How many books?

I put 5 or more... I'm such a sucker.

I read an entire series recently... the first two books were amazing, the last... 5 sucked. but I kept hoping they would get better instead of worse.

That said, it's a bit of a catch22 because sometimes an Author only get's one book... if it's completely not what I expected, or I pick something up that turns out to be an erotic novel disguised as something else... well they are done.

That is so much an 'it depends' question. I will devour one series by an author, and avoid others by the same author. I love the Spenser books by Parker, the Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone series both leave me cold. Some authors, even well known and highly regarded, only get one chance. I tried Crais and Sandra Brown, both frequent NYT listees. they each only got one chance, and then they were out. Just didn't like their styles. I'm like JAR, there are too many books for me finish in the rest of my lifetime to waste time on books I'm not enjoying.

MM

I give an author three books, then I decidedly stay away from their work.

I don't really have a set figure on giving up on an author. If I notice over the course of a few books that the author is losing me through any particular flaw, I'll be less inclined to go back to them. If that becomes a permanent holiday from them, that's how it goes.

Saying that, I did give up on Koontz years back. I remember the particular scene which decided it for me.

"E is bad for you, everyone. And here's the story of where it came from. Don't worry about the plot or the characters. I'll leave them to lecture you about drugs and rave culture."

Sometimes it's not even about the books for me. It's about the author's behaviour when it comes to promo and suchlike. If all they ever talk about is their books, I become bored with said books before I've even read them, and don't feel I need to any more. This is more true in my genre, though, because there's more chance I'll have intimate (heh) contact with other erotic romance authors. Our paths cross more often. If they see others as numbers, potential readers, dupes and minions, I'm turned off. If your books can't speak for themselves, that says there's not much in them to attract a reader and you need to endlessly bang on about them. Promo, yes. Bookwhoring, no.

There is one author who's a guilty pleasure though. No, not a fellow erotica writer. Quite a big name in traditional publishing. Her writing's fuck-awful, but I still read her books because they make me feel much better about my own. I think, "If this shit can get published traditionally, my agent-bait novel should have no problems at all."

If the first book by that author that I read is bad, then I stay away.

But if I read an amazing book by an author and then a bad book by them, they get more chances. Because maybe they'll produce something amazing again. However, I'm not likely to keep paying for their books if I suspect they'll be bad. I'll find them at the library.

It's hard to say. Some I give up with them on one book. But sometimes it takes a while if I've enjoyed other things by them.

For instance. Chuck Palahniuk. He's written some crud over the last few years. I'm a fan of his first few books. Fight Club, Survivor, Choke, Lullaby, Invisible Monsters. After that, I'm left in the cold. I keep trying, hoping the guy will hit form again. Every time I'm let down. His latest, Damned, is a terrbile book. The really bad thing that's happening now is I'm losing my love for his older books because... well, I don't know. Maybe they're guilty by association. Similar to how Star Wars lost some of its magic when Mr Lucas made the new ones.

I'm starting to think that Chuck has said all he has to say. But just in case, I'll keep reading.

seun said:

I don't really have a set figure on giving up on an author. If I notice over the course of a few books that the author is losing me through any particular flaw, I'll be less inclined to go back to them. If that becomes a permanent holiday from them, that's how it goes.

Saying that, I did give up on Koontz years back. I remember the particular scene which decided it for me.

"E is bad for you, everyone. And here's the story of where it came from. Don't worry about the plot or the characters. I'll leave them to lecture you about drugs and rave culture."

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What book is that? I've read about three books by that guy. I think my favourite was Life Expectancy. Haven't read the Odd books. Might give them a go sometime.

Most of the time, one is enough for me. If it's an author I've liked and read often, two.

It depends.

For a new-to-me author, if the first book I read by them leaves me wanting to hurl it across the room, I won't read anything else by them. I have too many other books to read. If the first book is so-so, but there's something I kinda like, I'll give them another shot before deciding. Sometimes authors surprise me and books/series get better.

If it's an ongoing series/author I love, I can forgive a few stumbles, but only a few. There are too many books to read that I might like better.

I'll also add that sometimes you can tell when it's an author's first book even without the words "Debut novelist" written anywhere. That might sound odd, but there is just often something there that improves with a certain maturity as they continue to write. I can think of several authors or series where the first book was mediocre in terms of writing, but as they progress their writing improves as well.

I'm more willing to give an author another chance if I get the feeling that it's their first book and the problems are just a matter of lack of experience.

Dr.Gonzo said:

What book is that? I've read about three books by that guy. I think my favourite was Life Expectancy. Haven't read the Odd books. Might give them a go sometime.

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I recognise it as Dragon Tears. I remember the exact scene seun referred to. An anti-drugs-culture screed. Koontz would have been as well writing "Chapter Whuteva. Drugs are bad, mmmkay? The End."

scarletpeaches said:

I recognise it as Dragon Tears. I remember the exact scene seun referred to. An anti-drugs-culture screed. Koontz would have been as well writing "Chapter Whuteva. Drugs are bad, mmmkay? The End."

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Sounds super cool. I think it was The face or something that put me off him.

I have that, but haven't read it yet. I also have The Good Guy and one other Koontz; its title escapes me.

And to think, he used to be an auto-buy for me. Or an auto-borrow, if I was poverty-stricken and library-bound.

Yeah. Magic dogs. OKAY DEAN, WE GET IT.

Anyway, yeah. I got his latest (in this country at least) out of the library the other day, 'cause yay free books. But I wouldn't buy him in hardback any more. Possibly not even paperback, unless it was on sale.

Some I'm glad I didn't write off. Irvine Welsh. I tried reading Trainspotting maybe three times. I just found it really hard with the Scot's narration and the jumping POVs that sometimes aren't clear until you're mid scene. It was a slog. I tried it again last week because I really wanted to love it and it's also very close to what I want mine to be. It was still hard going but I managed it and then it became easier and now... I'm a fan. I picked up Porno and Filth at the weekend. Think I'll read Porno first while the Trainspotting characters are still fresh in my mind.

I found a new author

Dr.Gonzo said:

What book is that? I've read about three books by that guy. I think my favourite was Life Expectancy. Haven't read the Odd books. Might give them a go sometime.

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scarletpeaches said:

I recognise it as Dragon Tears. I remember the exact scene seun referred to. An anti-drugs-culture screed. Koontz would have been as well writing "Chapter Whuteva. Drugs are bad, mmmkay? The End."

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Yeah, Dragon Tears. I was 18 or 19 and just thought, what the hell is this?

One of those I can do better than this moments.

I agree with ChaosTitan--depends on how well I know the author. If I like the first book I read by them, I'm likely to read more. If I don't, I'm not.

If I've read several books and loved them, I will let a few lackluster ones slide.

There's also a difference in write standalone works versus series. I couldn't get into Stephen King's Dark Tower books, but I will love his individual horror stories forever.

depends a bit on the strenght of the recommendations and the level of the craptastic....as well as my own personal peeves.

do one thing really bad and I don't care if I get an email from Jesus telling me your next book is awesome--do a few things kinda meh, and several people claim the next book is better, I may give it another go.

in either case I have a lot of unread books already, so one piss-poor pass may be enough I don't buy another book because I already have like 30 in queue

scarletpeaches said:

Yeah. Magic dogs. OKAY DEAN, WE GET IT.

Anyway, yeah. I got his latest (in this country at least) out of the library the other day, 'cause yay free books. But I wouldn't buy him in hardback any more. Possibly not even paperback, unless it was on sale.

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I hereby challenge you and Seun to both find The Taking and start it on the same day, last man (or woman) standing wins.

what a fuckaree; I think that was the angriest I've ever been at a single author. and if you thought Dragon tears was bad about subtlety, lets say if Dragon Tears was the equivalent of some guy saying "nice pants--let's fuck"....the Taking would be the same guy whipping it out jumping up on the couch in front of you, slapping you until you could feel the sweat, and screaming "in the mouth, baby!!!"

God, i hated that book

If it's a new author then one book I didn't like will ensure I avoid in future. If it's an author I usually like, then I will give them a free pass a time or two. The only time I might give up altogether is if it is a book in a series, and if it really ticks me off. I would still give another of their series a go though.

callalily61 said:

Now I'm curious.

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do this one through loan too.....or just toss your $8 out the window--its just as gone without wasting a few evenings as well.