When you discover an author who you absolutely love...?

Question: When you discover an author who you absolutely love!.!.!.!?

!.!.!.and they've been around for a while, do you get annoyed that you wasted so much time!?

I finally got around to reading Thoreau!. I could kick myself! Why do I read so many utterly forgettable books when there are authors like him just waiting!?

Do you regret the time you've given to mediocre books, or do you think that any hour with a paperback is an hour well spent!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

How do you kick yourself!? I've figured on kicking one's own ankle and such, but it's very difficult to kick yourself anywhere else!. Punching yourself would be a more efficient form of punishment!. Even self-flagellation would be easier, though more painful and probably leave scars!.!.!.!.

I'm always pretty grateful when I find someone new that I like, be him old or new!. Thoreau kind of has a way of making you regret reading rubbish even if you've read him before!. Just a very eloquent, conversational style!. For me, my most recent discovery is Don DeLillo!.

What happens to me is a panicked obsession!. I have the instant need to have read everything they've ever written, said, done, etc!.!.!. So I kind of crawl into this dark literary cave where only few books are allowed to travel and hole off from the rest of the world!.

That tendency makes me a somewhat narrow reader, but it helps me understand the writer a lot more!.

As for the time wasted on bad books - they're kind of necessary to appreciate the good ones!. I prescribe two horrible novels for every bit of Thoreau you read, take them with whiskey, and call me in the morning!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Never regret, that's my motto!. There is not one thing I've done in my life that I regret, if only because everything I take in informs what I put out!. I worked for a book distributor for several years and during that time I gulped down piles of books which I would never have read otherwise!. Many of them were truly dreadful, but at least they gave me the base of knowledge that allows me to know who and what I despise!. I was a voracious reader prior to that but I did not have the chance to be an omnivore!. Omnivorous reading taught me much and I can't regret the hours I spent reading tripe!. Partly because now my snobbery is empirically founded and thus more defensible, and partly because knowing both sides of any story makes it easier to choose wisely!. I can almost smell a bad book now, I used to have to suffer through them!. I also learned that some things just don't deserve my time, and I no longer grant it to them!. That is very freeing!. Another way to look at it is that gold doesn't look as lovely if you have no dross against which to juxtapose it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I kicked myself in the head when I discovered Philippa Gregory and Dan Brown!. How did I not know that they existed!? In fact, I kicked myself in the head when I discovered the Literature section of my bookstore!. I thought books like the Great Gatsby, A Seperate Piece, and Things Fall Apart would be in the YA section because it's books young adults read in school!. I had been spending so much time in the YA section reading the YA classis like The Secret Garden, Lyddie, The Yearling!.!.!.ect!.!.!.that I didn't know the treasure trove of books beyond!.

I don't regret the mediocre books I read simply because I write novels and I don't want to make the same mistakes those authors did!. Twilight, for example!. Although I read only the first two chapters, I pretty much understood what Meyer did wrong because it was apparent as soon as I laid my eyes on the hook!. And Harry Potter--not entirely mediocre, in my opinion--was just something I enjoyed back in elementary and middle school--and some of highschool; I'm guilty of it!. If I were to analyze Harry Potter now, I might reel over from the mistakes and rules she breaks, but I'll simply let Harry Potter stay on my bookshelf as a guilty pleasure!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I have occasionally found myself 10 pages into an absolute shocker wondering what on earth possessed me to choose it!. I used to think that it wa disrespecful to the poor author to give up before the end!. I was always hopeful that they would redeem themselves and shortly come up with a twist or plot device that spun my head!. I was rarely rewarded for my perserverence!.

Now when that happens to me I disrespect the author pretty quickly and look for someing better!. My reading time is too scarce now to devote to reading somethg that is not hitting the spot!.

Thoreau is wild!. I encountered him at 19 in first year philosophy!. Read David Hume and Bakunin too!. Those old 19th Century philosophers had a way with words!.

"Beware of any venture requiring the purchase of new clothes" Way to go, Henry!Www@QuestionHome@Com

I don't think there is such a thing as a mediocre book!. Just differing opinions!. Anyway, no, I don't regret reading a book I'm not crazy about!. I usually like every book I read!. I go away from the book with a feeling of accomplishment, at least - I survived it! And if it's truly horrible, I usually don't finish it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Yes, I do!. I often think it is a pity that I didn't discover a particular author years before, or a particular book!. for instance, I was totally put off George orwell by reading 1984 and Animal Farm when I was very young, and I hated them both!. It was only a few years ago that I finally got around to reading Homage to Catalonia, which is so brilliant I wish I had read it years ago!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No, because the book will always be there!.

It's not like watching a movie 10 years after it comes out and liking it, but wishing you would have seen it in theatres and gotten the most out of the special effects of the time, or just the camera work!.

It's not like playing a video game 10 years after it comes out and wishing you could have played it when it first hit the shelves in order to fully benefit from the graphics and art of detail they could only have worked with at the time!.

No!.!.!. a book stays the same!. Your imagination is all the special effects you need and you picture the nouns as well, and even better, then any console can!. Whether you read the book 10 years ago or if you're going to read it in 2050!.!.!. that's the beauty of literature!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

All of the answers before mine are excellent!. I am a retired English teacher, and someone might ask me, "Did you read --------!?" When I say I haven't, they look at me as if there is something wrong with me!. How could I have gone to college as an English major and then taught for all of those years without reading a book they think is superior!?

Well the answer is that one person can read just so much at any one time!. I have tried to vary my reading now!. I subscribe to 6-8 magazines and try to read about 40 pp a day from them!. I am always reading a book!. I try to keep a novel going and, at the same time, read something non-fiction, be it history, biography, or another area that interests me!.

No! You have not read everything!. Neither have I!. Keep your mind, eyes, and ears open to find out what there is that others think is good!. Do not berate yourself for missing something!. Just go on!. Be comfortable and enjoy!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i defenetly dont cause if i spent soo much time on an ather then they must bee good(to my standerd) so i would want to regret anything and u cant live life regreting everything cause in the end what can u do bout it its not like u can turn back time so u might as welll injoy life and try not to regret anything cauise ull end up wasting too much time regreting stuff that cant be changed=]]Www@QuestionHome@Com

As long as I was entertained or educated I don't consider the book a waste!. What I hate is when I read a book that isn't good - in my opinion - but I keep reading it because I think it will get better!.!.!.!.!.and it doesn't!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Since books aren't a blink-and-you-miss-them thing, generally I'm just happy to find a new author or book!. If it's that great, it'll still be around when I get around to discovering it!Www@QuestionHome@Com

I don't feel like I have wasted any time reading books!. I find authors I lvoe and stick with them!. If I start a book I don't like then I don't finish it; no time wasted!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I love reading all types of books and if a book is not so brilliant i hope to read a best book the next time!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I have read books since I was 3, 45 years of reading!. I have no regrets that some books are so memorable and some not! I just enjoy getting lost in good book!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Nah, there are always other books and other authors!.

Trashy novels have their place in the grand scheme of things, too!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i dont know

ps!.i like family guyWww@QuestionHome@Com