#BookADay Day 4 – Least Favorite Favorite

Continuing the #bookaday challenge posted by Borough Press. Today’s challenge to name your least favorite book by a favorite author has stirred up some Twitter and blogger controversy, and, really, what does the social media world like more?

I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. Authors, even the best ones, are only human. They make mistakes. They fail. They grow better with practice. I have go-to authors and favorites. All of them have, at some point, published a book or story that disappointed me.

Let’s keep perspective here. Authors themselves would be the first to admit all books are not equal. When I saw Jonathan Tropper in person he told the story of wanting to “un-write” his book Plan B. (He also told all of us who had not read it not to bother. I’ve chosen to take his advice.)

And so…My least favorite book by a favorite author is The Magician’s Assistant by my beloved Ann Patchett.

This is a perfectly lovely book. Patchett tells an interesting story about women suffering with loss in unusual circumstances. It just doesn’t live up to the strong writing I see in Patchett’s other books.

Keep in mind that I love Patchett so much that I decided to read all of her fiction and some non-fiction in 2012. I called it my Ann Patchett Project and I had to come to terms then with my disappointment in this book. You can read all about it here.