Maybe I’m all alone in these feelings among the book blogging crowd, but I’m curious, does anyone else feel at least slightly panicky when someone asks who your favorite author is/authors are?
I know what some of you are thinking: Oh yes, I do! I have too many to choose from! Well, good for you, but I feel I sort of have the opposite problem.
If you ask me who my favorite author is, I would probably say of all-time probably C.S. Lewis, but right now my biggest amount of love is for Marissa Meyer. I might also mention how much I love Leigh Bardugo, how much Jon Acuff’s last two books have meant to me, and how much I appreciate Jane Austen’s stories even if I don’t love her writing style. After that, I feel I kind of draw a blank, and here’s the other kicker… I still feel like I can’t completely claim these as favorites sometimes.
Leigh Bardugo, yes, as long as I continuing loving what she writes, makes complete sense. I own physical copies of all her books, they are all signed, I met her, and I rated of each books 4.5 stars. That’s pretty consistent with loving someone’s work, I think. Marissa Meyer, on the other hand, I rated her first two books 4 stars each, only own e-book copies of them, but I gave Cress 5 stars, own a physical copy of, and love so much I will push The Lunar Chronicles on anyone who will listen. I think with Marissa, I just love the world she created, I adore every.single.character. (well, all the good/main ones anyway, but there are quite a few so that is an achievement!) and I just think she’s getting better and better with her writing. So even if I don’t have all the swag to be her #1 fan I think it’s legit to say that I love her.
C.S. Lewis. Maybe I mention him to sound intellectual. I wasn’t wild about Till We Have Faces though everything I had heard about it before reading was positive. I don’t even love all the Narnia books (but the ones I do love, I love a lot!). I have read a lot of excerpts from several of his non-fiction works though (I have yet to sit down and read one of them from cover to cover though) and he has made an impact on my spiritual life. So while I don’t consistently love all his fiction (not to mention I haven’t read it all yet), his non-fiction has impacted me, even though I haven’t even read all of those books either.
But all this babbling leads me to my next point, which is that while sometimes I really love something an author writes, it doesn’t mean I do love/will love everything they write. I adored Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars and Across a Star-Swept Sea but have hardly any interest in any of her other books because they don’t really sound like me. Now, maybe one day I’ll read them and realize I was wrong, that’s possible, but those two books are SO ME that I don’t feel like the others could measure up. I really liked Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina because of the characters, but that’s the only book I can go off of, and I have no way of knowing if I’ll love her next cast of characters just as much.
And all this talk stems from an email BookBub sent me letting me know I could receive author alerts about when my favorite authors’ e-books go on sale.
But my absolute faves I would rather go buy their physical books. What about authors I haven’t actually even read yet but I’m curious about? What if I want to know when their book is on sale so I can check it out? Why do you have to insist they’re my favorite, BookBub?!
Never mind that BookBub is a website, not a person, and they aren’t actually forming an opinion on me based on my “favorite authors.”
The only question in the bookish world that makes me even more panicky is, “What’s your favorite book?” Really?! Favorite book ever?! Now really, how am I supposed to choose?!
How do you feel about picking a favorite author? Do you have a lot of favorites, or are you like me and feel like you can only truly claim a few?
I have a few authors whom’s writing style I love so much that it makes me almost instantly enjoy everytgin they write. For me that’s part of what it means to have a favourite authors. Then there are some authors whom’s books I mostly enjoy, but even books by my favourite authors sometimes receive a 3 star rating. I think I could compile a list of 5 or 10 of my favourite authors, but after that I’ll draw a blank.
I feel like I don’t even think a lot about an author’s writing style, I’m more focused on my feelings for the characters and how I like the story. Maybe that’s why it’s hard for me to have favorite authors.
Maybe it’s because I feel like I got hit by a train (thanks to 2am binging on HP and now being awake), but wow, this really made me stop and think. Because I never know how to answer that question (do NOT ask me about my favorite book, the gif is perfect for that). I guess I always go by my standby authors that I’ve liked for years. I might find a new author, but it’s rare that I’ll mention them because I haven’t attached myself to them as much.
My thing is that I spent so many years barely reading that, other than C.S. Lewis, I don’t have authors that I have liked for years. There are the authors I read as a child, then I read mostly stuff for school plus a few books for fun (but most of those authors I haven’t read lately), and then in 2012 was when I started reading consistently, and I felt I haven’t read enough from just one author to say they’re a favorite.
I have loads of authors that I love but the one that always springs immediately to mind is Tana French. Her books just have a special pull for me and I read/listen to them over and over again as there is always something new for me to discover in them. JK Rowling is a close second. But after that I’m kind of stuck as it just depends on my mood.
That make sense, to have a couple that really speak to you and then fro the rest to just depend on your mood! I don’t know if I really have just that one really special author yet but I hope one day I do! I have a couple musicians like that and it’s just nice to feel like you can listen to any of their songs and be able to connect with it.
I have a few favorite authors that I feel like I will read anything they write, but I don’t think I will absolutely love everything they write. I just love the author’s style and feel like they write things that interest me so I call them a favorite. Favorite books can sometimes be different for some reason – like I will read the book but my love for it is so much entrenched in the plot and the characters, that because whatever new thing the author writes doesn’t have those things, I don’t feel the interest in reading it. It’s strange – but I suppose it’s some reader intuition we have! So I identified very much with your post!
Exactly, a book is so much about the characters and a lot about the plot as well for me that the same author can write about something completely different and, even if I like the writing, I may just not be as into the story.
Hahah I have a lot of favorites yes! But honestly I don’t know. For example, my all time teenage favorite author was Meg Cabot, and I always cherish some of her series. But then on the other hand, I don’t like some of her other books, because maybe I just grew up? Yeah it’s kind of hard, but I would say just read reviews of the books you are interested in, and see where it goes from there? That’s what I’m doing at least 🙂 Which is why I don’t automatically buy books by authors I love (Though Marissa Meyer and Laini Taylor may be the exception). Also, THERE’S ALWAYS THE LIBRARYYYYYYYYY. I read all Rainbow Rowell books from the library hahaha
I’m not too concerned about who to buy books from, it’s just that this website that sends emails about ebook deals wanted to know who my favorite authors were, and it made me sort of panic. Plus, the ones who are actually my faves I usually just want to buy their books rather than the ebooks, so I didn’t like the way they phrased it! Again, just silly. 🙂 I do read several ebooks from the library though.
I’m really loving Leigh right now, but Stephanie reigns supreme so far. But I seriously can’t answer that question, because I really need some mental preparation to be ready to answer it. My mind always goes blank when people ask me about any favorite question concerning books. I have no idea what is wrong with me.
I wouldn’t rate my love for an author on the copies I own or the ratings I give, though. I love how Leigh is so supportive of fanart and her wit, as well as her great characters. But I love Leila Sales because I related so much to This Song Will Save Your Life, and I don’t even own a copy. And I love Jessi Kirby, read only Golden, and rated it a 4. *shrug*
If there’s something wrong with you, then there is something wrong with me too! But I think you make a good point about loving authors for all sorts of reasons.
I guess I have certain criteria that needs to be met before I can claim an author is my favorite. Just because I loved one of their books doesn’t mean I feel comfortable adding them to my very brief list (2 authors!).
1. Have I read more than one of the author’s books, and do I get actively seek out other books written by said author? Joe Meno is one of my favorite authors. I read Hairstyles of the Damned back in high school and it resonated with me, so I tried finding other books by him. I’ve read four so far, and I’ve loved all of them. I still have more to go, too! But then there are other authors like Lauren Oliver– I LOVED Before I Fall, but I haven’t actively sought out her other books.
2. If it’s a series, did I finish it, and did I still love it? J.K. Rowling is one of my favorite authors because Harry Potter is my life! But then there is the Twilight series. I’ve only completed 2 series in my life and Twilight was one of them…and I almost regret that. Sorry Stephenie Meyer. Now, I’m currently working my way through the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima, and it’s pretty incredible. I’m going to start on the 3rd book this year, which is unheard of in my world, so I might have another author to add to my list soon!!!
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I think your criteria definitely makes sense, and that’s why I feel my list is so small and exclusive, because there aren’t very many authors who I have read their books, loved, and then sought out more and also loved. Glad to know I’m not alone in this sort of regard!
THIS POST UNDERSTANDS MY SOUL. See, there are so many wonderful authors that I absolutely love, but I’m so hesitant to call them my “favourite” authors for the simple reason that I very rarely love all the books an author’s written. Also, as I + my reading tastes grow and evolve, so do my favourite authors, so I’m not really sure whether to mention previous favourites or ones I’m loving now… so basically, what I’m trying to say is my whole life is really just a big mess of “do I love this author enough to call them a favourite?!”. I do not know what I’m doing anymore. If I ever did.
And don’t even get me STARTED on the whole favourite book debate. *hyperventilates into paper bag*
I’m so glad to know I’m not alone! And like you, as my tastes change and grow I find myself enjoying different authors than I did before.
I totally relate to distinguishing between loving a book and loving an author – loving *this* book but maybe not others and so how does that impact who your favorite author is?
For me, my favorite authors are people whose work I consistently enjoy and I think their skill as writers is, in my opinion, more excellent than most. I’ve had authors fall off my favorite list when I was disappointed in some of their later work. But there’s also got to be an element of favorite author where they’re a good person. Like, C.S. Lewis. He’s easy to choose because he’s a deep thinker, logically spiritual man, who wrote a lot of good books and non-fiction work. But it’s kind of all of those elements that make him a favorite author – not just loving all his books voraciously.
I would have had a hard time picking authors for BookBub too. For all the same reasons, even though no one is judging me on who I choose as my favorite authors – what if I want *all* the authors? What if I want info on *these* books (which is a question specific to the book rather than the author)? How would I decide?!
I agree with you on C.S. Lewis! And I’m glad I’n not the only one who struggled with the BookBub thing!
Just came across this post on Oh, the Books’ weekly post, and found it really interesting. I was just thinking about who my favourite authors are before I saw this and it is difficult to choose favourites. Rainbow Rowell has become a favourite of mine because I have loved the books of hers that I’ve read so far. I like it when an author is able to create real and relateable characters. It’s really difficult deciding who your favourites are.
I agree that it’s even more difficult choosing favourite books. There’s just so many to choose from! The more I read, the more favourites I have.
Well, it’s a good problem to have so many favorites! I feel my favorite book could really change with my mood or what I’m going through at the moment.
So glad you came by!