Monday, October 18, 2021

Guest Blogger: Backlist Musings


Michele is back today with another discussion guest post!  Today, Michele is talking about backlists - when you've enjoyed a book by a new-to-you author, do you immediately check out their backlist?

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To Backlist or Not to Backlist?
 
When I first started getting into reading again a few years ago, it was very typical for me to read a new-to-me author, enjoy the book, and then immediately seek out their entire backlist.  Nowadays, having read so many different authors and with new, shiny books coming out all of the time, I really have to weigh the deep dive into any author’s backlist.
 
For newer authors, the backlist might only be a few books and be relatively easy to find at the library, etc.  However, there are those authors that either have a very long career or are very prolific at releasing books and their backlist can get overwhelming very quickly.  Authors also tend to get better at their craft over time and some of those early books might not up to the quality level of some of their new releases.  There are some authors I really enjoy that if I had only read their first couple books, I may not have continued with them.
 
Due to constraints on my time and the sheer amount of amazing books out in the world, I tend to now only go back a year or two in a new-to-me author’s backlist.  Maybe there is a recent series they completed or a few standalones, but they still let me enjoy other works by the author but not feel overwhelmed or compelled to read everything they’ve ever written.   If I’m impressed by those, I may seek out older titles, but only if they really catch my interest.

 

Do you deep dive into author’s backlists? Are there any authors that you have read pretty much everything they’ve ever written?


16 comments:

  1. Welcome back, Michele! I try to go back and read backlist titles, but it's hit or miss as to how successful I've been because, like you say, time constraints plus too many shiny new books make it challenging. I don't think I've successfully made it all the way through anyone's backlist but I'm working on getting through the older books of Fiona Davis, Diane Chamberlain, and Taylor Jenkins Reid at the moment.

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    1. Fiona Davis and TJR are two that I've fully read their backlist but only because I was lucky enough to catch them early in their careers!

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  2. I have found some authors I will deep dive for. It may be a slow process, but I will try to read them all. I do find it difficult with some romance authors. For instance, I found Jill Shalvis pretty late in the game. She has a billion books, and I will never be able to read them all, but I have many and try to keep up with new releases.

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    1. Yes, the romance authors I think are the toughest - some of them just release SO many books.

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  3. For me it depends on the author - for TJR, I definitely wanted to read her entire backlist, although there weren't too many at the time I found her. For others, I will sometimes go through their books and just pick and choose the ones that sound appealing to me. Sometimes an author has been around for so long that their earlier books feel somewhat dated and I'd rather read something more contemporary.

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    1. Yes, agreed, they do get dated and that's why i tend to only go back a couple years now with anyone's backlist.

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  4. Hey Michelle! These days it's so hard to dive into author’s backlists for me because there are so many new books coming out by author's I love and new to me authors. The struggle is hard!

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    1. Agreed! I am finding way too many new to me authors and it's both exciting and a struggle since I just want to read everything.

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  5. Same here. It can be daunting to go back into an established author's backlist as well. I know with lisa Jewell for example I went back and read a few of her previous books, but now I'm behind on her new releases lol!

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    1. I feel like Lisa Jewell is one of those authors who also switched up her genre along the way - I love her newer thrillers but I don't know that I would be that interested in her early stuff.

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  6. I like the idea of going through an author's backlist and I'll probably try, but like you said it's hard because of time constraints and shiny new releases vying for our attention. Also, I'm a serious mood reader, so that doesn't help most of the time either :)

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    1. Yes, definitely, time constraints and mood reading can impact your deep dive into anyone's backlist. We need more hours in the day to read!

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  7. It depends, if it is a series I will try to work on one a backlist a year. Sometimes though early books aren't as beloved as newer work. Time of course is always an issue. There are author's I've devoured though.

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    1. Yes, there is always the risk that earlier books are not as good as newer ones, at least that's what i have found with certain authors.

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  8. I love to dive into an author's backlist! In fact, I'd say I read more backlist books than new releases. I love discovering a new (to me) author and then realizing I have their entire backlist to enjoy.

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    1. It is exciting diving in! And a feeling of accomplishment once you read them all!

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!