Feb 15, 2008

Meme: Out of Love

Question from Chris, posted on Booking Through Thursday:

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?

I can only think of one author this has happened with, but I don't think it was due to a book being bad. I think it's just because I grew up. When I was a teenager I first read Clare Bell's books about intelligent, speaking prehistoric cats- Ratha's Creature and its sequel Clan Ground. I also loved a third book that wasn't part of the series, Tomorrow's Sphinx, about cheetahs. I couldn't find any other books by this author at the time, or I would have gobbled them up. As an adult I stumbled across two more Ratha books, but they didn't grab me the same way the first two had. I think it was just one of those cases where books that strongly appealed to me when younger don't enthrall me the same way as an adult.

Most of the time I'm pretty forgiving with authors. I understand that not everything they write is going to appeal to me personally. I often only like one or two books an author has written, or half a series, but not the rest. That doesn't bother me. There are a few authors I really like everything I've read- Chaim Potok and George Orwell are two that come to mind.

There have, of course, been times when I began reading a new author (not one I was "in love with" yet) and became disillusioned by their work; quitting it for good. A notable case was Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I got pretty hooked and read a fair way into the series- I think five out of the twelve books. Then it just got too tedious- there were so many details and characters the storyline got confusing to me. And the repetitive manner in which some of the main characters' personalities were portrayed began to annoy me. Like a certain woman always yanking on her thick braid- I swore once if I ever read that phrase again I'd scream, and that's about when I quit the series. Too bad. It was actually pretty impressive, the mass of details in the entire world Jordan created. I just couldn't handle it.

I may have digressed from the question of the meme, but it sure was interesting to think about!

5 comments:

  1. I think that happens quite a bit--we grow up and our tastes and preferences change. Or it could simply be a matter of going through a different phase.

    And I completely agree with you about being forgiving. As you said, not every book an author writes is going to interest you necessarily.

    One of the authors I fell out of love with is Patricia Cornwell. I haven't read her latest books and can't say I ever plan to.

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  2. You're not the first person to say that about the Wheel of Time series. It does seem to be a wonderfully rich and detailed world, it's just too bad that the story was dragged for too long.

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  3. Anonymous2/16/2008

    Even if you do digress, isn't it fun to see where your thoughts take you? :-)

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  4. With you on Jordan! It is just overwhelming. I also read up through about half the series and every time i wonder what happened after i quit i realize I'd need to start at the beginning again to keep everything straight!

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  5. Literary Feline- Yes, I often go through phases in reading. Sometimes if I leave a book alone I find I like it quite well later on.

    Nymeth and Melanie- I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way about Wheel of Time! Is there anyone out there who's actually read the whole series?

    Trish- yes, it is!

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