Authors and their writing styles
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
October 19, 2010 2:06pm CST
Today I went to the library and I borrowed a book by a Danish author. Some years ago I borrowed one of the other books that she has written, and I didn't enjoy it, because I didn't like her writing style. The sentences didn't make much sense and I found it hard to understand the story. I tried to read one of her other books, but I didn't enjoy that one either and I didn't finish it.
Yesterday I heard about another novel that she has written, I am interested in the topic and the story sounded really interesting, so I have decided to try one more time. It has been some years since I tried to read her other books and I think that I might enjoy them more today, or maybe not, but I have decided to give her one more chance, because I am very interested in the topics that she writes about.
If you read a book and don't like the author's writing style, do you still give him/her another chance if the story sounds interesting or do you avoid that author in the future? Have you ever changed your opinion about an author once you got to know him or her better?
1 person likes this
4 responses
@stellar126 (278)
• Philippines
19 Oct 10
I'm afraid I'm quite stubborn about this. If I don't like the writing the first time, I'm not going to be interested in giving the author a second chance. If the topic is interesting enough, I'm going to probably browse the book first just to see if the author has taken a different approach or not before committing to reading the whole book. It saves me from the aggravation that I might get after realizing that the author STILL sucks. lol.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
20 Oct 10
I understand what you mean. In some cases I try to avoid the author in the future, because I find it too frustrating to read a story that is written in a way that I don't enjoy or understand. I recently read a book where the author didn't use any punctuation or paragraphs. The story was nice, but it was so hard to read it, and sometimes I misunderstood the sentences due to the lack of punctuation.
@NoWayRo (1061)
• Romania
19 Oct 10
I've changed my mind quite often, especially when I read an author in translation - I've found very often that the problem seems to be with the translation, not with the author's writing style.
It's also related to the topic, sometimes I find an author difficult to follow because I'm not familiar with the subject and terminology, but, when the subject interests me, I may enjoy a book that's otherwise dry and complicated.
It recently happened to me with J. M. Coetzee: first I read "Dusklands", in what was probably a poor translation, and I hated it. Then I tried "The Master of Petersburg" in English, and now he's one of my favorite authors.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Oct 10
I agree with you about the translations. A lot of English books get translated to Danish every year, but sometimes the translation isn't that great. I have read many books where the sentences have been translated the wrong way for instanse because the author translated the words too literally and didn't really understand sentences or the expressions. I prefer reading the original versions of the books instead of the translated versions.
1 person likes this
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I've never really encountered a book or an author I didn't like because of the writing style. I think I have a pretty board range of styles I enjoy. I like everything from huge in-depth books that build their own world like Lord of the Rings to short simple children's books. Usually when I don't like a book or an author, it'll be because I don't like the subjects or the genres that they write about.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
23 Oct 10
I also enjoy many different kinds of books, when I visit the library I usually borrow books from more than one genre, and I like to explore new authors and genres. Sometimes I like the story, but not the way it is written. I have read books by authors who didn't use punctuation or paragraphs, and it was very hard to understand some of the sentences. I also remember a book about a psychotic man that I once read. The book described his way of thinking, and it was very, very hard to understand the chapters. I liked the idea of the book, but I only understood a small part of it.
1 person likes this
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
23 Oct 10
I tend to stick to one genre (Fantasy). I do venture out occasionally if something sparks my interest and there are plenty of non-fantasy books that I like... but I find myself not enjoying non-fantasy books more often than not. There are only a few genres that I WON'T read. I can't read horror at all, (I get very scared easily and it's not a feeling I like to dwell on!) and I avoid romance novels like they're the plague. It's not that I don't like a good romance, it just seems like every romance novel I pick up is a lusty, trashy, steamy and totally NOT-me book.
But writing style? Can't think of a time the writing style has been what bothered me. If I like the idea or the story, the writing style doesn't really bother me or wow me.
1 person likes this
@coarcangelF (54)
• Philippines
20 Oct 10
..its seems that's the style of the author because readers have different feeling to appreciate their writing..if you want to love or enjoy the novel just read it and understand ..and then someday you will realize that you will love the author and all his /her books written..
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
23 Oct 10
That is true, sometimes you learn to appreciate the author after a while. I have experienced that sometimes, and that is one of the reasons why I have decided to give this author a second chance. It has been several years since I tried to read her books, so I might be able to appreciate them more today or understand them in a different way. I don't know, but I am going to try and see what happens.
