Please Don't Give up on Books

When authors say something problematic or are accused of doing terrible things, they usually do not end up on the news. It's not something that the general public would care much about, so the discourse about problematic authors and books generally stays in world of readers, publishers, and lovers of the written word. We bookish nerds will endlessly discuss and debate because these are important conversations. These conversations make us confront fandom, idolization, and the ethics of separating art from the artist. We take what authors say and write seriously because we respect the written word and love stories. Book people care and--for the most part--remember.

A few weeks ago, there were some serious allegations concerning some beloved authors that came to light. One of these authors was one of my favorite authors at one point. He is regarded as a master storyteller by the industry and is often lionized by fans. This particular author's work has helped me through difficult times, providing a fantastical escape from my own mental troubles. Reading about the adventures of gods living in a modern world, people living in a secret underground London, or a king of dreams trying to take back his kingdom allowed me to escape my own troubles. His work also allowed me to further connect with friends who were also fans. As he was known to also connect with fans online, I know that there are people out there who have an even more personal connection to this author. When an author who builds a career on empowering people and markets himself as a "good guy" becomes problematic, there's a sense of betrayal. There were many who felt betrayed by this author's fall from grace. I felt betrayed.

I was disappointed, but what I found more disheartening was reading people's reactions. There were several people I saw posting about how that they should stop being a fan of things or that books were now ruined for them. These posts were more heartbreaking than hearing about the author's controversy. It was a particular author that proved to be problematic, not the entire medium of books.

Please do not give up on loving books just because an author proves to be lackluster. Never give up on books.

Losing faith in authors is reasonable and necessary when an author shows their true colors. It's important to hold authors, politicians, musicians, actors, and any other person responsible for their actions because no person should ever be held above humanity. We can idolize and fawn over well-known people as much as we want, but at the end of the day, these people are only human. Some people are unreliable, make mistakes, do terrible things, and try to use their power or fame as a shield from consequence. We need to hold our favorite authors accountable, even when it makes us uncomfortable. However, storytelling is and always will be bigger than any author.

Authors can help us feel seen and provide us with stories that change our lives, but no author is ever more important than storytelling as a whole. Storytelling is human energy, human heritage, and the human experience. Stories are apart of the human spirit. We need authors to put stories in books, but there is not a single author who is more important than storytelling itself. No author should have the power to ruin reading for another person.

As we have these discussions about problematic people in publishing and hold these people accountable, maybe we should also have conversations about idolization. Maybe--as a community of book lovers--we should idealize author brands and franchises less and instead hold a higher regard to the spirit of storytelling. It's fun to be a fan of someone, but never let authors who do bad things keep you from loving books.