Do you read books or authors?

[Pixie]

I have heard that the difference between Europeans and Americans when it comes to reading is that Americans read books, but Europeans read authors.

 

I guess that makes me a European then, because if I like an author, I will read everything of his or hers I can get my hands on.

Some examples are Ray Bradbury, John Crowley, Patricia McKillip, Vladimir Nabakov, and Charles Dickens.

 

There are some exceptions, where I have loved one book by an author, but not any of their other works.

 

So what are you? American or European?

[Kell]

I'm somewhere in the middle.

[Kylie]

I guess I would be European because, like you Pixie, if I find an author I like, I will immediately start buying up everything they've ever written.

[Mac]

I, too, find authors I particularly enjoy but this doesn't stop me from picking up books I've never heard of...but yeah, I read authors, definitely. So I'mm...erm...European.

[pickle]

European I guess, I read every book I can by an author I like, But I am not afraid to try new books though even if I have never heard of the writer.

[Ooshie]

Well, I once bought every paperback in print by Edith Wharton because I had enjoyed The House of Mirth so much, so I guess that makes me quite definitely European!

 

But, like others, I still buy books by authors I have never heard of or read if I like the look of them.

[lauraloves]

I'm a bit in the middle, I'll buy a book and if I like it I will look out more by the authour, but I wont go out of my way to buy their entire collection.

[Pixie]

I also will pick up a book by an author I have never heard of if it sounds interesting.

If I like the book, that means I have a new author to add to my ever-growing list.

[vinay87]

I buy books by authors because of my OCD of buying books but I read whatever I feel like reading. My favourite book is Les Mis but I've never read The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The only author I'm close to reading the entire works of is Robert Jordan.

[Kidsmum]

I'm a bit of both really, I'll buy a book by an author I've previously enjoyed but I'll also buy a book if I like the sound of it or if it gets good reviews

[nursenblack]

Can I have duel citizenship?! There are certain authors that I will read anything written by them. I also love reading a debut novel by an unknown. But, sometimes when I read a debut novel and love it I'm a bit apprehensive to read a new novel by that author for fear of disappointment.

[Guest Eliza1]

I do tend to read authors more than books. If I read something I like, I read the rest of that authors work. I also read books by authors I've never read before but as a result they are fewer. If I don't like the way an author writes, or I don't like a storyline, I don't read anything else by that author so it goes the other way too :S

Edited November 19, 2010 by Eliza1

[Chrissy]

If I read and enjoy a book, I will look out for more by the same author definitely. I do remain open to new books and authors through whim or recommendation though, so hopefully I am not closing myself off too much by avidly following certain authors.

[Heffalumpi]

Definitely European, although I take these tendancies to the library now as this has been an expensive mistake in the past when I have read a book and loved it and then gone on to buy everything else an author has ever written only to find that I either go off their style of writing or that the rest of their books don't live up to the first one that I read

[Yellow Wallpaper]

I definitely read books, not authors. There have been very few authors I have found where I consistently like their books. This may be because I prefer non-fiction, and there are just so many topics out there.

[Echo]

Honestly, I tend to read authors. Sometimes it'll start out by me wanting to read a particular book, but if I enjoy it, I'll usually just try to read everything else by that author, until I hit a book that I don't enjoy.

[Pixie]

Can I have duel citizenship?!

Sure, why not? I sort of do myself.

[Eva]

I have many favourite books, but I don't have favourite authors. So likely I'm an American

[Nollaig]

I'm flailing about in the Atlantic.

 

I love reading stuff by authors I like, and when I find one I like I immediately make a note of all their other works, learn about them, and pick up their work unconditionally.

However, I do also get drawn in by unusual book titles, and will buy books by any author on the basis of a nice cover, a good review, or an interesting title. I often browse Amazon looking for unusual titles that jump out at me. And, if I like those books, their authors constitute my new mental lists. So I'm both, and they're interchangeable.

 

*flails*

[pontalba]

I'm flailing about in the Atlantic.

 

I love reading stuff by authors I like, and when I find one I like I immediately make a note of all their other works, learn about them, and pick up their work unconditionally.

However, I do also get drawn in by unusual book titles, and will buy books by any author on the basis of a nice cover, a good review, or an interesting title. I often browse Amazon looking for unusual titles that jump out at me. And, if I like those books, their authors constitute my new mental lists. So I'm both, and they're interchangeable.

 

*flails*

I have to agree with you Nollaig. Plus, I wonder at the designations "American" and "European". "Readers" are readers the world over and vacillate between constantly.

[Talisman]

I am definately much more American - with very few exceptions I pick books purely because I like the sound of them - the author and how well known they are has very little bearing at all on my choices. There are one or two authors whose books I do actively seek out, but they are very much the exception to the rule.

[Donna]

I'm also somewhere in the Atlantic.

 

I go through periods where I read authors and periods where I read books. I have a few favourite authors and I have read everything they have ever written. As I'm using my local library a lot more now, I tend to read books.

 

 

Does that make me more American than European?

[Books do furnish a room]

I tend to do both; but in phases. So I might go through a period of reading one author or one type of book, but as I have seven or eight books on the go at once I can do both at the same time!

[Louiseog]

Certain authors I will read all of and get the series as they start (mainly thrillers and terrible chick lit - not that I mean chick lit is terrible but the terrible bonk buster chick lit like Jilly Cooper which I devour and wait impatiently for!)

 

Then books look at what others recommend and then follow like a sheep!

[Pixie]

I have to agree with you Nollaig. Plus, I wonder at the designations "American" and "European". "Readers" are readers the world over and vacillate between constantly.

I agree with you, pontalba. It was something I heard someone else say, but I can't for the life of me remember who or why.

 

Does that make me more American than European?

You're floundering in the Atlantic like Nollaig.