You’ve just read the last book ever written by an author.
And the author is no longer living. In other words: Dead.
What do you do?
Years ago, I remember reading about a man whose favourite author was Charles Dickens. He had read every single novel by Dickens. Except one.
This intrigued me. You see, the reason he held out on reading the final book was because he was saving it. That way he would always have one more book to look forward to.
I always wondered, Did he ever read that final book? And if so… when? On his death bed??
Fortunately, for the fan of Charles Dickens, there are a lot of books to enjoy. The same goes for Shakespeare. It’ll take you awhile to go through those.
I also remember my mom once telling me that, after reading To Kill a Mockingbird, she would always keep her eyes peeled for a “new” book by Harper Lee. Except, there was never any other book. She’d only ever published that one. (Until a couple of years ago, that is. I’ve still not read Go Set a Watchman. Basically because I’m afraid to. My big question is this: If the book wasn’t good enough to be published pre-Mockingbird, why would it be good enough to be published now?)
And then there’s Jane Austen. She only published six novels. Once you’ve read the six, that’s it! Unless you want to read her unfinished works. Which, frankly, I tend to avoid. And I don’t count the fan fiction. (I’ve tried, and in my opinion, those books don’t quite cut it.)
So, what do you do when you’ve run out of books by your favourite author?
I find there are two things that can be done.
1) Good books are worth reading a second time. And a third. And a fourth. Actually, a good book just keeps getting better.
2) It also means you get to look for new authors. Whether they are new “old” (read: dead) authors, or new “new” (read: alive) authors. It’ll be hit and miss. Probably more misses than hits. And when you find a good one, it’s like adding to your circle of friends.
Happy New Year!
Of Maria Antonia 
Reading the last book is always sad! But I imagine it did take a bit of time to get through all of Dickens!!
I haven’t read Go Set a Watchman, either. It’s being marketed as a prequel when it’s really the first draft of Mockingbird that was rejected. That might be interesting for scholars, but might not make an enjoyable reading experience for fans. Plus there was the whole controversy over whether Lee had really approved the publication.
Yes! Rereads are the best. I think sometimes blogging prevents people from rereading because they want new material to post about. But a good book is one you want to read again!
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Yeah, that little thing about whether or not Lee really approved publishing this book is a big thing for me.
Although, I am intrigued by your thought that it’d be interesting to see the writer’s process (from Watchman to Mockingbird). Stuff like that fascinates me!
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This was a great article. I’m obsessed with collecting books, usually series and one of my faves is The Girl w/ the Dragon Tattoo. I was crushed to find out the author died after book 3. But I’ve heard they’ve allowed someone to pick it up again…anywho I guess my question is, have you ever read those a series left unfinished because the author passed that was resumed by someone else?
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The only book I can think of that does this is Gone With the Wind. Not that Margaret Mitchell ever intended to write a sequel. Her cliffhanger of an ending was just what it was. But I remember when the book Scarlett came out in 1991. Huge hype! Of course, by a different author since Mitchell was long dead. It’s been that long since I read it, but my memory of that book is that it’s well-written fan-fiction. There’s just something in it that doesn’t quite capture the original magic of Scarlett O’Hara.
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I truly hadn’t known it was a book. Now I must have it.
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