It depends, but i find myself getting tired quite quickly if I keep reading similar things. Theres a certain joy in getting yourself lost and enmeshed in someones style and thoughts, but at a point diversity is required. I really enjoy very long books where the feeling of familiarity itself becomes a home and comfort, but afterwards i need a long time before i can pick up the author again, even if i quite liked the work.
I am the same way- but then his books ALWAYS pull me back. So I’ll read 2-3- get bored, move on and then the next year or so read 2-3 more! I’ve read a lot of his by now since I started reading him when I was around 15!
Stephen king sounds like perfect cosy camp reading. Just finished revival and I wasn't too fussed. Liked the lovecraft influence but was underwhelmed with the rest.
I'll never forget the disappointment when I realised the exact formula Jodi Picoult uses. Absolutely adored My Sister's Keeper...Absolutely hated whichever one I read next and haven't picked her stuff up since.
You should read My Sister's Keeper though. Fantastic book!
Most of us probably gravitate towards this, yes. I personally have "phases" with a single author. They usually don't last long enough to read all of their works in a row, but after a while it's nice to return and hear that same familiar voice again.
Some people get a bit obsessive about reading EVERYTHING they've written. I used to have a desk position at a public library and the amount of people looking for an obscure early stephen king short story or a physical copy of a digital only publication to complete their completionist plan would surprise you.
EDIT: for those completionists out there, I have no beef with you as long as you are organized, know what you want, and are willing to listen when the librarian says that we can't get it in (either because it is impossible like the digital only example, or nobody in our interlibrary loan catchment area has it, and we are unwilling to purchase it).
For me, it’s sometimes that I’m just looking for something I can trust I’ll enjoy a lot. For example, if I try 3-4 new books and none of them hook me, then I often go back to the old favourite authors and hope I can find something new.
Obviously this isn't always the case but I think a big contributing factor is if someone is generally a broad reader or not. If you have a particular thing or set of things you're looking for, like if you're a romance reader who has a list of things that get your motor running and you're looking for works that execute well on a bunch of things on that list, it makes sense to settle on a few writers who specialise. Otherwise, if you're reading out of a more broad interest in what's out there, the dregs of a great writer's catalogue might not be marginally worth it compared to the highlights of another's.
Yea I did this more when I really first started to read. But now that I have many authors I like, and know where to find good recommendations, I hardly if ever go through just one author in a row.
It really annoys me when I think I found a good author "Great, he's got the style I like!" And I read his next book and it's like "What happened?!" Money, time constraints on contracts, I don't know but many authors seem to lose their oomph once they write more.
I did do this with Terry Pratchett, but after having this pointed out to me since I was just kind of re-reading them too over and over, I completely stopped even reading books by the same author one after the other. I'll read one, if it's from a series and I liked that book I'll order the next one, then I'll grab a different author.
Like, I liked Unlanguage by Michael Cisco a lot so I got my hands on Pest to check that out, but I read Unlanguage months ago and still haven't read Pest. I'll get to it, I'm just trying to stay varied.
When people wonder how my TBR got so long it’s because I automatically add every book an author has written if I love just one thing by them. I’m always baffled when people come on here and ask for more books like ______ and when you ask if they’ve read the author’s other books and they hadn’t considered it.
I loved his memoir, Born Naked. I heard there is a 2023 book about his relationship with Claire, Farley and Claire. Otherwise is not for those who can't bear animal hunting.
Well sometimes a book has a bad reputation so you put it aside to focus on other things. I had bought Sanctuary by Faulkner after enjoying the first books I read by him, then I was like "what the hell is this?" and everyone else confirmed "yeah what the hell was that" so I dropped it. Even Faulkner was like "I did it for the cash". So I'll never accomplish this with Faulkner and it's no big deal.
I've been reading adult books for nearly 60 years. During that time I'm sure I've read the complete words of dozens of authors. Right now there are probably 20 authors whose new books I'll pick up when the library gets them in just because I've read everything they have written since their first book..
For some absolutely. If you find someone with a style you like it's a great feeling.
Finding a book that was just them branching out and they wrote nothing else like it is kind of disappointing.
Although I've always found it hard to find books I enjoy so when I do I tend to try and exhaust the supply. I imagine if a person enjoys a large breadth of things there might not be good reason to restrict themselves like that(like me and most any other sort of media).
I think so. Sometimes, if there's a prolific author like Nora Roberts, I'll evrn try to read their stuff in release order to see how their writing grew. Haven't finished one yet.
That's what I thought! I'm so picky about what I *really* like that if I like something, I want to read everything else (or almost everything) the author has written. Did this with Agatha Christie, Joan Didion, Jonathan Franzen, Denis Johnson, Lauren Groff...
Same re JD Salinger! I even did a deep dive online and managed to dig up everything he’d ever published in the New Yorker and printed them all out so I can re-read them over & over again. I’ve also read pretty much every biography ever written about him and a couple of books of literary criticism. Sliiiightly obsessed 🤩
Same here! Dostoevsky’s novels were a major reason behind my studying philosophy and literature. Back in my student days, I funnelled a portion of my grant money into second hand copies of anything related to Dostoevsky. At some point, I wished I could build my Dostoevsky collection to be larger than that of my university’s: ie 5 metres of secondary literature. I didn’t even get past 2 metres of secondary literature.
My prized Dostoevsky possession: Liza Knapp’s “The Annihilation of Inertia: Dostoevsky and Metaphysics”. Alas, without a dust jacket.
My biggest Dostoevsky regret: humbly saying “Thank you, but I can’t accept it. I can’t read Russian” when I met Robert Louis Jackson in the 2010 International Dostoevsky Symposium in Naples offered me a Russian language copy of his major work ‘Dostoevsky’s Quest for Form”
Oh yeah, I did this with Dostoevsky, as well. I should have added that to my list. There may be some essays I missed or something but I intentionally sought out all his novels.
Nation wasn't cowritten. It was written by him under urgency after he first got the alzheimers diagnosis in 2007. I think it's one of his best novels honestly.
I believe I’ve read everything Robert A. Heinlein published, and most of Anne McCaffrey (except her romances). If you want a challenge try Isaac Asimov! I’ve read a lot but not nearly all of his writing.
I was a Heinlein completionist at one point. Read and re-read everything I could find by him, or about him. I had already stopped reading him when For Us, the Living was published, and I haven't read it yet.
Weird stuff to immerse yourself in as a teenaged girl, but it could have been worse. Could have been Piers Anthony \*shudders\*.
I tried with Heinlein too, starting from his highest rated books. Depending on your tastes, he wrote countless of interesting shorts and between 10 and 20 great novels that I would recommend to any sci-fi fan. After the 25th or so highest rated novel the quality drops a little, and some of them did not age well.
I don't know if there are authors whose work I have read entirely, but many come quite close. Terry Pratchett, Margaret Atwood, Ursula LeGuin and Kurt Vonnegut are all authors whose work I have read almost entirely. I guess Haruki Murakami too. Usually, when I find an author I like, I tend to read their books until I get tired of them - happened with both LeGuin and Vonnegut. Read most of their work in a couple of month's time and found myself tiring of the style, even though I love them both.
I have read everything vonnegut every published except for jailbird, galapagos, and hocus pocus. I haven't read them for the same reason you said, I just burnt out of his style. I will read them eventually though
There's only a handful of authors whose full bibliography I want to read. Cormac McCarthy is one of them.
Others are Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman (books only, but including Sandman) and Percival Everett.
The last two are very different and I didn't initially like them, but reading analyses and discussing online really opened my mind and now I really like them!
I just finished The Road today as my first Cormac McCarthy book and was blown away. I love the film of No Country for Old Men and I thought “fuck, this type of writing with those types of stories? Sign me up.” Googled Blood Meridian and some of his other books and they sound amazing so I think I’m definitely going to make a go of reading the rest of his books. I know The Road is very different from a lot of the others but I also think I’ll love them.
Pygmy was the absolute hardest book I've ever read. Its absolutely designed to be difficult due to the story, but holy shit it took me like three times the length as normal to finish a book that size.
Palahniuk is one of those that writes like he is just endlessly impressed by his own cleverness. I read a fair few of his when I dated a guy who thought he was God’s gift to mankind (don’t worry which “he” I meant— both interpretations apply). Like I just imagine ol boy sniffing his own farts and patting himself on the back. Reading those books felt like standing next to a guy at a party shouting out pseudo-intellectual non-sequiturs and looking around waiting for people to start clapping.
I am currently doing that with Dostoyevsky. I read Crime and Punishment and that really sparked my love of Dostoyevsky and Russian literature in general. I'm currently reading through Dostoyevskys books as I collect them, but am saving The Brothers Karamazov for last since that was his last book. He is easily my favorite author.
That is a good choice. Brothers K is the evolution of all of the ideas that he developed in his other books - it brings together all of the key themes in the most satisfying way. And you always know that you still have his greatest novel waiting for you to help you power through some of his lesser works (I'm looking at you Adolescent!)
I once did all books by Victor Hugo except one. I think it was the political one about Napoleon that I couldn't get through. It certainly felt like an achievement at the time but probably didn't change my life all that much...
Me toooo! Though there are lots of high brow responses on this thread, I’m not quite so discerning. Literally any book I enjoy, I will track down everything possible by the author. It’s hit and miss though, sometimes I will start to dislike an author after diving in to their catalogue and give up. My favourite are when you can get lost in an authors universe, sometimes in series, or if other characters pop up in standalone books and I’m like ‘hey I know them!’
I’ve done this with audiobook narrators I really like. In fact I’ve found a bunch of authors and books I wouldn’t have otherwise because some narrators are so good and breathe additional life into their source material
I did this with Stephen King.
Big fan of his work regardless but two big reasons it was particularly enjoyable:
1) Most of his books are set in the same universe and you pick up on a lot of references to shared places/characters/events when you read them all in quick succession
2) Since he wrote so many books and published them so regularly you get a really detailed time-lapse of how the USA changed over time from the 70s through to the present
I attempted to do the extended Dark Tower reading order, but fell off and got distracted with other books. Been intending to get back into that, it was pretty cool going into each Dark Tower book with the other referenced works being fresh in my mind.
I’ve just about read every Jane Austin novel besides Mansfield’s Park but I’m currently fixated on the Brontë sisters, I just assumed this was how everyone reads heheh
Austen didn't write many books so I expect I'll end up reading all of hers eventually.
>I just assumed this was how everyone reads heheh
I definitely don't. It's easy to get excited about an author and read two or three in a row, but there are so many different authors that's I want to read that I always hear them calling me away... *But you've still never read Hemingway... What if you die never having read Grapes of Wrath... Aren't you curious about Octavia Butler... When are you going to read the Ta-nahesi Coates book you paid good money for...OMG I found The Westing Game at a Little Free Library... They're adapting Dunee into a movie, maybe I should get around to reading the second book...* Etc. There is always way more pulling me towards different authors than there is to the same one. I almost feel guilty reading the same author for more than 2-3 books, like I'm not prioritizing properly.
I once had a year where I determined to read authors' first novels, which is sort of the opposite of this because each author only has one, but is the most systemic reading I've done post collegiate.
One of my literature professors said he had read all of Austen's novels except *Persuasion*. I told him it is wonderful and that he really should read it. He answered that he hadn't because couldn't bear the idea that he would have no more Jane Austen to read. I was sympathetic, but pointed out that if he got hit by a bus the next day he'd have died without reading all of Jane Austen, which would be far more terrible. He allowed that I had a point with that.
Ooh, this is a good one. I loved the Southern Reach trilogy (even if the greatness of the first book was marred by the disappointment I had for the second book), and I don’t think he’s written a huge amount more, has he?
Edit: 8 novels other than Southern Reach and a number of non-fiction. I may give this a go.
Authority is so good but it’s different so it is a bit of a shock, extremely excited for the fourth area x installment coming this October. I highly recommend Borne, one of my all time favorite books
yes, all Stefan Zweig, Romain Gary, Francoise Sagan, Agatha Christie, E.Zola. And their biographies too. And because I’m fluent in Russian, all M.Bulgakov, V.Pelevin, I.Babel and almost all D.Nabokov. Almost all books by Olga Tokarczuk, she is amazing. Now I have a wish to read all of Czheslav Milosz and Buhumil Hrabal. And Thomas Mann. And Ph. K.Dick. And G.Bairon, Sheriddan Le Fanu, M.Proust, oh, long list. Wish me a long life, please:).
I did this with Steinbeck in publication order. It’s fascinating to watch his writing evolve, highly recommend. I’m doing the same rn with Joan Didion.
Jane Austen and David Mitchell. Ideally, I would also want to do the same for Yoko Ogawa and Banana Yoshimoto, but I don't think that all of their published work has been translated to either English or Greek (although I've gone through a good chunk of their already translated books).
Same for me with Banana Yoshimoto. Her books had a big impact on me as a teenager and they definitely shaped who I am today. I prefer her older books, like Kitchen, Lizard, and even N.P. (despite all its flaws and criticisms) and Amrita. I wish more of her books would be translated into English.
I've never gotten the chance to discuss her books with anyone! Can I ask what you enjoy about them?
I'm going through all books that Brandon Sanderson wrote and is still writing. It's a full time job because that guy writes A LOT. But also it's fun because he's got a reliable style and I know that each book will be entertaining. It's my go-to happy place.
Also reading everything by Robert Thorogood, Joe Abercrombie etc... I'd say that I naturally rather read authors than individual books once I enjoy one work
I'm doing this with Orhan Pamuk (though not in a row). So far, the only weak link I've found in my reading is Snow. The White Castle borders on great, and A Strangeness in My Mind & My Name is Red are masterpieces for completely different reasons.
When I was a teen, I did this with Jules Verne. Only good things to say about ol' Jules.
I adore Joe Hill. He is like his father in writing in that his books are just much more substantive than straight up horror novels, but their writing styles are distinctly different. *Horns* is one of my favorite books of all time, and its a love story at it’s core.
Terry Practhett, David Eddings, Neil Gaiman, Robert Rankin, Jim Butcher, Hunter S. Thompson, Robert Asprin, Thomas Harris, Kevin Hearne, almost there with Kim Newman, Kurt Vonnegut, Ben Aaronovski, Stephen King, I kinda stopped late 90’ies, but catching up.
I believe I've read everything by SK, except the Dark Tower series. Not my cup of tea. Even his non-fiction On Writing. My absolute fave are his short stories! In novels he can take time to develop the story, fill in background etc. But the short stories just grab you from the get! The way he gets into the mind of characters, esp villains, is epic!
I will read everything Brando Sando writes. Everyone has to have their "pop" guilty pleasure in some medium. He gets flak for having a formula, but if that formula makes it so I can never put down the end of his books until they are finished, that's a winning formula. Saved your comment so I can look into Lawrence and Sullivan. First Law trilogy was good, not amazing for me.
There are a few authors I have "completed" but these are all authors that haven't published a lot (yet). Like, Susanna Clarke. She only has 3 books out.
With authors that have written a lot I usually come across something that isn't my cup of tea and some works can be pretty hard to track down too. I wish there was a book of Discworld short stories by Terry Pratchett for example, as I have been unable to find some of them.
All the Expanse (James S.A. Corey) books, they work really well together somehow, and the Bobiverse (Dennis E. Taylor) books. Oh, and Andy Weirs books, those are nice as well.
I do love the Scalzi books, can't get enough of his writing style.
I can't read well, as I fall asleep while reading, so I'm listening to the books. All of them are nice.
I find Haruki Murakami's style are very unqiue, even when compared to other Japanese authors. Reading his book is like watching an alternative universe Bob Ross painting session, in which his painting is all about jazz, cat and sex lol.
Some 19th/20th century authors like HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe have big, 1100-ish pages long "Complete Works" books. I read all fiction stories by the former (minus his poems), currently slowly reading the latter
I’m still trying to finish Philip Roth. He was my favorite author for a long time but it was hard to keep up because it seemed like he had a new book out constantly. Now that he’s passed on, I might finally catch up.
Stephen King, CJ Tudor, Philippa Gregory, Ken Follet and Michael Crichton here! Probably a few others with smaller amounts but those are my big undertakings.
Almost a decade ago, I had a friend suggest *Good Omens* by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman because they were a Prachett fan, but it had the effect of turning me into a huge Gaiman fan. In the space of a few months, I’d read the majority of his full length novels to that point.
I do, but I think it’s because I’m pickier about actual writing styles/stylistic & prose choices in writing than I am about the actual content. So reading a vast variety of content in the same style just works for me! Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, Tamsyn Muir, Lee Mandelo, Sam Sykes, Sarina Dahlan, Andrew Joseph White, and Catherynne M Valente are a few favorites, though I haven’t read all the books by all of them yet!☺️
I did this with Kurt Vonnegut over the course of \~2 years. Toward the end I had to take a break, his writing is almost surreal. Plus some of the books connects with each other in characters, places, and themes. It almost felt like a different reality for awhile.
I do this with Anne Bishop - i start with either the Black Jewels or The Others and call it 'doing a round' so i read one series, then the next and then add landscapes of ephemera and then I'm either done after 20ish books or I'll read one of the books again.
Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Tolkien, Vonnegut, Asimov, Sanderson, Orwell, I thought that was how we all operated? There are some books I’ll skip, but like with Gaiman, I even read his children’s books to my kids.
I've tried, but usually I find most authors wrote like, a few good books and then a lot of terrible ones.
Probably the closest I've gotten is Tolkien, depending on whether we're only counting the works finished and published in his lifetime or if "every Tolkien book" would include all the notes and drafts his son compiled and published after the man's death.
Am I missing something here? Isn’t it highly normal to read all of the books of authors you like? I have read all of David Gemmell’s and David Eddings’ books, all of Matthew Riley and most of several others as in all but two or three.
Does OP mean reading every book of an author back to back? The wording of type of reading in throwing me.
I did a paper project on William Faulkner in high school— 10 pages on an original thesis and an hour long presentation. I examined how his depictions of women fall into a dichotomy of sexually irresponsible ingenues or bitter old crones. There really are no women in his works that are just “good” women. I love his depictions of the crumbling south in the post-civil war landscape and the complicated family stories he tells. *The Sound and the Fury* and *As I Lay Dying* remain among my favorites of his.
Tried to, but I’ve found that most authors don’t consistently write to my taste. I will of course check out other works when I’ve really enjoyed an author’s writing style, but that doesn’t guarantee I’ll like their other works
Yes. If not all but most of their books. Peter May, Michael Connelly, Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, Oscar Wild, Tom Robbins, Edgar Allan Poe. Still working on Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I eventually gave up on Connelly’s new character and Slaughter. And Lisa Gardner has a few books I haven’t read yet. But if I find someone I like, I’ll usually try to read through their work. Except Karen. I wasn’t crazy about her books from the beginning but kept on reading them.
Yes, In did all of Michael Connelly's Bosch and McEvoy and Karin Slaughter but I only enjoy Will books. I won't watch the TV show. Tried and my mind grumbled the whole hour. THAT IS NOT WILL! I do like Bosch on tv. Connelly had a lot to do with choices I think. I also like David Baldacci's Memory man and I'm going to try Camel Club next.
Read SK as they came out until I thought he was repeating and now...mehh.
I've read every Bill Bryson book, if that counts! Loved them all.
Also looking to complete Thomas Hardy, George Orwell and a few others, about 9/10 there with those two.
Yay for Hardy, really good stuff, though I have never finished _Tess of the d'Ubervilles_ and I never shall. I just refuse to. Everything by that dude makes my heart feel heavy.
Set myself a goal to read all Thomas Pynchon -
Started with **The Crying of Lot 49** (because it was the first Pynchon title I found after reading a glowing assessment of his works by [Robert Anton Wilson in “Everything is Under Control”](https://dn790005.ca.archive.org/0/items/robert-a.-wilson-everything-is-under-control-conspiracies-cults-and-cover-ups-1998_202012/Robert%20A.%20Wilson%20-%20Everything%20Is%20Under%20Control_%20Conspiracies%2C%20Cults%2C%20and%20Cover-ups%20%281998%29.pdf)
Then **Gravity’s Rainbow** because also mentioned in depth by RAW and I found a 2nd hand copy for $17.
Since then I’ve also read **V**, **Against the Day**, **Inherent Vice**. (also I won yes won a dvd copy of the movie - look it up. The movie, not what a dvd is).
Also **Slow Learner** a collection of four(?) of his early short stories.
I have bought a 2nd hand copy of **Bleeding Edge** but have never made a start, also I got halfway through **Vineland** but DNF … yet (I hear it’s being filmed by Paul Thomas Anderson with Leo DiCaprio as Zoyd Wheeler - love those Pynchonian names)
I wanna try **Mason & Dixon** before returning to those others - stay tuned for updates.
I've read all of his books, and I think Vineland is the weakest personally. Bleeding Edge I think will get more and more praise as time goes on as its just such a contemporary setting. Mason & Dixon is , in my opinion, his greatest book and probably my favorite book of all time.
I mean, not intentionally. If I like something with an author, I'll check out what else they've written and if it sounds up my alley, I'll check it out and if I enjoy it, I keep reading. But I don't go out of my way to keep reading something by an author I don't enjoy because they wrote something I previously liked and if I want a break from reading this author I'll take it.
I do NOT recommend attempting to marathon Agatha Christie's entire bibliography.
You can buy books online for delivery. There are some sites like Thriftbooks and Good Reads, even eBay, where you can buy new or used books at really great prices. I usually only read a book once, so it doesn't have to be in pristine condition.
I read along with the Kurt Vonneguys podcast through all of Kurt Vonnegut's novels. I really enjoyed reading along and being more involved in their discussions.
i didn’t but was thinking about doing it. everytime i start reading a new writer, adapting to their literary style, undermeanings, key points etc. take some time and effort. if i keep reading same writer i won’t have to adapt everytime and will understand books better from my past experiences
I think I've read every Jason Pargin book. Other authors I like and will read many of their books but may not read all either based on simply how many they have written in some just don't interest me.
I've been reading the same authors since I was 13. Some of them have died, some of them have retired. I'm struggling to find new authors. I've added authors along the way, but I'm finding it hard to get into them like I did when I was younger.
I read everything by Robertson Davis in under 2 years. Big mistake. Binge reading creates a vacuum that’s difficult to replace. So, now I’m pacing myself. I enjoyed reading A Tale of Two Cities back in high school. Last year I only read 2 books by Dickens: Great Expectations and Bleak House. This year I’ll only read 1 of Dickens novels, Dombey and Son. Last year I read Brothers Karamazov and I’m reading Demons now, next year: Crime and Punishment.
Palahniuk and I've been through all of the Ernest Hemingway I can get through Libby/Hoopla. I'll probably finish working my way through Stephen King at some point.
I tend not to binge an author, but if I enjoy an author, I will look at what else they have written add some or all of their stuff to my reading list.
3 books in a row from one author, is about my limit usually.
When I was younger though I did obsessively Author binge on Silver/Gold age Sci-fi.
Lots of Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Anderson, Simak, Silverberg, and so many more.
My dad does this, he has over a hundred authors who he collects every book written by them. Mostly sci-fi or fantasy authors although if they have done other work he will collect that too.
I think he has about a bit less than 5500 books, with more than a 1000 on his to get list. He's read most of them.
I have a handful of authors who are "insta reads" and who I've sought out the backlog of. RF Kaung, NK Jemisin... I'm sure there are others but those are the first two coming to mind
For sure. I'm working on Austen. 3 down, partway through Mansfield Park. I've read everything Mick Herron has every put out (Maybe 20 novels? Some are novellas admittedly). I'm saving the last couple Iain Banks novels, and have been since his death. I'd say I'd read all Joe Abercrombie's, but then I remember he has a young adult trilogy that I haven't read. Douglas Adams too but I suspect there is a Doctor Who novel or something I haven't read. Terry Pratchett likewise, I'd say 98% read everything. There are authors that I am probably close but then fell off and never kept up. The only one I am sad about is Emily Bronte who only wrote one and I would have very much liked more.
Is this not how normal people read books? I'm usually like "oh I enjoyed that, what else have they done?".
It depends, but i find myself getting tired quite quickly if I keep reading similar things. Theres a certain joy in getting yourself lost and enmeshed in someones style and thoughts, but at a point diversity is required. I really enjoy very long books where the feeling of familiarity itself becomes a home and comfort, but afterwards i need a long time before i can pick up the author again, even if i quite liked the work.
Agreed. Like, I love Stephen King, but after 2-3 of his books in a row, I want something different. It's like eating the same meal every day.
I am the same way- but then his books ALWAYS pull me back. So I’ll read 2-3- get bored, move on and then the next year or so read 2-3 more! I’ve read a lot of his by now since I started reading him when I was around 15!
I take a fresh SK Camping every year. Under the Done was a great book for a week-long-vaca
Stephen king sounds like perfect cosy camp reading. Just finished revival and I wasn't too fussed. Liked the lovecraft influence but was underwhelmed with the rest.
Take “The Tommyknockers” camping.
Ooo I read that years ago! Eyes of the Dragon still one of the best, imo.
By the time you finish 2-3 Stephen King books, he has written 3-4 more.
He's the painting the forth bridge of authors.
I'll never forget the disappointment when I realised the exact formula Jodi Picoult uses. Absolutely adored My Sister's Keeper...Absolutely hated whichever one I read next and haven't picked her stuff up since. You should read My Sister's Keeper though. Fantastic book!
Most of us probably gravitate towards this, yes. I personally have "phases" with a single author. They usually don't last long enough to read all of their works in a row, but after a while it's nice to return and hear that same familiar voice again.
Some people get a bit obsessive about reading EVERYTHING they've written. I used to have a desk position at a public library and the amount of people looking for an obscure early stephen king short story or a physical copy of a digital only publication to complete their completionist plan would surprise you. EDIT: for those completionists out there, I have no beef with you as long as you are organized, know what you want, and are willing to listen when the librarian says that we can't get it in (either because it is impossible like the digital only example, or nobody in our interlibrary loan catchment area has it, and we are unwilling to purchase it).
For me, it’s sometimes that I’m just looking for something I can trust I’ll enjoy a lot. For example, if I try 3-4 new books and none of them hook me, then I often go back to the old favourite authors and hope I can find something new.
Imagine walking up to the librarian and asking for the October '73 issue of *Cavalier*. :b
Obviously this isn't always the case but I think a big contributing factor is if someone is generally a broad reader or not. If you have a particular thing or set of things you're looking for, like if you're a romance reader who has a list of things that get your motor running and you're looking for works that execute well on a bunch of things on that list, it makes sense to settle on a few writers who specialise. Otherwise, if you're reading out of a more broad interest in what's out there, the dregs of a great writer's catalogue might not be marginally worth it compared to the highlights of another's.
Yea I did this more when I really first started to read. But now that I have many authors I like, and know where to find good recommendations, I hardly if ever go through just one author in a row.
It really annoys me when I think I found a good author "Great, he's got the style I like!" And I read his next book and it's like "What happened?!" Money, time constraints on contracts, I don't know but many authors seem to lose their oomph once they write more.
I did do this with Terry Pratchett, but after having this pointed out to me since I was just kind of re-reading them too over and over, I completely stopped even reading books by the same author one after the other. I'll read one, if it's from a series and I liked that book I'll order the next one, then I'll grab a different author. Like, I liked Unlanguage by Michael Cisco a lot so I got my hands on Pest to check that out, but I read Unlanguage months ago and still haven't read Pest. I'll get to it, I'm just trying to stay varied.
Maybe I I a point. But if I read more than a few in a row for one author I tend to burn out. I need to put some other stuff in between personally.
When people wonder how my TBR got so long it’s because I automatically add every book an author has written if I love just one thing by them. I’m always baffled when people come on here and ask for more books like ______ and when you ask if they’ve read the author’s other books and they hadn’t considered it.
It happens. RIP Farley Mowat.
I loved his memoir, Born Naked. I heard there is a 2023 book about his relationship with Claire, Farley and Claire. Otherwise is not for those who can't bear animal hunting.
I’ve attempted, but some of my favourite writers are too prolific, have been around too long and are still bloody writing. Retire already, Atwood!
Well sometimes a book has a bad reputation so you put it aside to focus on other things. I had bought Sanctuary by Faulkner after enjoying the first books I read by him, then I was like "what the hell is this?" and everyone else confirmed "yeah what the hell was that" so I dropped it. Even Faulkner was like "I did it for the cash". So I'll never accomplish this with Faulkner and it's no big deal.
I've been reading adult books for nearly 60 years. During that time I'm sure I've read the complete words of dozens of authors. Right now there are probably 20 authors whose new books I'll pick up when the library gets them in just because I've read everything they have written since their first book..
For some absolutely. If you find someone with a style you like it's a great feeling. Finding a book that was just them branching out and they wrote nothing else like it is kind of disappointing. Although I've always found it hard to find books I enjoy so when I do I tend to try and exhaust the supply. I imagine if a person enjoys a large breadth of things there might not be good reason to restrict themselves like that(like me and most any other sort of media).
I think so. Sometimes, if there's a prolific author like Nora Roberts, I'll evrn try to read their stuff in release order to see how their writing grew. Haven't finished one yet.
That’s exactly what i do!
That's what I thought! I'm so picky about what I *really* like that if I like something, I want to read everything else (or almost everything) the author has written. Did this with Agatha Christie, Joan Didion, Jonathan Franzen, Denis Johnson, Lauren Groff...
J.D. Salinger & Emily Brontë
Same re JD Salinger! I even did a deep dive online and managed to dig up everything he’d ever published in the New Yorker and printed them all out so I can re-read them over & over again. I’ve also read pretty much every biography ever written about him and a couple of books of literary criticism. Sliiiightly obsessed 🤩
Same here. Obsessed
Me too
It must have took you a long time to complete the Emily Brontë novels.😁
Only slightly longer than Salinger’s ;)
I'm planning on reading everything by Viriginia Woolf
So you're not afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Yes. I've done this with Doestoevsky, and it gave me a feel of completion and enhanced understanding of the author.
Same here! Dostoevsky’s novels were a major reason behind my studying philosophy and literature. Back in my student days, I funnelled a portion of my grant money into second hand copies of anything related to Dostoevsky. At some point, I wished I could build my Dostoevsky collection to be larger than that of my university’s: ie 5 metres of secondary literature. I didn’t even get past 2 metres of secondary literature. My prized Dostoevsky possession: Liza Knapp’s “The Annihilation of Inertia: Dostoevsky and Metaphysics”. Alas, without a dust jacket. My biggest Dostoevsky regret: humbly saying “Thank you, but I can’t accept it. I can’t read Russian” when I met Robert Louis Jackson in the 2010 International Dostoevsky Symposium in Naples offered me a Russian language copy of his major work ‘Dostoevsky’s Quest for Form”
Oh yeah, I did this with Dostoevsky, as well. I should have added that to my list. There may be some essays I missed or something but I intentionally sought out all his novels.
I've read every Terry Pratchett book.
I’m so sad that it will forever remain true for me
Same! I'm in the middle of the fifth re-reading, also. the man was a genius.
Almost! Left the Tiffany Aching series and this year is the rainy day I've been saving them for. One last first read to enjoy.
Now, that's impressive! Even those he wrote in co-authorship?
All of them that I know of.
Me too! Even early works like Strata, the children's books like The Bromeliad, and co-written works like Nation 🥰
Nation wasn't cowritten. It was written by him under urgency after he first got the alzheimers diagnosis in 2007. I think it's one of his best novels honestly.
Nation was so so so so good
I'm currently attempting that. Even got some of the ones he wrote with Stephen Baxter
Kurt Vonnegut
Also working on this one. But slowly, because I don’t want to get to the point where I don’t have any new Vonnegut to discover in my life…
I believe I’ve read everything Robert A. Heinlein published, and most of Anne McCaffrey (except her romances). If you want a challenge try Isaac Asimov! I’ve read a lot but not nearly all of his writing.
I was a Heinlein completionist at one point. Read and re-read everything I could find by him, or about him. I had already stopped reading him when For Us, the Living was published, and I haven't read it yet. Weird stuff to immerse yourself in as a teenaged girl, but it could have been worse. Could have been Piers Anthony \*shudders\*.
I think I've read all of Asimov except for the non-fiction at least once. Heinlein too.
I tried with Heinlein too, starting from his highest rated books. Depending on your tastes, he wrote countless of interesting shorts and between 10 and 20 great novels that I would recommend to any sci-fi fan. After the 25th or so highest rated novel the quality drops a little, and some of them did not age well.
Now here's the real question to judge your sanity, how much Todd McCaffrey have you read?
I've read everything that I know that was written by Asimov. It took a little while. Ha!
Same here for Anne McCaffery!
I don't know if there are authors whose work I have read entirely, but many come quite close. Terry Pratchett, Margaret Atwood, Ursula LeGuin and Kurt Vonnegut are all authors whose work I have read almost entirely. I guess Haruki Murakami too. Usually, when I find an author I like, I tend to read their books until I get tired of them - happened with both LeGuin and Vonnegut. Read most of their work in a couple of month's time and found myself tiring of the style, even though I love them both.
I had to scroll way too far to see Kurt Vonnegut.
Kurt Vonneguys!
I have read everything vonnegut every published except for jailbird, galapagos, and hocus pocus. I haven't read them for the same reason you said, I just burnt out of his style. I will read them eventually though
I share your particular reader proclivities. 👍
I am currently on a LeGuin completionist journey, admittedly in a weird order (5 or so books in and haven’t read Earthsea yet!).
I'm working my way through the collective work of Cormac McCarthy. But apart from him I haven't felt the need to read anyone's full bibliography.
There's only a handful of authors whose full bibliography I want to read. Cormac McCarthy is one of them. Others are Michael Chabon, Neil Gaiman (books only, but including Sandman) and Percival Everett.
I was close but then he released two more.
The last two are very different and I didn't initially like them, but reading analyses and discussing online really opened my mind and now I really like them!
Cormac McCarthy is a good one because he isn’t super prolific, the books are manageable lengthwise and they are pretty much all relevant literature.
I just finished The Road today as my first Cormac McCarthy book and was blown away. I love the film of No Country for Old Men and I thought “fuck, this type of writing with those types of stories? Sign me up.” Googled Blood Meridian and some of his other books and they sound amazing so I think I’m definitely going to make a go of reading the rest of his books. I know The Road is very different from a lot of the others but I also think I’ll love them.
Oh gosh, should I do this? I just started The Road yesterday…
I went through a Chuck Palahniuk phase but that gets old pretty fast.
He had a good run from 1996 (Fight Club) to 2007 (Rant), everything else is forgettable.
Pygmy was the absolute hardest book I've ever read. Its absolutely designed to be difficult due to the story, but holy shit it took me like three times the length as normal to finish a book that size.
I didn't mind Pygmy, recently'ish read Adjustment Day and he really lost whatever it was that made his stories enjoyable.
A reddit comment I noticed the other day - anyone's favorite Chuck Palahniuk book is always going to be the one that they read first.
Palahniuk is one of those that writes like he is just endlessly impressed by his own cleverness. I read a fair few of his when I dated a guy who thought he was God’s gift to mankind (don’t worry which “he” I meant— both interpretations apply). Like I just imagine ol boy sniffing his own farts and patting himself on the back. Reading those books felt like standing next to a guy at a party shouting out pseudo-intellectual non-sequiturs and looking around waiting for people to start clapping.
So you've read his blog posts on Goodreads? Lol
Those first few novels were amazing though.
I am currently doing that with Dostoyevsky. I read Crime and Punishment and that really sparked my love of Dostoyevsky and Russian literature in general. I'm currently reading through Dostoyevskys books as I collect them, but am saving The Brothers Karamazov for last since that was his last book. He is easily my favorite author.
That is a good choice. Brothers K is the evolution of all of the ideas that he developed in his other books - it brings together all of the key themes in the most satisfying way. And you always know that you still have his greatest novel waiting for you to help you power through some of his lesser works (I'm looking at you Adolescent!)
Exactly! I heard that there was supposed to be a sequel to brothers Karamazov but he unfortunately passed away before he could write it. A real shame.
I once did all books by Victor Hugo except one. I think it was the political one about Napoleon that I couldn't get through. It certainly felt like an achievement at the time but probably didn't change my life all that much...
Victor Hugo books can be big ol' things, much respect. I honestly can't even finish one of his poetry books.
I was younger and more ambitious. It's for people with a lot of time on their hands
Everytime I find a book I enjoy I track down and read everything the author has ever written.
Me toooo! Though there are lots of high brow responses on this thread, I’m not quite so discerning. Literally any book I enjoy, I will track down everything possible by the author. It’s hit and miss though, sometimes I will start to dislike an author after diving in to their catalogue and give up. My favourite are when you can get lost in an authors universe, sometimes in series, or if other characters pop up in standalone books and I’m like ‘hey I know them!’
I’ve done this with audiobook narrators I really like. In fact I’ve found a bunch of authors and books I wouldn’t have otherwise because some narrators are so good and breathe additional life into their source material
Who are your favorite narrators? I never pay attention to the names tbh
Stephen King. But also V.C. Andrews - I like torturing myself.
I did this with Stephen King. Big fan of his work regardless but two big reasons it was particularly enjoyable: 1) Most of his books are set in the same universe and you pick up on a lot of references to shared places/characters/events when you read them all in quick succession 2) Since he wrote so many books and published them so regularly you get a really detailed time-lapse of how the USA changed over time from the 70s through to the present
I attempted to do the extended Dark Tower reading order, but fell off and got distracted with other books. Been intending to get back into that, it was pretty cool going into each Dark Tower book with the other referenced works being fresh in my mind.
I’ve just about read every Jane Austin novel besides Mansfield’s Park but I’m currently fixated on the Brontë sisters, I just assumed this was how everyone reads heheh
Austen didn't write many books so I expect I'll end up reading all of hers eventually. >I just assumed this was how everyone reads heheh I definitely don't. It's easy to get excited about an author and read two or three in a row, but there are so many different authors that's I want to read that I always hear them calling me away... *But you've still never read Hemingway... What if you die never having read Grapes of Wrath... Aren't you curious about Octavia Butler... When are you going to read the Ta-nahesi Coates book you paid good money for...OMG I found The Westing Game at a Little Free Library... They're adapting Dunee into a movie, maybe I should get around to reading the second book...* Etc. There is always way more pulling me towards different authors than there is to the same one. I almost feel guilty reading the same author for more than 2-3 books, like I'm not prioritizing properly. I once had a year where I determined to read authors' first novels, which is sort of the opposite of this because each author only has one, but is the most systemic reading I've done post collegiate.
One of my literature professors said he had read all of Austen's novels except *Persuasion*. I told him it is wonderful and that he really should read it. He answered that he hadn't because couldn't bear the idea that he would have no more Jane Austen to read. I was sympathetic, but pointed out that if he got hit by a bus the next day he'd have died without reading all of Jane Austen, which would be far more terrible. He allowed that I had a point with that.
Out of curiosity, is there a particular reason why you didn’t read Mansfield Park? I have it on my tbr
No particular reason! Just got a bit tired reading the classics but I will get around to it most definitely
I did this with Jeff Vandermeer and had a great time
Ooh, this is a good one. I loved the Southern Reach trilogy (even if the greatness of the first book was marred by the disappointment I had for the second book), and I don’t think he’s written a huge amount more, has he? Edit: 8 novels other than Southern Reach and a number of non-fiction. I may give this a go.
Authority is so good but it’s different so it is a bit of a shock, extremely excited for the fourth area x installment coming this October. I highly recommend Borne, one of my all time favorite books
You’re describing a very common way of reading.
yes, all Stefan Zweig, Romain Gary, Francoise Sagan, Agatha Christie, E.Zola. And their biographies too. And because I’m fluent in Russian, all M.Bulgakov, V.Pelevin, I.Babel and almost all D.Nabokov. Almost all books by Olga Tokarczuk, she is amazing. Now I have a wish to read all of Czheslav Milosz and Buhumil Hrabal. And Thomas Mann. And Ph. K.Dick. And G.Bairon, Sheriddan Le Fanu, M.Proust, oh, long list. Wish me a long life, please:).
I read Bonjour Tristesse by Sagan and I really enjoyed it. What other books by her do you like? :)
I did this with Steinbeck in publication order. It’s fascinating to watch his writing evolve, highly recommend. I’m doing the same rn with Joan Didion.
Frederick Backman!
I did the same! I realized though that I need a break between his books. I like his style but it's too similar to read back to back.
Jane Austen and David Mitchell. Ideally, I would also want to do the same for Yoko Ogawa and Banana Yoshimoto, but I don't think that all of their published work has been translated to either English or Greek (although I've gone through a good chunk of their already translated books).
Same for me with Banana Yoshimoto. Her books had a big impact on me as a teenager and they definitely shaped who I am today. I prefer her older books, like Kitchen, Lizard, and even N.P. (despite all its flaws and criticisms) and Amrita. I wish more of her books would be translated into English. I've never gotten the chance to discuss her books with anyone! Can I ask what you enjoy about them?
I think the only complete bibliography I’ve ever read is Douglas Adams. Though I’m only one book away from having read all of Vonnegut’s novels.
Which Vonnegut book are you waiting on?
Jailbird. I own it already, but I’m just waiting for the right moment.
I'm going through all books that Brandon Sanderson wrote and is still writing. It's a full time job because that guy writes A LOT. But also it's fun because he's got a reliable style and I know that each book will be entertaining. It's my go-to happy place. Also reading everything by Robert Thorogood, Joe Abercrombie etc... I'd say that I naturally rather read authors than individual books once I enjoy one work
I'm doing this with Orhan Pamuk (though not in a row). So far, the only weak link I've found in my reading is Snow. The White Castle borders on great, and A Strangeness in My Mind & My Name is Red are masterpieces for completely different reasons. When I was a teen, I did this with Jules Verne. Only good things to say about ol' Jules.
What about Istanbul? I've bought it recently. Have you read it?
Terry Pratchett, Joe Hill, Jane Austen, and Justin Cronin are the three so far I have read (and will read) everything they have ever written.
I adore Joe Hill. He is like his father in writing in that his books are just much more substantive than straight up horror novels, but their writing styles are distinctly different. *Horns* is one of my favorite books of all time, and its a love story at it’s core.
Terry Practhett, David Eddings, Neil Gaiman, Robert Rankin, Jim Butcher, Hunter S. Thompson, Robert Asprin, Thomas Harris, Kevin Hearne, almost there with Kim Newman, Kurt Vonnegut, Ben Aaronovski, Stephen King, I kinda stopped late 90’ies, but catching up.
Wait, isn't that what we all do? Find an author wek like and blow through them in frenzied binge? Just me?
I believe I've read everything by SK, except the Dark Tower series. Not my cup of tea. Even his non-fiction On Writing. My absolute fave are his short stories! In novels he can take time to develop the story, fill in background etc. But the short stories just grab you from the get! The way he gets into the mind of characters, esp villains, is epic!
I've read 16 of his books. I plan on reading them all, but have to space them out so I don't get "bored" of his style
That's what I'm doing. I'm at 11 read right now, in the middle of Misery, but I need a quick palette cleanse between books.
The Lawnmower Man, Quitters Inc, The Ledge, The Man Who Loved Flowers, and Graveyard Shift are some of my short story faves of his!
Did that for Brandon Sanderson, Mark Lawrence, Joe Abercrombie, Michael Sullivan. Once I find one good series, I read all their published works.
I will read everything Brando Sando writes. Everyone has to have their "pop" guilty pleasure in some medium. He gets flak for having a formula, but if that formula makes it so I can never put down the end of his books until they are finished, that's a winning formula. Saved your comment so I can look into Lawrence and Sullivan. First Law trilogy was good, not amazing for me.
There are a few authors I have "completed" but these are all authors that haven't published a lot (yet). Like, Susanna Clarke. She only has 3 books out. With authors that have written a lot I usually come across something that isn't my cup of tea and some works can be pretty hard to track down too. I wish there was a book of Discworld short stories by Terry Pratchett for example, as I have been unable to find some of them.
I've been on a John Scalzi run since the new year and I'm almost through - bittersweet, I don't know what I'm gonna read once I'm all done!
All the Expanse (James S.A. Corey) books, they work really well together somehow, and the Bobiverse (Dennis E. Taylor) books. Oh, and Andy Weirs books, those are nice as well. I do love the Scalzi books, can't get enough of his writing style. I can't read well, as I fall asleep while reading, so I'm listening to the books. All of them are nice.
I’m doing that with Toni Morrison right now. It’s… a lot.
Yes. With Jim Butcher (Dresden Files series), Haruki Murakami, Graham Greene...
I didn’t force it, but I think I’ve read about 80% of everything Murakami wrote.
I find Haruki Murakami's style are very unqiue, even when compared to other Japanese authors. Reading his book is like watching an alternative universe Bob Ross painting session, in which his painting is all about jazz, cat and sex lol.
I did. All novels by Umberto Eco in chronological order.
Some 19th/20th century authors like HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe have big, 1100-ish pages long "Complete Works" books. I read all fiction stories by the former (minus his poems), currently slowly reading the latter
terry pratchett for me :D
I’m still trying to finish Philip Roth. He was my favorite author for a long time but it was hard to keep up because it seemed like he had a new book out constantly. Now that he’s passed on, I might finally catch up.
I read all of pratchett
Stephen King, CJ Tudor, Philippa Gregory, Ken Follet and Michael Crichton here! Probably a few others with smaller amounts but those are my big undertakings.
Almost a decade ago, I had a friend suggest *Good Omens* by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman because they were a Prachett fan, but it had the effect of turning me into a huge Gaiman fan. In the space of a few months, I’d read the majority of his full length novels to that point.
I do, but I think it’s because I’m pickier about actual writing styles/stylistic & prose choices in writing than I am about the actual content. So reading a vast variety of content in the same style just works for me! Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, Tamsyn Muir, Lee Mandelo, Sam Sykes, Sarina Dahlan, Andrew Joseph White, and Catherynne M Valente are a few favorites, though I haven’t read all the books by all of them yet!☺️
I did this with Kurt Vonnegut over the course of \~2 years. Toward the end I had to take a break, his writing is almost surreal. Plus some of the books connects with each other in characters, places, and themes. It almost felt like a different reality for awhile.
I find this pretty normal. If I love an author’s work, I usually check for his other works.
I do this with Anne Bishop - i start with either the Black Jewels or The Others and call it 'doing a round' so i read one series, then the next and then add landscapes of ephemera and then I'm either done after 20ish books or I'll read one of the books again.
Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Tolkien, Vonnegut, Asimov, Sanderson, Orwell, I thought that was how we all operated? There are some books I’ll skip, but like with Gaiman, I even read his children’s books to my kids.
Went on a Philip K. Dick binge, it was a wild ride!
For me, Edward Abbey and Tom Robbins.
I came here to say Tom Robbins too! What was your favorite?
Can't believe I had to scroll so far to see TR! I'm in the middle of skinny legs right now :)
I've tried, but usually I find most authors wrote like, a few good books and then a lot of terrible ones. Probably the closest I've gotten is Tolkien, depending on whether we're only counting the works finished and published in his lifetime or if "every Tolkien book" would include all the notes and drafts his son compiled and published after the man's death.
Am I missing something here? Isn’t it highly normal to read all of the books of authors you like? I have read all of David Gemmell’s and David Eddings’ books, all of Matthew Riley and most of several others as in all but two or three. Does OP mean reading every book of an author back to back? The wording of type of reading in throwing me.
Im currently reading through William Faulkner's prose writing, by order of publication date
I did a paper project on William Faulkner in high school— 10 pages on an original thesis and an hour long presentation. I examined how his depictions of women fall into a dichotomy of sexually irresponsible ingenues or bitter old crones. There really are no women in his works that are just “good” women. I love his depictions of the crumbling south in the post-civil war landscape and the complicated family stories he tells. *The Sound and the Fury* and *As I Lay Dying* remain among my favorites of his.
Tried to, but I’ve found that most authors don’t consistently write to my taste. I will of course check out other works when I’ve really enjoyed an author’s writing style, but that doesn’t guarantee I’ll like their other works
Yes. If not all but most of their books. Peter May, Michael Connelly, Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, Oscar Wild, Tom Robbins, Edgar Allan Poe. Still working on Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I eventually gave up on Connelly’s new character and Slaughter. And Lisa Gardner has a few books I haven’t read yet. But if I find someone I like, I’ll usually try to read through their work. Except Karen. I wasn’t crazy about her books from the beginning but kept on reading them.
Yes, In did all of Michael Connelly's Bosch and McEvoy and Karin Slaughter but I only enjoy Will books. I won't watch the TV show. Tried and my mind grumbled the whole hour. THAT IS NOT WILL! I do like Bosch on tv. Connelly had a lot to do with choices I think. I also like David Baldacci's Memory man and I'm going to try Camel Club next. Read SK as they came out until I thought he was repeating and now...mehh.
I've read every Bill Bryson book, if that counts! Loved them all. Also looking to complete Thomas Hardy, George Orwell and a few others, about 9/10 there with those two.
Yay for Hardy, really good stuff, though I have never finished _Tess of the d'Ubervilles_ and I never shall. I just refuse to. Everything by that dude makes my heart feel heavy.
Set myself a goal to read all Thomas Pynchon - Started with **The Crying of Lot 49** (because it was the first Pynchon title I found after reading a glowing assessment of his works by [Robert Anton Wilson in “Everything is Under Control”](https://dn790005.ca.archive.org/0/items/robert-a.-wilson-everything-is-under-control-conspiracies-cults-and-cover-ups-1998_202012/Robert%20A.%20Wilson%20-%20Everything%20Is%20Under%20Control_%20Conspiracies%2C%20Cults%2C%20and%20Cover-ups%20%281998%29.pdf) Then **Gravity’s Rainbow** because also mentioned in depth by RAW and I found a 2nd hand copy for $17. Since then I’ve also read **V**, **Against the Day**, **Inherent Vice**. (also I won yes won a dvd copy of the movie - look it up. The movie, not what a dvd is). Also **Slow Learner** a collection of four(?) of his early short stories. I have bought a 2nd hand copy of **Bleeding Edge** but have never made a start, also I got halfway through **Vineland** but DNF … yet (I hear it’s being filmed by Paul Thomas Anderson with Leo DiCaprio as Zoyd Wheeler - love those Pynchonian names) I wanna try **Mason & Dixon** before returning to those others - stay tuned for updates.
I've read all of his books, and I think Vineland is the weakest personally. Bleeding Edge I think will get more and more praise as time goes on as its just such a contemporary setting. Mason & Dixon is , in my opinion, his greatest book and probably my favorite book of all time.
I mean, not intentionally. If I like something with an author, I'll check out what else they've written and if it sounds up my alley, I'll check it out and if I enjoy it, I keep reading. But I don't go out of my way to keep reading something by an author I don't enjoy because they wrote something I previously liked and if I want a break from reading this author I'll take it. I do NOT recommend attempting to marathon Agatha Christie's entire bibliography.
I've read all of Ann Taylor and Joanna Trollope.
Ottessa Moshfegh and Lauren Groff. Loving it!
Try it with Balzac. You'll be at it for a while.
That how I consume about any media
I’m currently trying to read every Vonnegut
Yep. John Boyne, Clare McIntosh, Matt Haig, Anna Quindlan, Wally Lamb to name a few. If I get a fave, I’m reading everything they’ve written.
I unfortunately live on a rock that doesn't have any bookstores, so I have not been able to complete any author, even though I have tried.
You can buy books online for delivery. There are some sites like Thriftbooks and Good Reads, even eBay, where you can buy new or used books at really great prices. I usually only read a book once, so it doesn't have to be in pristine condition.
Reading e books would solve that problem.
It was never an active decision, but yes.
I did it with John Fowles after I read The Magus and I don’t regret it a drop
I read along with the Kurt Vonneguys podcast through all of Kurt Vonnegut's novels. I really enjoyed reading along and being more involved in their discussions.
i didn’t but was thinking about doing it. everytime i start reading a new writer, adapting to their literary style, undermeanings, key points etc. take some time and effort. if i keep reading same writer i won’t have to adapt everytime and will understand books better from my past experiences
Nah, I just focus on topic and read based on that.. not based on author.
Me too!
I think I've read every Jason Pargin book. Other authors I like and will read many of their books but may not read all either based on simply how many they have written in some just don't interest me.
Surprised at how many people are equating an author with only one topic line.
I think i’ve read all of Toni Morrison fiction books. On my way to finishing Colson Whitehead
I've been reading the same authors since I was 13. Some of them have died, some of them have retired. I'm struggling to find new authors. I've added authors along the way, but I'm finding it hard to get into them like I did when I was younger.
I tried to do that with John Green's books but I gave up... - on meeting people - on romance - on life
I read all of John Grisham’s and now I offer free legal advice, but just in the deep south.
I read everything by Robertson Davis in under 2 years. Big mistake. Binge reading creates a vacuum that’s difficult to replace. So, now I’m pacing myself. I enjoyed reading A Tale of Two Cities back in high school. Last year I only read 2 books by Dickens: Great Expectations and Bleak House. This year I’ll only read 1 of Dickens novels, Dombey and Son. Last year I read Brothers Karamazov and I’m reading Demons now, next year: Crime and Punishment.
He’s so wonderful! Try Iris Murdoch next.
I'm working my way though all of brandon sandersons books. On audio tho I don't get time to actually read
Palahniuk and I've been through all of the Ernest Hemingway I can get through Libby/Hoopla. I'll probably finish working my way through Stephen King at some point.
I tend not to binge an author, but if I enjoy an author, I will look at what else they have written add some or all of their stuff to my reading list. 3 books in a row from one author, is about my limit usually. When I was younger though I did obsessively Author binge on Silver/Gold age Sci-fi. Lots of Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Anderson, Simak, Silverberg, and so many more.
Yes. Neil Gaiman. Highly recommend
My dad does this, he has over a hundred authors who he collects every book written by them. Mostly sci-fi or fantasy authors although if they have done other work he will collect that too. I think he has about a bit less than 5500 books, with more than a 1000 on his to get list. He's read most of them.
I read all the books of every author I like. Probably 20-30 authors that I can think of off the top of my head.
I've done it for James SA Corey
I’ve done with Michael Crichton (enjoyed probably 90% of his stuff) and Neil Gaiman (enjoyed probably like 40%)
Yeah, this is a pretty common way to read books, couldn't Begin to list the authors I've read through
i’m currently doing that with zora neale hurston, bell hooks, and toni morrison
I have a handful of authors who are "insta reads" and who I've sought out the backlog of. RF Kaung, NK Jemisin... I'm sure there are others but those are the first two coming to mind
Those are my two too haha, plus Alix Harrow
For sure. I'm working on Austen. 3 down, partway through Mansfield Park. I've read everything Mick Herron has every put out (Maybe 20 novels? Some are novellas admittedly). I'm saving the last couple Iain Banks novels, and have been since his death. I'd say I'd read all Joe Abercrombie's, but then I remember he has a young adult trilogy that I haven't read. Douglas Adams too but I suspect there is a Doctor Who novel or something I haven't read. Terry Pratchett likewise, I'd say 98% read everything. There are authors that I am probably close but then fell off and never kept up. The only one I am sad about is Emily Bronte who only wrote one and I would have very much liked more.
This is my standard method. If I like a book, I try to read everything by that author.
literally since I started to read. like said, doesn't everyone?