The Illusion of Familiarity

There are author's I love, and have been reading (their stories & novels) for what seems to me to be a very long time. In my mind, they had become gods of the written word. I had done what all, well at least most, children do with their parents, set them on a much higher plane than myself. So, when I first met some of my  favorite writers, I was quite disappointed, to say the least. They turned out to be only human, with warts and everything. It took me awhile, but I finally was able to disassociate the writer I would meet, talk to, touch, and could like, or dislike, from the work they actually did. I learned that making a connection with a writer's stories, no matter how great a connection it might be, did not mean I would also have a great appreciation for the person doing the writing. But the important lesson, that no matter how I felt about the writer I would meet in person, it did not, and should not, lessen my appreciation for what they had written. I believe that a good story, be it short or a novel, is more than the person who created it.
Anyway (I still prefer anyroad), today I broke down & had my favorite online bookstore, Camelot Books, set aside a collection of stories by an author I haven't read in a long time. I will not mention his name. He is quite popular among certain circles, gets great reviews, and is highly unusual. My problem was, that while he was doing a book tour quite a few years ago in the US, I heard him do a reading in Boston. I have heard a number of authors read their own work, and some are better than others. Some are truly wonderful. This particular author was not one of those. In fact, I don't really know how to describe the effect his voice had on me. Imagine sitting down to listen to a magnificent piece of music, which is about to be performed live for you. And then someone runs their finger nails down a blackboard in front of a microphone. All I can say, is I haven't been able to read anything by him since. Mainly because I would kept hearing his voice, and would not be able to continue reading. Well, I think I'm ready to give him another try. But I'm not rushing it. 
It's amazing how quickly it seems we can forget some of our most pleasant experiences, and yet, the truly awful ones take forever to fade away. But I will not stop going to author readings. And I want to stress that, that particular author, who should not read out loud where people can hear him, is truly a wonderful writer. Go figure. Anyroad, I have never heard anyone else reading their work, or anyone else's, who had the ability to make me flee the room while screaming loudly. Thank God.