When I find an author I admire, I tend to read just about everything by them that I can get my hands on. That way I get a sense of repeated characters and situations. Reading several books helps me isolate exactly what it is that I like.
Funny thing is, Watership Down is about the only thing I've read by Richard Adams. The book is so perfect all by itself that trying to pick it apart would destroy the magic. Besides, I already know what I admire; the sense of loyalty, especially Bigwig's toward Hazel, but also Hazel's toward the warren as a whole.
Early on, I did try to read some of Adam's other works. I got The Plague Dogs out from the library, and ended up taking it back before I was halfway through. Maybe I'll give it another go some day. I think one of the things I admire most about Adams -the sense of mythology that infuses his work- is actually one of the things that makes it hard to just set down with his novels. They are so thick with atmosphere they feel like they should have been written a couple centuries ago.
So how about you all? Do you have any authors you consider a favorite for the sake of one book -just one- a book so perfect you never felt a deep need to explore their work further? Or do you always gobble up everything a favorite author writes?
I have a lot of authors where I like some of their books and not others, but ones where I like just one book are rare. For a while, that fit Patricia Briggs, but I eventually foundsomething else I like by her. I just had to get beyond her urban fantasy, and back to her pre-modern work. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteI'll have to think about this some more. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Ooh, I love Patricia Briggs' `Dragon Bones' and her `Raven's Shadow' and `Raven's Strike' duo, but I never really got into her urban fantasy, either.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about liking some works but not others. Neil Gaiman is like that for me. I adored `Anansi Boys,' was kind of indifferent toward `Stardust,' and never made it through `American Gods'.
My favorite - and the first I read by her - is The Hob's Bargain. I've also enjoyed Masques (revised) and Wolvesbane (sp?). I have Dragon Bones and it's mate; they're part of my entirely too out-of-control TBR collection. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteThe book Gaiman wrote with Pratchett is also in my TBR collection. It might be Good Omens. {Smile}
Yes, I'm trying to read more of that TBR collection... faster than I add new books. It isn't easy. {lop-sided Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
I haven't read Good Omens yet, but I love Pratchette. Yeah, I also have a TBR pile that mysteriously grows larger whenever I glance away for a second. (Or visit a used bookstore. Or regular bookstore... or pass any place that sells books...)
ReplyDeleteI have a few solo Pratchetts in my TBR collection, too. I've read a couple, so they're on my regular shelves. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteAt this point, my TBR collection would slightly over-fill two floor-to-ceiling bookcases: one for the paperbacks, and one for the hardcovers. That only counts my books, not Mom's or Dad's, and we share books regularly, since we all love science fiction and fantasy. {Smile}
You'd think this would mean I don't need any new books, but... I don't like to go too long without finding something new to at least lok at and intend to read. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
There's no such thing as not needing new books. :)
ReplyDeleteExactly. I might miss a book I really want. That wouldn't do at all. {SMILE}
ReplyDeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin