Have you ever been put off an author’s books after reading a biography of them? Or the reverse - a biography has made you love an author more?
With authors I usually tend not to know much about them (unless they are really well known) besides the little blurb on their book jacket or maybe their tiny bio on their website. So I guess usually I'm not turned off by a bio. It definitely could happen. It happens a lot with actors when they act crazy or have a big ego *coughchristianbalecough* and then I'm instantly put off by them for a few years. I might still see their movies during that time but think about how they acted a fool and are stupid the whole time.
I've definitely wanted to read an author's work based on other things they had done. One great example would be Miranda July. I loved her movie, You Me and Everyone We Know so I just knew I had to read anything she had written (still working on that)...
So I could definitely see it going both ways for me here!
I am the same way with actors! I haven't seen a movie by Tom Cruise in years.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that I just checked out Miranda July's short story collection, No One Belongs Here More Than You.
Tom Cruise is indeed the perfect incarnation of mind numbing too much information. I think some mystery is a very good thing. None of us, in the end, can be explained by a bio. We can just be put into context.
ReplyDeleteDitto about Tom Cruise. I don't usually read the author bio until after I've read the book and I'm usually surprised by what I find out. So I guess it wouldn't be a good way of judging what the book's going to be like
ReplyDeleteI'm like you - actors have put me off by their behavior, so I'm sure an author could, too, but it hasn't happened yet.
ReplyDeleteUsually not from a biography (unless it's like Anne Perry or something -see the film Heavenly Creatures), but the blogging community is a small one and people talk, so when an author is a jerk to a reviewer/blogger and they tell someone about it, word gets around quickly. There's already one author whose books I refuse to read because of that.
ReplyDeletehaha Christian Bale! I agree with you about that he's adorable and I love his acting but ...that guy is messed up sometimes
ReplyDeleteSo far, I have not been put off by an author's biography. I have become interested in an author's work because of their bio though. Like John Green for example, man that dude is awesome and hilarious!
N. Vasillis- I love Miranda July! Yeah Tom Cruise... what happened there! I just saw him in Tropic Thunder, randomly bizarre!
ReplyDeleteBeth Kephart- Good point!
H- Yeah I always imagine authors to be very similar to their characters (probably because i have no idea how i would even write a book so i'd just have to write about myself) and then when they aren't I'm like oh yeah.... they aren't their characters!
bermudaonion- Thinking more about this and some of the weirdness of author's defending their books and bashing reviews recently I think it's getting closer to happening for me! Usually the ones acting crazy are people I never planned on reading anyways.
Taren- Exactly. A lot of those authors are ones I probably wouldn't have read anyways lol. But it's still a major turn off when you hear things like that!
robin_titan- Good example! I picked up An Abundance of Katherines after watching a bunch of the Brotherhood 2.0 videos! I'm probably like a year behind on those now :(