Whether an avid or a sporadic reader, everyone has some typical reading habits, pet peeves or TBR problems. So I wanted to share mine :). Today I want to talk about authors and how some readers tend to be a big fan of some authors or deliberate choose a certain book because of an author’s demographics or personality. Spoiler alert: I’m not that kind of reader.
In Belgium, there’s a big annual book fair where famous authors sign their books and people are queuing for hours. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, I just don’t get it. You see, ever since I was a child I love stories. This means I always choose a certain book because of its story. The blurb should just grab my attention and I’m in. The only times that I really look at the author’s name on the cover is when I’ve already read something from him or her. Because besides the story, the writing is also important for me. When I’ve already enjoyed a previous book from a certain author and his newest book looks promising, I’ll add it to my TBR. When I didn’t like a certain book because of the writing, I’ll mostly decide that this author is not for me (sometimes I read a second book, if I’m not quite sure).
I honestly don’t know a thing about an author before I start to read his/her book. I have thought for some years that Sharon Kay Penman was a man (yes, I know her name is Sharon…) and I believed C.W. Gortner to be a women. Of course, it’s the other way around. I don’t know about their nationality or race. I’m just here for the stories.
I know some readers want to read more black or female authors, or pick their books according to someone’s country. I do understand that. Diversity is an important topic. But for me, the story will always come first, whoever the writer. And when I’ve found a certain author that writes great stories, I will add all his next or previous books to my TBR. That’s the closest I come to fandom.
I’ve tons of respect for an author. Without them, we wouldn’t have all these great books. But I just care more about the characters in the stories than about the person who wrote it.
Do you look up a lot about the authors you read? Or are you just a story reader like myself?
In Another Era 