How much are books representative of their authors personalities?

[JohnT]

Though I'm not supposed to, I always think of stories and books (fiction) as extensions of the authors themselves, a reflection on them and their personalities, so that if Dune seems pretty dense and impenetrable it's because Frank Herbert is dense and impenetrable (at least on the subjects of desert ecologies and Messiahood (and others)). If Stephen King's writing is breezy and has an Everyman quality to it, that's because he himself seems to be a Normal Guy (his life has definitely run the gamut of modern American existence, hasn't it?) Even the people who wrote the Left Behind books - you know that they speak, as their books, in monosyballic declarative sentences, the conspiracy theories in their mind growing more intricate as the night unfolds and the Bible is reread, reread.

So, I don't know, but I think that if you don't like, say, Stephen R. Donaldson the writer, you'll probably find yourself uncomfortable around SRD the man. I know my Lit prof. told us not to "mistake the book for the author", and I know the truth in that, but I still think their writing style (as opposed to subject matter) tells us a lot about the person writing it.

Agee? Disagree? Don't Care? Discuss while I sleep... I'll see y'all in the morning.

[Bosh]

Definately. There's some authors I just like because their personality really shines through their work for a lot of these authors I can forgive a lot since they seem like such nice people.

[Jon Miller]

I haven't met very many authors

I think that you can sometimes be surprised.. but what you say might be true in general

I basically don't have enough data points

Jon Miller

[Lorizael]

I've been noticing that all my stories seem to end with the main character being very alone and sad...

[alva]

One thing I don't like is seeing a picture of the author on the back-cover, it often somewhat spoils it for me.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by alva
One thing I don't like is seeing a picture of the author on the back-cover, it often somewhat spoils it for me.

Mmmm, especially if it was Barbara Cartland or Andrea Dworkin (R.I.P.) or Henry Kissinger .


So troublesome to wipe vomit off the dustjacket and pages.

[Dracon II]

I think Philip K Dick's work (especially VALIS) is pretty much like the guy - iworks of genius that border on and often cross the line dividing sanity and complete madness...

[Brent]

I know plenty of people like Orson Scott Card's fiction but entirely disagree with his beliefs, but then I guess some of these people say he's still a nice guy when you meet him.

[Jon Miller]

I don't neccesarily agree with the books I read

that in fact has little to do with what books I read

Jon Miller

[Brent]

OSC's fiction has little to do with the beliefs of his religion.

[duke o' york]

Go and Google "Roland Barthes" "Death of the Author".

This style of criticism has probably had its day now, but most modern critics would still agree that the reader brings as much to the text as the author does.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by duke o' york
Go and Google "Roland Barthes" "Death of the Author".

This style of criticism has probably had its day now, but most modern critics would still agree that the reader brings as much to the text as the author does.

Do ya wanna know the creeda
Jacques Derrida?
There ain’t no reeda.
And there ain’t no rida,
eida.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by duke o' york
Go and Google "Roland Barthes" "Death of the Author".

This style of criticism has probably had its day now, but most modern critics would still agree that the reader brings as much to the text as the author does.

Which does nothing but beg the question.

And while I read your links, it's been quite a while since I've had to debate the intricacies of well-sounding BS (I was lead to this page), but that seems to be a lot of words to explain the fact that we're human, imperfect, with poorly understood mental and biological functions.

Gotta love the hubris though:

And in any case in a university we are responsible for more than common sense. We are responsible for the charted and uncharted implications of human thought and action, and so we must proceed with openness and care.

(2nd to last paragraph in above link.)

[Dracon II]

Yeah... the French seem to like to spend oh so much energy on stating the obvious and then exaggerating it ad nauseum. Baudrillard for example spent half his career telling us how TV had ruined western civilization.

..... well, duh! I'll sum it up for you Jean - "Video killed the radio star".

[Urban Ranger]

I would say to some degree, because the books represent how the author view this world. So if the author is optimistic, his books will also. So I reckon it's the overall tone and the messages (if any).