J.K. Rowling: A Year In The Life

Thanks to a correspondent in England and the magic of AllPeers, I got a copy of a recent broadcast TV documentary about the creator of Harry Potter, writer J.K. Rowling.

I got this a few days after it aired but was only able to carve out the hour needed to watch it today.

I haven’t read any of her work. If I ever intend to read her Potter series, I’ll have to set aside a huge chunk of time in case I want to read all of them. I couldn’t go into it trying the first without being prepared to be able to continue. (I could wind up hating it and stopping after a few paragraphs, but I would still have to prepare that chunk of time.)

But I don’t have to be interested in a writer’s work to be interested in the writer.

Someone uploaded the documentary to YouTube, but it was DMCA-excised. They missed two parts of it someone else stashed away, however, which you can view here:

The second part, below, shows the best moment in the documentary: the completion of the final Potter book.

What’s missing is the worldwide countdown for the midnight sale of the final book and other interesting things. So I’ve taken screensnaps.

Worldwide countdown:

She autographed 1700 copies at the UK midnight debut.

It’s too easy to forget what a phenomenon her books have been. The final volume was the fastest-selling book in all of publishing history. And just look at all these kids — reading!

This could be the last time this happens in book publishing history. Once ebooks catch on, there won’t be this kind of public excitement to capture on film. What would a crew do, film a server crashing under heavy loads?

She’s also mapped out the futures of her Potter characters and drew a diagram of that:

The most touching part was the crew taking her to the apartment where it all began:

On the bookshelf, the current occupant had Harry Potter books. (And dear god, I hope that was true and not something the crew set up for a “TV moment!”)

It ended as it began …

… with her writing …

… always writing.

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