Did you watch the video of JK Rowling’s 2008 speech at Harvard University?

I found her words very poignant, especially such points on imagination and empathy as:

• “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”
• “Many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are.”

Without remotely attempting to ‘sell’ reading, she does: we should all be reading, and thinking, and imagining, and empathising. She also makes some important points on failure that will resonate with anyone.

This month Little Brown are releasing a book edition of the speech, entitled Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination. All proceeds will go to Lumos, a charity for disadvantaged children founded by Rowling, and to a financial aid programme at Harvard. If you’re looking for some inspiration, it’s worth a read.