Don't Judge a Book by its Author

Prepare yourself for a little rant: this is something I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while.

We all have our favourite authors. These are those rare breeds of writers whose books we'll always buy regardless of what they're about because we're certain it's going to be amazing, but of course that isn't always the case. I have a few favourite authors myself - I'd like to read as much of Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire's work as possible and I love a lot of Neil Gaiman's stuff - but for the most part I've never been the kind of reader who will blindly buy something purely because it has that author's name attached to it.

Some readers will buy something without really knowing what it's about, only knowing that they like that author, and that's fine! In many ways I admire their dedication to show their love and respect and admiration for the author of their choice, but what irritates me are the reviews that come afterwards.

Not 'Harry Potter and the Casual Vacancy'

The best example I can think of is the response J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy received upon its release. I haven't read The Casual Vacancy because the premise doesn't really interest me, and it definitely didn't interest me upon its initial release. I will get around to it at some point now because I have a copy which my parents picked up for me when I was ill, knowing how fond I am of J.K. Rowling, but it's not my priority.

I saw a LOT of Harry Potter fans immediately buying this book, and then being somehow surprised that The Casual Vacancy was nothing like Harry Potter. Because of course it wasn't, and Rowling never said it would be.

The Casual Vacancy has ended up getting some pretty shoddy ratings that, to me, seem completely unfair because they're ratings given by people who didn't really seem to acknowledge what the book was about. All that seemed to matter was that it had Rowling's name attached to it.

I'm sure I'm generalising a lot here; there are plenty of people who didn't buy The Casual Vacancy, and then there are plenty of people who bought it because the premise did interest them and it was a story they wanted to read. This is something I've seen happen a few times, however, and it's always grated on my nerves.

If you love an author, that's great, but if you read all of their books expecting them to be just like one book/series then you're always going to set yourself up for disappointment, and you're probably hindering the author more than helping them with a negative review.

What are your thoughts?

Top Ten Tuesday | Authors I Wish I Could Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Ten Authors I REALLY Want to Meet'. I decided to change this week's just a little, because some of the authors I really wish I could meet are dead.

Daphne du Maurier: I finally started reading du Maurier last year and absolutely fell in love with her. I think she was a genius, and I'd love to meet her in Menabilly, the house that inspired Manderley, and go for a stroll around the gardens with her.

Shirley Jackson: Yet another modern classic genius. I don't read much horror because not only do I scare easily (seriously I can't even watch Shaun of the Dead on my own, that's how pathetic I am) but I never find many stories in the genre that interesting. Jackson is the exception. I've loved everything of hers I've read so far, and all of it has given me the creeps. Her power isn't in what she says, but in what she doesn't say.

Anne Brontë: To be honest I'd quite happily meet all of the Brontës, but I'd love to meet Anne in particular. I love her writing, and as I've so often said she's been the forgotten Brontë too long. I'd love to tell her there are plenty of people, myself included, who think she was fantastic.

Mary Shelley: I mean the woman was only 18 when she basically created sci-fi as we now know it. Frankenstein is one of my favourite books of all time, and I'd love to meet this lady. I imagine she'd have a lot of fascinating stories to tell.

Aphra Behn: I haven't actually read any of Behn's work yet, but as well as being a 17th century woman writer, who wrote everything from plays to poetry to fiction, she was also employed as a spy in Antwerp by Charles II. She's just cool.

J. K. Rowling: Yeah, I know this is probably a really unoriginal answer, but this woman was a huge part of my childhood, and I'd love the chance to thank her for that.

Seanan McGuire: Will I ever stop talking about this lady? Probably not. I love her, and I'd love to meet her, even though I'd probably just gush like a huge idiot.

Marissa Meyer: I adore The Lunar Chronicles, and I'd love to meet this lady to tell her just that. Her retellings are so original, and I can't wait to get my hands on Winter later this year! Feel free to check out my reviews of Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and Fairest!

G. Willow Wilson: I love what she's done with the Ms. Marvel comics (I've reviewed the first two volumes here and here!), and I'd love the chance to thank her for writing Kamala Khan so beautifully. She's one of the best characters to come out of Marvel in years, in my opinion, and I'm looking forward to reading Volume 3.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: This lady wrote Signal to Noise (reviewed here!), which is probably my favourite book of the year so far, so I'd absolutely love to meet her. I just want to hug her, really, and thank her for writing such a brilliant book.

Who made your list this week?