Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Very Good Lives - J.K. Rowling's Harvard address in a beautiful hardback format


Very Good Lives
J.K. Rowling
Published by Hachette New Zealand, 14 April 2015 $24.99 RRP

The words of wisdom J.K. Rowling delivered to Harvard grads in 2008 published as an illustrated book: "Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination."
In 2008, J.K. Rowling delivered a deeply affecting commencement speech at Harvard University. Now published for the first time in book form, Very Good Lives offers J.K. Rowling's words of wisdom for anyone at a turning point in life, asking the profound and provocative questions: How can we embrace failure? And how can we use our imagination to better both ourselves and others?
  
Drawing from stories of her own post-graduate years, the world-famous author addresses some of life's most important issues with acuity and emotional force. Sales of Very Good Lives will benefit Lumos, a charity organisation founded by J.K. Rowling, which works to transform the lives of disadvantaged children, and university-wide financial aid at Harvard University.
  
Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said, "I have heard and read many commencement speeches, none more moving and memorable than J.K. Rowling's. Years after her visit to Harvard, people still talk about it-and still find inspiration in her singular evocation of the idea that living a meaningful life so often means daring to risk failure.  What a powerful example she embodies, and what a remarkable gift her speech was, and is, for all of us privileged to hear it then-and to read it now."

A beautifully produced and most attractive small hardback, the perfect gift, especially perhaps for graduates.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series which has sold over 450 million copies worldwide, is distributed in more than 200 territories, has been translated into 73 languages, and has been turned into eight blockbuster films. She is also the author of the associated, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, published in aid of Comic Relief. In December 2008, The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in aid of the Children's High Level Group, and quickly became the fastest selling book of the year.

No comments: