Customer Reviews

Conversations with J. K. Rowling

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a teen fan of J.K. Rowling I was pretty unimpressed with this book. From first sight I was surprised at how thin this book was and the huge print.( Kinda like a book for a seven-year-old) Then was disappointed me even more was that the initial interview was only about 2/3 of the book. Some of the facts in the interview was interesting but much to me was already known. It seemed to me throughout the entire interview J.K. was controling every little detail she let out. That is her character though. She never really ever revealed any of her plot line in her writing either.

The rest of the book was a complete overview of the Harry Potter series. This to me was a waste of time for I have read the books like 3 times each. And reader bewarned...if you haven't read all the Harry Potter books, this section holds a lot of spoilers which might ruin your experience.

All and all this book disappointed me very much. I hope someday J.K. decides to write a book about herself because billions of people are very interested in her life.

The first impression I got of this book is how thin it is. That wasn't the biggest one though. Let's just say when I opened it up I found the print to be HUGE. Another thing that disappointed me was from pg. 58 and on it was just an overview of the first 4 Harry Potter books. As a teen fan of Harry Potter and having read them many times I found it quite boring to have about 30 pages of just overview of things I already know. For a new fan of Harry Potter who hasn't read all the books it includes plenty of spoiler so I recommend you read the books first before you actrully read this interview book.

This book was split into three parts. The first part was called "An interview with J.K. Rowling. As enphasized on the cover this the first and only Authorized Biography of J.K. Rowling and I have found the little tidbids of information J.K. reveals to be disappointing. However that is the nature of J.K.'s character has she never reveals much about her story plotlines either. This first section of the book goes from pg. 11 to 57. It is split into four parts:
1)My family and my childhood
2)My school days
3)My career
4)My career as a writer
These few pages were mostly all that was worth reading for me.

Part Two of this book was called "J.K. Rowling books" It was split into two parts:
1)An overview
2)The fourth book
I recommend again not to read this part if you haven't read all the books yet because it does give out a lot of important storylines and spoiler. Of course it was boring for me because I've read the books many times

Part three of the book was just a bibiography and had a page of summery of the first 4 books. All and all this book only had 50 pages of HUGE print worth reading and I finished it in 40 minutes. As an teen fan of J.K. Rowling's I hope she writes a biography that tells more about her life than this after she finishes her seven Harry Potter books.

The book itself is pretty small, only 96 pages of text in a larger than normal letter size, starting on page 11. Most of the
book revolves around questions and answers that you would ask your penpal: "Did you enjoy art? and "What types of music did you listen to as a child?" are two such examples. Okay, okay it is a biography, but some of the answers are found WORD-FOR-WORD in various interviews, the most obvious is the recent issue of
Vanity Fair, citing that she turned WB and every studio down at first. That isn't the ONLY answer she's taken from a previous interviews. A lot of other things that she's mentioned before, but not as funny as in other interviews. A portion of the information is indeed new, but nothing outstanding. If you are
hoping that she slipped any information at all- expect to be dissapointed. Very dissapointed. I only found one semi-significant bits of insight. She has the entire history and childhood of Sirius Black. This however what put into Vanity Fair. The questions from the author lasted only until page 57. From pages 58 to 83 the author summurizes the first four books. As if we didn't read them all already. How many people would actually pick up this book before finishing all four. Most of the commentary is followed by long snippets of the book, about a half page on average. I estimate it took up about six pages. After the commentary from page 83 until 90, there is a transcript of some interview including Newsweek, O and Larry King. These interviews are from July 2000. For those who want insight, J.K. Rowling mentions book seven will be very long, like
Encyclopedia Brittanca, because she wants "to say goodbye." This was from 2000, and yes, I read it then, when the interview came out (my family used to subscribe to Newsweek), and I'm not impressed. Pages 91 to 95 list J.K. Rowling's entire works. As if we didn't know what those were. It lists the American books with their publication dates in YEARS, not months, nor days. (Who could EVER forget July 8, 2000?) Also metntioned are all the awards the books has won, bringing the book 1 title page to two pages. On a more interesting note, the book summaries are
from the backs of the BRITISH books (I know this because I own them too), and let me tell you, they are the dumbest plot descriptions I have ever seen in my life. (then again I'm pretty sure that the person who wrote the American plot description for book four wasn't allowed to read it) The final page, 96, is
about the author, who is, apparently, British.
In other comments, the book is written with American spellings.(unlike the Harry Potter Schoolbooks which were almost completely unedited save for the (real)publisher's name) And there are four pictures. Two are photos of J.K. Rowling, and the other two are line drawings of Fawkes and the Sorting Hat. Neither is spectacular, nothing like the detail of the picture
of Harry at the Dursleys featured in the Scorceror's Stone Collector's Edition. In my opinion, the author is straining for material to put SOME substance to the book. The print is large and so are the margins, tricks people (and students like me) use to make the book seem longer. I will mention again that the book
starts on page 11.
This book is not meant for die-hards at all. About eighty percent is stuff that the seasoned internet surfer already knows. If you have NEVER read an interview with the author, get it, but I would not recommend buying this book, at least at full price. If you have to get it, go ahead, but it's not worth
rushing for. The author could have done so much better.

A section-by-section review of the new authorized biography of one of the world's best-loved writers:

SECTION ONE: AN INTERVIEW WITH J.K. ROWLING
'Harry Potter' fans will find this section of new interviews with J.K. Rowling very good - it reveals many things I had no idea about, and I'm glad to have it in my Harry Potter collection. We gain insight into Rowling's life and work, and also info on the basis for some 'Potter' characters...she said she based Snape in part on her least favorite teacher, and that she is often reminded of him when she visits schools, because the mean teachers stand out. There are also neat tidbits about Peter Pan, the Kenedy family, and more. This section earns full marks for its information and laid-back, enjoyable format.

SECTION TWO: J.K. ROWLING'S BOOKS
But it is the next section, "J.K. Rowling's Books," that brings this down a star. While this section would be nice for a "cliff notes" book about the series, or to introduce someone to the books, it is not needed here; fans will read this book, not people who need to be introduced to the series. And even if this was read by someone who doesn't know the series, it would spoil things for them. So if you are considering buying this and have not read all four 'Potter' books, DON'T! Order the books and discover how good they are on your own -- then come back for this, it'll always be there. I repeat myself: If you have not read ALL FOUR HARRY POTTER BOOKS, reading this will spoil some of the most exciting suprises. For this reason, I am deducting a star from its original five-star ranking.

SECTION THREE: BIBLIOGRAPHY
Basically a list of all four 'Potter' books and weak blurbs. Does this really even need to be in the book? I think not, and I've deducted another star from the five-star ranking because of it.

All in all this is a great book (obviously much better than the unauthorized ones are said to be), and I would reccomend it to the obsessive 'Harry Potter' fan, but not to others. 3/5 ***

The first thing that struck me was THE TYPE SIZE IS SO HUGE. it's like the book is a special edition for people who have trouble seeing. or for a kid who's learning to read - you know like the big type in those "See Spot Run" books.
the book is so short - you don't really have to buy it - you could easily just go to a bookstore and read it there and be done in 5 minutes. but some good tidbits of information though!

I was very exited when I first heard about this biography about J.K. Rowling. I immedietily went to my local public libray to check it out.

Let me tell you: this book is not worth anything. It is way too short. It only had 96 pages, and the book actually started on page 11.

The print is HUGE. It took me 15 minutes to read it. Also, I was dissapointed because the biography part was very short, the rest was all garbage all Harry Potter fans know about the four books.
And yes, it will spoil them for anyone who hasn't read them.

Don't waste your money. Read it in a bookstore or check it out of the library, but don't bother buying it.

If you want a better, more detailed biography, try J.K. Rowling: the Wizard Behind Harry Potter by Mark Shapiro.

This book clearly was not what I expected. Though the book is the only "authorized" biography of Rowling, it's a dissapointing book. For starters, the print is huge and not to mention the book starts on page 11! The biographal part was really the only part where fans wanting to learn about Rowling can find information about her. Plus, is in a question-and-answer format, so it dosn't really tell full-out about Rowling. The rest of the book basically is about the Harry Potter series, and it tells about the four books that have been released so far. (Come on hurry up book 5, I'll be waiting for you on June 21!) Anyway, the book is basically more about Harry Potter than J.K. Rowling. And, like one reviewer said, you could go to the bookstore and read it in less than 20 minutes. Don't waste your money on this one, just wait until a decent biography of Rowling comes out.

Lindsey Fraser's Conversations with J.K. Rowling, written for young adults, bills itself as "the only authorized biography of J.K. Rowling." It is in fact not a biography per se. The book is divided into two sections. The first is the text of the author's interview with Rowling, conducted prior to the appearance of the first Harry Potter film (though after the rights to the movie had been purchased by Warner Brothers). (Fraser's book was published in 2000, the year that the fourth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released.) In the interview Rowling discusses her childhood and early schooling, her career as, among other things, a teacher, and writing. She occasionally refers to the links between her own life and the world of Harry Potter, telling readers, for example, that Stanley and Ernie from the Knight Bus were named after her grandparents, and that the Weasley's turquoise Ford Anglia was modeled after a high school friend's car. These details may not be revelatory to Harry Potter enthusiasts, but I had not heard them previously.

The second part of the book includes Fraser's brief essay on the world of Harry Potter and another on Goblet of Fire, a discussion which is augmented by snippets from interviews Rowling gave at the time of that book's release.

Good for kids, and at 96 pages of largish print, a very quick read.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

While it is good that Rowling has "authorized" at least one version of her biography, I'm afraid this little book will only satisfy her youngest and newest readers. Older fans (either in age or in time appreciating her books) will want more information than this book provides.

With the more "adult" covers of the HARRY POTTER books now appearing in bookstores and the popularity of the films bringing more readers of all ages to the books, Rowling might want to consider "authorizing" a more in-depth but fair treatment of her life story.

So far, she has attempted to control the details of her public biography as she does the great secret of the plotlines of the remaining books to appear in the series. In time, though, I think she'll realize that this is just not possible. Harry has given her to the world, just as she has given Harry to the world. Interested writers and scholars are going to write about her, no matter what, for many years to come.

A full-fledged autobiography of her story would definitely be her next big hit after HARRY POTTER 7 is out. It would be much more satisfying for the "older fan" than these little interview books. I also think it would be an important and lasting book, told from the person's point of view who has lived this incredible journey that she's been on at the turn of the 21st Century. I hope she will think about writing it!

In the meantime, people should buy this book, if only to have a Rowling interview in book form rather than pieced together on scraps of print-out paper from the internet. It makes a nice accompanying gift with HARRY POTTER 1 for an up and coming Harry fan as well.

I thought this book was really cool. It was a bunch of questions the J.K. Rowling answered. I thought it was really interesting to learn more about her life before she became famous and how she is now. It was very short and I finished it in like an hour. It's for all people even if they arn't that into Harry Potter. The only problem is I think it is over priced.