Discussion topic: authors and politics

[aurora]

I generally don't seek out information about the politics of the authors whose books I enjoy, but I remember feeling very sad when I learned that Michael Crichton was an anti-environmental activist because I felt like I should no longer support him by buying his books (obviously this was before he died). I'm wondering whether others have made similar decisions.

To clarify, I'm not talking about political books where you know the book is written to make a political statement (Animal Farm, Atlas Shrugged, etc.), but rather books that have nothing to do with politics but where you very strongly disagree with the author's political actions outside of his or her writing.

The question: Will you buy books written by authors with whom you have strong political disagreements?

[duckduck]

I don't seek that information out, either. Until the last couple of years most of the authors I read were dead, so I didn't really care. Since starting to read more living authors, I find that their politics only affect my reading choices if they incorporate their political stance into the books. And within the books, I can deal with a fair amount of political statements that I don't like.

If something in the books is really inflammatory and/or keeps coming up over and over, I can get to the point where I'm just like "Meh, this is bugging me. Won't be reading this author again." It doesn't happen often, though.

[lemondrop]

I usually don't seek information out, but if I were to learn that an author is a proud financial supporter of something that goes against my beliefs, I wouldn't buy his/her books.

I don't mind having a disagreement with anyone about our beliefs, but I wouldn't want to financially support an author who really goes against my beliefs.

[PinkSquirrel]

I only tend to seek out that information with certain types of non fiction and I will 100% avoid a book if I think someones political beliefs/leanings will have even the slightest chance of creeping into the book. For fiction, I generally only care if their beliefs are inserted in the book enough to annoy me.

[chicacocodrilo]

May 23, 2012 9:16:53 GMT -5 PinkSquirrel said:

I only tend to seek out that information with certain types of non fiction and I will 100% avoid a book if I think someones political beliefs/leanings will have even the slightest chance of creeping into the book. For fiction, I generally only care if their beliefs are inserted in the book enough to annoy me.

Ditto this.

Also, I tend not to read political/policy non-fiction anyway, so it's not like I'm reading something by someone at the Heritage Foundation and walking around angry afterward. If I did read something from HF, I'd be prepared to be skeptical!

For fiction, a lot of the authors I love tend to be bleeding-heart liberals, so there's that. But even with that, I feel like they don't have agendas--they're just trying to write the best story they can.

[secretlyevil]

I never really thought about it because I don't normally seek that information out. If I stumbled onto an author's belief on issues and strongly disagreed with them, I think I wouldn't read their work anymore. It would suck but it's just like any other company I boycott for whatever reason.

[aurora]

May 23, 2012 9:05:21 GMT -5 lemondrop said:

...I don't mind having a disagreement with anyone about our beliefs, but I wouldn't want to financially support an author who really goes against my beliefs.

I think this is the real key for me - that I don't want my money (indirectly) going to support causes with which I strongly disagree. But I am certainly inconsistent in that I don't seek such information out, so I only act if something catches my eye in the news.

[duckduck]

May 23, 2012 10:46:36 GMT -5 aurora said:

May 23, 2012 9:05:21 GMT -5 lemondrop said:

...I don't mind having a disagreement with anyone about our beliefs, but I wouldn't want to financially support an author who really goes against my beliefs.

I think this is the real key for me - that I don't want my money (indirectly) going to support causes with which I strongly disagree. But I am certainly inconsistent in that I don't seek such information out, so I only act if something catches my eye in the news.

In extreme cases I would agree (if I found out that the author was a significant supporter of a cause that I strongly disagreed with), though I borrow most of my books from the library. It still supports the author financially (higher circ counts mean the library is more likely to purchase more copies/other works by the same author) though to a lesser extent than if I were buying the books myself.

[taylormillgirl]

I'm pretty much a live-and-let-live kind of gal, so if an author's political beliefs differ from mine, it doesn't affect my ability to read and enjoy their work. However, if I find out the author is an asshole, then he/she is dead to me. There's nothing worse than meeting an author in person and discovering they're rude to readers. It's an instant turnoff.

[lemondrop]

May 23, 2012 11:06:01 GMT -5 duckduck said:

May 23, 2012 10:46:36 GMT -5 aurora said:

I think this is the real key for me - that I don't want my money (indirectly) going to support causes with which I strongly disagree. But I am certainly inconsistent in that I don't seek such information out, so I only act if something catches my eye in the news.

In extreme cases I would agree (if I found out that the author was a significant supporter of a cause that I strongly disagreed with), though I borrow most of my books from the library. It still supports the author financially (higher circ counts mean the library is more likely to purchase more copies/other works by the same author) though to a lesser extent than if I were buying the books myself.

Yes to all of this. It's more of an extreme case thing for me. Someone supporting more or less taxes than I feel is appropriate isn't going to bother me.

[aurora]

Thinking further on this, I think there is also a difference based on the level of activism of the author. So, I'm not going to boycott a book just because the author might vote differently from me in a general election, but if she uses her author fame to lead a political fight opposing a strongly-held belief then I am more likely not to read more.

[msmerymac]

May 23, 2012 9:05:21 GMT -5 lemondrop said:

I usually don't seek information out, but if I were to learn that an author is a proud financial supporter of something that goes against my beliefs, I wouldn't buy his/her books.

I don't mind having a disagreement with anyone about our beliefs, but I wouldn't want to financially support an author who really goes against my beliefs.

I agree with this. I don't investigate all the authors I read, but if I really like someone, I might visit their blog or wikipedia page. Sometimes I'll see an article about a very famous author and how they donate their money or what cause they've signed on to support. I will say I really think JK Rowling's donations are pretty awesome.

[charlatti]

May 23, 2012 11:23:29 GMT -5 aurora said:

Thinking further on this, I think there is also a difference based on the level of activism of the author. So, I'm not going to boycott a book just because the author might vote differently from me in a general election, but if she uses her author fame to lead a political fight opposing a strongly-held belief then I am more likely not to read more.

That's where I am too. Beliefs aren't necessarily a problem, but how the author acts on them could make a difference.

[imoan]

No. For example: I refuse to purchase or read Sarah Palin's book. Because I don't want a dime of my money to go to her. But it's not just politics. I will refuse to buy or read it if Casey Anthony ever comes out with a book.

[charlatti]

May 23, 2012 13:56:58 GMT -5 imoan said:

No. For example: I refuse to purchase or read Sarah Palin's book. Because I don't want a dime of my money to go to her. But it's not just politics. I will refuse to buy or read it if Casey Anthony ever comes out with a book.

Those examples actually seem like a different question to me. If Sarah Palin were writing fiction that had absolutely nothing to do with her political career, not even a hint, well, I still wouldn't read it, but I can see how someone could separate that. Her book is about herself, so there's no separation as there is with Michael Crichton or Orson Scott Card.

[sporklemotion]

I try to be fair when reading an author, but I find it hard to enjoy the books if I know too much about the author-- it's like I start unconsciously looking for bias or nitpicking. This is worse if I haven't read the author before learning the info. For example, I was going to read Ender's Game because I'd heard it was great, and then I heard about the author's views on gay marriage and it just made it hard for me to want to pick it up (my husband owns the book, so it's not even a question of paying for it). But I read and loved VS Naipaul before learning that he's a colonialist and a raging d-bag, so even when I reread some of his work, I enjoy it.

[Deleted]

I let it bother me a bit with Jonathan Franzen, but I still bought Freedom. I have never rolled my eyes so hard as at his NPR interview for the book.

People's homes are too big, their lives full of waste, yet he, a single man, needs homes in Colorado and NYC and constantly flies between the two? (Which I have no problem with, aside from the hypocrisy).

I've thought about sending him a letter to say I'm going to have a 3rd child just as an "F you" to him (this makes sense if you've read Freedom).

[aurora]

May 23, 2012 18:44:25 GMT -5 @vanessadoof said:

I let it bother me a bit with Jonathan Franzen, but I still bought Freedom. I have never rolled my eyes so hard as at his NPR interview for the book.

People's homes are too big, their lives full of waste, yet he, a single man, needs homes in Colorado and NYC and constantly flies between the two? (Which I have no problem with, aside from the hypocrisy).

I've thought about sending him a letter to say I'm going to have a 3rd child just as an "F you" to him (this makes sense if you've read Freedom).

Sounds like a fun book to read and roll your eyes at...either that, or you're good at pointing out the humor?