It’s been fun but I think it’s time to breakup…

I’ve been contemplating breaking up with an author lately. You see I like their work, I’ve read several books of theirs, I even came close to loving one book but overall I realize I’m disappointed more than pleased. I think the author is just not for me. Thankfully I’m not too terribly invested so I think the breakup will be mild and easy.

Yet what about those authors that you want to love everything they write yet you just can’t? There are a few authors that whenever I see their name I want their books. I don’t even need to know what the books are about. I don’t read the blurbs, check out the cover art … I just want whatever they’ve written. Yet sometimes these authors let me down. I know they do. I can tell by the consistent middle of the road ratings I give them. However I just can’t stop wanting their books. It’s a double edged sword. I don’t think the author is for me but I want them to be!

I wonder when do you know to break up with an author or even worse, a series?

I’ve clung to favored series long, long after their expiration point. I finally do give up (LKH, JD Robb, Janet Evanovich, Frank Herbert) when I’m disappointed by numerous books in a row. Though I hated Lover Enshrined so frickin’ much that I’ve not been able to pick up another JR Ward book and I loved that BDB series.

But my point is that giving up on an author or series is painful and a tough decision. You want to love it, you want to continue but the disappointment or ultimately lack of enjoyment makes it impossible.

So my question is when do you give up?

When are the issues too much so you simply have to breakup, no matter how painful?

Also what’s been your worst book/author/series breakup?

One of the best things about this little community is that everything is so immediate and close. This is also one of the double edged swords. Since the genre is so incestuous – authors mingling with readers and reviewers to an almost obscene degree – but it also lets readers’ in on how authors think and act. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes baffling.

This latest category happened to me the other day on twitter. A couple authors were talking about how much they hated to hear a reader say they were “disappointed.” They felt it was almost a slap in the face to the author. I was pretty shocked to hear that since to me, being disappointed in a book is well yes bad but it shows a level of commitment to the author and book you don’t always see. Usually readers only have expectations to get disappointed if they like the author to begin with or the book is being hyped (and thereby beloved already by many).

So is being disappointed in a book the worst criticism it can get?
I think it’s actually a compliment (ok maybe backhanded) in that the reader was more invested than usual. But perhaps it’s really the worst thing a reader can say.

What do you think?