A New JK Rowling Book!

I have no problem admitting it. I love the Harry Potter series. So it made my geek heart flutter to read that JK Rowling is working on a new novel (click here to read article on Huffington Post).

OK, I’ve read the debates about whether the Harry Potter books should be considered important works of literature or not. Personally, I say “Hell yeah!” Here’s why. To me, the litmus for great literature is the impact it has on society. You cannot deny Rowling’s impact on society. When you see someone under 25 with their face buried in a book, I can pretty much guarantee that the person has read Harry Potter. So just take a minute and consider what the state of publishing would be like right now if it weren’t for the Harry Potter books. I suspect that we would have a lot more drones sitting around watching bad cable TV.

Now let me climb down from my soapbox. While I am excited about a new Rowling book, I am also very aware that she has some high expectations to meet. Whatever she writes will immediately be compared to the previous works. She has a pretty tough act to follow. But, I am glad that she is stepping up and taking the chance, and not resting on her laurels. And while I probably won’t camp out in a bookstore awaiting the midnight release (like I did for her other books), I will certainly grab a copy when it comes out and bump it to the top of my reading list.