From R. J. Julia Booksellers:
Tuesday, October 16, 8pm
J.K. Rowling Live Webcast, The Casual Vacancy
~ Fiction
Bestselling author J.K. Rowling is only making one public stop in the United States to discuss her first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy. We invite you to view her live in a stimulating conversation in our store*, hosted by critically acclaimed author Ann Patchett. This is a special live webcast from Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.
J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter books, published between 1997 and 2007. They have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories, translated into 73 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films. As well as an OBE for services to children's literature, J.K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees and she has been a Commencement Speaker at Harvard University USA. She supports a wide number of charitable causes and is the founder of Lumos, an organization working to transform the lives of disadvantaged children.
There are only a few seats still available. Tickets are $35 and include book/ticket. Tickets are $15 for additional family members. Click here to reserve your seat!
R.J. Julia Booksellers
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
phone: 203-245-3959 or 800-74-READS
email: books@rjjulia.com
Here is a roundup of reviews from Barrow Patch:
Book reviewer Lev Grossman, writing for Time Entertainment, calls it a "great novel."
"What surprised me about 'The Casual Vacancy' was not just how good it was, but the way in which it was good," Grossman writes in his review of J.K. Rowling's first foray into adult literary fiction, which went on sale Thursday.
Click here to read Grossman's full review.
Do you plan to read "The Casual Vacancy"? Why or why not? Tell us in comments.
"This is a courageous departure for Harry Potter's creator," writes Deirdre Donahue for USA Today, who calls the book "dressily moralistic."
Donahue continues, "Unfortunately, The Casual Vacancy reads less like a work of fiction and more like a plea for Britain's comfortable middle-class Muggles to be more aware of the obstacles faced by poor children growing up in dysfunctional homes."
Here's what other reviews had to say:
"So look, here's the thing: This. Is. Not. A. Children's. Book. If you're looking for what made Harry Potter magical -- Wizards! Spells! Flying Broomsticks! -- you're not going to find it. If you're looking for what makes J.K. Rowling magical -- emotion, heart -- you will." — Associated Press review
"The Casual Vacancy is a fine and fascinating read, but it is not for children, and it will most emphatically not make you want to live in Pagford." — Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times book editor
"The 'for adults' tag isn't just a declaration of high literary purpose. It's a warning that this 503-page portrait of vicious, rich-versus-poor politics in the fictional English village of Pagford is in no way, shape, or form a bedtime story." — Steve Daly, Parade Magazine
