- Carlos Castaneda
- Tom Robbins
- Paulo Coelho
- John Irving
- Tom Wolfe
- Bret Easton Ellis
- James McInerney
- Mark Leyner
- Miranda July
- Tao Lin
List with No Name #28
Skip to content
Biblioklept 
See, for me, this list would the list I would come up with if I ever decided to come up with a list of the authors I hate the most. I’m assuming that’s not what this list is, though.
LikeLike
Not *hate*, per se, but very, very close. Very close.
LikeLike
Yeah, hate is kind of a puerile adj. Maybe overrated? Irritating?
LikeLike
Hate implies passion. I’m not sure if any of them are overrated. Maybe: “I tried.” And for sure, “Irritating.”
Maybe: “Authors who might be timely but will never be timeless.”
LikeLike
I think Griel Marcus’ infamous open line for his review of Bob Dylan’s Self-Portrait could be applied to every single thing Tom Robbins has ever written: “What is this shit?”
LikeLike
He was the first writer I remember reading where I almost instantly disliked the style, the voices, the characters. I read him the same summer I read Vonnegut and HST and Wolfe for the first time.
LikeLike
Which Wolfe? I adored Look Homeward, Angel, in 1oth grade, but have never really gone back to it. I’m guessing you mean the other one. I gather “Loveless” might be on a list with no name, but how about “Urban Hymns” or “Kid A?”
I have to admit a certain love for Carlos Castaneda — dare I say some of his insights into the nature of reality are “right on?”
LikeLike
Duh….I now see which Wolfe you meant. ;-)
LikeLike
Loveless would be on a list of albums I listened to too much in high school and college and now have too many emotional associations to actually enjoy (along with Pavement’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and a handful of others). Kid A would be on a list of albums everyone loves but me. Urban Hymns would be on a list of albums I’ve only heard the hit single from.
LikeLike
I tried to read Bonfire of the Vanities while living in NYC. Got about a chapter in before I tossed it. Managed to read half of American Psycho. I thought it was ok but by half way through it didn’t really seem to be moving forward so I tossed it. I actually liked the film.
LikeLike