Comments on Constance Reader Writes Her Own Story: When writers branch out

If the author is pushing at the bounds of what the...

2012-01-23T10:55:39.883-08:00

If the author is pushing at the bounds of what they've done before, going beyond them...then I will be really forgiving. What I can't forgive is writers who get popular and actually go backwards with their willingness to take risks. I mean...to a certain extent, why should they? They've found a lucrative formula. To another extent, though, I want to try to reward writers who are growing in their craft. But I don't want to buy shitty books. So... It's a squishy issue.

Z: I'm not sure what to tell you to sway you on this book. Do you like Kristin Gore's previous books? Do you think you'll be waiting for her next one? If so, I'd recommend this one because I think it's gonna bridge the gap.

I didn't even know Gore was a writer! I som...

2012-01-23T08:23:29.975-08:00

I didn't even know Gore was a writer!

I sometimes like it when authors branch out, but I haven't seen it too often. JK Rowling did it with her Tales of the Beedle Bard, but that didn't seem to be received too much (and still was set in the Harry Potter universe.)

My favorite author, Haruki Murakami, branched out a few times. He's known for fiction that is somewhat surreal and kinda like Kafka and Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind had literary babies. However, one of his most popular works is just a somewhat simple story about a boy in college/high school and being in love. His other works that are not his usual fare include interviews of survivors of the Tokyo Subway Attack and a long essay on running (that actually got published in the US!)

I do like it when a favorite author branches out, ...

2012-01-23T07:55:26.722-08:00

I do like it when a favorite author branches out, and I find it exciting to see the growth first hand. There are some authors who I trust less than others, and I might be a little less inclined to read the ways in which they branch out, but if it's a favorite author, I am all over it. This book does sound interesting, but the fact that you mention that it's a little too short to do what it intends to do really has me on the fence. Great review on this one today. You gave me a lot to think about!

If it's done well, I enjoy seeing an author br...

2012-01-23T03:43:12.310-08:00

If it's done well, I enjoy seeing an author branch out (and by done well, I simply mean faithfully, not trying to drag his/her original genre over into something different - same stories, different names). And I would much rather see an author try a new genre, a new format, to convey a different kind of story that they want to tell than see them butcher their typical genre attempting to force it to fit.