Um, Write Much?

I do read Wodehouse, who wrote about 93 books. I've probably read fifteen. Some are genius, hilarious; others less so; some poor. Situations repeat and characterisations repeat and jokes repeat. I think with a prolific writer you should pick out the best books, if you can find out what they are supposed to be.

I would confiscate Patricia Cornwell's typewriter. We are regularly buried under avalanches of her crappy novels in our shop and no-one buys the damn things. They just go round and round from one second-hand shop to another like the sushi no-one buys.

http://www.usfca.edu/fac-staff/southerr/works.html

46 novels since 1964. She's probably written more short stories than 95% of all short story writers. (The Wheel Of Love is a cool early short story collection if you want to read something good.)

I liked Gardner's On Moral Fiction! If you want to read something crappy, read C.S. Lewis's book on the same subject. Can't remember the title though.

Dissing CSL! I like your postings, Scott, but them're fightin' words.

Kidding. Gardner's book probably is better than whatever ol' Clive Staples wrote on the subject, but I'm not sure which work you're talking about either. On Moral Fiction's argument is right on, some of the arguing is hasty, some is profound, and he makes some similar points in a more nuanced way in The Art of Fiction, a book that I like to hope has had a profound influence on me.

Oh, but Writers Who Write Too Much: I'd perhaps be amenable to nominating Hitchens in this category.

Or at least I hope that's the intention, because I agree with you, Scott.

Oh, mejustthought of a corrolary thread.

But at least each one of Blyton's books is pretty short. One of the many things that put me off buying the last Harry Potter book was the sheer size of it. Although it probably makes a handy step to reach those higher bookshelves.

(But I liked reading it, nonetheless.)

I think that Andrew Vachss needs to walk away from his "Burke" series. In fact, he should have done so after the second or third book,
really. At this point it seems like he's beating the proverbially dead horse (hey, is that saying a reference to Crime and Punishment?)
and it feels like he's becoming a pornographer at this point.

I completely agree with this!!! I felt that way after the 4th or 5th book probably. And then I just stopped reading them. Just the same damn thing over and over. The last stuff i liked were the comic book things. Another Chance To Get It Right and the series that was called Hard Life or Hard Times I can't remember. He just keeps picking at the same old wounds. There is something to be said for obsessiveness i suppose. And he did turn me on to Judy Henske years ago, so i will always be grateful for that.

I've read all but the most recent in the Burke series, as they were a gift and I feel bad if I don't read gift books - but now they're in the "donate these some place but I don't know where" pile. I've not read any of his comic works - maybe I need to look into those, next.

Actually, come to think of it, E.L. Konigsburg (From the Mixed-Up Files of ..., etc.) is quite prolific, too. Is this a common thing for successful (not necessarily talented) YA book writers?

However, the first time I strolled through a Boarders and saw a display of those Sue Grafton mysteries "A is for ...." "B is for ..." "C is for ..." I reeled in horror. I was appauled and simultaneously I knew they would sell and sell and sell.

I wonder about those whose writing seems to be formulaic (the Sue Grafton mysteries, those One for the Money books, etc.) - does one have to be a fan of the author and/or the genre in order to derive pleasure from every book they crank out? I mean, after I read one or two in a series like that I pretty much think "well, now I know what her writing's like, so onto something else." But I know others who will buy and devour every book in a series - where I might see all of the books as being basically the same they see each as standing alone.

I do wish that people would broaden their reading habits and venture away from the basic genre works - but at the same time I'm pretty thrilled to think that people are reading anything these days. So I'll quit my complaining *grin*.