I have talked about my personal lists that I keep about Cozy Mystery authors I have read. I have one list that has all of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors on it. I keep it on my computer’s desktop so that I can revise it whenever one of my favorite authors publishes a new Cozy. I mark off the books as I read them. This just works best for me, as I like to read my Cozies in chronological order.
The lists I don’t talk about much are the alphabetical lists I use to mark down my “YUCK” authors. I try a whole lot of Cozies but don’t end up enjoying all of them. I’ve talked about my “50 page rule” on many occasions. If I don’t like a Cozy I’m reading by page 50 (which I’m now translating to be about 20 – 25% of a Kindle copy) I stop reading the book, and place the author’s name on his/her corresponding alphabetical list with a big “YUCK” after the name. (Unfortunately, I just started adding the reason I didn’t enjoy the author a few years ago, so there are quite a few authors on the list who I can’t remember even trying, let alone the reason they didn’t appeal to me.)
We have discussed retrying Cozy Mystery authors who had once been favorites of our, who we then thought we had outgrown. This time I’m talking about authors who we never liked, perhaps not even making it to our cut-off page limit. These are authors who start on our yuck lists, and usually never get a chance to be taken off of it.
Usually I consult my lists before I buy a book by a new-to-me author, but sometimes I forget to do that. Fortunately, in the case of one of my very favorite authors, I forgot to consult my yuck list. Wow, am I glad I did! You cannot imagine how surprised I was to find that at one time in my life I had tried this author and had totally disliked her. Good grief! I have spent many hours of very enjoyable Cozy Mystery reading with this author’s sleuth, all because I (luckily) didn’t check that doggone yuck list! I have had this happen a few other times, so I am finding myself wondering if I actually dislike all of the Cozy Mystery authors who I have on my yuck list, or not!
Have any of you ever disliked an author who you later find you like a whole lot? Without naming names, could you tell us about it?
*** As usual, please do not mention the names of authors you don’t like.***
Anne says
Absolutely…sometimes I’m just in a mood and the book is the recipient of it. I’ve put books down with disgust and a year later picked them up to try again. Many times, I end up loving the book. I just have to be aware of those cranky moods!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Anne, I think moods affect our reading enjoyment. I have so many authors who I follow, and even more new-to-me authors who I want to try, so I doubt I’d re-try an author from my yuck list. I will, however, stop reading a Cozy and leave it on my Kindle to re-try a little later if I think my mood may be affecting my reading enjoyment.
Suzie says
I have found a couple of authors who I have given another try. Mostly because they started another series. I sometimes feel that their writing like fine wine, gets better with time. Characters are better written and plots have more depth.
I also have stopped reading an author because the series gets predictable. I have a rule, if I can figure things out within three chapters, I stop reading the book. I realize there is a formula, but when it is so obvious, it makes reading the book hard to continue.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Suzie, my husband has told me the same thing about authors. I always start on book 1 of a series, and if I don’t like it, I put it on my yuck list. He has told me the same thing about an author getting better with time.
Yikes! Knowing who-dunnit by chapter three sounds pretty awful for a Cozy Mystery, with an emphasis on the mystery!
Diane says
Sometimes I don’t like the main character (too arrogant or too unbelievable) . Or sometimes I don’t like the occupation or hobby of the character. The same author writes a different series with a different main character, and suddenly I love the author’s work.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Diane, maybe the author heard from people who told her that main character was not likeable, and that’s why they took on a new series, with a more sympathetic/likeable sleuth.
Joan in VA says
Yeah, that has happened. Although, it usually goes the other way. A number of times, I have become disenchanted with an author for some reason or another … usually the dithering protagonist … and won’t buy them. My library has a used book sale several times a year and I tend to buy a lot of books. But, I never take a list with me. I am more making a donation than I am purchasing books. I will usually read most, if not all, of the books — or at least start them. Anyway, I was reading such a book recently, and found I liked the story, the characters felt reasonably believable and found no dithering. I went to add the author to my go-to-list and found her on my Yuck list. Somewhere along the line she had changed her method of writing.
Something else that can put you on my Yuck list is too much political garbage. If I am reading a political novel, then it is fine. But I do not like the bashing of one party or the other that goes on in many novels. I guess the author feels s/he is allowed to giver his/her view on things. But, giving view is one thing … bashing is six others and bashing banishes you to the Yuck list.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Joan in VA, it sounds like the very same thing happened to you.
I’m not crazy about political agendas or the authors’ presenting their views on social issues in my cozies, either. It’s almost as bad as actors telling us about their political affiliations. Who cares? Can they act? That’s what counts…
Cathy says
I had have the same 50 page rule. There are just too many books, waiting to be read, to struggle through a book that is frustrating you. No book should feel like a chore. I recently had read a book like that. But then found the author had released a new book. There was something, in my mind that encouraged me to try this author new book. And now I am happy to say, I am a forever fan 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cathy, I totally agree about dropping a book when it becomes a chore. When I was a member of Cozy Mystery reading groups I felt like I had to finish each book we picked to read. What a drag! And then I’d invariably keep my negative opinion to myself since I didn’t want to offend anyone who loved the books. Talk about a double-edged sword!
Lori says
I haven’t had this happen (yet). Usually when I don’t like an author (and this applies to series that I’ve liked until, well, I didn’t – I’m thinking of one particular multi-bestselling author), I just quit reading that author. But maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to write them off forever.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lori, I don’t know if it’s a good idea, although in a few instances it has worked out for the best with me. I have also re-tried several authors who I ended up disliking just as much the second time around…
Anton says
as a british fan of detective stories I recently came across your site and contributed a comment on the detection club. I enjoyed your article on what type of book a cozy mystery was, but was wondering if all these books were set in the US as they were all unknown to me.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Anton, I’m sorry that I don’t know which mysteries you’re referring to when you ask if they are all set in the USA…
reginav says
Danna, On the opposite end of starting a new author and finding , I do not like it. I have been terribly disappointed in some of the new books by my old favorites that are not living up to my expectations . I have enjoyed some series of books that have been suggested by older authors. By the way my Sunday paper published an article about the statue of Vulcan in Birmingham. I read about that in the first Anne George that I read and could not stop laughing.When my son-in-law went there on a business trip, he told the people that I had told him about it and they were amazed that it had been mentioned in a mystery story.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina, we have talked about this problem before >>> when authors don’t pull the plug on a series that seems to be getting stale/repetitive. I wonder if the authors know they’re calling it in, or if they truly think they’re delivering great mysteries to their readers…
Leave it to Anne George to make that statue famous! I’m surprised everyone in Birmingham hasn’t read her Cozy!
Kathy says
I seem to be going in the opposite direction: I’ve lost interest in 4 or 5 VERY favorite authors. Cannot get through their latest releases. (In one instance, after 10 previous vols.!) Could be me, so decided to take a break and try later.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kathy, I have a few Cozy Mystery authors who have over-stayed their welcome with me. I always hate dropping a favorite author who has given me so many hours of great Cozy Mystery reading. Sometimes I even read one more book just to make sure it isn’t me. Usually, though, once I “turn” on an author, there’s a definite reason, and I don’t go back.
Stash Empress says
While I don’t have an “official” yuck list (ie. put down on paper or computer), there are some authors I’ve tried & not liked & so don’t pick up anymore. It happened it the last few months that I did pick up current books by two authors whose earliest books I had tried (say 10 – 15 yrs ago) & had not liked either of them at that time — but now I picked up their newest books & loved both of them. In one case I then read through her entire series — and loved every one of them — and no idea why I didn’t like them back one. In the other case I’m starting at the end & working my way backwards, working on the premise that the series has improved significantly since the first book — I figure I’ll work backwards till they get boring & then I’ll just stop.
However there was another author that has a series that seems very popular & I had picked up her (then) most current book — about 5 yrs ago — I think it was number 10-11 in the series or so — and though I liked the plot, what I didn’t like was that there were a million characters that were not properly introduced at any point — so if you’d read all the previous books you knew who was who — but if, like me, you had just “walked in” –it was like you were at a party where everyone knew everyone else & you didn’t know anyone — and that was a very awkward feeling — so much so that I didn’t read any more of her books — until recently I picked up the most current — figured I’d give her another chance — and this time I noticed she had a page in the beginning with a cast of characters, so I figured all would be good. However this book, though I had no trouble with the characters — well…lets just say she left out the plot… the mystery wasn’t much of a mystery, the dead body didn’t show up till more than halfway through the book & only in an inconsequential way — and even the police didn’t bother looking at the body because of everything else that was going on in the book (all of which had nothing to do with the mystery!!!!) — this was probably the first time i gave up on a book halfway through because I didn’t really care at that point who (if anyone!) dunnit and/or why…. so — I guess that author/series is a permanent fixture on my (now official) YUCK list!!!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash, your memory is better than mine! Before I kept all of my lists, I had actually caught myself reading (and what’s worse, enjoying!) a Cozy (or more!) I had already read. It might have felt déjà vu-ish, but I kept reading it until something finally convinced me I had read it before. I have always thrived on lists of all sorts. It’s great that you can keep them all sorted.
Yikes! Starting from the current books in a series and movie backwards! There is no way I could do that. A lot of the time you find out a solution to a previous crime in later books. Yikes, yikes, yikes!
Margaret M. says
I remember a few years ago I picked up a book because it seemed like something I would enjoy. I started reading it and could not get through the first chapter. I tried reading it twice and then gave up. But I kept reading good things about this author so after it sat on the shelf for a while I picked it up again. This time it stuck and now this author has two series and I am hooked on both. Some series grab me right away, others take a little time and some; no matter how hard I try to like them it is not meant to be.
I have recently given up on a few series I was just not crazy about. I read them but just didn’t connect with them. But, I have it in the back of my mind to try them again in the future to see if my mood changes.
But then there are a few that I know I don’t think I could ever read.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Margaret M, wow, that sounds like all of your efforts finally paid off! I guess I’m just not that committed. That’s a lot of tries!
Paty Jager says
A friend and I were discussing this the other day. Not just mystery books but any genre. We find what we may not like one day, may hit the spot the next time we pick it up. Some days the heart wants a romance the next a thriller or mystery. I have to admit, If a book doesn’t grab me right away, I put it down. I have limited reading time and want to enjoy the books I read. Good discussion and post.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Paty, I tend to pass on a book that doesn’t grab me right away, too. When I’m not enjoying a book in the back of my mind I keep thinking about all of the other books I have that I do enjoy. It’s sort of like the “I could have had a V-8.” jingle.
P.S. Wow! You’re an eclectic author!
MJ says
What a great idea – a ‘yuck’ list! I keep a list of series I like, but I just mention the name of the series and the first book. I don’t write down each book as I read them.
I generally don’t like a book because I don’t like the protagonist. I don’t go back to it, because it’s not going to change. I may not like her attitude, she may be intellectually deficient, tactless, or even arrogant. Sometimes I just don’t like her profession or the ‘crassiness’ of a setting/situation. I generally can tell if I don’t like the character within 25-30 pages.
Now, as to whether I like the book or not it usually takes longer. Recently I started to read the sixth book in a series (I had recommended several of the previous ones). I just COULDN’T read this book and I didn’t even know why. I couldn’t even ‘force’ myself to read it. So I put it down and picked it up a week later. The same thing happened (I only got to page 25 in both instances). I again put it down for a couple of weeks, thinking I just wasn’t in the ‘right’ mood. But when I tried the third time and still felt the same, I finally gave up! It certainly wasn’t ‘poorly’ written – I hadn’t even gotten far enough to judge that. Go figure.
I do agree that sometimes a ‘mood’ might affect my reading selection. If I read a book with a heavier plot line, I often will pick up a much lighter book for my next read. Or the day may be really dreary, and I know I want to read something with humor.
I might have mentioned this before……………I was reading a story where everyone was discussing a book they were reading. One lady complained and complained about how awful she thought the book was. One of the other book club members said to her, “haven’t you ever heard of the 50 page rule?” I laughed and laughed. The first time I ever heard of ‘this rule’ was when Danna mentioned it on this site quite a while ago (in fact, I thought she initiated this rule!). I now abide by it. On occasion, in deference to an author (or character) I may really like, I’ve gone on to 100 pages and found I’ve been drawn in to the story (finally).
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, I used to have a list sort of like your list, but then (I hate to admit this) some of the books in different author’s series started sounding like other books I had read, and vice versa. That’s when I let my OCD modus operandi take over and started keeping these types of lists.
I can identify with what you just went through. It’s the pits when a favorite author stops enchanting us so much that we want to continue reading their books. I have spoken many times about how much I deliberate before I drop a favorite author. And you bring up a great point. I, too, have recommended a few favorite authors who, a year or so later, I became disenchanted with. I have debated whether or not to go back and write a comment about changing my mind about him/her, but then know I’d be saying something negative about the author, and I don’t want to start the internet-anonymity, trash-an-author thing.
As for the 50 page rule, I didn’t know it was an unwritten rule out there. It’s just something I have been doing for years. I try to abide by it, but sometimes a book is just so not-my-style that I can’t make it to page 50. (Fortunately there haven’t been a whole lot of those!)
TxMyndrover says
I’m another who reads different genres according to my mood. And while I will always love the feel and smell of a real book, one of the things I like most about my Kindle is the dearth of free or very cheap books. That makes it easier to try out new authors, and yes, some of those are duds, but I have discovered several authors to add to my go-to list. When I read a book by an author new to me and I really, really don’t like the book I almost never give them a second chance.
Conversely, there are authors whom I had followed for years that I quit on either because the series got boring or the individual titles were inconsistent in quality. Two authors in particular I quit on because, after years of wonderful stories and characters in a series, they suddenly completely changed the personality of the lead character. They went from nice, honorable characters to foul-mouthed, unethical characters. When I wrote to one of those authors via email about my disappointment in the changes to the character, he responded with such a rude hateful email that he lost all hope of me ever reading one of his books again.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
TxMyndrover, I’m so behind with most of my favorite authors that, if I’m reading one of the changing-horses-in-midstream authors you’re talking about, I haven’t yet encountered that problem. I certainly hope I’m not in for a big surprise!
Moonlight says
I am not surprised that you have changed your mind about an author on your “Yuck” list. Many first novels in a series are not the strongest books. As the author writes more and spends more time with their characters, often they will write better books. A couple of my favorite author’s best books were 3rd or 4th in the series (and one did her best work around 10-11-12).
I might put a series on my “Didn’t Like list” but not usually an author for this very reason. Sometimes the setting or characters don’t appeal. I only kick an author to the curb if the writing is technically bad writing (i.e. bad grammar, poor sentence structure, ineffective writing style etc.).
An author can also get on my do not read list if I don’t care for their themes. For example, there is one author who is very commercially successful and a household name. I will also concede that he is a very effective author. But I don’t read his books. An underlying theme throughout his work is human cruelty. The first chapter of one of his books broke my heart. I never read another.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Moonlight, you are so right about first books in a series sometimes not being the author’s best. I have too many first-in-a-series Cozies waiting for me to discover that I hate wasting time giving an author a second or third chance to hook me in. (Patience is not my strong suit!) But I totally see what you are saying. My husband has also talked about staying with an author, but there are just too many…
Billie says
I have certain styles of writing that I enjoy more than others. I generally read the books in order until recently. We moved and now I just have lists of writers that I get from here and some other sources. I use the 50 page rule as well. Since I get most of the books from the library, on my list I put an R if reserved and an L for later in case I can’t get a specific book. I really should keep a list of books read, because sometimes I get repeat titles by mistake. I really enjoy the Ann George series, but haven’t reread it because those I remember so well. Please keep posting commentary and comments.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Billie, I’m a list-person, which is pretty obvious when you look at my site! Love the 50 page rule! Why waste time on a book you’re not enjoying. I bought all of the Anne George books for my Kindle when they were on sale, for a rainy day.
Billie says
When asked for suggestions for books to read, I mention the Anne George ones, Aunt Dimity books, and those by Carola Dunn. I also mention “Richard Jury”. Then I say there are cozy books about cooking, needlework, whatever are you interested in.