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Author! Author!
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-01-18 6:53 PM (#12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Variety is nice, but it seems like there are always authors I can't get enough of, or want to keep reading more of. My current "author projects" are to work my way chronologically through the works of Michael Moorcock (I'm up to 1970) and Jack Vance (currently up to 1966). I set up the challenge to track further progress this year.

I may be alone in this, but I'm curious to see if other WWEnders have similar obsessive tendencies...

Here's the challenge description:

Pick an author whose work you'd like to explore, and dive in. For this challenge, choose five, ten, fifteen, or twenty books by one writer, and make 2016 the year you really get into the work of someone you've always wanted to read more of. It could be an author you haven't read but would like to investigate, someone you've tried and would like to explore further, or an old favorite you'd like to return to. Rereads count, and all genres are welcome...

Or, if you'd like to cast the net a little more broadly, pick more than one author, but commit to reading a multiple of five by each writer. Try five PKDs and five GRRMs, ten by C. J. Cherryh and five by Catherynne Valente, five each by Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, and Le Guinany combination you'd like.

Write a few reviews. Share your impressions of your chosen author(s) in the forum, or ask for recommendations of which books to try. Many reading challenges emphasize variety and breadth; this one is designed for those who want to add some depth.



Edited by Scott Laz 2016-01-18 7:04 PM
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daxxh
Posted 2016-01-19 2:41 PM (#12430 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Great Lakes, USA		This would be a good excuse to read all the Stephen King books I inherited. I think I will join this challenge.
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-01-19 4:06 PM (#12432 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		daxxh: In terms of length, I think your five King novels are about equivalent to my twenty by Moorcock and Vance! I haven't read much King since the early '80s, but I did enjoy 11/22/63 quite a bit.
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Weesam
Posted 2016-01-20 1:45 AM (#12437 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: New Zealand		Okay, I'll play. I've gone with 10 Greg Bear, and 5 each for Tim Powers and Jack McDevitt. That should help with the TBR pile.
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pizzakarin
Posted 2016-01-20 7:26 AM (#12440 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Austin, Tx		It won't be this year, but one day I am going to read all of the Lem that I own (which is almost his complete works).
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-01-20 6:22 PM (#12445 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Weesam: I really liked Queen of Angels and Slant, which I read last summer. Powers is another I'd really like to explore.

pizzakarin: As is Lem. If the "Roll Your Own" challenge format continues, it can be continued into future years. Too many challenges, too little time...
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Engelbrecht
Posted 2016-01-21 1:02 AM (#12447 - in reply to #12424)
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This one is going to be a bit of a squeeze to get done, but I've been meaning to take a run at Terry Pratchett for years now (and especially since his unfortunate death), so I'm in.  Twenty books by one author is just too many for me in one year, so I think I'll probably do Pratchett, Adam Roberts, James Blish & Gwyneth Jones.
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-01-21 8:35 PM (#12459 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Engelbrecht: Pratchett is yet another author I'd like to get to someday!

I assumed that, if anyone was interested in this challenge, it would likely be at the 5 or 10 book challenge level, rather than 20. I think you're familiar with the law of diminishing returns...
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charlesdee
Posted 2016-02-07 1:04 PM (#12626 - in reply to #12424)
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I got excited about R.F. Lafferty a couple of years ago and gathered up second hand copies of most of his works. Of course I haven't cracked a single one of them. But this year -- for sure!
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-02-07 5:36 PM (#12628 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		charlesdee: I was always intrigued by Lafferty stories when I encountered them in anthologies, so decided to get the Collected Short Fiction series from Centipede Press as it came out, and have been glad I did. I've really been looking forward to volume 3, which just showed up in my mailbox last week. Apparently just about everything he's written is out of print, but I'm curious now about his novels...

Of the authors I'm seeing people choose for the challenge so far, Lafferty and Tim Powers are two that I'd like to tackle myself soon. All the picks look good to me, actually.

Edited by Scott Laz 2016-02-07 5:39 PM
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jontlaw
Posted 2016-04-27 11:28 AM (#13370 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Alief, TX		Joined up today. I'll read 10 by Jules Verne and 10 by H.G. Wells
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-04-29 9:41 PM (#13411 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Hi, jontlaw. I'm curious to see what you pick. Choosing ten each by Verne and Wells would mean going beyond the commonly read novels by these two, I think.
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Guest
Posted 2016-04-30 7:07 AM (#13415 - in reply to #13370)
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jontlaw - 2016-04-27 11:28 AM

Joined up today. I'll read 10 by Jules Verne and 10 by H.G. Wells


One of the university presses has a long list of Verne novels in authoritative new editions. I have often looked at the list and admitted that these are books I will never get around to reading. I look forward to hearing from some one who takes the plunge.
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-05-20 12:39 PM (#13593 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		I just noticed that Weesam is officially the first to finish the challenge, out of 11 currently participating. And at the 20 book reading level! 10 Bears (Greg), 5 McDevitt's, and 5 Powers's!
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Weesam
Posted 2016-05-20 5:30 PM (#13595 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: New Zealand		I really enjoyed the Tim Power's books. Sad I don't have anymore to read. I seem to have read his entire output. The McDevitt's were McDevitty. He doesn't really stray far from his usual formula, but they are always enjoyable. The Bears were more challenging. Some I loved, some were less enjoyable. A mixed bag, but on the whole, I am a fan of his work.

Excellent challenge, Scott.

Edited by Weesam 2016-05-20 5:32 PM
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-05-23 11:31 AM (#13612 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Weesam: I have liked the little Greg Bear I've read: Queen of Angels, Slant, and Eon, though to me they represent a trend from the mid-'80s onward that I don't particularly appreciate--the tendency of SF novels to grow in length so that they often seem to be "overstuffed" with ideas. (Eon especially represents this trend, though Bear manages to pull it off well in that case.) I wonder if this was due to a perceived demand for "epicness" in response to the growing popularity of epic fantasy. The most memorable Bear stories for me, though, are the two novellas "Blood Music" and "Hardfought".

Tim Powers I've always wanted to read but still haven't gotten to. Any writer who hung out with Philip K. Dick is at least worth consideration! I hope to get to Medusa's Web this year.

Your comment on McDevitt verifies my impression (based on no good evidence) that he has found a vein to mine which his fans enjoy, but which he doesn't much stray from. (This is how I look at Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion fantasies, which I've read a bunch of now. I enjoy them a lot, but there's definitely a sameness to them.) Is there a standout McDevitt novel that could be recommended to someone who only wants to read one book?
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Weesam
Posted 2016-05-24 11:10 PM (#13624 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: New Zealand		Scott

Of McDevitt's books, I would recommend you try Eternity Road. It was the first McDevitt I ever read, and I still remember it fondly. On the basis of that book I went out and purchased a whole pile more McDevitt's. It still follows the McDevitt formula, but if you are only reading one that shouldn't matter.

I really enjoyed Blood Music as well, and I don't think Bear has equaled that for me. Yes, the books are getting bigger. I find the older I get the more I appreciate a 200-300 page book - nice bite size, doesn't require a massive commitment on my part.

For the record, Anubis Gates is my favourite Time Powers, but anything by him will do. I enjoyed Medusa's Web.
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Dlw28
Posted 2016-12-27 6:54 AM (#14791 - in reply to #12424)
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Thanks for adding this challenge. I started late and never having read the Harry Potter books decided to try to fit in 6. One more to go... I'll see if I can get it done in time. Hope you do this again next year.
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-12-27 10:44 AM (#14793 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		@Dlw28: I was thinking of restarting the challenge again for 2017, though I might make it a little "easier" by reducing the number of books per level from five to four.

I'll probably also do a "wrap-up" post here in the next few days.

If anyone has ideas on how to refine or revise the challenge for next year, let me know!
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charlesdee
Posted 2016-12-27 10:51 AM (#14794 - in reply to #12424)
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My enthusiasm for Lafferty did not hold up. But I plan to sign up for another round of this challenge with more readable choices.
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jontlaw
Posted 2016-12-28 2:22 PM (#14803 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Alief, TX		So, I changed my mind. While I will eventually get to Verne & Wells, because of some other challenges, this turned into Philip K. Dick instead. I possess more than enough to hit 20, but I've had a couple of reading dry spells this year, so I'm currently stuck at 9. I'm hoping I can save a little face and squeeze in one more this week. Thus far, I have read (not necessarily in this order):

Solar Lottery
Galactic Pot Healer
The Man Who Japed
Time Out of Joint
The World Jones Made
Clans of the Alphane Moon
Game Players of Titan
Martian Time-Slip
The Three Stigmata of Eldritch Palmer
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daxxh
Posted 2016-12-28 9:25 PM (#14809 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Great Lakes, USA		I am up for this challenge again. I read 5 Stephen King books and still have a lot left from the box I inherited, so I will stick with him. I have started Under the Dome three times. Maybe this year, I will not start it right before traveling and will actually finish it!
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-12-31 6:33 PM (#14837 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		@charlesdee: I haven't read any of Lafferty's novels, but have really like the short stories. The problem with challenges, if course, is that you can end up disappointed; but "nothing ventured, nothing gained..."

@jontlaw: PKD is one of the few writers that I've read pretty much everything by, and always enjoy rereading. Even if you don't get to 10, any multiple of 5 by a single author counts as a successful completion of the challenge!

@daxxh: Isn't Under the Dome over 1000 pages? Some of those Stephen King tomes should count as more than one book...

It's New Year's Eve, so I thought I'd tally up the challenge results before they disappear into the ether:

19 participants and 173 books read (unless anyone tags more in the next few hours)!

Here's a list of the authors with at least five books completed by a challenge participant (there were also quite a few cases where people came close, but didn't complete five books) -- it's a wide-ranging group of authors.

Martha Wells
Jack McDevitt
Tim Powers
Greg Bear
Patricia McKillip
Max Gladstone
Lois McMaster Bujold (2 participants)
Terry Goodkind
Philip K. Dick
James Howard Kunstler
Tanith Lee
Ursula K. Le Guin
James Blish
J. K. Rowling
Stephen King
Michael Moorcock
Jack Vance

I hope everyone found the challenge rewarding!

I created this challenge because I was curious as to how many other readers might match my (admittedly, semi-neurotic) compulsion toward "completism" when it comes to a favorite author. A few years ago I started the project of reading Jack Vance and Michael Moorcock chronologically, from the beginning of their careers. In both cases, this meant getting through some of the lesser-known lower-quality work before getting to the really "good stuff." I find that this approach does, however, lead to some interesting comparisons in regard to the way writers develop. In Vance's case, he wrote a classic right off the bat (The Dying Earth, 1949) before, probably due to the demands of the genre magazines of the '50s, shifting more toward science fiction and producing lots of entertaining stories, though nothing that matches The Dying Earth, before discovering his forte in series novels in the late '60s. Along with a couple of standalones (Emphyrio was especially good), I read two of the major series: Planet of Adventure and the Durdane sequence. The former is really classic Vance, and highly recommended to anyone looking for a place to start, while the latter moves into weirder territory. Both are from the first half of the '70s, and show increasing mastery of the idiosyncratic prose style and descriptions of odd cultural settings that are the big attraction of his work, and which was there from the beginning of his career. In Moorcock's case, it's been interesting to see the way his "multiverse" idea developed over his early career. He was extremely prolific (most of the ten I read this year appeared from 1969-1971), and it was at the beginning of the '70s that it becomes clear that he had embraced the idea that all of his stories could be taking place simultaneously in multiple universes, with characters taking on multiple incarnations throughout the "multiverse", with the overriding theme of an "eternal champion" fated to maintain the balance between chaos and order. While each novel is entertaining in itself, readers who have read more by Moorcock get an extra "kick" from seeing the connections between them, and considering how the pretty basic overarching idea can take on a slightly different aspect in each story. The exploration of the multiverse concept reaches a peak in the second, third, and fourth volumes of the Jerry Cornelius novels, wherein the title character (or variations of this character) bounce around the multiverse replaying conflicts in a variety of settings. Along with the highly imaginative fantasy series set in the multiverse (Elric, Hawmoon, Corum, etc.), there's an element of trippiness to all this that was certainly part of the appeal in the late '60s and '70s. I'm curious to see how these ideas are developed in later novels.

So, for next year, I will renew the challenge. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who signed up and followed through on the 2016 challenge, but next time (unless there are objections), I'll reduce the single-author multiples from five to four, and see how that goes...

Thanks to everyone who participated, and here's hoping for a happy New Year...
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Weesam
Posted 2016-12-31 8:53 PM (#14838 - in reply to #12424)
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Location: New Zealand		I am looking forward to seeing this challenge back again. I think it was my favourite from last year. I already know I will be reading some John Brunner for the challenge this year. Whether I add more authors or just stick with him I have yet to decide.

When does the New Year kick in? It's already nearly 16 hours into 1st January where I am. I'm getting impatient to start setting up my challenges!
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Scott Laz
Posted 2016-12-31 11:03 PM (#14839 - in reply to #14838)
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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		@weesam: As I type this, it's just about to be the New Year on the East Coast. Here in the Rocky Mountains, we have two more hours to go. I'll set up the new challenge tomorrow (probably). I don't know how many new ones are ready to go for 1/1/17, but I expect people will be adding more over the next few weeks...
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