When an author has published a lot of books, it's natural that some are better than others. However, it still surprises me when I read a book from one of my favorite authors that ends up being disappointing. I ran into this recently with a book from one of my top five favorite authors. Until that book, I rated almost everything I read from the author as five stars, with the occasional four-star read that was good but not great by their lofty standards. I gave the new book three stars. If the author's name wasn't on the cover, I wouldn't have known they were involved.
At first, I felt guilty for not liking the book, as if disliking one book was a betrayal of everything else I've loved from that author. I even tried to find aspects of the book that I enjoyed as I struggled through it.
The experience reminded me of a few points to keep in mind as a reader:
- Separate the book from the author - One miss doesn't negate a backlist I already love. It's OK to say a specific book didn't work for me without it affecting my opinion of the author as a whole.
- No book is universally loved - Most books are not objectively good or bad. Plenty of other readers may love a book I dislike and vice versa.
- The bar is higher because the author is a favorite - Ironically, being a big fan can make me a harsher critic. I've read enough of this author's works to expect a higher bar than I would from other authors, so it's more noticeable when a book doesn't meet those high standards.
- It doesn't have to sour the next book - Recognizing that I didn't enjoy one book from the author doesn't mean writing off whatever they publish next. In fact, I plan to devour their next book.
One thing I'd also add is to go in with tempered expectations when a favorite author collaborates with someone else because the book that disappointed me was co-written by my favorite author and another writer I'm unfamiliar with. The blend of two people's voices won't produce the same result as a solo work, and I should have expected that from the start.
Has this happened to you with one of your favorite authors? How did you deal with it when a book from someone you love missed the mark for you?
