Hello readers! Welcome or welcome back to my blog! Today, I want to share with you some authors that I didn’t have the best first impressions of but would like to give a second try, or third, or fourth. One of my big goals in 2020 was to try out all of those really hyped authors. A few of those are on this list, along with some I tried many years ago. Please subscribe if you would like to be notified via email when I post, and comment down below and let me know which authors you would like to give another try before writing them off completely!
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is an author I have read multiple times and just cannot get into. In 2013, I read my first book by him being Coraline. I have since read Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Looking back, I gave all of these high ratings, but I am not sure why. I think for my next book, I will try something by him that is not middle grade. He is such a beloved author, and I would love to enjoy his books along with everyone else.
Haruki Murakami
Originally I wanted to read Kafka on the Shore as my first book by Haruki Murakami. My library didn’t have Kafka on the Shore. Instead, I picked up the shortest book they had by him called The Strange Library, and I regret it so much. It is kind of a magical realism/paranormal horror novel that takes place in a library. I am not sure what he was meaning to do with this story, but I think it would only scare kids away from libraries. I like to pretend reading The Strange Library didn’t happen. I just want to start fresh with Kafka on the Shore and go from there.
VE/Victoria Schwab
In August, I read the first book in the Cassidy Blake series by Victoria Schwab. It is a middle grade series about a girl whose best friend is a ghost and parents are ghost hunters. They go to Scotland to film a TV show about their ghost hunting. I really liked the book as I was reading it, but I am not feeling compelled to pick up the next book in the series. I have heard that her middle grade series is not her best. I am not sure what I will read by her next, but I am hopeful it will be better than the one I read.
Ibi Zoboi
Pride by Ibi Zoboi is the second retelling I have read of Pride and Prejudice. This one is an Afro-Latinx retelling. The romance in this book was an absolute miss for me. I thought the romance didn’t make any sense and was rushed. However, I loved the conversations about gentrification. This is a topic that is not explored enough in literature or any media platform. I don’t know which book I will read next, but I would love to get some recommendations from you guys if you have any!
Paul Tremblay
In August, I was trying out a bunch of new mystery/thriller/horror authors. I was recommended Paul Tremblay’s Cabin at the End of the World. This book has a very ambiguous ending. One of the things that will make me absolutely dislike a book is an open ending. I don’t understand the point of them. I sometimes seek out videos and posts talking about specific books with open-endings so I can avoid them. I didn’t like much about the book while I was reading it, either. I am not sure what I will try by him next, but I am thinking I will do more research on the endings before I jump into another one.
Katherine Arden
I recently tried a middle grade book called Small Spaces by Arden. I am not sure what it was about this book, but I just didn’t connect with it. I have recently been getting more into fantasy and would love to try her Winternight trilogy. I have only heard amazing things about it, and winter is coming up soon for me to jump in!
Casey McQuiston
Like many other people in the last year, I read Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. This one seems to be quite polarizing among the book community. Like Pride, I didn’t love the romance. I thought the enemies to lovers thing was resolved very early for such a long book. Also, I didn’t think the relationship had much substance to it. I didn’t care for the actual plot of the book either.
Margaret Atwood
The next author is going to be Margaret Atwood. When the Handmaid’s Tale the TV show came out, I watched every episode. I quickly found out there was a book it had been adapted from. Therefore, I picked the book up. At the time, it didn’t have a sequel so, I rated it quite low because of that ending, and I have since gone back and changed the rating. I don’t know if I will pick up The Testaments, but I will try something else by her. I do love the story and all of the characters. I just didn’t prefer the execution of the book.
Darren Shan
The last author is a complicated one, Darren Shan. In the last month of my Junior year in high school, I discovered and binged all 12 books in the Cirque Du Freak series. As a matter of fact, this is one of my all-time favorite series. I would love to, eventually, re-binge the whole series. After reading Cirque Du Freak, I tried Lord Loss. It didn’t have any of what I loved about Cirque Du Freak. Lord Loss was more graphically violent than I ever expected as well. I can’t remember much about the book, as I read it in 2011, but I can still remember that graphic opening scene. Then, I read Zom-B in 2014. This one is a zombie series about a teen named B. This 1st book is under 200 pages and struggled to start until about half-through the story. I didn't dislike it more than Lord Loss, but I still didn't like it. One day, I would love to read something else by him that I will, hopefully, love as much as Cirque Du Freak.