Have y ever felt like you and your favorite author don’t match anymore? I’ve been a big fan of Cassandra Clare, author of the Shadowhunter chronicles since 2013, her books were really important to me during my teenage years; but now I’m reading Sword Catcher, her “adult fantasy” debut and also her first individual book published outside the Shadowhunter world, and I’m just not feeling it.
Despite being marketed as adult, Sword Catcher doesn’t feel more mature than her previous books, aside from some occasional sexual comments. I’ve been noticing some things that bother me about her writing that just got more pronounced with this book, or maybe I’m just not interested enough in the story to just give them a pass. Also (and this is just a pet peeve of mine) it feels kinda weird that the main female character is a “petite green eyed redhead” that’s the exact description of arguably her most famous female mc!
I don’t know, it’s just kinda sad that your go to author is not delivering as they used to. I read “Chain of thorns” also by her earlier this year and despite its flaws I just kept trying to convince myself that it was okay, but I can’t seem to connect with Sword Catcher which was one of my most anticipated reads this years.
As a side note, I’m only halfway through the book, so there’s still hope for it to turn around, but this is my impression as of now. Now tell me, has this ever happened to you?
I was obsessed with Stephen King when I was like 11 to 15 or so. Haven’t read any of his work in at least 15 years, and I know I’m just not interested anymore. There are so many things that didn’t bother me back then which I noticed in thinking back, and which turn me off his books.
Yeah, I know the feeling. When I was a kid, I used to love the Secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel series. But when I reread it a few years ago during college, I realised how sloppily written those books were, especially the further down the line, and I stopped by middle of book 4. I guess that’s what one plus of growing up, you have a much finer taste.
But then again, it’s an awesome feeling when a book of your childhood is still just as great, or even better when you read them in adulthood (like the Harry Potter series and books by Roald Dahl for me)
Don’t apologize for growing. It’s a good thing. Not your fault the author didn’t grow while you did.
I love authors where you can start with their early work and watch them mature as artists. Barbara Kingsolver is a great example of that. Bean Trees is an amazing novel and it will always have a place on my bookshelf, but her later books like Unsheltered have so much more depth and substance.
Ooo I didn’t realize she had more books out I haven’t read.
The Poisonwood Bible is hands down one of the most well-written books I’ve ever read. Wasn’t as impressed with the others but haven’t read Unsheltered.
I think Unsheltered and Prodigal Summer are her best. I’m one of the few people who didn’t like Demon Copperhead or the Lacuna. Idk, maybe I don’t like the ones where she writes in a male voice, but DC drove me nuts and the Lacuna bored me.
Nope. My favorite authors are still Pratchett, Herbert, Asimov and Clarke just as 30 years ago.
Some authors can’t sustain their momentum. Others may speak more to certain phases of life. It’s a little poignant when you notice it happening to you, but it doesn’t mean the books were bad or you were wrong to like them. It’s also possible that you’ll come back to them one day and enjoy them again, but differently.
Some authors only have one good book in them to give.
I read a book, call it X, that I really liked by a female science fiction author, back when I was reading them all, and thought the world of it. Then tried some others from her and meh. Then read an interview where the author mentioned that book X was the only book she wrote where the book wrote itself. And I thought, the other books came to be… how? I guess put on the page kicking and screaming, it would seem.
In high school (2005-09) I was the biggest Dean Koontz fan. His books just don’t do it for me anymore.
began to find faulkner a bit fustian and distant from his subjects after a while. sadly.
Jodi Picoult was my absolute favorite author in high school. I haven’t truly enjoyed one of her books in a loooong time. I’m pretty good at predicting her twists and she tries to make too much social commentary in her books that doesn’t belong in every single book. Idk if it was always like this and it took stepping away/adulthood to notice, or if it developed later on. I’m too scared to reread any old favorites for fear of ruining my good memories of them.
No this is so real with Cassandra Clare specifically. I LOVED the shadowhunter series. Loved them! I was in deep with those books! And then I got to about 18 and realized that they were insane and not actually very good at all. I still (mostly) support The Infernal Devices but the rest are all wildly problematic, but realizing that SUCKED.
Sure, the things you value change over the years and what was once amazing may seem wooden and unremarkable.
But I love going back to things I loved when younger and finding even more to love about them, or finding that I love something I once had no strong feelings about or hated.
I think this is normal. As you get older your tastes and preferences change. Maybe you’ll circle back, but maybe not. Just read the things that suit your current interests
I’ve been feeling this way about Sanderson lately. I loved the Stormlight Archive series, but the last two books came out during some pretty intense years of life. I think I skimmed a good part of both of those books. Then the year of Sanderson happened, and I was really excited for the hype of experiencing the novels as they came out. But, when it came down to it, I wasn’t in a fantasy mood this year. He went from my top 3 authors to not finishing any of his works since 2020.
He might bounce back, but he might not. And I’m ok with it. I’ve read a lot of good books this year.
I tried to read the first Mortal Instruments book and was very disappointed. Worst book I ever DNFed. I lasted one paragraph into Clockwork Something. But that was years ago and I was not as picky then.
To answer your question, I am not keen on B. Sanderson. I will get the next Stormlight Archive, but I go in with low expectations. I think he has had not enough time as what he had in imagining the first SA.
As much as I hate to say it, Colleen Hoover. I used to devour her books and I read them with my mom, who is not a reader. I enjoyed going to the store every release day for them. I will probably still read her new books, but I’m disappointed in the time it’s taken her to release them. We used to get a book every year, now it seems like she’s not working on anything at all.
I didn’t really think that It Ends With Us needed a sequel either, so the next book in that series felt like a cash grab and I absolutely hate when authors do that.
Yeah, I think this is pretty natural and can happen for all sorts of reasons. From just having your tastes change, to a change in the works of the author, or your perception of the author changing, etc.
10 years ago I would have said my favourite authors were J.K. Rowling and Mitch Albom. Neither would even make the cut for a top 10 list now.
In the case of J.K. Rowling, I still love the Harry Potter series but have never had any interest in reading anything else she’s written. And then she started weaponizing her fame against trans people which I find despicable and counter to much of the message I love from the Potter books. So, she’s very far from being my favourite author now. I think she’s the scum of the earth.
In a much less dramatic swing, I just find Mitch Albom less interesting to me lately. I do think his newer books are nowhere near the quality of some of his earlier ones. But I also think my tastes as a reader have evolved. His books tend to have these strong moral messages and there was a time in my life when I found that really soothing. Now I kind of want the plot to be stronger than the message, if that makes any sense.
Kim Harrison
I would laugh and laugh while reading the first 8 books of the Hollows series. Now I can’t even get past the 3rd book. :(