# Will you buy the new J.K. Rowling novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200 "2012-09-29T02:06:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/1 "2012-09-29T02:06:26Z")
J.K. Rowling’s new novel _The Casual Vacancy_ is out – are you interested? I don’t know if I’m allowed to post the book description here, so I will post a [link](http://amzn.com/0316228532) from Amazon and note only that it is described as “blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising.” It’s getting middling reviews so far, possibly because people are disappointed that it’s not Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/2 "2012-09-29T02:09:47Z")
I will probably not buy it, but I will get it from the library after the rush has died down. I’m actually quite interested to read it; I’ve seen some early good reviews. (The reviewer who spoke of it in the most glowing terms was impressed that it was nothing like Harry Potter, so I think you may be right about people disliking it because it’s a departure.) Edit: I’ll mark the poll “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/3 "2012-09-29T03:25:58Z")
I’ve heard that it is only so-so but actually has some naughty parts. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/4 "2012-09-29T03:56:39Z")
I’ll probably read it at some point, but I’m in no rush. I’m definitely curious. Yeah, some of those poor Amazon reviews do seem to be from people who say they weren’t expecting “Harry Potter”, and then got disappointed anyway, because it wasn’t Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/5 "2012-09-29T04:08:26Z")
Nah. I read the first Potter book. Saw some of the films. I think they were fine as young-adult fiction, and will let its popularity speak for itself. However, from the limited amount of what I have read from her, and saw from her fiction, I don’t find her wit very impressive, so in that context, the premise of this book sounds pretty dull. I’ll pass. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/6 "2012-09-29T05:06:08Z")
Never read any of the books nor saw any of the movies. Reviewers whom I trust indicate that they wouldn’t be to my taste. I’m not a hater; I’m not boycotting them. Just have other things I’d rather read. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/7 "2012-09-29T05:18:38Z")
Not sure if I will get buy it or borrow from the library, but I’ll read it. I am intrigued after hearing her interview on NPR this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/8 "2012-09-29T05:21:31Z")
“Undecided” wasn’t an option :). Yes, I like Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/9 "2012-09-29T05:36:40Z")
Not at that price. If I hear enough good things about it, I’ll buy (cheap) or borrow it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/10 "2012-09-29T12:46:12Z")
Just for the record, I loved Harry Potter and have read all seven at least twice through. I have been reading sci-fi for 62 years, so maybe that explains it, but I found it well-written, well plotted, with well-developed characters. Well in Wednesday’s NY Times, Michiko Kakitani described as Little Wingeing (the town where Harry’s aunt and uncle live) meets Peyton Place. She absolutely hated it. So unless I read something to the contrary, I won’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/11 "2012-09-29T13:17:53Z")
I will not, as the subject matter does not interest me. The last novel I read was about superheroes and supervillains (_Soon I Will Be Invincible_) and the next, fingers crossed, will be my own. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/12 "2012-09-29T13:18:49Z")
Yes. She writes well. Will buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/13 "2012-09-29T13:24:15Z")
The reviews sound interesting, so I’ll borrow it from the library. I am cutting down on the number of paper books that I own, so I won’t be buying it. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/14 "2012-09-29T13:42:18Z")
only read nonfiction ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/15 "2012-09-29T14:30:00Z")
There’s a good article on Rowling and “The Casual Vacancy” in the New Yorker by the way: > **[J. K. Rowling’s Novel for Adults](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/01/mugglemarch)** > > Ian Parker on how the author of “Harry Potter” came to write “The Casual Vacancy,” a realist novel about small-town politics. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/16 "2012-09-29T16:28:15Z")
Thread moved from IMHO to Café Society. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/17 "2012-09-29T16:48:12Z")
Nope. Reading the description on Amazon leaves me with zero interest in this book. (FTR: HP was OK… a little dumb and repetative IMHO) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/18 "2012-09-29T18:21:12Z")
I’ve never bought or read a single thing she’s written, so I’m unlikely to start now. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/19 "2012-09-29T18:24:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’ve never bought or read a single thing she’s written, so I’m unlikely to start now. Well, she’s essentially written one thing, so you’re describing a somewhat limited set. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200/20 "2012-09-29T18:33:58Z")
The article in \*The New Yorker \*was rather amusing. I was unaware that a gun was fired during negotiations involving the theft of a copy of the firth book in the HP saga. But, with that much money involved, who knows what people might do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-you-buy-the-new-j-k-rowling-novel/636200.md?page=2)