Author spotlight: J.K. Rowling

I just finished watching Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone. It has been quite some time since I last watched the movie or read the novel. I had stopped getting involved with Harry Potter for reasons I would rather not say but before that I was a huge Harry Potter fan and that feeling never really left me. I LOVE Harry Potter, and I think Rowling had such a genius mind to come up with a concept such as the Harry Potter series. It has garnered so much love across the globe from generation to generation. My generation grew up with Harry Potter. I remember the first movie coming out when I was in 5th grade because went on a field trip to see it. However, what I love most about Rowling is that she didn’t put herself in a box. She was always known for Harry Potter but after she finished Deathly Hallows she ventured out and wrote something that had absolutely nothing to do with the Harry Potter universe, which was Casual Vacancy. I’ve never read it myself, but I plan on it in the future and she also has other non-related Harry Potter novels. I just think it’s awesome that she wasn’t subjected to stay in one genre. Casual Vacancy actually had great success. It became the 15th best-selling book of 2012 during its first week of release. Within the first three weeks the book’s total sales topped one million copies in English in all formats across all territories, including the US and the UK. The book also set a Goodreads record for the all-time biggest “started reading” day, later winning the Best Fiction category in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2012. I think this success is due to the fact that everyone was curious to see what Rowling could do outside of The Harry Potter universe. She proved that she wasn’t a one hit wonder, and I respect her for that as a writer. I haven’t read any of her other books, but I plan on making time for them.