Thursday, January 10, 2008

Booking Through Thursday: Falling In Love


1. How did you come across your favorite author(s)? Recommended by a friend? Stumbled across at a bookstore? A book given to you as a gift?
2. Was it love at first sight? Or did the love affair evolve over a long acquaintance?

Let me just get this off my chest. I do not believe in love at first sight. Attraction or lust at first sight, sure, but not love. I am just more practical that way, I guess. I may come across a book that's cover draws me to it, but what makes me actually read the book depends on what it is actually about. A snazzy cover does not make a good book all on its very own.

Being that I am not monogamous when it comes to books, much less authors, I have more than one favorite author. And while none of them came to me by love at first sight, they all have found their way into my life by various other means: a random stroll through the bookstore, a recommendation from a friend or a review I came across one day, or perhaps even a gift from a friend or family member. Sometimes it is only a matter of lines before I suspect I may be falling in love and other times a friendship develops, which slowly over time evolves into something more.

More often than not, I am one of those readers who likes to do a little research before I decide to go out on a first date with an author. I may read a little blurb in a magazine about a particular book, see mention of the name on one of my online reading groups or come across a review on a blog. Maybe a coworker or friend is reading the book. Sometimes that little bit is enough to land the book on my wish list. Other times, I keep an eye out for other opinions and thoughts on a book before making up my mind. Occasionally we flirt at the bookstore for awhile before I finally decide it is time.

When I do fall in love with an author, I tend to fall hard, wanting to read everything that author has ever written. I scoop up as many books as I can find or at least add them to my wish list. Unfortunately for the the authors, because my love affairs are many, it is quite common for the books to pile up and remain unread for awhile. Sometimes I find it difficult to pick up that second or third book. I know it will be a special treat, an unforgettable experience, and I want it to be just right. I want to take my time and not rush. The author's work is something to be savored. Yet there are also times when I cannot help but devour an author's work right away.

There is no rhyme or reason to my madness, really. It just is.
Posted by at 1/10/2008 05:32:00 PM
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21 comments:

  1. Wendy, I'm so with you on your post. And I like how you put it in this paragraph: "Occasionally we flirt at the bookstore for awhile before I finally decide it is time". Perfectly my thoughts, hehe...

    Weekend is just around the corner, I hope you have a great one! :)
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  2. I agree with you about love at first sight. I may be initially attracted to a book because of its cover but that doesn't automatically mean I'm going to like what's in the inside.

    You have quite a courtship ritual. I'm more of an impulse buyer when it comes to books.
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  3. My feelings about, and approach to "falling in love" with an author are very much like yours, but you said it so much better! I enjoyed your answer.
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  4. Melody - Yes, I like the flirting stage. :-) I am very much looking forward to the weekend. I am ready for it! I hope you have a good one too.

    Trisha - I think my impulsiveness tapered off when my TBR collection became overwhelming and I became worried about duplicates. I've been known to pick up a book at a bookstore knowing I would probably like it only to get home and be glad I didn't buy it since I already have it waiting for me to read. Occasionally I buy on impulse still though. More often than not the impulse though is simply that I hadn't planned to buy the book in the first place, but I'd seen it mentioned elsewhere and had considered reading it.

    Does that even make sense? Haha I'm so sleepy. I need to get to bed, I think. It's been a long week.

    Florinda - Why, thank you! I'm not sure where all that came from, but I had some down time this morning and out it came. :-)
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  5. Yes, the covers can be very deceiving. I have difficulty getting around to reading more tban one book from one author unless they've released their first book recently then I might be able to keep up. That TBR stack is getting higher and higher.
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  6. My first love was Enid Blyton. I think I have read all.

    I agree. I have too many favourite authors.
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  7. This may sound weird, but I actually like having unread books my by favourite authors. For example, there are very few Terry Pratchett books now that I've yet to read, and it makes me a little sad. I guess I just like knowing that there are books I'll love waiting to be discovered.
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  8. I have way too many to choose a favorite author.

    Just wanted to say thanks again for the lovely and generous gift. I also found your blog through the exchange and visit daily. I hate to admit this, but I've never read any Dickens. Isn't that terrible? I'm a librarian for crying out loud. Oh well. Thanks again and have a great weekend!
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  9. I love your answer :) Like Nymeth I sometimes love having unread books by my favourite authors. I know when I finish Anne Bishop books I am so sad that they have ended I try to speace them out as far as possible before reading them to savour them so much more. When I finished The Black Jewels Trilogy, the temptation to read it immediately again was fierce, especially as I gave it to my husband to read and had to watch him reading it and wanting it myself!
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  10. Hi Wendy, you got me hooked from the first sentence. I can't settle for any one author and I think I'm a serial lover or dater. If there is one area I'm not unfaithful, it'll be in the world of fiction. After reading your post, I don't feel so guilty anymore...
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  11. Wonderful post! Does it ever happen that you love the first book you read by someone, but the next, and the one after that disappoint?
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  12. With Amazon and other online sources, it is much easier to do research on an author or a book before taking the plunge. Have a great weekend!
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  13. I love the way you put things, Wendy. I very well could have written exactly the same thing. Strangely, though, I tend to fall deeply and passionately in love with books, and if the author doesn't make me fall in love with his (or her) next book, I get very disappointed. :P
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  14. Everything in you said in your last paragraph is the same with me too! Especially the "pile up" part. I currently have 106 unread books on my shelves, not counting the unread library books or the ones in storage either :(
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  15. I have love affairs with many different authors too. One day Atwood will be my favorite and another day it'll be Ishiguro, etc. I like what Nymeth said too, I do like knowing that I haven't read everything my favorite authors have written. I like knowing that something great is waiting on the nightstand :)
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  16. Kristy - You make a good point about not being able to keep up unless there's another book waiting right after you finish the first one. It's easy for later books to get lost or forgotten when you have a growing TBR pile.

    Gautami - I am not familiar with Enid Blyton. I'll have to look her up. :-)

    Nymeth - I had never thought of it that way, but, I think I do too. :-)

    Lisa - It's impossible really to chose just one.

    And you are so welcome for the gift. The Christmas Exchange proved more than just good for a little surprise in the mail, didn't it? We found new blogs as well. :-)

    I don't think you should feel too badly about not having yet read Dickens. There's just too many books out there for you to get to them all, right? I hope you do enjoy Great Expectations.

    Rhinoa - Thank you! Anne Bishop is one of those authors that draws you in you hate to leave. I have only read her Black Jewels books, but oh! They were so good. I love it when an author is able to cast that kind of spell on me.

    Alice - Haha Yes, this is the only area of my life where I'm quite unfaithful. Or maybe not really unfaithful, just open. We're book swingers!

    Nan - Thank you! Yes, that has happened to me before. I can think of three authors right off the bat. One wrote one of my favorite books of all time and her others, although I have liked them, just haven't been quite as good. The other two were more long standing favorite authors of mine and only in recent years, I've been disappointed by their work products. I know that there's bound to be a book I won't like as much as the others, but when it happens again and again, it can be disappointing. A lot can play into that--my mood, changing tastes, growing older, etc.

    Jaimie - Amazon has been very helpful to me. I try not to rely too much on the reviews there because so many contain spoilers and I don't know the people reviewing the books, but sometimes it helps me decide on a book I'm on fence about. I definitely use Amazon to find out what books are about though to decide if I'm interested at all. I hope you have a good weekend too!

    Kookie - Thank you. That happens to me too sometimes. And now that you mention it, I think that is part of why I get shy about starting a second book by an author whose first book I loved.

    Jen - At least we won't run out of anything to read for awhile! :-)

    Iliana - Fortunately the authors don't often get too jealous of our split affection. :-)
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  17. How did you find th ewords in my head an get them downon paper so much better than I could.? Nice post.
    I too liked Enid Blyton as a child.
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  18. Elizabeth - Thanks! I'm not sure where in my brain this post came from, but it was one of the more fun ones to write. :-)
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  19. So I'm not the only one who sometimes flirts with books at the bookstore for a time before commiting. I love the way you put that!
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  20. I have quite a few "flirters" among my customers. 99% of them will eventually buy the book.
    I classify my favourite authors as those whose books I'll buy without even looking at the blurb. Unfortunately, most of them are now dead so there won't be anything new - Tolkien, Dunnett, Jordan, for eg.
    LeCarre is still alive and kicking and I'll always buy his new stuff without a second thought. Markus Zusak ("The Book Thief") has probably added himself to that list.
    I have a number of customers who'll only read one author at a time. They'll read everything by that author and won't even look at another author until they've exhausted their current obsession. Personally, I like to have a bit more variety to my reading.
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  21. Terri - You are most definitely not the only one! :-)

    Julie - I've gotten that way with some of my favorite authors--especially if they are crime fiction authors. I still like to read the back cover, but it's just a habit. I know I'll read the book regardless. I think variety helps me avoid burn out on any one author or type of book.
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