When I find an author I'm interested in, I usually start with their first book and slowly move through their library, rarely reading the same author back-to-back. Since I've started reading stories by authors who are long gone and have a small library to choose from (Chandler, Hammett), I find myself being even more strict when choosing my next book off the pile. I have to fight the urge to run out and grab every Marlowe and Continental Op book and devour them in one sitting. I guess I don't want to feel that disappointment knowing that I have no new Chandler to read.
I assume I'm in the minority but what are your habits when it comes to reading a new author's backlog? Do you read serials in order or just skip around?
Bait - William Vance writing as George Cassidy
18 hours ago
4 comments:
That was my reading style twenty years ago. I remember reading all of Sjowal and Wahloo in a few weeks. Same for Nicholas Freeling, Ross MacDonald. etc. Now I limit myself to one book per writer. I have reached the point where I know I only have so many books left to read. I do read all my daugher's books though. At least twic.
I skip around like crazy and I do tend to read more than one book at a time. Right now I'm finishing WHAT REALLY HAPPENED by Brett Halliday.
Patti, it's funny you mention MacDonald. I almost broke my rule and started with The Doomsters since I've heard he didn't really find his voice until that book. In the end I just thought he was too highly regarded to skip his first few stories and started at the beginning.
David, I don't know how you do it. I remember a recent posted where you mentioned you read multiple books in one sitting. That would make my head spin.
I'm a skipper. Like Patti, when I know there are a finite number of books, I'll pace myself. This year, however, I'm going to try (may change my mind later) and read, say, two books by one author. This is the year I will try and learn more about the writing styles of authors. And, I think, having a concentrated period (i.e., two books at least) can better give me a sense of how the writer wrote his words.
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