Once upon a time when the internet was young, I loved a blog called Faster Than Kudzu.Â  It was funny.Â  It was insightful.Â  It belonged to Jocelyn Jackson, who is an author.Â  I would follow along on her blog as she was writing her next book.Â  She’d go on writing retreats.Â  The book would be submitted.Â  It would finally come out.Â  I was excited.Â  I watched this sweet little book being born.Â 

Then I would read the book.Â 

And I wouldn’t like it.Â 

It happened over and over.Â  Her books are much darker than her real life (or blog persona).Â  I gave up trying to read her books when in one the main character shoots her dog by accident.Â  She was aiming for her ex.Â  I had to sit myself down and forceably remember that she loved her dog in real life and would never hurt him so I didn’t hate her forever.Â  (Note that I was fine with the character shooting at her ex.)Â  It was my first experience with loving the author but not loving the book.Â Â 

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Sadly, she shut down her blog a few years ago.Â  I miss it.Â  I haven’t picked up her latest books.

But she isn’t the only writer who I’ve watched birth books (and babies and lives) that I then didn’t enjoy reading.Â  With social media it happens more and more often.Â  I follow a bunch of authors on Twitter.Â  There are several whose tweets I love that I’ve tried to read a few times but haven’t enjoyed the books.Â  They would post times when their books were going on sale and I’d buy them.Â  I figured I liked their writing/tweeting so I want to support them.Â  I got maybe a chapter or two in and realized that it just wasn’t going to work for me.Â  I’d be bored. Then I feel like a bad internet friend.Â Â 

I’m not going to be naming names of the people I still follow and sometimes interact with but **whispers** I haven’t finished their books.Â  I feel bad enough already.

Do you have those authors in your life or am I just the worst internet friend ever?

 

7 Replies to “You’re a Lovely Person but I Hate Your Books”

  1. Interesting issue! There are a couple of authors that are local to me that I love interacting with on Twitter, and I their books are fine, but they’re not, like my FAVORITES. And I feel kind of bad about that. On the other hand, they are both pretty popular in my classroom library, so I do buy their books, and I’ve gone to author events for one and would for the other as well, so I AM supporting them. I can also say that having heard the stories one of them tells about her research does make the books a tiny bit more interesting for me to read.

    It’s kind of the opposite problem of, “I love this book, but the author is a jerk.”

  2. Well, I guess the fact that I hate Twitter does preserve me from this problem! But a high school friend of mine just wrote a book and I have it here on my Kindle and I’m kinda worried I’ll hate it.

    1. That’s a rough one too. My father in law self published a book before I met him. There’s a copy on my shelf but I haven’t picked it up.

  3. I have this exact same problem! Sometimes I â€œmeetâ€ authors through blogs or social media long before I read their books. Itâ€™s always disappointing when I love the person and hate the book. Thereâ€™s one author who has a booktube channel that I love. On YouTube, sheâ€™s funny and super intelligent and has amazing ideas. Unfortunately, I loathed her book. Itâ€™s one of the worst things Iâ€™ve read so far this year. Yeah. Awkward.

    1. Then I feel awkward even reviewing because “What if she sees it?” I have to remember that I’m not mutuals with most authors.

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