Writing Styles

[indieanna86]

Hi Guys, I'd love to know if anyone is the same as me in that I can't read a book at all if I don't like the authors writing style?!

The only author I can read is (don't scoff) JK Rowling. I'm not a total Potter nut or anything, but they are the only books I can read and enjoy because the way she writes and phrases things is in a way I like. I've tried to read hundreds of different books, but the writing style bores me or spoils it. It could be the most wonderful story in the world, but if I don't like the style, I'll put it down after the first chapter!

Am I just being narrow minded or are there others like me?!

[jno]

can't blame you for not reading stuff you don't like, but you may be missing out on a lot of good books - in fact you certainly are if Rowling is all you can stand. Try to think of writing as a variation of talking - do you refuse to listen to people who use words or sentences you don't like, or do you just accept that different people speak in different ways?

[indieanna86]

I accept it when people talk, because I have no choice but to listen. But reading a book is my own choice and is done for enjoyment.

I just find that I can't get in to a book if I don't like how it's written. I tend to think more about the fact that I don't like the writing rather than the story itself, I can't help it, it just happens.

[andy-hughes]

I do understand indieanna86 bur it's not a major problem for me.

One author I find myself struggling with sometimes is Dean Koontz. His imagination is fantyastic, but sometimes he goes off on real clunky down-home cod-philosophies for about a page per chapter, and that really bugs me. I persevere though, because his novels are usually worth it.

I've not noticed it consistently with other witers - maybe you need to try as many different ones as you can, working on the 'scatter-gun' approach - if you shoot wide enoug, you're bound to hit something.

[jno]

well, it's only a problem if you think it is - that is, if you think you're missing out on some book that everyone says they enjoyed and you wish you could read it too. I thought Dan Brown's writing style stank but I still read The Da Vinci Code to the end; it annoyed me but it didn't deter me. I just felt the moderate enjoyment I got outweighed the irritation of what seemed to me his clumsy use of language (though only just!).

Talking isn't the only other case though - do films, or websites, or TV shows, put you off by their use of language? (Or by anything else - too much bad language on TV, too much kissing at the movies?) There's nothing wrong with being discriminating. But if you're so demanding that there's virtually no form of entertainment of communication that you can go along with, you may end up with some time on your hands.

[indieanna86]

jno, I'm not saying I've never read a book to the end, of course I have, but if I find the writing as andy says, a bit clunky, it tends to spoil it and I can't say I enjoy it.

TV and film are totally different from books. The written word can be perceived in different ways by different people, whereas with film it's pretty straight forward. No, I don't have a problem with the way people talk, but people very rarely write a book/novel as if they were saying it in an average conversation.

I'm not demanding. I don't demand that people write books in a way that suits me, I was only commenting and asking a light-hearted question.

Also, I don't have a lot of time on my hands. There a few more ways to keep yourself entertained than just reading books or watching tv...

[jno]

sorry - you said 'the only author I can read is JK Rowling' and maybe I took that too literally. But I disagree about films being totally different. I find Coen Brothers films (eg The Big Lebowski or Oh Brother Where Art Thou) hard to watch because of their directorial style - they always seem to be nudging you in the ribs and calling attention to themselves - which I think is roughly equivalent to what you say about books.

[Quizmonkey]

I started to read Rowling just to see what all the fuss was about - and couldn't get past three or four chapters beacuse of her 'style' or lack of. The woman can't write! Nothing flowed. There was no 'spark' in her writing. Plot was just piled upon plot without being able to string sentences together. No beauty, no 'poetry'.

Then I read Philip Pullman - true craftsmanship, genius, a real writer. Any Potter fan should try it: the steak as opposed to the burger!

[simsfreq]

I agree Philip Pullman is an amazing writer and - dare I say it - better than JK Rowling! (Hopes self isn't too offended)

Ithink someone's writing style is very important as to how much I enjoy a book. I like the variation in different writers. My favourite writer at the moment (apart from PP and JKR) is Bali Rai, who writes very good teenage fiction. The writing style takes a little getting used to but I really get into it :)

[Coobeastie]

I agree, some books just come accross as clunky and you can usually tell within the first chapter or two..that's why libraries are so great.

If you like JK Rowling you'd probably like Terry Pratchett though i'd have to say that he is a much better story writer.

One of the best books I've read recently was Mitch Albom's 'the five people you meet in heaven' a really lovely story and a beautiful concept.

Memoirs of a Geisha was also a great read.

The important thing is to try all sorts.

[kaktus]

It's quite easy to entertain me, so I can handle most writers as long as they keep me entertained. But I do agree with you in a sense. It's much harder chewing trough a book where you don't like the writing style.

My most recent example would be Robert Jordan, I have to read on, and I'm looking very much forward to the next book, because I HAVE to know how it ends. But man he is an annoying writer, he just goes on and on and on, but somehow he never seems to go anywhere. (and the characters are becoming quite irritating).

I know you aren't looking for recommendations but if you like Harry Potter, you should try Pullman, like said above. Excellent books! I don't necessarily think they're better than HP, but there are really good. And then keep trying to find writers you like! I hope that when you find one, he or she will have written loads of books, e.i. Stephen King :)

[Aschenbach]

I agree with Quizmonkey. I enjoyed the Pullman books. The trilogy maintained a sense of purpose throughout. Each book built on the last whereas the Potter books go on and on repeating those awful sub-Scooby-doo plot lines. I read up to The Goblet of Fire by which time I'd had enough.

The book that got me reading 'adult' books was George Orwell's Animal Farm. It might bring about a change in your reading habits too.

[metagirl]

i agree with you, but because I love to read in general, I make myself read and understand their writing style because it may just be symptomatic of the time they were writing in, which of course would not be so pleasing to my modern tastes - such as nathaniel hawthorne and his wonderful The House of the Seven Gables, which i am re-reading right now. a perfect little cozy book but sometimes a frightful bore to read!

[Celtigra3]

I hate the way people cast aspersions on JK Rowling - let's face it she does get people reading! Enid Blyton suffered the same bad press, but look how many children started out on her. I know I did and I am an avid reader. From Ann Rice, Jane Austen, Diana Gabaldon, Frank Herbert, et al to Philip Pullman (and if those were children's books, I am a monkey's auntie - they were far too deep). What I can't stand is these pretentious writers like Salman Rushdie who is virtually unreadable!

[kathianta]

You're probably not trying the right books!
If you like the Potter books, may I suggest anything by Diana Wynne Jones or 'The Dark Is Rising' by Susan Cooper? Both are fantastic authors, but the books are written - and I'm not trying to insult you here! - for a young adult audience and so are fairly easy to get in to. Let me know how you find them!