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?
