Is there an author whose books you absolutely loved … until you didn’t? Let’s talk about taking a break from an author!
I was recently writing this review for two books by an author whose books I stopped reading for years after the very unexpected death of a major character. (Interestingly, the situation was VERY similar to what happened in Veronica Mars S4. But the story of that author break-up was probably more complicated than that, including the fact that my reading taste had changed.)
This made me think about taking a break from an author. The reasons could be two-fold: maybe their books changed, or maybe you did. In the first scenario, maybe they killed off a beloved character or sank your favorite ship. In the second, maybe their books stayed exactly the same (even too much the same?) and you decided you wanted to go in a different direction?
I’ve had this happen a few times. I can be kind of an obsessive reader (and person) and sometimes I just burn out on a particular kind of book. Or there was another thriller writer I read religiously and then the quality of his books suddenly seemed to go way downhill, like he was just cranking them out on auto-pilot, so I took a break. (Thankfully, he got back on track.) And while I like authors who make risky, gutsy choices, I don’t like it when it seems like an author kills off a character who’s inconvenient or has lost their usefulness.
In the case of the first author I took a break from, I recently went back to re-assess and decided that I would read her standalone books, but that her series books just weren’t for me anymore as a reader.
Have you taken a break from an author? Did you go back? Tell me about it in comments!
There have been a couple that I’ve taken a step back from. Usually it’s because their writing doesn’t seem to change and it’s the same tone throughout their books. Maybe I’ll pop back and give their latest work a read down the road.
Yes, exactly. I feel like there’s two main reasons for me taking a break: the author’s books change too much, or not enough. Lol. Just the right amount of change, please!
I can’t say I have. If I do decide to fully cut myself off from an author, it’s usually because they did something so horrible that they left a bad taste in my mouth. More recently, I removed a few reviews for an author’s books just because she said something absolutely racist. So yeah, not buying/reading her books ever again.
Oh, right, there’s that. Yes, there are authors who have said things on Twitter that have made me decide not to read their books. It’s never happened with an author who was a favorite, thankfully.
I have broken up with a few authors. A few of these authors had amazing debuts, but then they progressively put me off with their follow up books. I don’t think I ever broke up with an author over a death, though, I probably held a bit of grudge.
Haha I guess death is what causes me to hold a grudge!
I’ve stopped reading an author’s books after unnecessary deaths, especially when I felt like they were there simply to shock readers and not actually further the story. Let’s not even discuss VMARS right now, ugh. I still CANNOT with that show. WHY?
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
I was not a fan of that particular element of the show and I was still upset about what happened. It was just not good.
I’m halfway through the Veronica Mars 4th season and I’m not a Logan fan or a fan of that ship, so I’m guessing I won’t be devastated at the end of it. But anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever broken up with an author over a death…. but I could see myself breaking up with a series because of that. I’ve broken up with authors for being jerks. And I temporarily put Sara Shepard on hold because while her books are some of my fave guilty pleasure books, they’re starting to all feel the same and full of plot holes.
Oh, yikes I am super sorry about that. I’m going to edit that so it’s a little less spoiler-y. I wasn’t a fan of that ship either but I still think the whole thing was handled really poorly.