After hearing last year about Boris Johnson’s thriller, then about Saddam Hussein’s romance novels, I got thinking about why people from all sorts of backgrounds are drawn to writing fiction. Reading them, I’m struck by two thoughts, firstly by how easy lots of professional writers make writing fiction look, and secondly by how much you can come to understand a person by the way they write.

Are there any novels you know of from unexpected authors? Have you found any that are decent as books apart from their creators? What is it about novels that draws non-writers that’s missing from, say, pottery or interpretive dance?

  • LonelyBugbear359@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Lots of right-wing lunatics have written incredibly cringey fiction. Ben Shapiro and Scott Adams (Dilbert guy) are the first ones that come to mind. You can find a bunch of episodes of Behind the Bastards, Chapo Trap House, and Trashfuture going over books like these.

    • Freakears@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I’ve seen novels written by Newt Gingrich. They sound intriguing, but it’s Newt Gingrich. I don’t trust anything he produces.

    • Freakears@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I’ve seen novels written by Newt Gingrich. They sound intriguing, but it’s Newt Gingrich. I don’t trust anything he produces.

    • Alaira314@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      There’s also Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing…” series. Oh, I know they’re in the non-fiction section. But I also know that man, and I really don’t trust him to deliver a non-biased take on subjects like Lincoln, Reagan, and Jesus. 😂

    • RaggaDruida@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I 100% recommend the videos by James Tullos about the shapiro books!

      I mean, shapiro is ultra delusional, and it shows!

    • RaggaDruida@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      I 100% recommend the videos by James Tullos about the shapiro books!

      I mean, shapiro is ultra delusional, and it shows!

    • Alaira314@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      There’s also Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing…” series. Oh, I know they’re in the non-fiction section. But I also know that man, and I really don’t trust him to deliver a non-biased take on subjects like Lincoln, Reagan, and Jesus. 😂