J.K. Rowling (as a Person)

Liz Mann - Apr 29, 2006 4:26 pm
Edited by Kip Carter Jul 13, 2006 12:37 am
I could be wrong, but I don't think there's a thread on here about the woman herself. There's one on her interviews and one on her website but not her herself. She's in the media enough and doing enough chairty work and such that I think a thread all about her could be successful.

So why does everyone like Jo (as a person)? Or do you like her?

Mediwitch - Apr 29, 2006 9:24 pm (#1 of 29)
"We could have all been killed-- or worse, expelled!"
Wow! I've never had the first post before!!

I really respect that Jo is so involved in charity work. There are so many excellent causes, and it is warming to see her support of some of them.

- - - - - - - - - -
Mrs. Sirius - Apr 29, 2006 9:28 pm (#2 of 29)
Mom of 4 in serious lurker mode.
My curiosity is what is she doing on the...side. We know that she has written a children's fable, or what was it, social fable? Has she sent it to a publisher yet? has it been published? Is anyone out here keeping an eye out for this book?

Her charity work, especially for MS research and deprived/underprivileged children is more than commendable.

Edit: Wow Mediwitch beat me to it by minutes, when I started this post I thought I would be first!

- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Apr 30, 2006 5:27 pm (#3 of 29)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
I don't think she's sent anything to publishers yet. What she said was that during a break from Harry she started writing a story for slightly younger children that is currently mouldering in a cupboard, and that she might go back to it. Apparently it's about a monster.

It's not surprising that she's working for MS research because her mother died of MS. The same with her support of single mothers organisations.

I think it's great that we have someone like this at the moment. She's a really good role model for young people. She has money, fame and influence, and she's being very responsible and commendable with it, using it to support charities, rant about stick thin models and get caged beds banned from children's mental homes in Romania. Most of the celebrity role models young people have these days are actors, singers and models who are being extravegant with their money and causing scandal.

- - - - - - - - - -
Choices - Apr 30, 2006 6:51 pm (#4 of 29)
*Completely Obsessed With Harry Potter*
I highly resent that comment about stick thin models!! Oh, wait a minute.....sorry, I'm confused. That's just in my wildest dreams. LOL

- - - - - - - - - -
Amilia Smith - Apr 30, 2006 11:17 pm (#5 of 29)
On Mugglenet, the current poll reads:

So the fifth movie is coming out in the summer of 2007 - the same time JKR approximated for the release of book seven...

Now, I know we've all been guesstimating that Book 7 will come out summer 2007, but I thought it was just us. When did Jo approximate this? Did I miss something?

Mills.

- - - - - - - - - -
The giant squid - May 1, 2006 2:36 am (#6 of 29)
Mills, after HBP came out she mentioned something to the effect of "It'll be a couple of years before you see the next one" (referring to taking time to raise her new baby as well as write). Since HBP came out in July of '05, we've tacked a "couple of years" to that to come up with July '07. Apparently we're not the only ones.

--Mike

- - - - - - - - - -
Amilia Smith - May 1, 2006 2:57 am (#7 of 29)
Hmmm . . . well that's more concrete than what I thought we were working with. Not sure that it's strong enough that I would have used the phrase "the same time JKR approximated for the release of book seven" if I were writing the quiz. Very cool, though. Thanks, Mike!

Mills.

- - - - - - - - - -
haymoni - May 1, 2006 8:43 am (#8 of 29)
I like JKR because she is loyal to her work.

She really tries to keep quiet about where the series is going.

If it were me, I think I would have exploded by now.

- - - - - - - - - -
valuereflection - May 1, 2006 9:39 am (#9 of 29)
I really like this idea for a thread and hope that the moderators will approve letting it stay.

I've admired JK Rowling since I first learned about her life, for many reasons. Most of all I admire her level-headedness in raising her children. To give only one example: when she decided to buy her second house. Whenever she had meetings with her publishers, she had been staying at a London hotel for a few days while she completed her business -- until she discovered that her daughter Jessica was "starting to like room service too much." So she bought a second home, not for celebrity status or as a vacation home, but in order to better raise her daughter in a normal lifestyle when she needed to travel to London. Since then, I am constantly impressed by Rowling's insights into raising/teaching children which she has expressed in her interviews. I feel the honorary doctorate degree in education, which she recently received, is well-deserved.

I was also impressed by her attitude when she was accused of plagiarizing another book a few years ago. During the months of waiting to learn the outcome of that lawsuit, she was greatly concerned about maintaining her personal integrity. (Having the lawsuit declared to be fraudulent and thrown out of court was just frosting on the cake for me.)

Recently I read a newly-published biography of JKR written by Connie Ann Kirk, a literary scholar. It was targeted toward high schoolers who will need a good biographical source for writing reports for their schoolwork. It was an interesting perspective.

- - - - - - - - - -
journeymom - May 1, 2006 10:21 am (#10 of 29)
I'm a Girl Scout leader and I appreciate her interview with the Scottish Girl Guides. She was a Girl Guide herself! Very cool.

- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - May 1, 2006 2:48 pm (#11 of 29)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
She's a very intelligent woman is Jo. Has anyone here listened to the radio interview she did with Steven Fry back in December for the BBC? It's so refreshing to listen to two intelligent people talking to each other.

- - - - - - - - - -
Jewel - May 1, 2006 9:20 pm (#12 of 29)
I down loaded the MP3 of that interview so I could listen to it since I'm in the states and don't have access to the BBC radio.

I think Jo is a wonderful person and role model for not only children, but for adults as well. I particularly admire the way she didn't let being a single mother get in the way of pursuing her dreams. Being a single mother of three small children myself, I had been wanting to further my education for years, but had been terrified of going back to school. That is until I started reading these books to my children and wanting to know a little more about the author. I read about her walking around with her oldest daughter (at the time a small baby) in a sling until she went to sleep just so she would be able to do her writing without trying to pawn her daughter off on someone else so she could do what she wanted to. I had been scared to try to enroll in school because I didn't know how I could possibly do it all. But since then I have enrolled and been accepted to a local college for evening classes. I know that I can do a little bit of homework if Jo could write a series of books!

I also am impressed by the number of organizations that she has involved herself with. She really seems like the type of person who, despite all the fame and fortune, or perhaps in part because of it, really wants to be at the forefront of helping in the areas she feels passionately about. That makes her a truly admirable person in my eyes!

- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - May 2, 2006 1:27 pm (#13 of 29)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
That's really cool that that happened to you because of her, Jewel.

I wonder how many people have been influenced by her like that.

- - - - - - - - - -
Thora - May 3, 2006 12:28 pm (#14 of 29)
The thing I love most about her is her sense of humor. When I read teh way she puts things, both in the books and in her conversations, I feel like she's the kind of person I would hang out with.

Thora

- - - - - - - - - -
KTO - May 3, 2006 1:11 pm (#15 of 29)
Jewel: in my opinion if JKR reads your post she will believe that all that she has accomplished and all of the challenges she has overcome have been worth it for helping to give you the courage to go to school even if nothing else came of her work and sacrifice and that is why she is my type of woman. KT

- - - - - - - - - -
Jewel - May 3, 2006 8:59 pm (#16 of 29)
Thanks Liz Mann and KTO! I really do believe that JKR is a REAL woman. She is down to earth, knows what has to be done, and doesn't sugar coat things. Like Thora said, she seems like the type of person that anyone on this site could just sit around and hang out with. She doesn't look down on people who are in bad situations, she tries to help them. I truly believe that with all the "fame and fortune" that has come from Harry Potter, it couldn't have gone to a better person!

- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - May 7, 2006 8:20 am (#17 of 29)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
And now, J.K. has won a law suit making it illegal for the press to print pictures of celebrities' kids. She's on a roll!

- - - - - - - - - -
Tazzygirl - May 7, 2006 7:50 pm (#18 of 29)
Uluru/Ayer's Rock glowing in the morning sun
SHE DID?!?! Awesome! Where did you hear that, Liz?

- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - May 8, 2006 2:55 am (#19 of 29)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
Leaky and Mugglenet. On Mugglenet it's listed with the headline "Jo wins privacy suit" under the 4th May.

- - - - - - - - - -
Tazzygirl - May 8, 2006 3:34 pm (#20 of 29)
Uluru/Ayer's Rock glowing in the morning sun
Thanks Liz. I'll go check it out...

- - - - - - - - - -
TomProffitt - Jun 4, 2006 4:47 pm (#21 of 29)
Bullheaded empiricist
I've been carrying an idea around for a while that I wanted to share, and this thread seems the best place for it.

Not too long ago I had the thought that we had a pretty clear idea on Jo's feelings about the government and politicians. Then I thought about it a while and realized that we can't use anything in the Harry Potter Series as a firm statement of her views about those kind of things.

You see, what makes a story work is "conflict." No one wants to read 600 pages of people getting along just fine and dandy. They want to read 600 pages of the tragic hero overcoming adversity. Jo understands this.

Here we have three best friends Harry, Hermione and Ron. Yet, in every book at least one of the three is on the outs with at least one of the others for most of the book. That makes for a good story. Not only do we become concerned with with Harry's obsession with Draco Malfoy and Tom Riddle's horcruxes, we worry about whether Ron and Lavender will sunder the trio for good. It makes the story better, not worse. It adds more conflict.

So, we come back to Jo's political views. Does she really think politicians are as blind and self-serving as Fudge? Does she think them as unscrupulous as Umbridge? Does she find them to be more concerned with public perception as Scrimgour seems to be? Are the offices filled with obsequious toadies like Percy? No, we really can't say. If the Ministry of Magic were a well run, compassionate, forward thinking innovative credit to the Wizarding World, then Tom Riddle would likely have been apprehended before the Death of James & Lily Potter. Albus Dumbledore would have accepted appointment as Minister of Magic. Harry would never have scars on the back of his hand saying "I will not tell lies."

No, Jo hasn't necessarily told us what she thinks of politics and politicians, she's written us a good story. We can suspect things about her views, but I don't think we can be certain with out asking Jo, herself. Seems rather a rude question to me. I know she can write, I'm not concerned about her politics.

- - - - - - - - - -
Mrs. Sirius - Jun 7, 2006 11:09 pm (#22 of 29)
Mom of 4 in serious lurker mode.
Yes Tom, I agree with you there, and am fascinated and waiting with bated breath for her newest work. I don't recall exactly how her new book is characterized, I think it's a "political fable" (please correct me on this, those of you with her lasted quotes on the tip of your keyboard).

I think I can see a general tendency in her work toward the world polical, but I need more information since all of the Harry Potter books encompass one world. Calling her new work "political" piques my interest even more. As soon it comes our I hope some one out they will recognized her under her pseudonym and out her book, I be there at midnight for that too.

She is a remarkable woman, forthright and sensible, I want more of a window into her thinking.

- - - - - - - - - -
haymoni - Jun 8, 2006 7:23 am (#23 of 29)
I remember someone - it might have been JKR - saying that it is easier to write about orphans because you don't have parents in the way.

The Ministry is kind of like the parent - they are in the way.

If it was a good "parent", Fudge would have used Time Turners to get to the cemetary to AK Voldy before Wormtail gave him his body back (Hubby's theory - not mine!) instead of claiming that he hadn't returned.

If it was a good parent, Fudge would have been more concerned about why dementors were running around unchecked instead of why Harry performed under-aged magic.

If it was a good parent, Scrimgeour would have been willing to work with Dumbledore in ANY manner to bring down Voldy instead of trying to persuade him to use Harry as a poster child.

I don't know that it really says anything about JKR's true views on politics or politicians, but the ones that she created help to move her story along by doing nothing or by getting in the way.

If they did their job, I don't know that we would have 7 books.

- - - - - - - - - -
timrew - Jun 8, 2006 3:53 pm (#24 of 29)
Middle-aged Harry Potter fan
I am firmly convinced that when JKR writes about politicians and government organisations, she is spot on every time.

I think when she portrays politicians as lying gits, she is dead right. You can tell when they're lying.........their lips move.......

And when she depicts MOM red-tape, duplicity, and various other shenanigans, she is truthful to the core of her being...........

I think all government organisations & politicians, have been mean and duplicitous for hundreds of years, and will continue to be so........for hundreds of years.........it's the way it goes........

And it also explains why I've never voted for the past 30 years or so..........

I believe in the old, Billy Connolly adage...........'Don't vote! You'll only encourage 'em!' (he did replace 'em, with an expletive.........but I'll miss this out as we're in a family forum!)

- - - - - - - - - -
Jewel - Jun 11, 2006 12:16 pm (#25 of 29)
I think when she portrays politicians as lying gits, she is dead right. You can tell when they're lying.........their lips move.......timrew

I think you are right on point with that one timrew! I know that there are some politicians out there who do try to do the right thing. The problem is that they are few and far between and often go about getting things done in the wrong way, even though their intentions are good.

As a whole, I think JKR has a good grasp of politics and politicians as she portrays them via the MOM.

- - - - - - - - - -
Laura W - Jun 14, 2006 4:23 am (#26 of 29)
On the other hand ... a number of fine people work for the Ministry of Magic. I'm talking about the "good guys" here. There is/was Amelia Bones (Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement), Kingsley Shacklebolt (and other Aurors, such as Tonks), Amos Diggory, Bob Ogden and, of course, Arthur Weasley.

Although first Fudge and then Scrimgeour are completely unscrupulous, and Umbridge is the devil incarnate; throughout the series we also see examples of dedicated, hard-working, honest civil servants - or whatever they are called in the WW - who are trying to genuinely serve society to the best of their ability. Even Mafalda Hopkirk. I am glad Jo made this point.

That is why I would not be adverse to Hermoine taking up some kind of position within the MoM - possibly in the drafting of and the enforcement of human and magical creature rights legislation, or perhaps with the department focusing on the education of young wizards and witches - and working her way up the ranks.

(And, just for the record, I am not a government employee in so-called real life.) Well, I know I put the cat in among the pixies (Mrs. Figg) with this one, but so be it.

Laura

- - - - - - - - - -
Liz Mann - Jun 14, 2006 7:06 am (#27 of 29)
Join us for the Philosopher's Stone Watch-A-Long
Newt Scammander was also supposed to have been working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and created both the Werewolf Register and the Ban on Experimental Breeding.

I think what J.K. is trying to say with her politicians is that absolute power currupts absolutely. The bad politicians in the series are mostly the ones who are high up the Ministry ladder (Fudge who was Minister of Magic, Scrimgeour who is now Minister, Percy who rose quickly to the Minister's personal assistant, Umbridge who is Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, and Crouch who was in the running for the Minister job and greatly admired for a time). The nice politicians are in lower but still important positions.

I'm not sure if Aurors count as politicians. They're more like police.

- - - - - - - - - -
TomProffitt - Jun 14, 2006 3:53 pm (#28 of 29)
Bullheaded empiricist
From plot perspective the politicians need to be bad guys, so we can't say for certain where Rowlings views lie.

- - - - - - - - - -
The giant squid - Jun 15, 2006 2:57 pm (#29 of 29)
A common fallacy is assuming a writer's politics from his or her writings. I've hard it the most with Robert Heinlein (because he wrote some rather specific political leanings in his chracters) but it's true overall. JKR may have nothing but the utmost respect for politicians, but as Tom said someone needs to be the antagonist. One of the tenets of this type of story is that only one or a few people know the truth & no one else believes them.

If Harry had said, "Voldemort is back!" and everyone from Dumbledore to Fudge said, "Okay, let's hunt him down," we'd have been done after book 2.

--Mike