Popular Authors I've Never Read

When I tell people I love reading, many (usually the ones who don't read very much or at all) assume I read the "bestsellers" or the very popular authors that even non-readers know of (usually through their books being made into movies).  My usual response is something like, I've heard her/his books are good. I'd like to read them at some point, I'll get to them one day, etc. ,whether it is my actual intention to "get to them" or not.

I thought I'd compile a short list of authors that are popular, who I'm frequently asked if I've read.  

1. John Grisham - I keep thinking I aught to read him.  He has written so much, I wouldn't know where to start. I'm also not sure his stuff is for me.

2. E.L. James - and I won't.  Ever.

3. Nicolas Sparks - I probably won't ever read him either.  For more than one reason.

4. George R.R. Martin - I aught to read him. It seems like he writes stuff I'd like to read, but the books are just... so... big!

5. John Green - see #1

6. James Patterson - see #1

7. Mary Higgins Clark - see #1

The same goes for classics. I've never read:

8. Fyodor Dostoyevsky - So intimidating.

9. Anne Brontë - Though I've read both Emily and Charlotte.

I also haven't read some of the really popular current authors like:

10. Gillian Flynn - I feel like there's too much hype for me to be objective.

11. Rainbow Rowell - I really want to read Attachments.  Of all her books, the story appeals to me the most, though I know Eleanor and Park is being made into a movie.

I think the above eleven are enough.  Which popular authors have you never read?  Why? 

Top Ten Unfortunate Character Names

Spoilers!! I don’t think I can talk about these names without giving away a little of the story, but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum


The first four are ones that as soon as I read them, I thought they were terrible choices.


1. Renesmee - Breaking Dawn, by: Stephenie Meyer. Really? Really?! Their baby is named what? You couldn’t come up with a name that was easier to pronounce. I know other characters in the book comment on the difficulty of the name, so that her nickname is “Nessy”, which is still dumb. I think this was the first name I ever looked at had to pause in my reading to contemplate how terrible it was.


2. Bree Tanner – The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, by: Stephenie Meyer. I get she’s young and we’re supposed to feel sympathy for her, but “Bree” is not a sympathetic name. The surname is fine, but I just can’t stand the name Bree for a heroine.


3. Courtney Stone – Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, by: Laurie Viera Rigler. This was another name that jumped out at me. I loved the story, thought it was interesting, but when I hear “Courtney” I think snobby teenage girl.


4. Fuschia – The Fuschia Is Now, by: J. Otto Seibold. I disliked this children’s book. One of the things I didn’t like was the main character being named after a silly colour. The colour/name is yelled through the whole book. It has yet to hold my daughter’s interest.


The rest aren’t terrible, but I thought they could have been better.


5. Artemis Entreri – The Legend of Drizzt series, by: R.A. Salvatore. I love Salvatore’s Drizzt books. I think they’re fun and exciting. I also think Salvatore is excellent when it comes to naming characters. Except when he name Artemis Entreri. Have you ever tried to pronounce his last name? It’s hard, but that’s not the part the really bugs me. Artemis is a girl’s name. Artemis is a Greek warrior goddess. A friend pointed out to me that she’s heard Artemis as a boy’s name before and I have too. Any time I hear it as a boy’s name, it irks me.


6. Dale “Barbie” Barbara – Under The Dome, by: Stephen King. Dale is a perfectly fine name. I even don’t mind the nickname, Barbie, when it’s used cleverly. But why does EVERYONE have to call him that? Even the woman he has sex with?


7. Liz Dunn – Eleanor Rigby, by: Douglas Coupland. Eleanor Rigby was a fantastic novel and Liz was a great character. Was Liz Dunn done from the beginning?


8. Samantha Sweeting – The Undomestic Goddess, by: Sophie Kinsella. She’s supposed to be a lawyer. Sweeting is just a very unlawyerly name.


9. Lord Bostock – The Princess and the Whiskheads, by: Russell Smith. As soon as I read that name, I thought “botox”. Sorry.


I could only come up with nine. A friend of mine suggested my last entry.


10. Every Mary Higgins Clark Character – I admit to never having read one of her books. My friend tells me that the women are supposed to be young and sexy, but they have “old lady” names. I’m taking her word on this.


Thanks to The Broke and The Bookish for another great list and the most difficult one for me since I've been participating.