Friday, February 14, 2014

The *Problem* with New-to-Me Authors

Of course we all have bigger and better things to fret about, but as a reader, the phenomenon of finding and loving a *new* author can be both exhilarating and somewhat distressing. For me, it usually goes something like this:

Before I start reading: "You know I've heard of this author, but I've never tried any of her books. Maybe I'll give this one a shot." Proceed to buy book.

While I'm reading: "Holy crap this book is AWESOME! How have I never read anything by this author before?! I definitely need to read her other books too!

After I'm done reading: Wait, she's written 17 other books? How am I ever going to find time to read 17 other books when my TBR list already has 400+ books on it?!?!

Later, most likely at a used bookstore: Oh gosh, they have all of the 17 other books by this author. They don't cost very much, and I really liked that first book I just read. Proceed to buy books. (Admittedly, I don't always buy all the books, but I do always want to.)

After taking the books home -- two possible scenarios:
#1. I neglect all the other books I was planning to read and plow through my lovely new stash just like I thought I would when I was standing in the bookstore.

#2. My lovely new stash collects dust for quite a while before I eventually start slowly reading them in between other books.

*  *  *  *  *

Far too often, I end up in scenario #2. I have so much enthusiasm -- certainly enough to acquire the books in the first place -- but then I remember all the other things I want to read or should be reading instead and the plan to binge on this new-to-me author's books goes out the window.

Even scarier, this sometimes happens to me without actually having read a single one of an author's books! I'll hear great things about a certain series or author from trusted sources and just know we're a perfect match. Then, I spot them on a bargain rack, Half.com, or at the used bookstore when I have a lot of credit saved up... You'd think I could get just one or two to start with, right? But, nooooooo, it seems all 17 books jumped into my shopping basket! I wonder how that happened...

A few new to-me authors I've run into this dilemma with:

Classics
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Jane Austen

Mystery/Thriller
James Rollins
Tess Gerritson's Rizzoli & Isles books
Janet Evanovich
Phil Rickman

General Fiction
Chris Bohjalian
Elizabeth Noble
Sarah Smith
Sarah Waters
Joanne Harris
Katherine Webb
Sarah Addison Allen
Elin Hilderbrand
Susanna Kearsley
Isabel Allende
Lauren Willig

Please tell me some of you can relate! I have been doing very well with my new Golden Rule of Book Buying this year which has really helped curb my impulse shopping, but having credit at used bookstores is definitely still my weakness. Does anyone else have conflicted feelings like this? Which authors have been new-to-you recently? I'd love to know :)

26 comments:

  1. YES! I can completely relate to this. I totally understand how this happened with Sarah Waters and Joanne Harris and, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to encourage you to read all their novels! This hasn't happened to me in a while (last happened with Stefan Zweig, I think), so I'm safe from the used book stores for a bit.

    Love this post :D

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    1. That's OK I have enough of them on my bookshelves, I just need to find the time to read them :) Thanks for the recommendations!

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  2. Scenario #2 is like the story of my life! On the Book People website you can buy collections of 10 books by the same author for ridiculously low prices (normally under £1 a book). I have such good intentions but so many books gathering dust..
    I think the only author where I have actually read everything they have written is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

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    1. Those deals sound sooooo dangerous (& tempting!) There are a few authors I've read all their books, but they are mostly pre-blogging, all-time favorites :)

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  3. I go through those first three steps for sure. The others not so much, only because I don't buy that many books.

    Robert Crais and Vince Flynn are two authors who I need to get through their backlists. (Also, I know I'm not really helping, but I love James Rollins! He's one of my favorite authors!)

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    1. My husband has read most of James Rollins' books, so they're not being completely neglected :) It's nice to get recommendations though, so I can narrow down the options and figure out where to start with all these backlists!

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  4. We don't have a used book store in town, so that sucks for the lack of credit situation. I totally understand your sentiments though!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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    1. I'm so lucky to have a great used bookstore just a few minutes from my house. My grandma's town and the town we vacation in each summer also have great ones I get to visit a few times a year, so this used-bookstore-lover is totally spoiled :)

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  5. This is such an awesome post and so true. I thought at first it was going to be a negative post because it can be scary to start a well liked author. I think it is pretty true that new authors often cause tbr problems. Some authors that I do this with are Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, John Green, and many more. I am trying to continue to read new authors this year and catch up on old favorites. This is part of the reason I'm hosting the Kristin Hannah reading challenge.

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    1. Making it into a challenge is a great idea! At least TBR problems are good problems to have :)

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  6. First of all, well done with doing well and sticking to your Golden Rule - maintaining a curb on book buying is tough! At least that's what I've discovered this year. Besides the E-book's for my book club I haven't bought a single book this year, unless you count the books I bought for my little one, which I don't!!

    Anyway, off that tangent and on to topic. I often have the problem of wanting to read more from new to me authors I enjoy. However, what usually happens with me is I make a note of this lovely new author and then I forget about them... So my issue is the opposite to yours. I can't quite decide whose dilemma is the better situation. Haha!

    An author I recently discovered and would like to read more of is Diane Chamberlain. I read one of her books last month and still have two sitting on my unread shelf which I'm keen to delve in to. With her novels being published since the early 90's, you can imagine I have a fair few to catch up on!
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. My OCD-ness with my GoodReads shelves helps me to not forget... though my TBR pile could probably benefit from a bit of forgetfulness :) Diane Chamberlain has written a lot of books, so I wish you luck!

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  7. I think it's a good problem to have!

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  8. So I always struggle with reading new to me authors for two reasons. One, it takes a lot for me to try out a new author (not quite as much now as before I blogged) because I was too nervous about reading something totally new. Second,every time I did find a new author I loved I am exactly like you, I immediately must find out what other books they have written and then I try to get my hands on them! Now I don't buy books often, normally I just do the library thing, but when I find an author I really love, I want to buy all their books, and just like you I either rush home to read them or they sit on mys helf for a while. Ahhh why can't we just have all the time in the world to read all the books? Great discussion post!

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    1. Yea, blogging has gotten me to try SO MANY new authors it's not even funny! Pre-blogging I didn't necessarily know where to look for book recommendations, so like you, I didn't branch out all that much. I may definitely need to make better use of my library for backlist stuff now that I am reining in the book-buying though :)

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  9. Gads you have some awesome authors and books listed. I so get it..I have tons and I mean tons of series but you know what else I have ...a sh*t ton of first books by new to me authors or ones I adore..hehehe

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    1. Oh, the problems of a book-lover :) Every new author seems to open up another door that leads to more books!

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  10. ah... yup have done this one recently.. kind of lol. I found an author that was new to me and never read her stuff and was in the same boat. I am looking for her books in the library thought :D luckily for me they have them!

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    1. Same idea! It can be so hard to find time to read through backlists, especially with a library due date :)

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  11. You are NOT alone!

    I see you are a fan of Kate Morton. I read The Forgotten Garden first and then had to back track to read her first book.

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    1. Good to know :)

      Yes! I LOVE Kate Morton and have read all 4 of her books -- I don't think I could pick a favorite if I tried. Glad you enjoyed her books as well :)

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  12. Yes I do the exact same thing! Tho sometimes I admit i get intimidated knowing there are other books i must read and so i dont buy them knowing i would go on a binger. So i end up with three scenarios instead of just two.

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    1. I can see that happening! I actually do that sometimes too, but usually it's if I'm still on the fence about the first book I read by the author -- maybe I didn't *love* the book, but it was good enough to make me wonder about his/her previous books -- I usually have better restraint in those cases!

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  13. That is funny! I am a bit different with new authors.
    1. Find a book
    2. Read it
    3. Love it
    4. Who is the author?
    5. Have I read anything by them? No?
    6. What else have they written that I own and didn't know about?
    7. Happy dance
    8. Dust collecting again.

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    1. I love #7! Happy Dances are always involved when discovering great new (or new-to-me) authors :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)