The fringe benefits of failure, and the importance of imagination
- Joanna Keane Rowling's address to Harvard graduates.

I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children's godparents, the people to whom I've been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I've used their names for Death Eaters. - read more.

Whirligigs by Paul Fleischman

A simple, slim, poignant, heart-warming, high-school story. Whirligigs meanders self-discovery pretty well, except for one part on a street sweeper, which seems unconvincing enough. As the book evolves and comes to a fitting end, I made up my mind to pass the book on as Brent, the hero, does with the exchange bookshelf (not so easy for me, gifted by a favourite cousin) to someone who needs it.

In the true spirit of whirligigs, which passes a smile onto someone. A warm read.