authors you like but don't agree with

[rocklobster]

It's inevitable for every bookworm to eventually find a writer he or she doesn't agree with. However, in some cases, that's not a bad thing. So who are some writers you don't agree with but read anyway?
Here are some of mine to start:
1. Mark Twain (I hear he was an atheist. He had such a great humor too)
2. Robert A Heinlien (read his stuff and you'll see that it's quite racy.)
3. George Orwell (believe it or not, he actually liked socialism, just not the tyrannical approach to it)
4. Judy Blume (I hear she's a real staunch liberal)

[Etoh*the*Greato]

On the first one and the last one, I'd actually check out their views before deciding whether or not you disagree with them. Twain was a good guy, and smart. He didn't suffer fools gladly, so unfortunately his view on religion was strongly influenced by a large lot of fools. Our extremists, fools, and jerks tend to speak a lot more loudly than the rest of us.

As for your topic, the first one that comes to mind for me is George R. R. Martin. He's got a livejournal you can follow, but he is exceptionally conservative and has on more than one occasion screamed at anyone who disagreed with his views, essentially telling them that if they didn't believe as he did they were welcome to never read his books.

[EricTheFred]

The first two that come to mind are ones that I mentioned (on this exact subject) in another recent thread. Ayn Rand and David Weber. Both are preachy and opinionated, their opinions are highly divergent from my own, and I cringe when they get that way inside their stories just the same fashion as I do with certain talking heads on cable news talk channels start yakking... but I totally love the stories they write.

(Off topic, but related to the comment above, conversely I love Rachel Maddow, despite sharing almost none of her political views at all, because of her wit and sharp observational skills. To get into it any further in forum would almost certainly violate the prohibitions on politics though, so I would prefer any responses to this statement come to me in PM.)

As I understand it, whether Mark Twain was an atheist or not is subject to a very long, still-active debate. He definitely was not a traditional Christian though. He may have been one of the earliest public figures to get away with overtly poking fun at the established faith.

Heinlein is all over the map, from tame to racy. He did indeed revel in racy when he wrote it though. And yeah, he was one heck of a story teller.

Orwell was a socialist, but he was devoutly anti-communist, as can be seen in almost everything he wrote. There's a lot of confusion between these two in the West these days, mostly because Marx redefined socialism as embryonic communism. Non-communist socialists bitterly resent this definition and consider it a hijacking of their separate philosophy.

Judy Blume I haven't read, so no opinion here. And I've heard the same about Martin, by the way.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

As much as I love Martin's writing, if he invited me to do that over an argument I'd gladly take him up on it. I, like Twain, don't suffer fools gladly.

[Yamamaya]

Me being a dirty liberal, I actually have to disagree with you on Orwell and Blume, but that's not a debate for this forum.

I'd have to say Harry Harrison. He writes some great historical fiction, if he only he didn't keep on throwing in his agnostic views into everything.

I was under the impression that Mark Twain was more of an existentalist.

[Cognitive Gear]

Every author I've ever read, most likely. Inevitably, I will disagree with them on something, but in a way, that's what makes them interesting.

[Fish and Chips]

3. George Orwell (believe it or not, he actually liked socialism, just not the tyrannical approach to it)

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Don't you write a book about this, Fish and Chips!

[ShiroiHikari]

I guess I either don't read enough books or the books I do read don't have political opinions injected into the narratives.

[TGJesusfreak]

Um... Edgar Allen Poe?

[Radical Dreamer]

HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAH YEEESSSSSSS. I love this comic so much. XDDD

Also, I expect I would disagree with a lot of authors when it comes to their belief system. For instance, Orson Scott Card is apparently a Mormon, but that doesn't make me love Ender's Game any less. XD That being said, I don't pay so much attention to what a particular author believes outside of his or her writing as much as I pay attention to how well they can tell a story.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Letting their views seep into their work is something a lot of authors are prone to. Sometimes it enriches their work, and sometimes it harms it - and I don't say that based on whether or not I agree with the message. Orson Scott Card is one of those remarkable authors who I feel never really let his beliefs seep into his work, at least not on a religious level.

[Peanut]

Ayn Rand. Mostly because, after writing a few books, she went on to develop a philosophy I don't agree with....but Anthem will forever be one of my favorite books I've read in school.

[Wikiwalker]

It would be easier to list the ones I do agree with, but if you insist: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Walt Whitman; Robert Frost; Rudyard Kipling; Brandon Sanderson, but only in his religion; even C. S. Lewis and I disagree on some points about writing (I just don't believe in writing blatant allegory, his were good though).

That certainly isn't all, a writer's worldview doesn't matter so much to me as their writing skill, so I'm constantly reading books and poetry by people I don't agree with.

[bigsleepj]

Umberto Eco - Everyone's favourite Semiotician is an atheist and a secularist, but I think he's also the most sensible man on many subjects, and he can be pretty supportive to Christianity at times.

Then there's George Orwell, whom many have spoken about.

Another person I don't always agree with is Neil Gaiman. His stories can be both supportive of Christianity and against (seemingly depending on various factors) but he's still one of the best writers of fantasy today.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Ayn Rand. Mostly because, after writing a few books, she went on to develop a philosophy I don't agree with....but Anthem will forever be one of my favorite books I've read in school.

Ayn Rand's Objectivism is so short-sighted and flawed. The simplest Critical Theory approach could deconstruct it in a heartbeat.

Albert Camus is a favorite of mine, but I'm not so sure on his Absurdist philosophy.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Philip K. Dick (not so much his writing but his ideas and imagination were amazing)
Stephen King
Alan Moore

[rocklobster]

Another writer I disagree with is Douglas Adams. What, those pot shots he took at God weren't enough clues? He's still pretty funny, though.

[ich1990]

I don't think there has ever been an author that I totally agree with. If there was I probably wouldn't read him/her; they would probably be quite boring.

There are a few authors that I enjoy immensely that have views more than a little opposed to mine, however. More egregious among them are:

Isaac Asimov (had the lamest reason for disbelieving Christianity ever)
Jiddu Krishnamurti (modern day Socrates who was careful to never buy into any brand of religion)
Frederich Nietzsche (had lots of good criticisms of Christianity, as well as some bad ones)
H.G. Wells (such a good sci-fi writer that it is hard to believe he was a eugenicist)
Thomas Jefferson (the godfather of American Libertarianism, yet also placed little value on human life)

[ShiroiHikari]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Alan Moore. I like some of his works but I disagree with him on most things. XD

[Sheol777]

Alan Moore is one of the best writers I have read. He is one of those slightly touched geniuses. I love his work...and totally disagree with his views.

Douglas Adams was also great and I like how he holds nothing sacred....also I hate how he holds nothing sacred, if you know what I mean.

[Nate]

J.R.R. Tolkien.

[Htom Sirveaux]

J.R.R. Tolkien.

Pfft. Yeah, anyway. The guy wrote about hobbits and elves and dwarves and stuff. Like they're even real. What an idiot.

[EricTheFred]

Douglas Adams was also great and I like how he holds nothing sacred....also I hate how he holds nothing sacred, if you know what I mean.

Especially how he didn't hold sacred anything out of his own work, especially those things which his fans held sacred.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Douglas Adams may not have shared our world-view, but I had an immense amount of respect for what he said and viewed. I think he really tried to live by what he believed, and for what it's worth, he was really quite sensible about his thoughts. He clearly didn't share our thoughts, but he didn't outright villify them. The best testament to this is in the prologue of the first book itself: "And one man was nailed to a tree 2000 years ago for saying how nice it would be if everyone was nice to one another."

[Sheol777]

^
Totally agree.

[Nate]

Pfft. Yeah, anyway. The guy wrote about hobbits and elves and dwarves and stuff. Like they're even real. What an idiot.

Nah, I don't agree with him 'cuz he's Catholic. Not saying there's anything wrong with Catholicism, I just don't agree with them on some doctrinal matters. And that fits the title, "Authors I like but don't agree with."

I also don't see what's wrong with liking socialism but that would take this thread way off topic so I'll close by saying Oscar Wilde is yet another author I like but don't agree with.

[Sheol777]

I also don't see what's wrong with liking socialism but that would take this thread way off topic so I'll close by saying Oscar Wilde is yet another author I like but don't agree with.

This.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Being a philosophy grad. student, almost my entire reading list is made up of folks who fall into this category. First among equals, though, has to be Immanuel Kant. I don't think I have disagreed with a philosopher, let alone an author, more completely. In trying to achieve some level of epistemological certainty, not to mention rescue metaphysics, he makes an elaborate case that the world (not just the totality of stuff but space and time as well) is something we construct. Kids: there's no way you can know the REAL world...you can only know the standard human construction of "world." We are staring at the back of our own eyes. The implications Kant's thought has for truth and for art are devastating. His reasons for putting forth his doctrine are pretty lame to boot. I know the above is not actually an argument against Kant...I am just ranting.

I have more sympathy with Plato, Rousseau, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Kierkegaard and John Rawls...but still disagree with them on key points.

I have never read any of Rand's stuff. I asked several of my professors (from 3 different colleges) about her, and they basically told me not to waste my time. Was enough to turn me off of her.

*Edit Nice quote SmartyPants. Used that in my own sig for a while.

[EricTheFred]

I have never read any of Rand's stuff. I asked several of my professors (from 3 different colleges) about her, and they basically told me not to waste my time. Was enough to turn me off of her.

With respect to her poli sci writings, that was excellent advice, and probably what they were referring to. However, her fiction works, although few in number, really are very well written stuff.

Douglas Adams may not have shared our world-view, but I had an immense amount of respect for what he said and viewed. I think he really tried to live by what he believed, and for what it's worth, he was really quite sensible about his thoughts. He clearly didn't share our thoughts, but he didn't outright villify them. The best testament to this is in the prologue of the first book itself: "And one man was nailed to a tree 2000 years ago for saying how nice it would be if everyone was nice to one another."

My comment actually had to do with the way he spent the last couple books of the Hitchhiker series taking his frustrations out on his own creations because he was sick of them. I still wish I had stopped reading after "Goodbye And Thanks For All The Fish"