tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post8020809578839630723..comments2024-03-27T05:13:25.241-05:00Comments on The New Dork Review of Books: Getting Over a Dud, or Don't Judge a Book By Its AuthorGreg Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-9673211435330229642010-09-15T11:40:56.749-05:002010-09-15T11:40:56.749-05:00I agree with your take on The Road. It's one o...I agree with your take on The Road. It's one of my all time favorites too.Trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18273468231529654323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-13937105598589967162010-09-02T09:16:50.534-05:002010-09-02T09:16:50.534-05:00Chabon and Moore, yes. Also Barbara Kingsolver--s...Chabon and Moore, yes. Also Barbara Kingsolver--some of her novels are preachy, and I hate that, but then she'll write another good one. Her essays are frequently good, and her non-fiction. China Mieville, too--his books are so different from each other.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-12084395421154613432010-08-31T21:45:21.784-05:002010-08-31T21:45:21.784-05:00I have to admit I'm so not an author-focused p...I have to admit I'm so not an author-focused person that I've never really thought about it. I tend to read the book based on the plot and rarely worry about the author.Trishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13917705393662132891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-78910162573397264092010-08-31T11:41:57.656-05:002010-08-31T11:41:57.656-05:00@Sheila - So you're saying that giving an auth...@Sheila - So you're saying that giving an author a second chance hasn't worked for you? Any examples?<br /><br />@Sharyla - Hey, thanks for the kind words. I've ever read Christopher Moore's Lamb, and loved it - and I'm almost afraid to read anything else by him because I don't want to not like it as much as Lamb. ;) That's an idea that probably needs to be explored more too - when reading a new author, should you start with what's widely considered his/her best book, or should you work your way up? Hmmm....<br /><br />@Jillian - Yeah, I think a lot of folks had that experience. Maybe she'll be like Zadie Smith's sequence: Brilliant, Dud, Brilliant.<br /><br />@Suzanne - Well, I'm not sure I'm qualified to comment on Sophie Kinsella or Jennifer Weiner. ;)<br /><br />@Care - I ended up seeing the movie for No Country For Old Men before I could convince myself to pick up the book - and it was so freakin' good, I mentally wrote off the necessity for reading the book. I've only read one Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go - and I liked it, but didn't love it. Which one did you like?<br /><br />@Ken - No, irony is a free ride when you've already paid. Or something.Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-88771085414929943922010-08-30T22:32:34.535-05:002010-08-30T22:32:34.535-05:00I was half-way through the article and thought, &q...I was half-way through the article and thought, "Yeah, I hated McCarthy after The Road but then I read Blood Meridian and loved him." Oh, the irony. Is that irony? Anyway, good post. Maybe I will read some more Zadie Smith.Kennethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08822449936450212892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-21749501249471508222010-08-30T22:15:11.932-05:002010-08-30T22:15:11.932-05:00I'll have to watch for The Good Son; I actual...I'll have to watch for The Good Son; I actually enjoyed The Book of Air and Shadows (but my review does say that I just rolled with the questions and coincidences - I don't remember anymore). I was astonished and impressed with No Country for Old Men and liked The Road almost as much. So far, of the authors that I'm starting to follow, I'm only disappointed with Kazuo Ishiguro - I only loved 1 of 3 books.Carehttp://bkclubcare.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-48515250662453778382010-08-30T21:11:15.611-05:002010-08-30T21:11:15.611-05:00At the shallow end of the pool, I had given up on ...At the shallow end of the pool, I had given up on Jane Green and Sophie Kinsella after reading some of their novels, but their most recent ones - Promises to Keep and Twenties Girl, respectively - were really good. I'm hoping the same will happen with Jennifer Weiner -- I've loved all of her books, but her last one was a disappointment.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17027628103746160956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-8712246133508256772010-08-30T19:28:39.334-05:002010-08-30T19:28:39.334-05:00Hmm.. well, for me, it's more of the opposite....Hmm.. well, for me, it's more of the opposite. I actually loved an author the first time I read a book of hers (Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger) but ended up hating her second -- Her Fearful Symmetry.Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-45597488957112983422010-08-30T18:54:54.012-05:002010-08-30T18:54:54.012-05:00I can't think of any authors that haven't ...I can't think of any authors that haven't thrilled me or bored me every time. Except Christopher Moore. I've read 2 of his books, one I am in love with still, over a year later, and the other I could have taken or left...but then I tried a third and couldn't get past 20 pages. It just didn't do it for me. I feel the same thing will happen with my love for Edith Wharton. I love Ethan Frome, but her other books are written in a much different setting, one I'm normally not engaged in. So I'll try them, but I don't have pedestal like expectations that I'll love them.<br /><br />This is a wonderful post by the way! Seriously it was the most engaging post I've read all evening. Love it.Sharylahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18411308814378598054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-80387404128008872412010-08-30T16:33:34.532-05:002010-08-30T16:33:34.532-05:00Good point I have had that. I would call them one...Good point I have had that. I would call them one hit wonders... I mean I have had books that I have loved by certain authors and then I read the author again and well.... lightning did not strike twice for me.Sheila (Bookjourney)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05354184020340930630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-33802922085079991772010-08-30T16:01:04.119-05:002010-08-30T16:01:04.119-05:00@Kerry - Oh, Chabon's a good one. I bet lots o...@Kerry - Oh, Chabon's a good one. I bet lots of people gave up on him after some of his more, um, eclectic novels. I loved Kavalier and Clay, too - but that was the first of his I'd read (though I've seen the movie Wonder Boys about 653 times). <br /><br />@Ben - I should probably take my own advice regarding Martin Amis. I, too, hated the only thing I read by him - House of Meetings. Never tried Will Self, but he's always been on my radar. Good luck with Cormac.Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-57883034516189871382010-08-30T15:22:34.367-05:002010-08-30T15:22:34.367-05:00i'm pretty guilty of this. except i haven'...i'm pretty guilty of this. except i haven't ever overcome it enough to be proved wrong. i never finished the first Will Self i read, or the first Martin Amis, so i've never picked up another. <br /><br />also -- The Road was the first Cormac i read, and i've bought the first in the Borders Trilogy to read soon. interesting that you loved one and not the other -- hope i enjoy All The Pretty Horses despite that...Ben Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03308876297341347389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-72983572989363683082010-08-30T13:34:44.858-05:002010-08-30T13:34:44.858-05:00Michael Chabon. Totally not a fan of Gentlemen of ...Michael Chabon. Totally not a fan of Gentlemen of the Road, but 103% thankful that I got over that to read Kavalier and Clay, which is one of my favorites.<br /><br />Then there are the authors that splash in out-of-genre novels, like Patterson with his Christmas book or Danielle Steel with Granny Dan. None of which I've read, but they probably can't be judged with the same mentality used when considering the author within his/her given genre.Kerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17595812677247405225noreply@blogger.com