So JK Rowling has just published a new novel and it’s causing some reactions! Written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, The Ink Black Heart tells the story of what the fuck I can’t read this, the typeface is too small for my Kindle.
Well, the reviews are in, and reviewers agree that what the fuck I can’t read this, the typeface is too small for my Kindle.
Let’s check out what Amazon customers are saying about the book.
Oops, that typeface is looking pretty small too. Here’s that review is in bigger type:
This book is unreadable on the kindle. Do not waste your money on it. It is quite disappointing that the publisher of a best seller (with a large number of pre-orders) could not be bothered to make sure their customers could actually read it. Much of the text appears in tiny type in two columns. The two columns on each page represent different conversations. Even if you could read the tiny type, in order to read the entire column of conversation, you have to go forward several pages and then go back to read the conversation in the next column. If you try to read everything on the page, it makes no sense.
Anyway, this sounds like another big winner for JK Rowling!
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*insert Nelson Muntz clip*
“Haw haw!”
Forget the TERF’s novel and give me that smol floof in the picture!
(Seconding the Nelson Ha-Ha!)
…Okay, as little as I care for the TERF aspect of Rowling’s politics (Most of the rest of it is actually okay, really) I can’t see how this type of thing is her fault.
Type of thing.
Hah.
Jeez this is hilarious. Someday the transphobic, nazi-adjacent, second-rate writer might only be remembered for this sort of foolishness.
It sounds like the parallel conversations wouldn’t make sense even in print if they went over one printed page (or at maximum two facing ones). So even less so when Great-Grandma’s got her Kindle showing 1/4 of a print page in ginormous font.
Considering every Tom, Dick, and Harry who self-publishes manages to get the font settings correct (it’s built into the conversion programs AND they give you one last look before it goes live), even when they can’t spell, punctuate, grammar, or make any damn sense in plot, characterization, etc. there’s really no reason for a big company not to manage this.
I hope all these people have returned it for a full refund. JKR and her publishers should lose all money possible.
Does the ball of fluff run a book club? Would love to join. My suggestions for the group: The Cat in the Hat and The Silent Meow.
Sounds almost as if the publisher knew that her TERF and neofascist followers would just go, buy the book and never look into it.
How is this her fault? Also, was it only published as an e-book, not on paper?
Some comments here are sick. Neo-fascist, nazi? She is just popular fiction writer with mainstream, liberal views, you morons, and most of her fans just like her writing style, which is really professional and attractive.
@Felix: yes, hanging out on Internet forums solely devoted to attacking trans people is definitely a mainstream liberal thing to do.
And there is a direct link between groups Rowling praises and the right wing Christian groups backing the fascist governor of Florida and his anti-trans campaign.
If you don’t see the connection to fascism look up Umberto Eco’s essay on the subject.
She’s not a good writer and is an awful person. Maybe this is the universe telling her to prod off.
Hello.
By the way, i do not remember if it was here or elsewhere that someone had pointed me something about the pseudonym used by JKR here :
Robert Galbraith Heath
known for some “therapies”…
Coincidence ? Possibly, as there had been also a scott mathematician with the same name (Robert Galbraith) but far more older.
Have a nice day.
This may be the first time I’ve heard JKR’s writing style praised as being “really professional and attractive.” Usually people call it “workmanlike” or “simple” or “not so complicated that children can’t follow.”
@Soviet murderer’s name
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jk-rowling-going-kill-someone-ben-greene-he-him-his-
I read the earlier Galbraith books before Rowling’s descent into TERFdom, and what jumped out at me is that Cormoran Strike had the same attitude toward fame as Harry Potter. Both characters were famous from infancy and came to see it as a burden, and that was true to some extent even in the Sorcerer’s Stone. While I don’t plan on reading the new one, I understand that the attitude dominates the story, involving an author avatar who is being trashed on social media.
@SpecialFFrog
I don’t have exact knowledge on her political collaboration but she is declared feminist and supporter of gay rights, abortion right, ethnic and religious diversity. She voiced support of British Labour Party, more narrowly to its centrist and liberal, not very left-wing elements. She was traditionally attacked by ultraconservatives and radical Catholics. She also expressed respect and love for transgenders, while maintaining critical view of the transgender movement. Do you have sources with her hateful citations? I haven’t heard of any.
Eco’s essay talks about mass movement and governing tendencies, not about someone having different views on transgender issue.
@Victorious Parasol
That’s what I meant. Her books are not “great literature”, complicated and deep novels, but are very professional and simply written, attention-grabbing and easy to read for average reader. It’s really good for childs’ fantasy amd crime fiction.
Tangentially related, but over here the courts have started rejecting documents in too small a font. And in come cases, claims and defences have been struck out for non compliance; in multi million pound matters. Those must be fun to explain to your insurers.
@Feliks: I assume you have made no effort to understand the criticisms of what Rowling has said. If you actually care to here is one of many: https://the-orbit.net/ashleyfmiller/2020/06/12/jk-rowlings-anti-trans-post-a-deep-dive/
Since then Rowling’s position has not improved.
sHe HaS a CrItIcAl ViEw oF tHe TrAnSgEnDeR mOvEmEnT
no, she doesn’t, she just hates us. get a clue. go away.
@Feliks: “She is just popular fiction writer with mainstream, liberal views”
Rowling has some mainstream liberal views, but her heavily transphobia-influenced views on transgender issues are not among them.
I’m willing to believe that she’s sincere about all her views and honestly believes that none of them are harmful or disrespectful. To be candid, it has always been apparent from her writing that consistently logical thinking is not her strong suit, so this isn’t really surprising.
And as someone with the Kindle version of Rowling’s new Cormoran Strike book, I can personally confirm that the many sections of multi-column parallel dialogues in super-small type that you can’t magnify by changing the font size are indeed annoyingly difficult to read.
(Unsatisfactory protip for dealing with this phenomenon in e-books in general: Usually these kinds of chunks of unmagnifiable small type are coded in the same way as images, so you can use the (limited) image magnification feature to increase the size a little bit, but it’s not adequate for comfortable reading.)
@SpecialFFrog: “[…] the criticisms of what Rowling has said. If you actually care to here is one of many: https://the-orbit.net/ashleyfmiller/2020/06/12/jk-rowlings-anti-trans-post-a-deep-dive/”
Now that is an example of what consistently logical thinking looks like. Thanks for that link, excellent essay.
Very disappointed and upset with JK. Harry Potter was an escape from a lonely childhood for me and now she hates some of the people I love most. Plus nothing shoes done since the last harry potter book has been good. Fantastic beast sucked. The curse child sucked. People that do fanfiction of her work are far better then her actual work.
@ Feliks
You apparently can’t read if you think anything she’s done in the last 12 years has been remotely good or enjoyable to read.
Checkist objects to name calling as too harsh. WTAF?
@SpecialFFrog
I made an affort and understood it. I don’t think it’s worth angaging with as a whole, since I just come from different position on transgender issue and also I can acknowledge now she is transphobic according to trans movement criteria, though she is bothered by this label (I don’t mind being called transphobic myself).
What is worth criticism however is I think this obsession with alleged transphobia in Cormoran Strike series. In (probably) second book “transwoman villain” who attacks protagonist and is “threatened” (by stereotypical alpha male Britton) with prison rape is actually not a villain but minor character who attacked Strike due to misunderstending and is then portrayed in symphatetic light, never “mingendered”, with “correct” pronouns, and main female hero espouses pro-trans views. In (probably) fifth book crossderssing serial killer is “cis man” and not even regular crossdresser or transvestite, and not invading “female spaces” but going in public in drag once or twice, also this is very minor part of a plot. So some critics of Rowling just have very bad intentions and strong urge to show her transphobia.
@Elaine the witch
Yes I can barely read. In my poor third world country we do not have such a great primary education as in the US and A. Thank you for notice, very nice. High five!
@feliks
Aren’t you the guy who’s using the name of a murderer? I just assumed you weren’t very smart and can’t figure out context clues. But it is cute how you think you can call people morons when you barely have more intelligence then my cat’s litter box. You also think incels are “factual” so that might be unfair to the litter box. At least it serves a purpose and does something good for the world.
Wow it’s not every day I get to see the MRA/gendercrit interface this directly.
Feliks, you’re gross and stupid and also getting boring. Plz sod off thx.