Why Have I Read Only One Book By So Many Authors?

I recently started asking myself the question that is the title to this post, why have I read only one book by so many authors?  There are authors, who after reading one of their books, I say I'm going to read more by them, but don't. They range from classic to contemporary, from serious literature to genre fiction, from very famous to lesser known.  I decided to compile a list:

Nick Hornby - A Long Way Down

Hanan Al-Shaykh - Only In London

Zora Neale Hurston - Their Eyes Were Watching God

Anna Davis - Cheet

Jeanette Winterson - Weight

Edith Wharton - Ethan Frome

Carol Shields - Dressing Up For The Carnival

Salman Rushdie - Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife

Rohinton Mistry - Family Matters

Rabindranath Maharaj - The Book of Ifs and Buts

Stieg Larsson - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Elizabeth Hay - Small Change

Francesca Lia Block - The Rose and the Beast

Karen Armstrong - A Short History of Myth

There were more, but these were the ones that stood out the most.  I liked all of these books, loved some of them. I intended (and still do) to read more by these authors.  Why haven't I yet?  I'm not sure. For many of these authors, I already own another book by them. Why are they still unread?  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first book in a trilogy and I have the other two books!  It's embarrassing. Why haven't I read Salman Rushdie's Fury or Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry or Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth?  Can someone tell me?

I own a lot of books. An insane, bordering on hoarder, amount of books. Are they too distracting?  I don't know if I lack focus; I have read Family Matters and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Do I want to read ALL the authors, even if I can't read all the authors' books? Maybe something like that. 

I recently read The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters. Will I be reading more by him? 

Weight

Weight was an interesting retelling of the Atlas and Heracles myth. Jeanette Winterson evokes real sympathy for the plight of Atlas. Did he really deserve his fate? Or was he a victim of circumstance? Of the gods’ whim? Heracles isn’t the benevolent hero that many think. He is crass and selfish. Some may think that he deserves his fate.

Though they each are descended from gods, they are not gods. Are they even immortal? They are not infallible. Each makes mistakes. Are they victims of circumstance? Do they really have free will? The “weight” that Atlas carries, is it merely symbolic? I think it is the weight of his worries, his concern for the earth, his daughters, his overgrown garden. To put aside the weight on your shoulders and walk away, the freedom.

Jeanette Winterson’s short novel (it was barely over 150 pages) makes you think about all these questions, while providing a fantastic story. I think this, like The Penlopliad not only makes you question the interpretation of the myth, but the life around you. I’ve enjoyed these two books in the myth series; I can’t wait to read more. I’m also thinking about picking up another of Winterson’s books. I’m eager to see what comes next.