Second (And Third, Fourth and Fifth) Chances

In my last post I wrote about the book Gamble, by Felix Francis, who, since the death of his father Dick Francis, has been co-writing (possibly completing, whatever) his dad's books. I described how disappointed I was in all but the first of these "collaborations" and by the fourth one, I gave up. Then I read the fifth and liked it very much and am looking forward to the next.
     Many years ago I read a book - don't know how I finished it, wanted to burn it a dozen times - that I immediately place on my five worst books I've ever read list. It was called Riding Lessons by an author named Sara Gruen. She wrote a sequel, Flying Changes, that I never picked up, having vowed to never read another book she had written.
     A few years back she wrote another book, Water For Elephants. After it had been out for awhile and just before the movie came out, I picked it up and started reading. It was a best-seller obviously, and it never occurred to me, in spite of the unusual name, that it was written by the same woman. (I have since learned that Riding Lessons was a bestseller and I have to wonder if this was before or after the phenomenon that Water For Elephants turned out to be.)
     I agree with most of the world that Water For Elephants is a great book. It really is nothing like her first novel, which will never free itself from my-most-disliked-books-of-all-time-list. And I have to say that I'm glad I read it, and think I might have even if I had realized who the author was.
    In the second paragraph above I used the phrase "worst books I've ever read", and just above I mentioned my "most disliked" books. Those two phrases don't mean nearly the same thing, and I have to say that by worst book, I am stating an opinion.  I have not read Sara Gruen's latest novel, Ape House, and not sure that I will.
     These two examples make me aware of how unfair it is that I - and many other readers - give up on an author because we didn't like one (or more) of their books. Another of my favorite authors, Dean Koontz, who is an incredible writer, has written many books that have failed to impress me. So has Stephen King, arguably one of the most talented writers in the history of writing.
      I have recently published my first novel. It is a good book. I am proud of it, but it is not a great book. I know many, possibly most readers, will not be impressed, but might still read the upcoming sequel. I have written a lot about authors "growing" in their writing talent as they continue learning to write and become more experienced.  I hope and expect that will be true of me as well. But it won't matter if readers - like I have on occasion - give up on an author after a less than stellar book.
     In the future, I'll try to judge a book on its own merit and not be influenced by past experience with a certain author. I will choose to read books that catch my attention and interest, regardless of how I felt about similar books. I'm sure, in most cases, I will be glad that I did.


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