# 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:** 4
**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, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/61 "2010-02-22T20:02:16Z")
I’m not always a fan of science fiction, but I’ll give Space Cadet a try. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/62 "2010-02-22T23:00:49Z")
> [@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. I would totally have kept reading King if \*IT \*had been my first experience with him. But then, I love long books, love horror, and hate clowns. 🙂 My first King experience was _Carrie_, which I think was a good one. I’ll add another one to the list not to start with: _The Gunslinger_. Gad, that was a slog. They got better as the series went on (for the most part) but it took me three tries to get through that first one, and it took finally listening to it on audiobook to manage it. (I see that was mentioned on the list as part of the whole Dark Tower series, but this one especially.) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/63 "2010-02-23T01:10:05Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Guy Gavriel Kay’s _The Fionovar Tapestry_. It isn’t exactly bad, per se, it’s just a bit Too Much. I disagree. It really is exactly bad, per se. Completely derivative, what you get when you cross Lord of the Rings with the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. I read all three, and I kept wondering why I wasn’t putting them down. To make amends I’m putting them down now :). None of Kay’s works are exactly great literature, but everything else I’ve read by him has been a damned sight better. My contribution: China Mieville’s _King Rat_. I thought **Perdido Street Station** was a revelation, really enjoyed his other New Crobuzon books, and recommend _The City and the City_ almost wholeheartedly. But **King Rat** was so clumsy, and ended on such a drearily preachy note, that I would never have given him a second chance had it been my first exposure to him. Oh–and I’m really glad I read _IT_ as a thirteen-year-old. There’s a scene in it that, read as an adult, would make me feel like I needed to register as a sex offender. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/64 "2010-02-23T01:12:52Z")
I’m a big fan of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone series, but it’s a good thing that I did not start with “A” is for Alibi. After getting hooked on the series by starting from “B”, I found myself very unimpressed with “A”. ---
**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 23, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/65 "2010-02-23T13:05:44Z")
Re Stephen King’s It: I had to put it on the list just for that one scene. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/66 "2010-02-23T13:23:17Z")
I’ve enormously enjoyed a number of books by Larry McMurtry. There are an equal number that bordered on disappointing drivel. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/67 "2010-02-23T13:38:06Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > 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. Ditto with _Sylvie and Bruno_. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/68 "2010-02-23T15:24:22Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Jane Austen’s _Mansfield Park_. It’s not AWFUL, but I’m not sure I’d have read the whole thing if it hadn’t been for a class. It remains the only Austen novel I’ve never re-read. > > Some people do love _Mansfield Park_, but I think anyone who was skeptical about Austen would feel their worst fears had been confirmed. Even Jane Austen’s mother thought _Mansfield Park_ heroine Fanny Price was insipid, and I can well imagine many modern readers deciding to abandon the book once they get to the part where Fanny is horrified that her cousins want to amuse themselves by _putting on a play!_ That would be my first choice as well. Austen’s other books are romantic comedies. Mansfield Park really isn’t. Its relatively dark and moralizing. I have reread it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/69 "2010-02-23T16:20:34Z")
Robert Crais, “The First Rule”, starring his superman Joe Pike. A thoroughly unrealistic and very unpleasant story about the East European mob. Makes me nostalgic for the jolly Mafia. … I loved the earlier Elvis Cole books, they were like a little weekend trip to Los Angeles, and Elvis was personable and funny and interesting. As the series went on, the stories got darker and grimmer. That’s not a bad thing, and people LOVE Joe Pike. But I thought “The First Rule” was not a pleasurable reading experience. (Loved “The Monkey’s Raincoat”, as contrast.) ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/70 "2010-02-23T18:32:17Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Robert Crais, “The First Rule”, starring his superman Joe Pike. A thoroughly unrealistic and very unpleasant story about the East European mob. Makes me nostalgic for the jolly Mafia. … I loved the earlier Elvis Cole books, they were like a little weekend trip to Los Angeles, and Elvis was personable and funny and interesting. As the series went on, the stories got darker and grimmer. That’s not a bad thing, and people LOVE Joe Pike. But I thought “The First Rule” was not a pleasurable reading experience. (Loved “The Monkey’s Raincoat”, as contrast.) Agreed on this one. I thought the first Joe Pike novel, The Watchman, was pretty good – not as sharp as the earlier Elvis Cole books, but enjoyable. This one was… just kind of there. I didn’t think it was terrible or anything, but it was pretty much gone from my mind as soon as I turned the last page. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/71 "2010-02-23T19:00:39Z")
John le Carre became almost unreadable when he switched from Cold War spy story to anti-Imperialism screed. (I wouldn’t have even read his most recent books except each time I find a review that says “Recovered his old form!” – I’m so gullible.) Two of his best novels were his very first two: detective stories with George Smiley. ---
**Author:** ![Staver808](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Staver808](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staver808)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/72 "2010-02-23T19:26:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > At least \*Colour of Magic \*had, you know, stories. Does anyone remember anything from _Eric_? I agree, I have the original American printings of the first three books with the Kirby covers. I have to say, his American covers suck. It almost makes me want to pay to ship over the Brit versions. I started to , but at $20+ a pperback, it was getting too expensive. Maybe if they were hardcovers, but paperbacks just don’t have life span. In the US, the first couple books were out of print for a long time. I had most of them from when I was a kid and bought them, but Eric was the only one that was out of print and I didn’t have. I vividly remember the day I saw that his publisher had started to reissue the Discworld books. I remember counting down the months until they were going to get to Eric. I was there as soon as I was done with class to pick it up, and to be fair, I should have just skipped the day because all I was thinking about was I’d finally get to read Eric. An hour later and I was this is it? Did I even get a Pratchett book? It’s the only one I haven’t reread ever. And to the one who said they didn’t like drunken Vimes, I kind of like him more. He pulled himself together and made something of himself. It makes where he is now all that more special to me. Not many people can just walk away from an addicition like that. And that’s why he’s a hero. He stepped up to the plate when his people really needed him. ---
**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 23, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/73 "2010-02-23T20:05:56Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I’m a big fan of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone series, but it’s a good thing that I did not start with “A” is for Alibi. After getting hooked on the series by starting from “B”, I found myself very unimpressed with “A”. I read an NYT book reveiw on the latest one, _U Is For Undertow_. It was a very positive reveiw, and it said the series on a whole was quirky and fun. I read _A Is For Alibi_, went “Huh? This is something special?”, and then said, “Well, she did say Kinsey’s character developes over time. I guess they get better.” I’m up to, what, _I Is For Innocence_ now? And I forgot to ask this earlier, but what exactly do you guys mean that _Eric_ doesn’t have a plot? What is “A wannabe demonologist summons Rincewind instead of an actual demon, and hilarity ensues”, if not a plot? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/74 "2010-02-23T20:24:15Z")
Malleus, Incus, Stapes: > [@](#): > > I read A Is For Alibi, went “Huh? This is something special?”, and then said, “Well, she did say Kinsey’s character developes over time. I guess they get better.” > > I’m up to, what, I Is For Innocence now? So does that mean that you’re now hooked on Kinsey? Out of curiosity, when did it grab you, at B? ---
**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 23, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/75 "2010-02-23T23:20:17Z")
I guess. I ordered A, B, and C at the same time, so by the time I got to C I was interested in Kinsey’s developing personal story. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/76 "2010-02-24T00:28:39Z")
About Terry Pratchett’s _Eric_, am I remembering correctly that it was originally written to be a graphic novel? I want to say it actually was first released in that format, although I’ve never seen a copy. If this is true it would explain why _Eric_ the non-graphic novel doesn’t work that well (it was meant to be illustrated) and also why it’s so short. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/77 "2010-02-24T16:10:47Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My contribution: China Mieville’s _King Rat_. I thought **Perdido Street Station** was a revelation, really enjoyed his other New Crobuzon books, and recommend _The City and the City_ almost wholeheartedly. But **King Rat** was so clumsy, and ended on such a drearily preachy note, that I would never have given him a second chance had it been my first exposure to him. Seconding this. Though I would also not recommend starting with _The Iron Council_ as it is so overtly political. Even though CM’s political views resemble mine and probably my friends’ too, I think this might scare people off a bit if that was their first. _Perdido_ is the one to start, then _The Scar_ and by then they’ll be so hungry for New Crobuzon stuff they won’t care about the slightly heavyhanded political stuff anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/78 "2010-02-24T16:14:26Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’m one of the few that liked that one. For truly bad Heinlein, I offer **For Us, the Living**. Have not read that one. **Sixth Column** was both bad and very racist (apparently mainly because of John W. Campbell’s influence, but Campbell’s name isn’t on the cover). ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/79 "2010-02-24T16:17:30Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Though I would also not recommend starting with _The Iron Council_ as it is so overtly political. Even though CM’s political views resemble mine and probably my friends’ too, I think this might scare people off a bit if that was their first. _Perdido_ is the one to start, then _The Scar_ and by then they’ll be so hungry for New Crobuzon stuff they won’t care about the slightly heavyhanded political stuff anymore. Yeah, I thought _Iron Council_ was by far the weakest of the three New Crobuzon books; I liked the first two in part because the characters were Leftist revolutionary types thrown against their will into some kind of high fantasy adventury thing that they had to deal with; _Iron Council_ was leftist revolutionaries throwing a revolution, and losing that distance really hurt the story from my perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713/80 "2010-02-24T16:37:16Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Re Stephen King’s It: I had to put it on the list just for that one scene. What one scene? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-by-your-favorite-author-youre-glad-you-didnt-read-first/529713.md?page=5)