JK Rowling published a bestselling book under a pseudonym!

[mockingbird]

http://www.mugglenet.com/app/news/show/6988

 

She was approached about it this weekend and "confessed". Love how this coincides with Ruth's unveiling

 

It is a crime novel called The Cuckoo's Calling and it's by "Robert Galbraith" (which supposedly means "famous stranger" but I haven't done any research to confirm that - don't doubt it though, she's clever like that).

 

I just got a copy today which was apparently a good decision, as it was the last one in the store and the clerk said the rest had all sold earlier today, and people had been requesting it/putting it on hold. She was really confused until I explained, then freaked out, it was pretty hilarious I can't wait to read it! I enjoyed The Casual Vacancy, but it was a slow read. I hope this one has a bit of a better pace considering the genre.

[Blahblah]

I just got a free ebook sample. 90 pages to see if you like it or not before you cough up the cash. Great idea.

[terranova]

I checked at work today, no stock in NZ or Aus until September :( Must be re-printing our edition. I'll definately buy it when it arrives though. I never really trusted the reviews of Casual Vacancy, it must have been hard to review it without some kind of bias.

[herebedragons]

Oh, I'll definitely have to read the Kindle sample.

I'm surprised her publisher let her use a different name, considering all the money ready to be spent on a new J K Rowling book. Perhaps part of the deal was that after a few months, Ms. Rowling would need to make her authorship public?

[tenth muse]

Interesting. I never got around to reading the Casual Vacancy book, but a crime novel seems so un-JKR like. I'll have to check it out.

[crazyforkate]

Will have to take a look, the synopsis sounds fascinating. I didn't much like Casual Vacancy but will love Harry forever.

[Mela99]

Has anybody read the other book she put out? The title escapes me right now.

[mockingbird]

Has anybody read the other book she put out? The title escapes me right now.

The Casual Vacancy?

I did like it but it's not my favorite book ever. What I loved while reading it was that you could still tell it was JKR writing it so I felt all nostalgic and stuff :D A lot of reviewers were throwing around the term "modern day Dickens" - I can tell you I have not read much Dickens at all so I can't really speak to whether she deserves that comparison but I think superficially, it does describe the general style of the book: ensemble cast, clever dark humor/satire at times, focuses on social issues, characters are from all walks of life, reads slowly (I felt like I was reading a Victorian novel lol). It's not really plot-driven, it's more about how politics and social issues affect everyone in a small town for good or bad. It has a superficial plot about a town council representative (I think, he has some small political role) dies and his seat needs to be filled but I can't even remember if his seat does get filled or if it ends before that. And there's another plot but it doesn't show up for awhile so it's kind-of a spoiler. So... I liked it, but it took me awhile to read, and I can see how it's not a book that's as universally appealing as Harry Potter. Hopefully this new one will read a lot quicker!

[Crazytripletmommy]

I will need to see if the book store owner downtown can get this for me! Love JK Rowling!

[herebedragons]

Started reading the sample last night, and so far I really like it! It could be, as mockingbird said, J.K. Rowling "nostalgia". I think I'm going to buy the book.

[lilwriter85]

I read a few articles today about this. I'm thinking about buying it for my Kindle.

[lilwriter85]

A law firm was partially responsible for the leak.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-575 ... alter-ego/

[Kailash]

I wonder if she wanted to see how many copies she could sell based solely on the material? Too late now. I put a copy of both books on hold at my library.

[laura oz]

A law firm was partially responsible for the leak.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-575 ... alter-ego/

It was on my FB feed this morning that she was suing for the leak. Don't know if it was true, but I'd have been pissed if I was her. People see her as the Harry Potter lady, and in a way, they type cast what she would write under her own name. A pseudonym gave her a deserved (I guess) best seller. I'd be WAY pissed.

[lilwriter85]

I don't blame JK for being pissed about the leak. But like Kailash, I have to wonder she wanted to see how many copies she could sell under a pseudonym. I ordered the book and a few other things off of have Amazon last night and I read some of the reviews and a couple of people who posted reviews before the leak seem had the feeling that a famous writer was the author. It could be possible that those particular reviewers are actually insiders to the publishing industry.

[tehfanglyfish]

I read it and enjoyed it. (I also liked The Casual Vacancy. I know it's awful of me but I very likely would never have read either of them if they hadn't been by JKR because I don't read a lot of fiction anyway and most of what I do read tends to be either more fantasy/sci-fi or stuff from the nineteenth century and early twentieth (yes, I am strange). Which leaves me wondering what other amazing books I'm missing.

[terranova]

I finished it late last night after reading the last half in three hours straight. Great read, a good, tight plot, interesting characters. Loved it. I hope she makes a series of them.

[MamaLlama315]

What?!?! My teenager is a JKR fan so she was happy to hear this. Anything to get on her good side ;)

[crazyforkate]

A heck of a fun ride. Not the best mystery I've ever read, but I liked the characters and the plot was intriguing. I'd read another Cormoran Strike book if she wrote one.

[Minerva]

I still haven't gotten around to reading it. Glad to hear people enjoyed it.

FWIW I enjoyed The Casual Vacancy. It was nothing like HP, but still good.

[atheistjd]

FWIW I like it better that ACV but of course not as much as the HPs. I thought the plot was slow but loved the characters and would definitely read another Strike book.

[Patsy]

Semi-OT - when I heard JK was writing a book about a position on a church council, I was really excited, because I think small politics is something she writes really well. You know that scene at the beginning of GoF where the villagers are all gossiping about that Frank guy, and how he obviously offed the Riddles? I thought it might be a book-length version of that sort of thing. But apparently she tried to make it gritty and an attack on the classes and sayin' stuff about racism and ehhhh. I'll leave it, I think.

I have no thoughts, though, on her second one.

[Kailash]

I loved A Casual Vacancy. I just started The Cuckoo's Calling yesterday. I'm having a bit of a hard time getting into it, but that's probably due to my interest in a series I'm also reading right now.

[gentlegiant]

I thought The Casual Vacancy was one of the worst books I've ever read. It was boring and too convoluted with too many characters. It reminded me of books from the 70's that had no ending. I think it was a bestseller because people found out she wrote it.

That being said, I love, love, love the Harry Potter series and read them all about once a year.

She is a stunningly wonderful writer but The Casual Vacancy just isn't worth the time to read it.

[Kailash]

I thought The Casual Vacancy was one of the worst books I've ever read. It was boring and too convoluted with too many characters. It reminded me of books from the 70's that had no ending. I think it was a bestseller because people found out she wrote it.

That being said, I love, love, love the Harry Potter series and read them all about once a year.

She is a stunningly wonderful writer but The Casual Vacancy just isn't worth the time to read it.

I disagree and think The Casual Vacancy is worth the time to read it.

I finished The Cuckcoo's Calling. I agree with others who said they liked it and would read a series about Strike. I also liked the character Robin a lot.