Authors You Used to Love, But No Longer Read

[WinnieWinkle]

On 3/21/2021 at 10:43 PM, BlackberryJam said:

Her Grace and Favor books were really good, and then they just stopped. I thought I’d heard she had an issue with her publisher.

I got all excited a few years ago because I found (so I thought) the last title she wrote in that series.  It was listed somewhere, possibly amazon,  as if it actually existed.  Of course it didn't.  In the research I did what I found out is exactly what you said, that there was a  problem with the publisher and the book never made it into print.  I never did find out though if the publishers felt the book wasn't good or if they just got tired of the series.

[SmithW6079]

For me, it may not be the author I used to love who I don't read anymore, but sometimes subjects or characters in books. 

Once I realized that Stephen King's editors let him write anything he wanted without suggesting judicious cuts and edits, I stopped with him (I think "Tommyknockers" was the last King book I read). I also stopped reaching horror fiction because I scare myself too easily. :-)

I used to read a lot of those trashy "women's" books  by Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, Judith Michael et al. (but never, for some reason, Danielle Steele), but, as someone pointed out upthread, they were the same basic book, just with superficial characteristics changed. Judith Krantz, in particular, got really bad in her later books.

I used to read a lot of true crime, particularly Ann Rule, until her Ted Bundy book, which I felt was apologetic for him, and that kind of turned me off her. Lately, though, I've been inching back to true crime via YouTube videos, so I may pick that up again.

Sometimes, I'll read a lot of books in a series, but find I need to get away from them for a while, so it's more like I need a change of subject and author rather than not wanting to read that author again. MC Beaton's Hamish Macbeth or Agatha Raisin series come to mind. I discovered recently that Beaton had written a few books in a mystery series that takes place in Edwardian England, but the first book was kind of chore, so I won't be reading others in the series. She died in 2019, so there's not likely to be more in that series.

I used to enjoy the Lee Child Jack Reacher books, but I think I stopped with him about 10 years ago. It's not that every book is the same (just like romances), but that Reacher's bizarre lifestyle increasingly bothered me (especially the fact that he doesn't change his underwear every day!). I never read any of the short stories.

 

[dubbel zout]

30 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

Judith Krantz, in particular, got really bad in her later books.

She really did, but her first half dozen or so are classics of the genre. I reread Scruples every so often, and it holds up pretty well.

31 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

the fact that he doesn't change his underwear every day!

W. T. F.

[BlackberryJam]

57 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

For me, it may not be the author I used to love who I don't read anymore, but sometimes subjects or characters in books. 

Once I realized that Stephen King's editors let him write anything he wanted without suggesting judicious cuts and edits, I stopped with him (I think "Tommyknockers" was the last King book I read). I also stopped reaching horror fiction because I scare myself too easily. 🙂

I used to read a lot of those trashy "women's" books  by Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, Judith Michael et al. (but never, for some reason, Danielle Steele), but, as someone pointed out upthread, they were the same basic book, just with superficial characteristics changed. Judith Krantz, in particular, got really bad in her later books.

I used to read a lot of true crime, particularly Ann Rule, until her Ted Bundy book, which I felt was apologetic for him, and that kind of turned me off her. Lately, though, I've been inching back to true crime via YouTube videos, so I may pick that up again.

Sometimes, I'll read a lot of books in a series, but find I need to get away from them for a while, so it's more like I need a change of subject and author rather than not wanting to read that author again. MC Beaton's Hamish Macbeth or Agatha Raisin series come to mind. I discovered recently that Beaton had written a few books in a mystery series that takes place in Edwardian England, but the first book was kind of chore, so I won't be reading others in the series. She died in 2019, so there's not likely to be more in that series.

I used to enjoy the Lee Child Jack Reacher books, but I think I stopped with him about 10 years ago. It's not that every book is the same (just like romances), but that Reacher's bizarre lifestyle increasingly bothered me (especially the fact that he doesn't change his underwear every day!). I never read any of the short stories.

 

I will occasionally pick up a King book, but really prefer his short stories. I enjoyed that genre in my teens and twenties, but since then, it’s mostly NAH. 

I loved those easily-turned-TV-miniseries drama novels! Scruples, A Woman of Substance, The Thornbirds, Master of the Game. There was something so engrossing about them. Especially those dealing with the super wealthy. At the same time, they were absolutely the same novel over and over again, but I think that happens with all prolific authors.

The Beaton Edwardian novels do pick up, but wow, did Agatha Raisin get bad. Didn’t they also change the Vicar’s wife’s name for some reason?

I might have read one Jack Reacher, but that genre of “former military guy living on a island(boat/cabin/caretakers’ lodge)/taking odd jobs/living off the grid/blah blah only to get caught up helping a friend’s daughter/wealthy woman with a secret/old military buddy/local homeless guy which turns into guns/police corruption/smuggling/blah blah and former military guy solves all problems” seem more interchangeable and less interesting. 

I’ll pick one of those up every now and again, but they are never good enough to merit a re-read. 

I don’t know the answer to writers being able to keep stories fresh and new. Making money as an author isn’t easy unless your books get picked up as movies or TV shows, so I feel bad sometimes dropping an author.

 

[SmithW6079]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

She really did, but her first half dozen or so are classics of the genre. I reread Scruples every so often, and it holds up pretty well.

I also reread "Scruples" not too long ago, and it is the best of her books, I think. 

Re: Jack Reacher. He travels light, so he buys new underwear every few days. I think Childs must have gotten some comments about Reacher's undergarment proclivities because he actually addressed the issue in one of the books. 

55 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

The Beaton Edwardian novels do pick up, but wow, did Agatha Raisin get bad. Didn’t they also change the Vicar’s wife’s name for some reason?

I don’t know the answer to writers being able to keep stories fresh and new. Making money as an author isn’t easy unless your books get picked up as movies or TV shows, so I feel bad sometimes dropping an author.

 

Agatha Raisin started getting in increasingly humiliating situations that I began to wonder if Beaton had grown to actively hate the character. I don't recall that Mrs. Bloxley had a different name, just that they started calling each other by their first names.

I think the trouble with repetitivenes is that publishers want to their authors' books to make money and the money's in the tried and true. That's why authors take on pseudonyms if they want to write in different genres.

[dubbel zout]

7 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

Re: Jack Reacher. He travels light, so he buys new underwear every few days.

That's gonna add up! I hope he gets paid well.

[DearEvette]

Linda Howard.  I used to really like her books.  She wrote some really great romantic suspense novels.  Cry No More (written in 2003) is fabulous.  And Now You See Her about a psychic who paints crimes/murders before they happen (while she is sleep walking) is fun.  But the last good book (imo) that she wrote was Death Angel (written in 2008) about a gangster's mistress who runs away with all his cash and falls in love with the hitman who the gangster sends after her (it was pretty crack-tastic).  But since then she seems to have lost her magic for me.  I keep trying her and each time I have had to put the books aside unfinished.  Her writing has become pedantic to the extreme and rather boring.  I think I last tried in 2016. And finally gave up.

[sugarbaker design]

In my teens, I tore through Agatha Christie, Lawrence Sanders, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King, Jacqueline Susann.  While I still admire these authors, the only one I'm still reading is Steven King.  And that was after a 10-15 year hiatus of his work.  I think I stopped with Cujo (I remember buying the hardcover when it first came out, I had never spent so much for a book before), because of that ending.  Recently picked up King again after a friend recommended Dr.  Sleep (loved it), also loved the Mr Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider.  My taste in Brit mysteries drifted to the masters Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill and PD James, and after they passed away my favorite current writers are Belinda Bauer, Val McDermid and Louise Penny.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 3/25/2021 at 3:34 PM, DearEvette said:

Linda Howard.  I used to really like her books.  She wrote some really great romantic suspense novels.  Cry No More (written in 2003) is fabulous.  And Now You See Her about a psychic who paints crimes/murders before they happen (while she is sleep walking) is fun. 

AGREED! While Cry No More is heartbreaking and rage inducing, my favorite line has to be:

Diaz: "Pavon you pig. You threaten my woman?"

And I just looooooved how Richard warmed up Paris when the effects of her second painting of the murder victim had just started in Now You See Her.

What?

I think it's loyalty and having met her several times over the years that has me hoping she'll give me something good. They didn't come close, but he last two Troublemaker and Woman Left Behind were good. And they're sort of connected. Let's just say the dog in Troublemaker is the Star, just like Midas in Open Season.

And interestingly enough, Nora had Birthright come out before Cry No More and dealt with the same subject. Nora's went in a different direction, but both are so very good.

[dubbel zout]

36 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Jacqueline Susann

The Queen of Trash Novels! She was a BIG personality.

[sugarbaker design]

6 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

The Queen of Trash Novels! She was a BIG personality.

But she did it so well!

[dubbel zout]

I was being complimentary! Her feuds were legendary.

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

The Queen of Trash Novels! She was a BIG personality.

"She looks like a truck driver in drag."

- Truman Capote

[chocolatine]

9 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

The Queen of Trash Novels! She was a BIG personality.

I loved The Valley Of The Dolls but haven't read anything else by her or about her. That book has single-handedly filled my lifetime trash quota.

[BlackberryJam]

17 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

 My taste in Brit mysteries drifted to the masters Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill and PD James, and after they passed away my favorite current writers are Belinda Bauer, Val McDermid and Louise Penny.

Louise Penny. I generally love her writing, but if the word 'corruption' never appears in a Gamache book again, I'll be thrilled. Her books have absolutely dropped in quality but I'm not yet to the point of dumping her.

[MargeGunderson]

On 3/27/2021 at 9:16 AM, BlackberryJam said:

Louise Penny. I generally love her writing, but if the word 'corruption' never appears in a Gamache book again, I'll be thrilled. Her books have absolutely dropped in quality but I'm not yet to the point of dumping her.

I’m just getting so tired of the conspiracies around Gamache! I really wish all of that had stopped after How the Light Gets In. That was supremely satisfying and that arc should have ended there. There were a few good things that came out of the last book 

Spoiler

Beauvoir and the rest coming back to Canada

but I hope that the next is a straight up mystery with no bigger conspiracy.

[BlackberryJam]

20 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

I’m just getting so tired of the conspiracies around Gamache!

At this point, I feel like every police organization in which Gamache knows someone how has a contact will end up being completely corrupt. 

Enough is enough what that. Give me a random dead body showing up on the village green in Three Pines, and the victim is a British peer who recently rewrote his will and purchased some land outside TP. He has a son, daughter-in-law, 2 teenage grandkids, and two daughters, one of who is a lesbian and the other who went missing when she was a child.....see...I have ideas. None of them involving someone trying oust Gamache or create a corrupt force of detectives or blah blah blah blah.

 

[MargeGunderson]

5 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

At this point, I feel like every police organization in which Gamache knows someone how has a contact will end up being completely corrupt. 

Enough is enough what that. Give me a random dead body showing up on the village green in Three Pines, and the victim is a British peer who recently rewrote his will and purchased some land outside TP. He has a son, daughter-in-law, 2 teenage grandkids, and two daughters, one of who is a lesbian and the other who went missing when she was a child.....see...I have ideas. None of them involving someone trying oust Gamache or create a corrupt force of detectives or blah blah blah blah.

 

I would read that! 

[DearEvette]

On 3/26/2021 at 3:48 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I think it's loyalty and having met her several times over the years that has me hoping she'll give me something good. They didn't come close, but he last two Troublemaker and Woman Left Behind were good. And they're sort of connected. Let's just say the dog in Troublemaker is the Star, just like Midas in Open Season.

Yeah,  I think Woman Left Behind was the most recent LH book I didn't put aside.  It wasn't up to her old standards, imo, but it was interesting and I did enjoy it.  But it as totally in my wheelhouse because I love books that use military training and camaraderie amongst the band of brothers (and sisters).  I especially like them when you have an underdog woman being underestimated.  One reason I loved the Sheep Farmer's Daughter (the first book in the Deeds of Paksennarion).  The training the new recruits stuff was fun.

But I found  Troublemaker was annoying as fuck.  LOL.  I had to peace out!  And I am not gonna lie, it was because the main story was boring as hell, but also it was because of that dog.  That dog was way too precious for my taste.  Who the hell Mary Sues a dog?  It was the only dog in the entire town.  And every woof, snort, tail wag was lovingly chronicled.  And I did a count on my kindle of how many times the dog's name was mentioned vs how many times the hero's name was mentioned vs how many timed the heroine's name was mentioned.  The dog was mentioned 200 times more than the hero and 100 times more than the heroine.  I was so over than book and that dog.  LOL.

[sugarbaker design]

23 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Give me a random dead body showing up on the village green in Three Pines,

This, and a connection to Ruth Zardo would be wonderful.

[BlackberryJam]

8 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

This, and a connection to Ruth Zardo would be wonderful.

He’s Ruth’s godson! And everyone is all “Ruth had friends who named her godmother????”

The characters of Three Pines are so fantastic that we don’t need another corrupt Sûreté officer.

Back on topic though, I read the Jana DeLeon Fortune Redding books and wow have they turned into nonsense. Also the Abby Cooper Psychic Eye mysteries. Is it really that hard to write character development? (I do some writing. It’s not.)

[Jenniferbug]

On 3/21/2021 at 3:25 PM, BlackberryJam said:

Example 2, Joanna Fluke. Her Hannah the Baker books are fine. Fine. In the beginning. At about six books in, I started to wonder if the main character would ever have sex with either of the two male leads. Then I realized that, no, she wouldn’t and that for some reason the books were never going to have that development. I understand some people like “clean” novels, but adults have sex.  Or at least heavy pet. 

I like some light fiction as escapism, but wow, talk about bad.

I really enjoyed how light and fluffy her books were at first. But as you said, somewhere around six books in, it became very clear that the plot was going nowhere. I still read a few more after that, but they increasingly felt like the "story" was written just to get you to the next recipe page and not as any sort of actual plot. Plus it became increasingly obvious that despite Hannah supposedly being in her 30s, she was really written as much older (wearing elastic waistband pantsuits as the height of fashion, not using a cell phone much, etc). 

On 3/27/2021 at 8:16 AM, BlackberryJam said:

Louise Penny. I generally love her writing, but if the word 'corruption' never appears in a Gamache book again, I'll be thrilled. Her books have absolutely dropped in quality but I'm not yet to the point of dumping her.

I haven't read the newest book yet, but I absolutely agree with this. The overarching plots about corruption aren't needed. The characters and a self contained mystery are enough. 

[blackwing]

On 3/27/2021 at 8:16 AM, BlackberryJam said:

Louise Penny. I generally love her writing, but if the word 'corruption' never appears in a Gamache book again, I'll be thrilled. Her books have absolutely dropped in quality but I'm not yet to the point of dumping her.

 

On 3/28/2021 at 5:22 PM, MargeGunderson said:

I’m just getting so tired of the conspiracies around Gamache! I really wish all of that had stopped after How the Light Gets In. That was supremely satisfying and that arc should have ended there. There were a few good things that came out of the last book 

  Reveal spoiler

Beauvoir and the rest coming back to Canada

but I hope that the next is a straight up mystery with no bigger conspiracy.

 

On 3/29/2021 at 2:02 PM, BlackberryJam said:

At this point, I feel like every police organization in which Gamache knows someone how has a contact will end up being completely corrupt. 

Enough is enough what that. Give me a random dead body showing up on the village green in Three Pines, and the victim is a British peer who recently rewrote his will and purchased some land outside TP. He has a son, daughter-in-law, 2 teenage grandkids, and two daughters, one of who is a lesbian and the other who went missing when she was a child.....see...I have ideas. None of them involving someone trying oust Gamache or create a corrupt force of detectives or blah blah blah blah.

 

Agree with all of the above... I'm really tired of all the corruption storylines in her books, and how Gamache is discredited, then re-credited, then rinse and repeat.  I also never want to hear about that disastrous raid at the factory and the YouTube video and how Beauvoir got shot and Gamache went over and kissed his forehead and said "I love you" or whatever.  Ever again.

I love the characters in her books... after so many books now, I feel like they are old friends.  Penny does a great job of giving these characters actual distinct personalities.

The last book was set in Paris and I really missed all of the Three Pines characters.  I'd like the next book to be focused on Ruth, and her duck.  Maybe Rosa goes missing or something.  And Gamache helps his friend, instead of being accused of corruption or ferreting out corruption.

[sugarbaker design]

17 hours ago, blackwing said:

The last book was set in Paris and I really missed all of the Three Pines characters.  I'd like the next book to be focused on Ruth, and her duck.  Maybe Rosa goes missing or something.  And Gamache helps his friend, instead of being accused of corruption or ferreting out corruption.

I'm a big fan too, and I feel weird posting this in a thread called Authors You Used to Love, But No Longer Read, because I still read Penny's books.  I'm not all caught up, I just finished A Better Man.  I'm in total agreement about ending the corruption storylines, they are never-ending and pointless.  While I love every book that took place in Three Pines, one of my favorites is the one set in the abbey The Beautiful Mystery.  I understand changing the scenery every other book.  One thing that can be improved on is the utilization of already existing characters.  We've already had two or more books that were largely centered on Clara (and Tom). two books that were centered on Gabri and Olivier, and no books centered on Myrna or Ruth, two mainstay Three Pines characters rife with possibilities.  (Please keep in mind I haven't read ATDAH and TMOC)  I move for a Three Pines set mystery with either Myrna or Ruth as the main character.

[BlackberryJam]

7 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

I'm a big fan too, and I feel weird posting this in a thread called Authors You Used to Love, But No Longer Read, because I still read Penny's books.  I'm not all caught up, I just finished A Better Man.  I'm in total agreement about ending the corruption storylines, they are never-ending and pointless.  While I love every book that took place in Three Pines, one of my favorites is the one set in the abbey The Beautiful Mystery.  I understand changing the scenery every other book.  One thing that can be improved on is the utilization of already existing characters.  We've already had two or more books that were largely centered on Clara (and Tom). two books that were centered on Gabri and Olivier, and no books centered on Myrna or Ruth, two mainstay Three Pines characters rife with possibilities.  (Please keep in mind I haven't read ATDAH and TMOC)  I move for a Three Pines set mystery with either Myrna or Ruth as the main character.

I suppose this really is "An author I'm still desperately clinging on to, but it's getting rough."

I despised A Beautiful Mystery, so we might have differing tastes. I felt it was just so repetitive.

I would love a book focused on Myrna or Ruth. Both should have rich and interesting histories.

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I suppose this really is "An author I'm still desperately clinging on to, but it's getting rough."

I despised A Beautiful Mystery, so we might have differing tastes. I felt it was just so repetitive.

I would love a book focused on Myrna or Ruth. Both should have rich and interesting histories.

I still love Louise Penny, but just wish she would move away from the corruption storylines.  I agree that a book about Myrna or Ruth would be great.

If we are talking about "desperately clinging on to", I will put David Baldacci into that category.  I loved his earlier works.  My favourite series of his is King and Maxwell, not sure why we have never seen these characters again in years.  Then I really liked his Will Robie series... Will seems to have stopped getting his own book and turned up as a supporting character in a recent book, I think the Amos Decker series.

I greatly dislike his Atlee Pine series, so boring.  The Amos Decker books are ok.  And I'm not really enjoying this new series on Aloysius "Wish" whatever his last name is.

[JustHereForFood]

On 2/28/2019 at 7:07 PM, GaT said:

If there's another Myron Bolitar book I'll read it (LOVED Home), but I've stopped reading the stand alones because they're all the same "fish out of water" plot.

I thought about Harlan Coben when I saw this thread title, so I'm glad someone else has the same opinion. I still read his Myron (and Micky) Bolitar books, but only for the characters, because I like them, not for the mystery. It is almost always the same plot. I read some of his standalone books and it's the same thing, only the twist is usually even more crazy then in the books that are part of a series, IMO.

There is a new book about Win and I already bought it, but I'm just looking forward to read about the character, not holding my breath for the mystery.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, JustHereForFood said:

I thought about Harlan Coben when I saw this thread title, so I'm glad someone else has the same opinion. I still read his Myron (and Micky) Bolitar books, but only for the characters, because I like them, not for the mystery. It is almost always the same plot. I read some of his standalone books and it's the same thing, only the twist is usually even more crazy then in the books that are part of a series, IMO.

There is a new book about Win and I already bought it, but I'm just looking forward to read about the character, not holding my breath for the mystery.

I've never read the Micky Bolitar books, but I just finished Win last week & I enjoyed it.

[SophiaD]

Katherine Hall Page.  I used to love "mystery writers with food" books, and her Faith Fairchild books were well-written and interesting.  However, the main characters' marriage is rooted firmly in about 1958 and it was really jarring in a contemporary book.  The storyline around their son's tendencies towards bullying was really troubling.

I hate to say this, but Nora Roberts is starting to approach this category for me as well.  I used to love her work, but her trilogies lately have been very repetitive, her hero-heroine relationships kind of... dated?, and they're just not grabbing me.  Even her In Death books which I used to love are kind of blah.  I liked it back in the old days, when there were fewer characters and Eve had to struggle more.

[Ohiopirate02]

38 minutes ago, SophiaD said:

I hate to say this, but Nora Roberts is starting to approach this category for me as well.  I used to love her work, but her trilogies lately have been very repetitive, her hero-heroine relationships kind of... dated?, and they're just not grabbing me.  Even her In Death books which I used to love are kind of blah.  I liked it back in the old days, when there were fewer characters and Eve had to struggle more.

I have a lot of respect for La Nora, but no fiction series based on one couple needs 30 titles let alone the 50 plus the In Death series is up to now.  

[peacheslatour]

I used to love John Sandford's Prey series because I had a major crush on Lucas Davenport. I think I've just outgrown them.

[madmax]

On 6/10/2021 at 1:12 PM, peacheslatour said:

I used to love John Sandford's Prey series because I had a major crush on Lucas Davenport. I think I've just outgrown them.

I find the Virgil Flowers books much better than the Davenport books lately.

As to the authors I've quit:

Janet Evanovich - Somewhere around 9, I had enough of Stephanie's flighty nature, the will they/won't they with 2 separate characters, the obligatory blown up car.

JR Robb/Nora Roberts - I quit Nora because everything started getting paranormal.  I quit Robb because there were only so many times books I could read where Eve and Roarke loved each other to pieces, then had a fight, and Roarke ended up involved in the case.

Laurel K. Hamilton - Turning Anita from a somewhat prude to the whore of Babylon, having sex with anyone and anything was the death knell for me.  And when I read a comment from Hamilton that if you didn't like what she wrote, too bad, so sad, she had plenty of other fans, I was completely done.

Dean Koontz - Only so many times I can read about the super intelligent dog, the woman in distress and the big manly man that saves her, and the quasi-religious endings

Lee Child - I have read my last Lee Child.  The last one was partially written by his brother and it showed.  I almost bailed when Tom Cruise played Jack Reacher and Child said he was the best choice for the role (HA!  5'7 Cruise playing 6'6 Reacher?).  But I stuck by until this last one.  Not well written at all and Reacher didn't really seem like Reacher.

 

[Black Knight]

3 hours ago, madmax said:

Turning Anita from a somewhat prude to the whore of Babylon, having sex with anyone and anything was the death knell for me. 

I might have been able to live with that (there is something a little amusing and subversive, in theory, about the trope of the standard romantic triangle being so thoroughly upended) if it had just not taken over the books so completely. They used to be fast-paced action reads, and turned into endless sex orgies with a paragraph of actual plot interspersed every 40 pages or so. (And for anyone who might be intrigued by "endless sex orgies," it's not even hot sex.)

[JustHereForFood]

I didn't exactly love her books, but I read a few series from V.C. Andrews (and her ghostwriter) and sort of liked them. And that was in my late teens/early 20's. Now I feel ashamed of myself for not caring enough about how toxic all relationships in them were and how much nonconsensual stuff was glossed over. Gross.

[Ohiopirate02]

19 hours ago, madmax said:

I find the Virgil Flowers books much better than the Davenport books lately.

As to the authors I've quit:

Janet Evanovich - Somewhere around 9, I had enough of Stephanie's flighty nature, the will they/won't they with 2 separate characters, the obligatory blown up car.

 

I made it to book #15 a couple of years ago.  I enjoyed the audiobooks, but like you said the books got repetitive.  It was also jarring when Stephanie and Co. now had smartphones and yet have not aged at all.  

 

6 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

I didn't exactly love her books, but I read a few series from V.C. Andrews (and her ghostwriter) and sort of liked them. And that was in my late teens/early 20's. Now I feel ashamed of myself for not caring enough about how toxic all relationships in them were and how much nonconsensual stuff was glossed over. Gross.

I outgrew VC during the Melody series.  The ghostwriter got too formulaic, and I moved on.  I am not ashamed at reading them as a young adult.  I do love gothic fiction even if VC is a lesser example of the genre.  I knew the books were portraying toxic relationships when I read them.  Then again, I realized in high school that Wuthering Heights is not a love story.  Thirteen year old me knew Chris and Cathy were not relationship goals even if the sexual assaults did not fully register.  And My Sweet Audrina holds a place in my reading logs.  It imprinted on me in a way that I cannot fully explain and I have realized that many other authors have attempted the same basic twist.  I always find those books to be less than Audrina even if they were actually better written.  

[andromeda331]

14 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I outgrew VC during the Melody series.  The ghostwriter got too formulaic, and I moved on.  I am not ashamed at reading them as a young adult.  I do love gothic fiction even if VC is a lesser example of the genre.  I knew the books were portraying toxic relationships when I read them.  Then again, I realized in high school that Wuthering Heights is not a love story.  Thirteen year old me knew Chris and Cathy were not relationship goals even if the sexual assaults did not fully register.  And My Sweet Audrina holds a place in my reading logs.  It imprinted on me in a way that I cannot fully explain and I have realized that many other authors have attempted the same basic twist.  I always find those books to be less than Audrina even if they were actually better written.  

I made it all the way to Willow before finally quitting. Each series just got worse and repeating things from the earlier series. I really think the Ghostwriter and publishers don't know what made Flowers in the Attic, Heaven and My Sweet Audrina so popular. They keep doubling down on the same things but its not the same. I loved Flowers in the Attic because I became attached to the characters Cathy, Cory and Carrie especially. They all went through so much in that book and their journey afterwards. Even though there's a lot of sexual assault. I liked that Cathy wanted revenge. After everything the kids went through I wanted it for them. I wanted Olivia and Corrine to pay for what they did. Especially for Cory's murder. It took a very long time but I still love Cathy finally outing Corrine. Same with the Casteel kids. They went through so much. But we never really got to see anyone "pay" for any of their crimes. Luke and Tony never paid for what they did. I really wish they did. I love Fanny finally getting her moment to shine when she takes on Tony and wins. Same with My Sweet Audrina but I love Audrina and Silvia. VC Andrews was good at writing characters I cared about even though there was a lot of sexual assualt and terrible love interests for her characters.

[Crs97]

I used to love Nora Roberts for the witty banter between her characters, but I finally had to stop cold turkey when one of her romance novels had an erotically-charged passage describing the rape and murder of a young woman told from the POV of the criminal.  At that point I just decided I could find better things to read in my spare time.

[festivus]

On 6/28/2021 at 1:28 PM, Ohiopirate02 said:

And My Sweet Audrina holds a place in my reading logs.  It imprinted on me in a way that I cannot fully explain and I have realized that many other authors have attempted the same basic twist.  I always find those books to be less than Audrina even if they were actually better written.  

I got rid of my whole V.C. Andrews collection a long long time ago (kinda wish I didn't) but I held on to My Sweet Audrina. It was my favorite and I still read it about every five years. It was the only one I had in hardback form. That one probably remains good because it was a one and done.

I've held on to my Anne Rice vampire books even though I stopped reading the series at some point when it got bad.  One of these days I'm going to read the first four again because I thought those were good. Hope I still think so.

[Ohiopirate02]

15 hours ago, festivus said:

I got rid of my whole V.C. Andrews collection a long long time ago (kinda wish I didn't) but I held on to My Sweet Audrina. It was my favorite and I still read it about every five years. It was the only one I had in hardback form. That one probably remains good because it was a one and done.

I've held on to my Anne Rice vampire books even though I stopped reading the series at some point when it got bad.  One of these days I'm going to read the first four again because I thought those were good. Hope I still think so.

I remember loving the first 3 books.  I had to quit the series when the books became too formulaic and Anne Rice's behavior online.  I will not read or reread books from authors who sic their stans on people for daring to write a less than glowing review.  

[sugarbaker design]

On 7/5/2021 at 8:36 PM, festivus said:

I've held on to my Anne Rice vampire books even though I stopped reading the series at some point when it got bad.  One of these days I'm going to read the first four again because I thought those were good. Hope I still think so.

Agree somewhat.  I would add the fifth book, Memnoch The Devil to list, I still have them in hardcover.  Gosh, they were so good.  The series started slumping after that.  I still have the first 3 of the Mayfair Witches saga.  Lasher is signed.  AR had a signing at Three Lives Bookstore in Manhattan back in '93.  I was starstruck.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 3/25/2021 at 10:44 AM, SmithW6079 said:

I used to enjoy the Lee Child Jack Reacher books, but I think I stopped with him about 10 years ago. It's not that every book is the same (just like romances), but that Reacher's bizarre lifestyle increasingly bothered me (especially the fact that he doesn't change his underwear every day!). I never read any of the short stories.

 

I stopped when he started to inject politics into the stories.  I agreed with his politics, but what I liked in the first place that there wasn't politics, and it was the type of book where you'd expect it.

[MsNewsradio]

On 6/27/2021 at 7:10 PM, madmax said:

Laurel K. Hamilton - Turning Anita from a somewhat prude to the whore of Babylon, having sex with anyone and anything was the death knell for me.  And when I read a comment from Hamilton that if you didn't like what she wrote, too bad, so sad, she had plenty of other fans, I was completely done.

 

 

 

On 6/27/2021 at 10:28 PM, Black Knight said:

I might have been able to live with that (there is something a little amusing and subversive, in theory, about the trope of the standard romantic triangle being so thoroughly upended) if it had just not taken over the books so completely. They used to be fast-paced action reads, and turned into endless sex orgies with a paragraph of actual plot interspersed every 40 pages or so. (And for anyone who might be intrigued by "endless sex orgies," it's not even hot sex.)

I used to love early Anita Blake - followed Lauren's blog, the whole bit. I think the turning point for me was Narcissus in Chains, and everything past that rapidly devolved. I tried to stick it out, but the sex completely overshadowed any semblance of plot. I once did a page count of one of the later books (I forget which one) and found about 45 pages of actual story plot, and the rest of the book was people screwing. I did not sign up for (badly written) porn. 

Her attitude toward the fan response was also a massive turn off. 

[madmax]

7 minutes ago, MsNewsradio said:

I think the turning point for me was Narcissus in Chains, and everything past that rapidly devolved. I tried to stick it out, but the sex completely overshadowed any semblance of plot. I once did a page count of one of the later books (I forget which one) and found about 45 pages of actual story plot, and the rest of the book was people screwing. I did not sign up for (badly written) porn. 

Her attitude toward the fan response was also a massive turn off. 

That was the last one of hers that I read.  I never did a page count, but that truly doesn't surprise me.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 3/5/2019 at 3:30 PM, HazelEyes4325 said:

When I was a younger adult, I read a lot, and I mean a lot, of Maeve Binchy.  And then I just stopped.  I really don't remember why.  

I was thinking about this as I made an attempt to konmari the crap out of my TBR bookcase.  The first book I picked up was something by Maeve Binchy I hadn't read.  I looked at it, remember that I liked her way back when and that she is now dead, and put it back on the shelf.  That was also the end of my attempt to konmari my TBR's (which overflow from that bookcase (yes, bookCASE).

Now, whether I'll go back and actually read that book remains to be seen.

I loved her books. They never lost their page turning appeal for me. I read every one the day it was released.  Too bad she died too soon. So OT for this thread. I’m new to this thread. People I dropped or never even got into include Harlan Coben and Patricia Cornwell. 

[sugarbaker design]

In the 90s, an author I really loved was Sharyn McCrumb.  She wrote these excellent mysteries known as the Ballad series, set in modern day Appalachia.  Each novel featured a ballad, the legend behind said ballad, and a modern day crime paralleling the legend.  Interesting recurring series characters like Sheriff Spencer Arrowood, Deputy Martha, and local old lady with the sight, Nora Bonesteel were featured in nearly every book.  The series started in 1990 and ran through to the 2000's.  McCrumb loves her Appalachian roots and writes respectfully about the citizens and the legends.  The last one I read was The Ballad of Tom Dooley in 2011, I don't remember liking it too much.  I just saw on stopyourekillingme.com that there were two more books in the series, that I was unaware of.  My TBR pile is a disaster waiting to happen, don't know if I can add two more books to it.

[SmithW6079]

On 6/27/2021 at 7:10 PM, madmax said:

Lee Child - I have read my last Lee Child.  The last one was partially written by his brother and it showed.  I almost bailed when Tom Cruise played Jack Reacher and Child said he was the best choice for the role (HA!  5'7 Cruise playing 6'6 Reacher?).  But I stuck by until this last one.  Not well written at all and Reacher didn't really seem like Reacher.

I've said previously I just got tired of the Reacher books, so I stopped with Lee Child, but I totally agree with you about the egregious miscasting of Tom Cruise as Reacher in the movie. Not only that, but Cruise lacked the savage brutality that seems to drive Reacher. Even though Jason Stratham is short too, I could have seen him as Reacher because he gives off that same sense. Cruise was too "soft" to embody Reacher's physicality.

[Crs97]

I tried an Elizabeth George novel.  They write the Thomas Linley mysteries.  My problem is that the one I started with featured Simon and Deborah St. James, and I found their complicated marriage fascinating.  Simon quickly became my favorite character, and I assumed he was the leading man.  Then I read two more that focused on Thomas, and I realized the book I liked so much was a one-off.  I gave up on the series.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

I tried an Elizabeth George novel.  They write the Thomas Linley mysteries.  My problem is that the one I started with featured Simon and Deborah St. James, and I found their complicated marriage fascinating.  Simon quickly became my favorite character, and I assumed he was the leading man.  Then I read two more that focused on Thomas, and I realized the book I liked so much was a one-off.  I gave up on the series.

I gave up further on down the line, something happens that pissed me off, & then she wrote a book about what happened that was just so awful (let's just say she is not good with accents) that I ended up rage reading it, & then in another book Deborah does something that made me want to stab her in the head. After that book I was done. I was just so angry about the whole series.

[Starleigh]

On 10/29/2021 at 3:32 PM, sugarbaker design said:

In the 90s, an author I really loved was Sharyn McCrumb.  She wrote these excellent mysteries known as the Ballad series, set in modern day Appalachia.  Each novel featured a ballad, the legend behind said ballad, and a modern day crime paralleling the legend.  Interesting recurring series characters like Sheriff Spencer Arrowood, Deputy Martha, and local old lady with the sight, Nora Bonesteel were featured in nearly every book.  The series started in 1990 and ran through to the 2000's.  McCrumb loves her Appalachian roots and writes respectfully about the citizens and the legends.  The last one I read was The Ballad of Tom Dooley in 2011, I don't remember liking it too much.  I just saw on stopyourekillingme.com that there were two more books in the series, that I was unaware of.  My TBR pile is a disaster waiting to happen, don't know if I can add two more books to it.

OMG, I'd totally forgotten these books! I read them in the late 90s and very early 2000s and then just stopped. I vaguely remember reading the latest and thinking it was just meh, plus also I think I read some online gossip about her not being very gracious to fans of her earlier, less literary books in a snobby sort of way. Could be that was totally baseless rumors but at the time it turned me off. 

 

 

 

[Jordan Baker]

I've gone back several pages, and I haven't seen anyone mention Tana French.

I loved her Dublin Murder Squad series, particularly Faithful Place. I liked The Witch Elm, which was something of a departure from the Dublin Murder Squad novels. I recommended her books all the time.

But then she came out with The Searcher. I thought I would love this book because it's set in the west of Ireland. Something about it really bothered me, and I've never been sure what it is. It's grim, but so are some of her other novels. Perhaps it's that she introduced an ex-pat from the US. I didn't think the character rang true, and I found the book to be unsatisfying.

The recent mention of Louise Penny reminded me that I really enjoyed her first few books. Then came Bury Your Dead. The book was well-written, but it really got to me, so much so that I didn't want to read any of her other books. I felt Gamache's despair too deeply, I think.  Perhaps I'll try again.