# Books by your favorite author you're glad you didn't read first **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713 "2010-02-19T23:49:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/41 "2010-02-21T19:47:06Z")
James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake or Ulysses. The former would be totally incomprehensible (and still is to most people, Joycean or not). The latter makes more sense, but needs \*Portrait of the Artist \* as an introduction. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/42 "2010-02-21T20:52:36Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > As for Pratchett, all Pratchett fans acknowledge that some of his books are better than others. None, however, agree on which ones are the worst (or the best). There are some that get more ‘bad’ votes than others, though. I’d say _The Colour Of Magic_ is in the lead, both because it’s so differently written from his later books, and for the reason that **MsWhatsit** and I mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/43 "2010-02-21T20:56:22Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > What? \*Moving Pictures \*is his best ever. But \*Strata \*and \*Dark Side Of The Sun \*stink. I didn’t think Moving Pictures was that bad, just not one of his best. But I really dislike Monstrous Regiment. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/44 "2010-02-21T20:58:27Z")
At least \*Colour of Magic \*had, you know, stories. Does anyone remember anything from _Eric_? ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/45 "2010-02-21T22:47:53Z")
_Each Man’s Son_ by Hugh MacLennan. Not that it’s a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. It’s actually one of my favourites. But it’s not the kind of book I usually get into. I think I needed _The Watch That Ends The Night_ to ease me in to his stuff by presenting the melancholy along with some hope. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/46 "2010-02-21T23:01:08Z")
Either _Passage_ or _Lincoln’s Dreams_, by Connie Willis. I started on her with _Doomsday Book_, and have adored pretty much everything else I’ve ever read by her, either previous or subsequent to it. When I bought _Passage_, and started to read it, at about page 200 I thought, “You know, if this book was by anyone but Connie Willis, I’d give up on it about here.” I finished it. When I (very) recently checked out _Lincoln’s Dreams_ from the library, I’d learned my lesson. I gave up at page 100. I don’t get it. I’ve got favorite authors who have written books I don’t care for, but that I don’t find unreadable. Those two books by Willis are, for me, unreadable. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/47 "2010-02-21T23:10:34Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > _The Cat Who Walks Through Walls_ was the first and last Heinlein novel I ever read. I’ve heard several times over the years that it’s not a fan favorite and is a bad choice for one’s first Heinlein, which makes me feel better about how little I enjoyed it. I remember thinking “_This_ is the guy everyone’s crazy about?” Although I probably would like almost anything else by Heinlein more, after reading _Cat_ I’ve never cared enough to bother with his other books. Heinlein had a serious illness before (during?) the writing of _The Number of the Beast_. That book and subsequent books demonstrate just how serious the illness was. _Friday_ is, in my opinion, the only one of that string that’s worth writing home about. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/48 "2010-02-21T23:28:02Z")
> [@](#): > > At least Colour of Magic had, you know, stories. Does anyone remember anything from Eric? I think _Eric_ wasn’t intended so much as a story in itself, but as an explanation for how Rincewind managed to get back out of the Dungeon Dimensions, so he could be used in later stories. > [@](#): > > Heinlein had a serious illness before (during?) the writing of The Number of the Beast. That book and subsequent books demonstrate just how serious the illness was. Friday is, in my opinion, the only one of that string that’s worth writing home about. I’ve heard it said that all of Heinlein’s books can be classified into “juveniles”, “adult”, “senile”, and “post-senile”. IIRC, though, the brain damage hit during _I Will Fear no Evil_ (which, based on the great many recommendations against, I’ve never read), not _Number of the Beast_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/49 "2010-02-22T14:44:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think _Eric_ wasn’t intended so much as a story in itself, but as an explanation for how Rincewind managed to get back out of the Dungeon Dimensions, so he could be used in later stories. Eh. It was a stupid answer to a question no-one would ask. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/50 "2010-02-22T15:13:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ll certainly agree that _The Cat who Walks through Walls_ and _Number of the Beast_ are bad, but you don’t very often meet someone who says “Yeah, I tried to read that, but it sucked, so I gave up on Heinlein” (in fact, **Lamia** there is the first person I’ve ever heard that from). You do, however, often meet someone who says that about _Stranger_. So I thought a warning against _Stranger_ would be more useful than against any of his stinkers. I started with Stranger, and hated it so much I never tried Heinlein again. Even now, I’m not sure I’m willing, but if I were, what would you recommend? Stephen King books to _not_ start with: Cycle of the Werewolf The Talisman It The Eyes of the Dragon Entire Dark Tower series The Tommyknockers The Dark Half\* Nightmares & Dreamscapes Insomnia Rose Madder The Regulators\* Desperation\* Bag of Bones Hearts in Atlantis Dreamcatcher\*\* Black House From a Buick 8\* Four Past Midnight Cell\* Lisey’s Story\* Under the Dome I’m not saying these all suck. But if I’d started there and thought they were representative of Mr. King’s work, I’d probably have ended there. \*Okay, these do suck. \*\*This sucks a great amount. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/51 "2010-02-22T15:15:28Z")
**Jack Vance** is a masterful writer of fantasy and science fiction but he has also published maybe a dozen mysteries, etc. under a variety of names. I’ve read them all a couple of times at least, and enjoyed them, but if I had read any one of them first, I probably would never have continued as I’m not really a mystery fan… _Bad Ronald_, in particular would have been the only book of his I read, if I had come across it first (and for some unknown reason decided to read it) ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/52 "2010-02-22T15:35:24Z")
Clancy- _The Bear and the Dragon._ How do you make a war between Russia and China boring? By slogging through 800 pages of shit, much of which has little to do with Russia and China, before the war actually starts. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/53 "2010-02-22T15:40:33Z")
I disagree with the inclusion of IT on **Dung Beetle** ’s list. (I more or less agree with all the other entries, though.) IT is arguably King’s magnum opus. It’s the first book of his that I ever read, and it instantly hooked me. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/54 "2010-02-22T16:53:41Z")
Im a big fan of Roddy Doyle. \*\*\*Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha \*\*\*is one of my favorite books, and I loved his Barrytown Triolgy. But \*\*\*The Woman Who Walked into Doors \*\*\*was so dreary, I’d never have given The Snapper a shot if I’d read it first. ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/55 "2010-02-22T17:26:12Z")
Dan Brown is not my all-time favorite author but he’s up there. If I had read his latest novel, The Lost Symbol, before I had read Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code, I may have stopped right there. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/56 "2010-02-22T17:42:38Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I disagree with the inclusion of IT on **Dung Beetle** ’s list. (I more or less agree with all the other entries, though.) IT is arguably King’s magnum opus. It’s the first book of his that I ever read, and it instantly hooked me. To be fair, for a first introduction to King, **It** wouldn’t be close to my first book to recommend to someone. Even though it’s a great book, it can be tough going for anybody who isn’t used to King’s um..wordiness. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/57 "2010-02-22T17:44:41Z")
Lewis Carroll If I had started with **An Elemtary Treatise on Determinants** , I am virtually certain that I would not have gone on to **Alice in Wonderland** or **Through the Looking Glass** , but then again, you never know. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/58 "2010-02-22T17:46:18Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > To be fair, for a first introduction to King, It wouldn’t be close to my first book to recommend to someone. Even though it’s a great book, it can be tough going for anybody who isn’t used to King’s um..wordiness. You think so? Hm. I mean, I admit that it’s a lengthy book, but IMO it’s a very quick and easy read, due to what I’ve heard called his “cinematic” writing style. Full disclosure, I read the thing when I was about 10 years old. Er… sorry for the King hijack! ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/59 "2010-02-22T17:51:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > At least \*Colour of Magic \*had, you know, stories. Does anyone remember anything from _Eric_? Speaking of fans not agreeing on which books are bad- _Eric_ is one of my favorites. (Also the second Discworld book I read). I think I may be alone in that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/60 "2010-02-22T19:48:59Z")
Quoth **Dung Beetle** : > [@](#): > > I started with Stranger, and hated it so much I never tried Heinlein again. Even now, I’m not sure I’m willing, but if I were, what would you recommend? Probably the best way to get the taste of _Stranger_ out of your mouth is to read a few of his juveniles. My personal favorite is _Space Cadet_, though most folks seem to prefer _Have Spacesuit, Will Travel_. Other good ones include _Tunnel in the Sky_, _The Rolling Stones_, and _Podkayne of Mars_. Don’t be put off by the “juvenile” label; the only difference between Heinlein’s juvies and his adult books is a lack of sex and politics. For adult books, the best is _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_, and I’d also recommend _Starship Troopers_ and _Double Star_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713.md?page=4)