of the Harry Potter books and movies, you've got to give credit to J.K. Rowling. Not just for creating a world and a storyline that appeals to so many types of people, but also for persevering. According to many reports, Rowling's first Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by Penguin, Transworld and HarperCollins, among others, before finally being accepted by Bloomsbury Children's Books. Sounds like she worked very hard to make sure that the books were as good as she could possibly make them, with a ton of prep and revision.
It bugs me when people want to tear down the successful just because they're successful. They like rooting for the underdog, but as soon as the underdog makes it to the top, that person (or company) loses all underdog privileges and is heartlessly labelled as part of the Greater Corporate Evil.
J.K. Rowling has made a ton of money off her Harry Potter books. I hope she makes a boatload more. She deserves every penny.
I've seen a zillion discussions online about the popularity of Rowling's books ("What's all the fuss about? They're not all that well-written", "But will they stand the test of time?", etc. etc.), some better than others. I particularly enjoyed reading this discussion in Allison's LJ.
For me, it just comes down to the simple fact that I find the Harry Potter books a wonderfully satisfying read.
And I'll be in line when the next book comes out, of course. :-)
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Whatever you may think of the Harry Potter books and movies, you've got to give credit to J.K. Rowling. Not just for creating a world and a storyline that appeals to so many types of people, but also for persevering. According to many reports, Rowling's first Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by Penguin, Transworld and HarperCollins, among others, before finally being accepted by Bloomsbury Children's Books. Sounds like she worked very hard to make sure that the books were as good as she could possibly make them, with a ton of prep and revision.
It bugs me when people want to tear down the successful just because they're successful. They like rooting for the underdog, but as soon as the underdog makes it to the top, that person (or company) loses all underdog privileges and is heartlessly labelled as part of the Greater Corporate Evil.
J.K. Rowling has made a ton of money off her Harry Potter books. I hope she makes a boatload more. She deserves every penny.
I've seen a zillion discussions online about the popularity of Rowling's books ("What's all the fuss about? They're not all that well-written", "But will they stand the test of time?", etc. etc.), some better than others. I particularly enjoyed reading this discussion in Allison's LJ.
For me, it just comes down to the simple fact that I find the Harry Potter books a wonderfully satisfying read.
And I'll be in line when the next book comes out, of course. :-)
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