May 09 2007
my favorite authors
Like most writers, I look back on all of my finished works with utter regret, and the trouble with writing a series of novels is that you have to go back and read them, and make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything you’ve created, and then when you do that, you’re faced with your own mistakes on every trick, from the wrong word in places to entirely the wrong incident. One has to adopt a sort of Zen calm, in which you know you wrote the best book that you could at the time.
-Daniel Handler
I was reading this fantastic (and very funny) interview with Daniel Handler when I found myself pondering a strange question. I never know what to answer when people ask me who my favorite authors are.
When I was a kid, this was an easy question. I was obsessed with LM Montgomery and read every single book and short story she ever put out (even the unfinished published stories). So I always had that answer ready when asked.
The reason for this is that I read a ridiculous number of series, mainly because once I find something I like, I prefer to continue with it. But even though I really enjoy the Harry Potter series, I would hesitate to put JK Rowling on any favorite author’s list. Why? Well mainly because I feel like Harry Potter is all just one long book. They are all the same style, same narrator, same general feel to the point where they could all click into the same binding. I like the stories, but I don’t know if I like the author yet, honestly. I don’t feel like I have any sense of how she would be at other stories enough to call her a favorite. So as a general rule, if all I have ever read of an author is one series, they don’t make the list.
But there are exceptions, as with anything. Eoin Colfer, for example, I have only ever read one series from but the series is very genre bending (fantasy/humor/spy tech) and he tends to switch perspectives back and forth between characters to the point where I feel like I have enough of a sense of his style in general that he probably would make the list since I feel like I have sampled several books from him already within that one series. The same holds true with Jasper Fforde because, while his two series are very similar sometimes, he completely changes the genre of the book with each new installment so that I feel like I have had a wide sampling of his work and he’s made me a fan for life.
Then there are the authors like Christopher Paolini, Robert Rankin, Cornelia Funke, Daniel Handler, Peter S. Beagle, Helen Fielding, Douglas Adams, Dave Barry and Jonathan Stroud. (I never noticed how many male authors I read until I wrote this all down). These are authors where I have only read a few books by them and, while one of their books may be on my favorite books of all time list, I didn’t like other books by this same author nearly as much so I hesitate to put them on the list. I guess the only solution is to keep reading more by them and get a solid opinion. Does my love for the two Bridget Jones diary books offset my dislike of Cause Celeb and Olivia Joules and The Overactive Imagination? Does Peter and the Starcatchers forgive Dave Barry for Big Trouble? Can you call Robert Rankin or Douglas Adams a favorite when you find his books very very funny but they generally don’t make any sense?
On the flip side of that, does someone like Tom Stoppard or Dodie Smith make the list because they have more than one book on the list of my favorite books of all time? Does someone like Mark Jeffrey make the list because he has only had one book out but I really liked it? Can I put authors like Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorn, Edgar Allen Poe and others English class staples one the list without being thought a total dork?
Daniel Handler is a strange one because, so far, none of the books that were actually by Daniel Handler as himself have I loved. However, I loved the 15 books that he wrote as Lemony Snicket so its a strange double edged thing. I fully intend to keep reading anything he puts out, however, so I guess that means he does make the list.
I suppose, what it boils down to, is what authors am I likely to pick a book up just because they wrote it. At this point, pretty much every author I have mentioned so far and quite a few more would make that list so I suppose that is my answer.
I just wanted to launch into this tirade to explain to you the utter panic I have every time some site or survey asks me to list my favorite author. It’s not a simple question for me!
You may also enjoy these related posts. . .
