Authors we have a crush on.

POSTED BY tolly ON September 21, 2010

Ok, so really this post should be called: “Authors TOLLY has a crush on.”

I apologize in advance for dragging my colleagues into this self-revealing, tragically adolescent blog post. I promise it has a point.

Ever notice how there are some authors who, whenever they open their mouths, spout something impossibly beautiful?  Oh, you know the ones I’m talking about. It’s like they’re just chatting, but their “chatter” is most people’s MFA in Creative Writing.

I was inspired to blog about this after reading Zadie Smith‘s acceptance of her new book reviewer post at Harper’s Magazine.  She’s one of my long-time author crushes, and I suspect one of yours, too.  Here’s what Zadie had to say about the new gig:

“I think a good book review is a place to meet a book on its own terms, not as an ideological vehicle or an academic plaything. Often people think of writing as primary and reading as the lesser art; in my life it’s the other way around. When I write about books I’m trying to honor reading as a creative act: as far as I’m concerned the job is not simply to describe an end product but to delineate a process, an intimate experience with a book which the general reader understands just as well as the professional critic.”

Alrighty then.  Whereas most people would say, “I’m really excited! Thanks Harpers,” Zadie invites us to reverse an ideological dichotomy. In a matter of two sentences.

Moving on, then, to Nick Hornby.  I love him, and I’ve got the film industry behind me: Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, About a Boy.  Nick’s writing style employs less of Zadie’s off-the-cuff flourishes – his wit is the kind that sneaks up behind you – but in addition to that, he is humble. Which makes me want to squeeze him even more.

From one of his recent blog posts:

“… weeks go by before I feel compelled to post anything on this site. Words don’t come very easily to me, which, given my profession, is a worrying impediment. I am always amazed when editors, at publishing houses and newspapers, tell me (and they do, often) that a certain writer has submitted something that is a thousand or ten thousand or one hundred thousand words longer than they had anticipated. Theses writers, I suspect, would have no trouble contributing a couple of little items a week to a blog. My problem is the reverse: I am always fearful that whatever I’m working on will turn out to be ruinously short. Of course, I believe that the other way indicates the superior talent. I wonder whether the writers from whom words seem to pour unstoppably envy my problem? I don’t suppose they do.”

I know. He is impossible not to fawn over.

(Sidenote: Our modest Nick Hornby is about to release an album with Ben Folds. On it, Nick provides the lyrics, Ben provides the music, and so far it is receiving CRAZY reviews.)

Huh. I just noticed that my two biggest author crushes are both British. What does that mean?

Here are a handful of other authors whose interviews, blog posts, Tweets – and oh yes, their books – make me drool:

• Ruth Reichl (recommended reading: Garlic and Sapphires)
• Kim Severson (recommended reading: Spoon Fed)
• Frank Bruni (recommended reading: Born Round, and by the way, these three are all food writers. Apparently if you are British, or write about food, I like you.)
• Sherman Alexie (recommended reading: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian)
• David Sedaris (recommended reading: anything. I suspect even his bathroom stall writing is worthwhile).
• Tania Sanchez (Have you heard of her? Perhaps not. Along with Luca Turin, she writes about perfume, and she is brilliant.)

At the top of this post, I claimed I had a point … which … may or may not have been true.  I think mostly, I wanted to open this question up for discussion, since this week, we’re going to start building a blog roll in ol’ PR By the Book. And I thought, what better way to invite new readers, than to gush together?  It’s like junior high. Accept instead of taping ripped out pictures of Bop inside your locker, you are sharing your opinions in this very sophisticated forum!

So spill. Who are your author crushes?

Tags: author news, harpers, nick horby, zadie smith

{ 5 } COMMENTS