thelibraryduck's review against another edition
3.0
Leggo anche mentre cucino, se nessuno guarda. Questa è la classica cosa scritta larga a impegno cerebrale zero, per cui si riducono i rischi di ustione e non uso le energie che dopo impiegherò a studiare. Il che non significa comunque che sia un libro insignificante. E' infantile (riporta "Libro Per Ragazzi" sul retro: sarei curiosa di sapere se il ghetto è così definito solo in Italia o è un'abitudine diffusa anche altrove). E' inspirèscional. E' romantico. E' semplicistico. E' così carino.
elizbiz's review against another edition
5.0
If you want to know anything about J.K. Rowling, read this book!
impreader's review against another edition
A fairly breezy easy-reading sort of overview for biography--but one that draws the reader nearer knowing Rowling, at least in superficials, without much conscious work. Ah. Say that sentence five times fast! But it's true. Though maybe a little depthless, the book is charming like its subject. There's a lot of hope in Rowling's life as well, and affirmation in slogging through, even when the days are rainy, and there's only napkins to ink with your stories.
atlantic_reader_wannabe's review against another edition
5.0
First, let me be clear: this is a biography, not an autobiography. That being said, I still enjoyed this book immensely. Mark Shapiro, in my opinion, did a very good job of telling the reader of JK's dedication to the series that is Harry Potter. While I feel this book could have been longer, I still had difficulty putting it down, reading it literally in the span of half an hour.
jacquilynn's review against another edition
1.0
There is far too much reintroduction of the characters of Harry Potter in the first section of the book. I get that by the time the fourth book was published, maybe not everyone is as familiar with the story since the movies had yet to come out, but this is still the series that had a whirlwind following from the begging and sold for one of if not the highest publishing contract for a children’s book, so this repetition is annoying filler. This author commits the one sin Rowling never did, talking down at the young reader. This book is obviously written for a younger audience than me, but I often will read children or YA books for my own enjoyment or to someone younger. I appreciate a good story no matter what the intended demographic. Something about the writing style in the early chapters put me off. Perhaps it was the many descriptions of Rowling’s life were simply imagined. Unauthorized is a good description for this book, biography not so much. It’s so dreamy and all is rainbows and butterflies. Then there was the gem of a line when Rowling was seriously depressed after her divorce and daughter’s birth, the author says “The worst part of all was that she rarely worked on the book.” NO the worst part is that she was depressed and miserable. I normally hoard any and all books I find dealing with HP or Rowling, this one is going straight in the donate pile.
glanecia's review against another edition
1.0
I love it because it has something to do with Harry Potter & I'm fascinated with the life of JK Rowling -BUT I don't trust that the information is 100 percent correct. How can I when on page 7 it claims that owls run the bank in the Harry Potter world? Obviously, this author hasn't paid close attention to the Harry Potter books. GOBLINS RUN THE BANK. Who can read the books and not know that?!
alexw_7's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this book was awesome! Of course, it only talks about the time up to when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published, so it doesn't tell the full story, but it was still great! I really love J. K. Rowling's story, and this was an awesome, yet pretty short, read. I seriously recommend it if you love the Harry Potter series! :)
lwpcole's review against another edition
4.0
Great read! I learned a lot of new facts about J. K. Rowling! It was very short and that is the only reason I did not give it a 5 star rating. The format of the text was organized in a good way, that was enchanting, and easy to read. This isn't the best book to be carrying around, because a LOT of people asked me what the heck is that book and why the heck is there a huge head on it. I felt kinda offended, and I bet J. K. Rowling and Marc Shapiro would be offended.
erattenborough's review against another edition
1.0
It looked self-published to me, which is rarely a good sign. It wasn’t, but it might as well have been as I’m sure no self-respecting JKR fan would deign to submit it for publishing. First of all was the fact that the blurb included dot points stating what FAQs would be answered within. Incidentally, few were. The “about the author” section spelt his daughter’s name “Rachael” though in the dedications her name was “Rachel”. I strongly suspected that an author who couldn’t decide on the spelling of his daughter’s name may not be the world’s greatest authority on anyone else. Indeed, I was correct. At one point he writes, “Joanne Kathleen Rowling came kicking and screaming into the world…” and fortunately for me, I had a fellow Potterhead on standby to share in my outrage. As just about every fan of the books would know, she doesn’t have a middle name. After being told by her publishers to choose a middle name so she could use the initial as part of a professional pseudonym, she chose her favourite grandma’s name. So she did NOT come kicking and screaming into the world as Joanne Kathleen Rowling and didn’t take on the name until many years later.
Marc Shapiro, the offending author in question, describes how he would not like to meet Voldemort or “the Dementor” on a dark night, as if there is only one. He goes on to say that “banks are run by owls,” which is an obvious and glaring error. Unless post is actually delivered by goblins and I’ve had the wrong end of the stick all this time. The character of Nearly Headless Nick is referred to as “Nick the Nearly Headless Ghost,” which, while not technically incorrect, is a title that never appears in the series. And don't get me started on "Cho Chan". For all the “research” Shapiro supposedly did, there was not a single interview or piece of information passed on to him first hand: it all came from previous interviews and public appearances, many of which I had already read transcripts of myself. I’m not sure I learnt a single thing from this book I didn’t already know. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Hardly surprising given his other published titles include biographies of Justin Bieber, E. L. James (infamous she-devil known for the “Fifty Shades” series), Selena Gomez and Katie Holmes.
Marc Shapiro, the offending author in question, describes how he would not like to meet Voldemort or “the Dementor” on a dark night, as if there is only one. He goes on to say that “banks are run by owls,” which is an obvious and glaring error. Unless post is actually delivered by goblins and I’ve had the wrong end of the stick all this time. The character of Nearly Headless Nick is referred to as “Nick the Nearly Headless Ghost,” which, while not technically incorrect, is a title that never appears in the series. And don't get me started on "Cho Chan". For all the “research” Shapiro supposedly did, there was not a single interview or piece of information passed on to him first hand: it all came from previous interviews and public appearances, many of which I had already read transcripts of myself. I’m not sure I learnt a single thing from this book I didn’t already know. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Hardly surprising given his other published titles include biographies of Justin Bieber, E. L. James (infamous she-devil known for the “Fifty Shades” series), Selena Gomez and Katie Holmes.
pagesofmilkandhoney's review against another edition
There was a point in time when I read as many unauthorised biographies of JK Rowling as possible. I know her story inside out but I remember liking the cover of this one because it was the only one where she had red hair.