Simple Book Review: "Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination" (2015)

Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination
(first edition, April 2015) by J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling is internationally known as the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series, The Casual Vacancy and some other novels. This book (or should I call it notes?) was a compilation of Rowling’s commencement address at Harvard University at 2011. You can find her speech at YouTube too.

This book is only 70 pages, about half of it are illustration pictures and you can finish reading this book in 10-15 mins. I once saw at MPH that this book price about RM40+ (What?!!). Publisher probably sale her name or maybe because of the royalty will be channel to charity. Understandable. It should cost cheaper. Btw, I brought this one for RM10 only!

When giving the address, Rowling speak to the graduating class about two topics that are very close to her heart: #1 The benefits of failure, and #2 The important of imagination. Having the courage to fail, she said, “is as vital to a good life as any conventional measure of success”; and imagining ourselves into the place of another – particularly someone less fortunate than ourselves – is “a uniquely human quality to be nurtured at all cost.”

What does it mean to live a good life? Rowling explained it very well. This is a good book, but if possible, don’t buy it. Just go to YouTube and type J. K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement and/or go to TED Talk for JK Rowling: The Fringe Benefits of Failure.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.