Any Stories You Avoid Because of the Author?

[Draginon]

Pretty much are there any stories you avoid/refuse to read because of the author themself. Same with with films/tv because of someone on the cast/crew.

For me it would have to be Orson Scott Card. Pretty much the way he acts about anyone who isn't white and straight makes me not want to read his Ender Saga, especially after watching this: 

In a way OSC just seems the opposite of Brandon on how he treats people.

Another for me is Lin Manuel Miranda. The stuff I have seen of him makes him seem like a hypocrite. Like he doesn't want anyone who's not black or Hispanic in Hamilton, I get the point of the characters not being white like in real life, to encourage getting good minority actors but at the expense of excluding good actors of other races which isn't very inclusive like he claims. Being inclusive is called blind casting in the theater world, what he does is excluding people based off ones skin color. Also his attitude surrounding the election also colored him bad to me so I'm not going to not anything he's involved in just because of him and his hypocrisy.

I'm also avoiding Harper Lee's second novel because of the racism of Mockingbird, though that's more a novel issue for me.

[Walin]

I dunno, I don't really avoid stuff from a specific author; well, not much anyways. I remember that when I was like 13 or so, my grandma told me Rick Riordan was super athiest and made the Percy Jackson series to counteract the Chronicles of Narnia series. I really loved the CoN books, and I had read the Percy Jackson series and some of the second book series, etc. but that comment turned me off his books for about a year, and after that I was already a bit past the target age for the books. I know I can go back and read them, but I don't really want to anymore.

Other than that, I would only discriminate book choices by author if I knew the author's writing style and genre, and knew those to be different than what I would want to read (Like Game of Thrones [explicit], Robert Stanek [3rd grade writing ability], etc.)

[Ammanas]

I always try to seperate a author from their works. Many of my favorite authors have views that I couldn't disagree more with.

I guess I will go hypocrite on my previous statement and say there is are two exceptions. The first is L. Ron Hubbard. I usually try really hard to see the good in any type of religion and respect it, but Scientology is twisted and has done some truly awful things. L. Ron Hubbard was its founder. The second is anyone who commits heinous crimes and writes books describing what happened. I cannot support people like that.

Other than that I think its good to read authors with different views and try to gain a broader prospective.

 

[ryshadium90]

I feel like I avoid books because of the plot not necessarily because of the author, though if I did: maybe Sarah J. Maas. I thought the first book of the Throne of Glass series was great, but then it got questionable with relationship scenes in the following books and series that it kind of took over the plot.

My two cents for Ender's Game was that it was a great book in that it made me feel for the kid, and how his emotions and were being analyzed from the author's perspective.

[Modal Seoul]

Stephanie Meyer. Nuff said.

[Bean Delphiki]

Ok, I've read many of Orson Scott Cards books... and this video is simply wrong.Noone I know who has read his book ever thought that having a ton of children was a message being shoved down their throats in these books. Bean and his wife's plot centers around getting their kidnapped children back, so obviously the importance of children is more pronounced in this series. It is also human and animal nature to reproduce, but if you don't want kids that's perfectly fine. Also, Graff, the man who "died alone" was not depressed when he died, he was satisfied that he had accomplished his life's work. Next, I don't believe it was ever stated that Anton was gay (he may have, I'm not sure on this one.) Next, Card has had other gay characters in his books, Zdorab, from the Homecoming series is gay. He's also one of the only good guys in the series. The videos assumptions about the Mormon church is mostly wrong as well. Finally, yes Orson Scott Card doesn't support gay marriage, he was raised in a church that believes that sex should be between a married man and women.  

Quote by Card " Oddly enough, even as I am attacked by some as a homophobe, I am attacked by others as being too supportive of homosexuality, simply because I cannot see individual homosexuals, in or out of my books, as anything other than human beings with as complex a combination of good and evil in them as I find within myself. In my own view, I am walking a middle way, which condemns the sin but loves the sinner. "

Even if he is wrong about his opinions on homosexuality I do not think he is hateful. Many of his extreme opinions against gay marriage were either written decades ago, retracted, or apologized for. Unfortunetly, he still doesn't support gay marriage, but ever since it has became legal he has decided to not fight against it anymore.

Finally the accusation that he is racist is the most incorrect. When I first heard these accusations I did my own research and decided that he is definitely, definitely not racist. his books are some of the most diverse books out there. His book Pastwatch is literally about a bunch of time travelers who go back to change  Columbus' discovery of America and the later genocides. 

Overall, I don't think he is racist, yes he doesn't support gay marriage, but I don't think he is hateful about it, even if he is wrong. Even if he was super racist its a good idea to read things written by a person with opposing views, and I think you're missing out on an amazing book in Enders Game. 

( I was multitasking while writing this so if I gave off the wrong impression or if there is any grammar mistakes I apologize)

[Toaster Retribution]

I really don't see the point of not reading peoples works because you don't agree with them. We all have the right of opinion, and even if we read a book by someone who has a different opinion, and thus grant monetary support to someone who thinks differently, we haven't supported the opinion, but the person. 

I choose what books I read based on what it is about. The only instance I could think of when I wouldn't buy a book because of the author is:

A) If I read other books by that author and found them bad.

B ) If they had done something truly horrific, like murdering or raping someone.

But I don't want to ignore specific authors because of their beliefs. Actually, I think that it is important that we read stuff by people we disagree with, to get different perspectives on the world.

[Orlion Blight]

I will not read fan fiction. 

I will not read Stephanie Meyers, Tom Clancy, Suzzanne Collins or Dean Koontz.

I will not read broad audience political books (so anything by Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Bill O' Reilly, Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, etc)  

I do not read books by comedians. 

I certainly do not read anything from Orson Scott Card since he voiced his opinion that all books contrary to Mormon beliefs/ doctrine should be banned and or censored. It does not help that he is a pile of chull dung amateurishly sculpted into the form of a human. 

[Ammanas]

29 minutes ago, TheOrlionThatComesBefore said:

since he voiced his opinion that all books contrary to Mormon beliefs/ doctrine should be banned and or censored. 

I am not challenging you, but could you provide a link to where he expresses such a opinion? I am unfamiliar with him saying such a thing.

I do know though he has expressed views that would make hardline Mormons cringe. He has a different way of looking at things and that they go against some traditional Mormon views.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Ammanas

[ryshadium90]

1 hour ago, TheOrlionThatComesBefore said:

I will not read fan fiction. 

I will not read Stephanie Meyers, Tom Clancy, Suzzanne Collins or Dean Koontz.)

I do not read books by comedians.

Fan fiction: because nobody writes as good as the author and turns out being cringy?

Comedians: just don't like comedy, or weird to read instead of listen?

Suzanne Collins: the dystopia or the whole plot line? (I've read the Hunger Games, it was OK. I felt it got progressively weaker throughout the trilogy, but some of the character development is good.)

[ryshadium90]

18 hours ago, Draginon said:

I'm also avoiding Harper Lee's second novel because of the racism of Mockingbird, though that's more a novel issue for me.

What did you not like about Mockingbird? We had to read it in 8th grade. Meh.I feel like that was still too young of a grade. Most of the teachers taught us was play nice in the sandbox and learn to walk in others' shoes. I realize more about it now, but it's one of those books that questions when you should read it. I thought it was really well written, even though the actual plot may be controversial to some.

[Orlion Blight]

1 hour ago, Ammanas said:

I am not challenging you, but could you provide a link to where he expresses such a opinion? I am unfamiliar with him saying such a thing.

I do know though he has expressed views that would make hardline Mormons cringe. He has a different way of looking at things and that they go against some traditional Mormon views.

 It was a printed article I was shown, so that might be difficult. As a result, I only present now as a reason why I don't read him and completely understand if people dismiss that reason until I can back it up

27 minutes ago, ryshadium90 said:

Fan fiction: because nobody writes as good as the author and turns out being cringy?

Comedians: just don't like comedy, or weird to read instead of listen?

Suzanne Collins: the dystopia or the whole plot line? (I've read the Hunger Games, it was OK. I felt it got progressively weaker throughout the trilogy, but some of the character development is good.)

Fan fiction: I mostly want to read the author's version, and not a fan's rendition or hopes for the story. I understand that it's good fan interaction for some, but I can't do it and leave it to those that can. 

Comedians: I don't think they know how to transfer their humor to the book medium. So, I enjoy their talents in the medium they excel at.

Suzanne Collins et al.: there are just some story lines or genres that I know I will not like. Pop YA is one of them. It's better for everyone that I say, "I don't read that" instead of "Yes, I remember that! It sucked!"

Not reading popular books also allows other people to talk with me about books. I can ask questions like, "Oh, what's your favorite book by So and So? What would you recommend?" And so forth. 

[She Who Cannot Be Named]

Stephanie Meyers is a no-go (or no-read^^) for me too.

I'm mainly avoiding Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein. Not because their books are inherently bad, it's just that I've read well over 40 of their books and... they tend to repeat in their tones. There are still a few gems inbetween, but every time I tried a new book it was just like some other book from them again.

[ParadoxicalZen]

Terry Brooks

Gave up on Terry Goodkind,

I see a bit of a pattern :o..

[Draginon]

4 hours ago, ryshadium90 said:

What did you not like about Mockingbird? We had to read it in 8th grade. Meh.I feel like that was still too young of a grade. Most of the teachers taught us was play nice in the sandbox and learn to walk in others' shoes. I realize more about it now, but it's one of those books that questions when you should read it. I thought it was really well written, even though the actual plot may be controversial to some.

I just didn't like the sheer racism in the book. I know it's historically accurate but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. The stuff that didn't involve the case or anyone Black was dull from what I remember. I read it back in the summer between 10th and 11th grade. Also doesn't help that the year before the English teacher I had at the time had us watch the movie and I didn't clue in that Scout was a girl until she was in a dress for church. Definitely not a story to read after the adaptation.

2 hours ago, ParadoxicalZen said:

Terry Brooks

Gave up on Terry Goodkind,

I see a bit of a pattern :o..

Yeah, you don't like reading stuff from people named Terry  I'm mixed on Goodkind since I don't like his attitude when it comes to his fanbase, like claiming his books are not Fantasy despite shoving magic and dragons in our face (haven't actually read the books yet but I think there are dragons), but I had already bought the whole series by the time I found out about his attitude.

[Draginon]

To those saying not to judge the author and their works together, sometimes there are some authors that just give off such a bad impression in interviews and stuff that makes you question if you do want to read their stuff or not. It does help to know nothing about them first to not cloud your perception of the story and then read a little about them that makes you go 'that kind of person made this!?' but sometimes it's not possible to do that and we learn about the persons beliefs and views before reading their stuff.

[Draginon]

@Bean Delphiki You do have to remember The Dom read these books years ago, he even says he read the original at 12 and didn't enjoy it that much so it might've clouded his read of it for his comparison video, and this video is two years old so who knows if he learned better. Also some people notice 'messages' that aren't there or pick up on one that others simply do not so he probably noticed the children thing and got annoyed by it to the point that he now thinks that is a message. He even says he doesn't know anything about the Mormon church, he's from England so it's not exactly on his radar, so he was judging it off of just the Ender Saga which he didn't like all that much. Heck I don't know much about Mormonism, I've heard that old 'joke' about them being a cult way too much when they are brought up, and what I do know is more from what Brandon himself says. I myself haven't read Ender's Game, so I don't know how Card writes stuff, but it's not something I'm interested in since dystopian stories aren't my cup of tea.

[Pestis the Spider]

Wow. I so don't understand a lot of people in this thread. I completely separate authors from their work. I don't care who they are, what they are, how they are etc. I only care whether I like the books or not. I don't read interviews with writers, but even if I did... I mean I can't imagine reading about someone's personality and going like "omg, I will never read another book of this author". For me none of it matters, only the content of the book matters. I also never analyse/interpret books by trying to guess what author meant with this book that happens in real life. No. Just no. The content of the book is the only thing that matters to me. And nothing can affect that and nothing can be affected by that IRL.

[Who Sharded?]

I always separate art from artists as well.  I'd read more OSC and Terry Goodkind if I liked their books more than I did.  On the other hand, a conservative would HAVE to separate these things since authors, musicians, actors, etc. lean left and you get some very far left leanings ones.

I actually think that other communities I go to are more strict about an author's views than this forum is.

[Snorkel]

Philip Pullman

Maybe unfair, but I kept having his books recommended by the kind of fanatic who says things like "if you aren't an atheist then you should feel personally responsible for every death in every war that's ever happened".

So, that's pretty off-putting.

[Toaster Retribution]

10 minutes ago, Snorkel said:

Philip Pullman

Maybe unfair, but I kept having his books recommended by the kind of fanatic who says things like "if you aren't an atheist then you should feel personally responsible for every death in every war that's ever happened".

So, that's pretty off-putting.

I should probably read the Golden Compass just to see how it's like. Everyone talks about the criticism against religion in it, and I am kind of curious to read it for that reason. I feel like Pullmans worldview is completely different from mine, and that is exciting. Also, the polar bear looks cool. No matter if you are religious or not, you have to admit that. The polar bear is cool.

[EC11]

On 11/7/2017 at 4:59 PM, Toaster Retribution said:

I should probably read the Golden Compass just to see how it's like. Everyone talks about the criticism against religion in it, and I am kind of curious to read it for that reason. I feel like Pullmans worldview is completely different from mine, and that is exciting. Also, the polar bear looks cool. No matter if you are religious or not, you have to admit that. The polar bear is cool.

To be honest the first three books are excellent and don't really have an overtly anti-religious message. They read well even though Pullman has a bad habit of leaving loose ends for plot lines. However, I should note that while I enjoyed the trilogy the third book drops all pretense and rather bluntly bludgeons you over the head with the anti-religious message and it threw me for a bit of a loop. That said I would recommend that series overall.

[EC11]

I do however, avoid some stories. Currently I refuse to buy any more books by S.M. Stirling because he simply seems to be milking his one series for all its worth despite not producing anything resembling the quality work he has done in the path and the story meandering in unsatisfying directions. He has a new alternate history novel he is working on, but I'm reserving judgement.

David Weber is another author I'm currently avoiding, but that's for bloat issues in his series.

I used to read a lot of political fiction back in late highschool early university years, which I now mostly avoid. Otherwise I'll read almost anything that catches my interest, but if I find a book objectionable I'll probably put it down and not finish it.

[NamelessThirteenth]

To be honest, I give most books a try regardless of the author. But in the other hand, i can drop a book so quickly if it doesn't hook me by the first hundred or so pages.

My criteria is very strict. The book has to be creative, have an intense plotline, and a writing style that is not too detailed (Hobb or Erikson) or too dissonant (Stephen King and Lian Hearn). However, if the book brings alot to the table, I can overlook the writing style (all mentioned books except Lian Hearn's).

Probably my favourites are books where the characters are witty (or they could be Wit, anything goes). A top here is Gentlemen Bastard Sequence.

Oh, and once Rothfuss writes Doors of Stone and I read it, I'm never reading his books again, for fear that he might suck me in then take ages to write a sequel

[IndigoAjah]

Goodkind for me.

 

i don't think LMM is at all racist against White People (he also does cast them...)- just the parts in his shows are way more powerful when played by people of colour, and address an imbalance in Broadway. Also, you are missing out, because he's also (in my opinion) utterly fantastic at show and song writing 

 

Pullman is quite aggressive in some areas when interviewed in terms of his atheism, but the books are good IMO and ask lots of the same questions as Sanderson's do (despite a completely different set of beliefs)