J.K. Rowling

I always wondered why someone would use a name that started with initials. This and other interesting facts are explained in this book by Sean Smith about the life of JK Rowling. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter series this book would be an enjoyable read.

I read this book for a book report, and found that it was extremely interesting. While a bit dry at times, it got very interesting around the time at which she was getting the book published. I highly recommend this book for Harry Potter fans, and for teenagers needing to read biographies for book reports.

I found this book very entertaining. JK Rowling's life has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride but the downs like her messy marriage and her mother's long term illness made me want to turn the pages all the more to see how it all turned out for her. It's an unpretentious read packed with facts about the author that I had no idea about. You can't always believe what you read in the newspapers! It's fun joining the author in trying to find Harry Potter references in her own life story and this book doesn't take itself too seriously. JK Rowling is a good writer but her own story is a great one. Thoroughly recommended.

Sean Smith's brilliant biography of J.K. Rowling was a must read for me. Joanne Rowling was a gifted and talented writer in one of the English classes I taught as a student teacher abroad at Wyedean School in the late seventies. Naturally, I wanted to learn as much as possible about what she had been doing in the intervening years. Smith's book did not disappoint. He tells the story of the development of this major talent much in the way J.K. Rowling hooks and holds the reader's attention. He combines a compelling subject with his clever and very readable prose to produce a book that is sure to satisfy Rowling's legion of fans at home and abroad. His tireless research and intelligent insights into connections between his subject's life and the mythology she creates in her fiction are highly credible. There are many surprises here, even for those already familiar with Rowling's amazing rise to the top of the publishing world. Smith's writing entertains without sensationalizing. He remains true to his subject just as she maintains fidelity to the workings of the adolescent imagination which informs her writing. Ultimately this literary jewel sparkles like J.K. Rowling eyes on the cover photograph. Smith describes her in the conclusion as a woman who looks rich. I would add that Smith's writing feels rich in its detail and insights into the formative experiences and major events of J.K. Rowling's inspiring life. Just as with a Harry Potter book, I was saddened to find the last page come all too soon. Fortunately, there is much more to come from J.K. Rowling, which should make for further updates to her biography. Smith will remain my biographer of choice.

I've read all the HP books and am a big fan so I was pleased to find a good biography of JK Rowling as Marc Shapiro's from last year was too thin and not very enlightening. This one is much more interesting and follows JK's life through from when she was little girl all through her education and the subsequent creation of Harry Potter on a train up to the present day. It's a pleasure to read a good rags to riches story - and in case you've read all those articles about her writing in cafes you can find out here that there is a lot more to JK Rowling than that! I recommend this book if you're a Harry Potter fan, especially if you like the game of spotting where all the inventive names in the books come from - you might not agree with Sean Smith but it's fun to play!