I’ll start: Ernest Hemingway.
I have a ton of respect for him, he influenced so many writers and the craft of writing, and he lived a fascinating life. But I just find his books to be so damned dry. I love simplicity but I just feel like there’s no voice or soul in any of his books. There’s experiences but I don’t feel any passion or something that moves my heart. I guess his topics just aren’t for me.
What about all of you?
Shirley Jackson. I want to like her stuff. I’ve read Haunting of Hill House twice, hoping I missed something the first time, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle and I just didn’t get them. I’m a huge horror fan and I respect what she’s done for the genre and for women in the genre, but other than The Lottery, her writing just doesn’t do anything for me.