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I'm just curious about this topic. I made a book recommendation to a casual friend last week and she said that she refused to read that author's works because of his publicly expressed political views.

Are there authors whose works you refuse to read solely because of your opinion of the author as a person (e.g., support of political candidates or platforms, lifestyle choices, etc.)?

No flaming please. Be as specific as you like in your response, but be respectful.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm asking about whether your opinion of the author's lifestyle or publicly espoused views would influence your decision to read his/her works, independent of the subject matter or content of the book(s) in question.

It never happened yet.
To be honest, I don't care about politics, they could vote for a pig and I couldn't care less. I don't care the sex you prefer or the religion you follow, so I really don't know what would make me disapprove an author. Maybe if they'd state publicly for example that every gay/lesbian should be killed, or everyone from so or so religion or country, that might do it, but I never met an author who said that so...and I honestly hope I never will.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I try to respect that.

I probably won't read anything by Sylvia Day anymore.

After all the lies and made up bs she did about release dates for the Cross Fire series plus the way she rushed her last two books,I think I am done with her.

G.G. wrote: "It never happened yet.
To be honest, I don't care about politics, they could vote for a pig and I couldn't care less. I don't care the sex you prefer or the religion you follow, so I really don't ..."

So as an example case, how do you feel about listening to the works of Wagner, who was a vocal supporter of the Nazi party, including all of their policies of genocide and racial cleansing?
There are those who argue that you can separate the creator from his works and enjoy his music without a qualm, and there are others that feel that all of works should be banned from public performance and refuse to support any venue that allows it. (Personally, I'm somewhere in the middle - I won't attend a Wagner performance, but if I discover that there is a planned performance at a theater I regularly attend, I don't refuse to attend all future events at that theater.)

Jeremy wrote: "how do you feel about listening to the works of Wagner, who was a vocal supporter of the Nazi party"

Wagner died in 1883, so I am not quite sure how he could have been a "vocal supporter" of anything that didn't even exist until decades after his death...

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you mean but there is one bestseller I refuse to read anymore of. I read one of her series and the last book was a WTF ending. Then I saw that there was to be one more book and I waited patiently then the release date changed, then it changed again. After more than 3 yrs of waiting for this book she announces that she will not be writing it so that she can concentrate on her other series' instead.

Orson Scott Card is very opposed to homosexuality. I still love Ender's Game, but I hesitate to read any more of his books.

Yes. I sure do.

I don't read Orson Scott Card - I wish it was because of his views on homosexuality but I refused to read him long before that was known. I read the first 2 in his Alvin the Maker series and was bored to the point of tears. Decided never again.

I used to love Marion Zimmer Bradley and I was actively collecting her works. Then I learned that she assisted her husband in child molestation (by actively looking the other way). Her husband was eventually jailed. At the same time that bomb was dropped, also dropped was the bomb that MZB was a child molester and abuser herself - she abused her own children. MZB was also in a long-term relationship with her secretary/assistant. This assistant admitted under oath that MZB's daughter came to her and told her what MZB did. The assistant reported to MZB instead of the police.

MZB cut her children out of her will - all proceeds from current sales go to the assistant. I want to say its Elizabeth Waters but I don't recall and I'm not in the mood to go delving into such sordid stuff right now.

So. I gave away all of my MZB books. I stopped buying her S&S series and her Darkover novels (and this HURT. I've adored MZB since I was a kid). I also got rid of the first book in the Trillium series but I think I might still have the Atlantis series.

Tytti wrote: "Jeremy wrote: "how do you feel about listening to the works of Wagner, who was a vocal supporter of the Nazi party"

Wagner died in 1883, so I am not quite sure how he could have been a "vocal supp..."

Sorry, I mis-spoke (typed). In his latter works he expressed openly antisemitic views, and many of those works were considered embodiment of the philosophy of the Nazi party.

There have been so many "fellow travellers" as authors who were either communists or at least sympathized the USSR, some even after visiting the country, that I would have to skip quite a many authors. Just yesterday I read that Hemingway would be one of them.

In August 1939 Hemingway was one of 400 US intellectuals who signed open letter "To All Active Supporters of Democracy and Peace" which stated that "the reactionaries" had "encouraged the fantastic falsehood that the USSR and the totalitarian states are basically alike" and claimed that the USSR had "shown a steadily expanding democracy in every sphere".

Knowing what Stalin did during the 1930's I respectfully disagree... They certainly didn't bring peace or democracy to my country or our neighbours, plenty of refugees, though.

LauraW wrote: "Orson Scott Card is very opposed to homosexuality. I still love Ender's Game, but I hesitate to read any more of his books."

Orson Scott Card was the subject of the conversation that inspired me to start this thread. I recommended Ender's Game for my friend's teenaged son, and she replied that anything writtem by him was not welcome in her house.

Jeremy wrote: "In his latter works he expressed openly antisemitic views"

It was hardly unusual at the time (and some authors of the time had probably similar views towards other races etc.), and apparently he had plenty of Jewish friends and supporters despite of it. He can't really be blamed what the Nazis did after his death.

I would only not read a book due to offensive and very disturbing sudject matter such as necrophillia, pedophillia, rape ( of women/children) torture for example. It disgusts me and make me feel physically sick to read about a murderer if they comitted crimes that involved any of the above, it just seem exploitative and almost entertainment to certain types of people which is sick. However even though this makes me feel sick, it still fascinates me to read about serial killers, but there have been two recent adaptions of Stephen King's books that were just about a woman being raped, which makes me like his work a little bit less, which is a shame since I have always been a fan of him.

This is such an interesting topic. Now more than ever I think that my reading is influenced by my thoughts on the author - for better or worse, the visibility of authors has made this the case for me. I've just started reading a series outside of my familiar genres because I admire J.K. Rowling's life and work. In Rowling's case, her political alignment makes me more likely to look at her work. But I respect the decision of readers who prefer to avoid her work out of distaste for her missteps in how she's referenced the spiritual traditions of the First Nations of the Americas in her most recent Potter supplement. I don't think anyone should feel influenced to support an author monetarily when the act of consuming their work would introduce negativity into the reader's life that they aren't interested in grappling with.

So, I choose to engage with authors who have supported terrible causes, made distasteful pronouncements, and committed atrocious acts on my own terms, not on anyone else's. I imagine most readers do the same. I choose to not purchase the books of any author who supported the slating of the Hugo awards with the intention of "bringing down" the award because I don't want their publishers to see any spike in sales as free advertising and have them support such childish nonsense. I'm enjoying one of conservative Robert Silverberg's works right now even though I'm a person who cares deeply about things that conservatives are not known to widely support. I continue to read Marion Zimmer Bradley, even knowing her crimes. I also listen to and love David Bowie's music, even given my knowledge of his transgressions. I've found the writings of many of "America's enemies" to be enlightening, challenging, historically important, and useful in terms of understanding why terrorist leaders target America, but I do not believe in a message of violence even if I can sympathize with a complaint of injustice.

I think what happens is that I do not separate the work from the author. I just factor in the author's personality along with year written, country of origin, my level of interest in the topic and genre, the historical stage in which the work was created, nostalgia, and everything else to decide 1) whether or not I buy it and 2) how I feel about the presentation of themes I disagree with when I encounter them reflected or explicitly explored in the work.

Tytti wrote: "Jeremy wrote: "In his latter works he expressed openly antisemitic views"

It was hardly unusual at the time (and some authors of the time had probably similar views towards other races etc.), and ..."

I don't say that Wagner is to blame for any of the activities of the Nazi party, however both his writings and his music were a core part of the Nazi party's zeitgeist. Wagner's music has been banned from public performance and radio airtime in Israel/Palestine since 1938.

I occasionally check reviews if i'm on the fence about reading a book. Any time I see about an author personally attacking a reader/reviewer i'm not gonna read it. i even downgraded a review for a book (i wanna say the mortal instruments first book) because she was like calling the cops on anyone that accused her of plagiarism

oh and authors like Laurell K hamilton who abandon their cult following on certain series because another series becomes a bestseller. Authors are starting to let fame/acclaim go to their head and it makes me sad to see authors who I know are capable of so much more half ass books because they have too many balls in the air

Jeremy wrote: "however both his writings and his music were a core part of the Nazi party's zeitgeist. Wagner's music has been banned from public performance and radio airtime in Israel/Palestine since 1938."

It was the zeitgeist of almost the whole world. Even Churchill "shared the low-level casual anti-Semitism of his class and kind� according to his official biographer and that was 50 years later (and I remember reading how one diplomat was suprised that the locals wouldn't shop at a store owned by Jews in Washington, D.C. during WWII). And no, his music isn't banned in Israel and it has even been played there. Also I wonder how many men of his time would have thought that women and/or black people etc. shouldn't be allowed to vote if someone had asked their opinion. (Oh, and I am not "Aryan" myself, I belong to an "inferior race" according to many "scientists". Though there is a US court ruling from 1908 that I am not an Asian, either.)

Tytti wrote: "Jeremy wrote: "how do you feel about listening to the works of Wagner, who was a vocal supporter of the Nazi party"

Wagner died in 1883, so I am not quite sure how he could have been a "vocal supp..."

HAHAHA!

I can't think of any. If there's a particular person whose books I refuse to read it's probably some combination of I think their views are idiotic, plus I feel certain the book is terribly written so it would be painful to read something so bad. There are so many people in this category it would take months to list them; people like Ann Coulter, Donald Trump. But if Ann Coulter suddenly started writing like Allan Bloom, or Richard Hofstadter, I might read her books just to see how beautifully her arguments were constructed, or whatever.

The thing is if you start to ban from your reading every book which is derogatory toward a particular race, or women, or sexual whatever, or every book which contains an anti-Semitic comment, or the word "nigger," you're not going to be able to read a lot of worthwhile books. I used to keep track of the times "nigger" would show up in books. It showed up a lot, not just in American books, but British books up through the 20s and 30s (think of Agatha Christie's book "Ten Little Niggers"). You'll find "nigger" references in Evelyn Waugh. I think I remember seeing it in Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series. The Brits used it a lot because they were applying it to Indians, a race many of them were familiar with due to India being such an important colony, rather than African-Americans.

The same thing with violence and rape. They're unavoidable if you read wide swaths of good literature. I won't bother reading completely crappy books that are filled with gratuitous rape and violence, but it's because they're crappy more than because they're filled with unpleasant things.

If you insist on being a purist you certainly exclude a lot of art from your life. Chopin wrote some anti-Semitic things in his letters, just to name one 19th century composer. I'm sure there are many more such composers, I just haven't come across them yet.

Michelle °O° wrote: "I probably won't read anything by Sylvia Day anymore.

After all the lies and made up bs she did about release dates for the Cross Fire series plus the way she rushed her last two books,I think I ..."
Unfortunately I agree on this, I gave her the benefit of doubt for a long time, then read things she was doing and how her statements and posts contradicted each other. I will finish off the crossfire series, but not buy anything else, and have not read what I have already purchased.

Jeremy wrote: "LauraW wrote: "Orson Scott Card is very opposed to homosexuality. I still love Ender's Game, but I hesitate to read any more of his books."

Orson Scott Card was the subject of the conversation tha..."

I saw the movie 'Ender's Game' but haven't read the book. I never saw an instance in the movie where the characters bullied or abused homosexuals so I think your friend could probably read this one with a good conscience.

Just to be clear, guys. The question I'm asking has absolutely nothing to do with the actual content or quality of the book. I'm curious as to how many people would refuse to read an author's works solely based on their opinion of the author as a person.

Since my last example got bogged down a bit, here's another one:
Bill Cosby is undoubtedly a funny guy. With the recent allegations of sexual misconduct, would you now refuse to listen to his old stand-up routines?

Of course, why would anyone want such a person to get financial benefit, if they are in any way offended by them?

Jeremy wrote: "Bill Cosby is undoubtedly a funny guy. With the recent allegations of sexual misconduct, would you now refuse to listen to his old stand-up routines? "

Yes. What he did was disgusting and he gets none of my money.

I don't understand why its even considered a "thing." It's voting with your wallet, plain and simple. You want to be a total asshat? Fine. That's your right. But my right lies in not supporting you in any shape or fashion. I'm not buying your books. I'm not reading your books and I damn sure am not writing a review to give you free publicity.

I boycott numerous authors, companies, celebrities, etc.
- EL James
- Ellora's Cave + Jade Black
- OSC
- VD
- Larry Correia
- Bill Cosby
- MZB
and many moooooore!

C. wrote: "Of course, why would anyone want such a person to get financial benefit, if they are in any way offended by them?"

Forget about financial impact for a second, since it would be immaterial for books loaned by friends or a library.
If you were hanging out with a friend and he said, "Hey, let's watch my old VHS of Bill Cosby: Himself.", would you refuse to watch it?

Jeremy wrote: "C. wrote: "Of course, why would anyone want such a person to get financial benefit, if they are in any way offended by them?"

Forget about financial impact for a second, since it would be immateri..."

I think it depends. I'm more concerned with financial support and publicity.

If I were to partake in a disliked person's artwork - it would be more like a dirty secret. I wouldn't talk about it with others because I'm not talking that person's work up. In fact, I'd probably be disgusted with myself.

I have free books by authors that i refuse to read. Some author wrote an UF that she was super proud of that no one read. She also wrote a trashy erotica that a lot of people read a liked. She was offended that the UF didn't get any traction and wrote a long diatribe about how she was selling out, etc. and that it was just for a paycheck and that no one cared about art, etc. Well. I have a free copy of the UF that I'm not reading.

Orson Scott Card disapproves of homosexuality, but he hasn't dealt with it in any of the books I've read so far. I read the entire Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series. It's very good! He's a smart guy.

To say you won't read someone else's point of view is rather arrogant, in my opinion, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. I understand if you don't enjoy it because you disagree, but just refusing to read it....it's not really that healthy, right?

Electric wrote: "To say you won't read someone else's point of view is rather arrogant, in my opinion, whether it is fiction or non-fiction. I understand if you don't enjoy it because you disagree, but just refusin..."

I disagree. Only in non-fiction is it healthy to have both arguments. But in my fiction? In my spare time? My hobby? AND my money? No. In fact, I think it's even more arrogant to try to stipulate that I share my personal time with people and/or subjects that upset me.

Sometimes it bugs me (especially with modern authors), and other times it doesn't (classical authors). Sometimes I can ignore it if that outlook doesn't seem to influence their work. If I start seeing that outlook/viewpoint reflected in their fiction, that's a lot harder to ignore.


Electric wrote: "Orson Scott Card disapproves of homosexuality, but he hasn't dealt with it in any of the books I've read so far. I read the entire Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series. It's very good! He's a sma..."

He may not have dealt with homosexuality directly, but he does make references to religion in general and Mormonism specifically. And his religious point of view is probably one of the roots of his outlook on LGBT issues.

I felt uncomfortable reading him making out of place comments about Mormonism, just because I knew what else that lead him to believe.

MrsJoseph wrote: "MZB cut her children out of her will - all proceeds from current sales go to the assistant. I want to say its Elizabeth Waters but I don't recall and I'm not in the mood to go delving into such sordid stuff right now..."

Yes. Elizabeth Waters.

When I first found out about MZB's husband, I already owned a copy of her Catch Trap, which features a barely-legal teen and an older man. I thought about going ahead and reading it since I already owned it, but then it occurred to me - did she ever discuss the plot/scenario with her husband? Incorporate his point of view? Get his input in any way??

Who would want to read a book with a teen/adult relationship that might have been influenced by a older man who was convicted of having sex with young teens?

I got rid of that book and a few others, and when I heard her daughter's story, I got rid of the rest of them. I just couldn't stomach the idea of ever re-reading them.

Electric wrote: "Orson Scott Card disapproves of homosexuality, but he hasn't dealt with it in any of the books I've read so far. I read the entire Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series. It's very good! He's a sma..."

This is the point I'm trying to address. There are people I know who refuse to read anything by Orson Scott Card solely because of how they feel about his personal views, regardless of whether those views are expressed in his fiction.

Melanti wrote: "When I first found out about MZB's husband, I already owned a copy of her Catch Trap, which features a barely-legal teen and an older man. I thought about going ahead and reading it since I already owned it, but then it occurred to me - did she ever discuss the plot/scenario with her husband? Incorporate his point of view? Get his input in any way??

Who would want to read a book with a teen/older man relationship that might have been influenced by a older man who was convicted of having sex with young teens?

I got rid of that book and a few others, and when I heard her daughter's story, I got rid of the rest of them. I just couldn't stomach the idea of ever re-reading them. "

I had that same "gut punch" feeling after hearing about the daughter. There's (more than a few) uncomfortable scenes in Mists of Avalon that I shrugged off. One of them that really bothered me after was one where a young girl is forced to have sex with a much older man. The scene isn't described as a rape but it clearly said that the girl struggled. :-(

And, of course, there is the turning of Arthur & Morgaine's relationship into one of incest-love... after learning about the molestation of her own children. It just made me feel sick to my stomach every time I walked into my library and saw her books.

MrsJoseph wrote: "I had that same "gut punch" feeling after hearing about the daughter. There's (more than a few) uncomfortable scenes in Mists of Avalon that I shrugged off...."

I was, oh, 15 or so when I read Mists of Avalon, and that was long enough ago that I don't recall that specific scene - though I read an article/blog post discussing it.


There's a pretty uncomfortable (but brief) abuse scene in Jo Walton's Among Others that the main character rationalizes away. Now that I know more about MZB and how the fandom in general reacted to what was going on with her husband - even before his arrest, I can't help but wonder if that's an actual portrayal of a viewpoint that Walton saw in action.

I never liked Bill Cosby, never thought he was funny, never cracked a smile at one of his routines, couldn't stand his TV shows or his commercials. So no, I wouldn't go back and listen to his old routines.

But if the funniest person in the history of the world was a serial molester and I had missed some of their old routines, yes, I'd probably check them out.

I have actually read the prison diary of a person with whom I would disagree about politics (basically because I think an independent democracy is better than a Soviet dictatorship). She was there for treason (for aiding a spy) and might have been shot (it was wartime) if several people (important politicians, even Bertolt Brecht) hadn't spoken in her behalf. (She didn't do the same for one of them when he was imprisoned later, and he was actually innocent.) I would probably still watch movies made out of her plays, one of them was even filmed in Hollywood and won an Oscar.

I'm iffy about Dan Simmons. I have read several of his books (the best ones) and really liked them, but his political stance toward Muslims is unsettling and seeps into his works. He has also written some content on his personal web site that I feel is a bit dismissive toward certain ethnicities. I am on a break from him for a long, possibly indefinite time.

MrsJoseph wrote: "Yes. I sure do.

I don't read Orson Scott Card - I wish it was because of his views on homosexuality but I refused to read him long before that was known. I read the first 2 in his Alvin the Maker..."

MZBs Mists of Avalon was one of my top faves. I reread that one multiple times. I too was devastated and repulsed at what she did. I still have Mists, but got rid of all the rest. I cannot separate what she did with her brilliant work.

Orson Scott Card comes readily to mind.
How can I support a writer, no matter if he's any good or not, who's not just taking an outspoken stand against something I find important but actively works against it?
In this case every persons right to equality and sexual freedom.

Akif Pirinçci, too, for much the same reason, how can I support a writer that is against immigrants, even more so when he's himself obviously at least a descendant of immigrants?

And Allan Goldman, who thought it opportune to express his hatred for women & his transphobia (for I fail to see any other reason), by thinking he had to make a "joke" on facebook over the victim in a Brazilian rape case.

I typically won't read authors from my DNF list or books I just hated. Orson scott card is one but also John Grisham and Sandra brown

Jill wrote: "I'm iffy about Dan Simmons. I have read several of his books (the best ones) and really liked them, but his political stance toward Muslims is unsettling and seeps into his works. He has also writt..."

I have no problem with the content of his books, but since he stated that he hates used book stores, I try to buy all his books secondhand. :)

As for OSC, I read one of his lesser known books, Treasure Box, and liked it until it got overtly preachy and judgmental. I won't read any more of his books for that reason.

I'm also not a David Sedaris fan. I don't find him funny, at least in Me Talk Pretty

I won't read Orson Scott Card because he sucks as a writer. Ender's Game was one of the most BORING things I've never finished.

No power on this planet can impel me to read Joyce Carol Oates, I'm not sure what it is about her stuff I loath so much but just picking up a book by her makes me nauseous.

John Steinbeck, I won't and I don't care if the world finds me boorish and illiterate, I will not read another depressing suicide inducing word of his.

As far as the premise of author's "views" ANYONE who has been on Fox News as a correspondent or expert gets a No from me. I can't imagine that Bill O'Reilly's "history non-fiction" books are history or non fiction. The man lies through his teeth for a living, why would his literary output be any different?

LauraW wrote: "Orson Scott Card is very opposed to homosexuality. I still love Ender's Game, but I hesitate to read any more of his books."

This is the reason I'm hesitant to read Ender's Game even though we already have a copy or two. I know many people who like this series, or at least this specific book, but I just can't bring myself to start a series of someone I already dislike.

Jeremy wrote: "If you were hanging out with a friend and he said, "Hey, let's watch my old VHS of Bill Cosby: Himself.", would you refuse to watch it?"

Today, yes, and with a very sad heart because that is absolutely my favorite routine, not only of Cosby's but of any comedian. That routine helped to keep me sane when my 3 were between the ages of 3 and 7. Even recently I heard myself repeat a line or two to my now teenaged brood.

MrsJoseph wrote: "I used to love Marion Zimmer Bradley and I was actively collecting her works. Then I learned that she assisted her husband in child molestation (by actively looking the other way). Her husband was eventually jailed. At the same time that bomb was dropped, also dropped was the bomb that MZB was a child molester and abuser herself - she abused her own children. MZB was also in a long-term relationship with her secretary/assistant. This assistant admitted under oath that MZB's daughter came to her and told her what MZB did. The assistant reported to MZB instead of the police. "

Didn't know that.
Lucky me I never read or bought her works.

Melanti wrote: "Sometimes it bugs me (especially with modern authors), and other times it doesn't (classical authors).
..."

With classic authors, I did like Byrons romantic poems a lot, but after reading what a sort of selfish bastard he was in real life, I just can't find the same joy in reading his work anymore.

I decided not to start reading Roald Dahl once I learned how hateful of a person he was. He seemed to hate anyone not a white, straight, Christian male.

I read an article where they talked about the reason Dahl was a sucess was really more in relation to his editors than him. His editors were able to see the genuis inside of his hate and mysoginy- filled works. He was such a terrible person even his publishers disliked him and eventually dropped him.

Melissa wrote: "I'm also not a David Sedaris fan. I don't find him funny, at least in Me Talk Pretty"

^ Same, except I slugged through one of short stories and threw in the towel.
Found him pretentious and snotty.