Reading Friend's Work

Hazard or bonus?  Being a person who somehow garners a bit of reputation as one with an opinion on writing.  One who develops friendships, both virtual and in-person, with writers both emerging and beyond.  Knowing that they are writing, and that they are quite possibly, but not necessarily awaiting comment from you on their own work.  Having had numerous conversations with them about the work of others, and for the most part agreeing, does that make it that much more difficult to pick up their work? 

For me, it does.  It probably took me longer to read Steven Gillis' novels than it does for me to read most new authors I think about reading.  That is, it took me longer to actually crack open the copies I had - not the actual reading of the novels, that went by extremely quickly as once I cracked them, relief came as I loved them.  He had already published two novels and many short stories before I met him and I let them sit for quite a long time before picking them up.  And while I think Walter Falls and The Weight of Nothing are both excellent, as is Giraffes, his short story collection, I can't resist once again suggesting everybody that reads this get a copy of Temporary People - a Fable, his latest.  Not a single person that has opened this one up and started it hasn't loved it to the best of my knowledge.

Aaron Burch was another one, though in a different manner.  He was publishing Hobart, and not really writing much when I met him.  Then a couple of years later, he begins publishing flash fiction all over the place, and again, I caught myself hesitating before reading it.  But once I gave in, I found myself loving stories like "Breakfast," and "There, There." 

Most recently, Matt Bell, and his writing, has slipped into this seemingly odd habit of mine.  He's been on a recent publishing streak, seeing excerpts of the novel he's working on published in juked, elimae and Smokelong Quarterly over the course of maybe the last month or so.  For reasons I'm not sure are coming across properly in this post, I avoided reading these pieces until this morning.  I shouldn't have, they are excellent, especially the piece in Smokelong, which is the most recent, and has an excellent interview attached. 

Fortunately it seems I'm still waiting for that day I worry about, the day I pick up a fairly new friend's work and don't love it, or even like it.  That day hasn't come yet, but I'm curious, do others out there handle this situation the same, or do you all just dive right into the work your friend tells you about?

Comments

[Sarah]

I feel the same way! There is a book that has been sitting on my bookshelf, then my bedside stand, then back to my bookshelf, then carried in my backpack, then sitting in my car, and now back to my bedside stand that I can't seem to bring myself to read. What if I don't like it?

[Natasha Stagg]

Yeah, I can't get myself to read my friend's new book of poetry. I don't usually like poetry, so I'm scared it won't even sustain my interest. So many people have asked to read stuff I write, and the real reason I don't let them is because I know it'll sit somewhere for a year before I hear something like, "I liked it." Or worse, commentary. Just doesn't seem worth it.