• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Author fatigue

SFG75

SFG75

Well-Known Member
Have you tried to read more than one book one after another from the same author? Who does that work well with and who does it not?

I was on a Dostoyevsky kick for awhile, and then Nabokov. I now plan on going on a Palahniuk spending spree next month. The only problem is, I'll fly through his works as they areinteresting, yet not very challenging to read.
 
I can't do that if the author write books that are of one genre or very similar to each other (ie. John Grisham or Stephen King).

Similarly, I can't read books of the same series one after another. I need something different to break it up.

For me, it would probably work well with an author who wrote books that were very varied, but I can't think of anyone like that off the top of my head. :rolleyes:
 
The only time I would do that is if there are two or three books that go together. I wouldn't want to wade through a tall stack of any one writer's work without a breather.
 
After i read one book from an author i always need to read something by another authour after. Even if it's a series, between volumes i need a break.
 
I tend to go on those kind of reading sprees from time to time. I have found that I love to read Emmuska Orczy's novels in that manner because you can never have enough of Sir Percy and Chauvelin.

One summer I kept switching between reading Harry Potter and Left Behind. I would read one Harry Potter installment and then go and read two or three Left Behind books, since the series was so long by that point and all the books had been released except for the final novel.

I don't think I can go on Stephen King reading sprees like this though... However, you wouldn't think that if you seen my bookshelf because there's very nearly an entire shelf filled with Stephen King novels.
 
I used to do this a lot when I was younger, but I stopped doing so after getting burned out on JM Auel's series as a result of my reading them one after another.
 
SFG75 said:
Have you tried to read more than one book one after another from the same author?
Click to expand...

I have done this many times over the years--just devouring an author's entire inventory. I had binges with Cheever, Austen, Capote, Kundera, Faulkner, Highsmith, Vonnegut, Thomas Mann, and Maugham. More recently with McEwan and Lethem.

I do it when I like a certain voice (and I want to hear more) or if the author's subject matter intriques me (and I can't get enough).

SFG75 said:
Who does that work well with and who does it not?
Click to expand...

I think that's a matter of taste, but I know I wouldn't want to do that with dedicated genre authors like King or Grisham. It might lead to some confusion if you try to recall distinct impressions--by overlapping story lines or forgetting the endings. I sometimes experience that with crime/suspense/thriller authors even when I don't read them consecutively. For instance, I have enjoyed several of Harlan Coben's books, but I can't remember the distinct points of each title after the fact.
 
I guess I prefer to take a rest after I have read something by one author. When I was younger I never had this problem, mainly because the books I read were quick and easy. I can read a series in order but some I cannot. I guess it just depends on the author and the genre of books I am reading.
 
SFG75 said:
Have you tried to read more than one book one after another from the same author? Who does that work well with and who does it not?
Click to expand...

I don't usually like to read one after another from the same author unless the books are part of a series.
 
I'll read all the books in a series right after each other if I get into it enough. I went on a Clive Cussler spree for a while recently but got a little overwhelmed after about a month. Austen is also one of those authors that I can read a lot of, but that usually doesn't last long because of the limited number of works.
 
I think Alistair Maclean was the first author where I suffered true 'author fatigue.'
Started out with his first book, 'HMS Ulysses' and it was pretty good, then in order of his writing, 'The Guns of Navarone,' (better) and then on to 'South by Java Head' and 'The Secret Ways'. (excellent)

Then...his work slowly started going downhill. I finally gave up on reading him. Years later I found out he was a heavy drinker, and that it got worse as time went on. Scotsman, friend, and publisher Neil Marr verified this story for me. He actually met Maclean, who was also Scottish.:)
 
In the seventh grade I went on a Will Hobbs spree because my school library wasn't all that diverse in its collection but had somewhere around 15 or twenty will hobbs books which I read all of but recently hobbs isn't so good, I guess because he became overread.
 
I don't recommend reading a writer back to back. I read about 12 novels by Saramago in a seven-month span, and I just can't stand him anymore. A writer I was hailing as my favourite a few months ago, he makes me sick now :( trouble is, I still got 4 more novels by him to read before I finish him completely.

Moral of the story: always take a breather; a long, extended breather.
 
Hi Fantasy Moon; This note is a bit late from your posting but I just came across it; concerning Stephen King's novels I agree I can't read hir one after another. The closest I came was reading "The Dark Tower" but I bacame so enthralled with this epic that I had to take a break but on reflection I think I just didn't want to finish it since I enjoyed these works so much! Have you tackled that series? How about "Hearts in Atlantis"?
These works I would love your feedback on as I found them as his greatest writing! Thanks bzseven@msn.com
 
I used to read one book after another by the same author and sometimes the same genre, but I need more variety as I've gotten older.
 
I often do that when I have enough time, on holiday, especially on summer holidays. Last summer for example I read everything by Ishiguro and Tracy Chevalier. I don't get tired, maybe because there are periods when I'm too busy to read and when I get hold of an author i like, I can't get enough of his books.:cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top