Favorite Writers/Books

[Prog Snob]

Being the bibliophile that I am, I'm curious as to what are everyone's favorites. You can name two or you can name a hundred and two. Let's hear them!

Writers:
J.R.R. Tolkien
H.P. Lovecraft
George R.R. Martin
Edgar Allan Poe
Stephen King
Lewis Carroll
L. Frank Baum
Neil Gaiman
Anne Rice
Lord Byron
Dante
Bukowski
Poppy Z Brite

Just to name a few to start

[Phoenix87x]

1984 is my favorite book.

[Stadler]

Favorite books:
11-22-63 (Stephen King)
The Lord of the Rings (Tolkein)
Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Dick)
The Bourne Identity (Ludlum)
The Company (Littell)

Authors:
King
Dick
Moorcock (Can't pick one for the above list; maybe Gloriana, but probably not)
Ludlum
Chandler

[Kotowboy]

I will admit i've not read many actual fictional novels in my time but here's what I have read :

Chuck Palahniuk :

Fight Club
Survivor
Invisible Monsters
Lullaby
Diary
Choke


Will Self : Great Apes.


I bought the Will Self one just to challenge myself as I knew it would be hard to understand in places. I enjoyed Palahniuk's writing until Choke and Diary. Didn't bother with his

deliberately disgusting horror stuff and short stories. I'm not into reading stuff that's designed to only make you feel sick.

After that - the synopses for his later works haven't interested me at all. Fight Club was an excellent movie but Choke was not.

[masterthes]

Stephen King (IT)
Anne Rice (Witching Hour)
Terry Pratchett (Night Watch)
Neil Gaiman (American Gods)
Tolkien (LOTR)
George RR Martin (I've only read so far the first three books, but so far Storm is my favorite)
Charles Dickens (David Copperfield)
Mark Twain (Huck Finn)
James Michener (Hawaii)

[ozzy554]

Stephen King - The Stand
Lawrence Block - Can't decide, a lot of the Scudder books are really good and it's hard to pick a favorite
Donald E. Westlake - Again I can't decide, I love the Dortmunder series
Terry Pratchett - I only got into him shortly before his death and I'm only a few books into discworld, So far Mort is my favorite.
J.K Rowling/Robert Galbraith - Goblet of fire/The Silkworm

[Cool Chris]

The Bourne Identity (Ludlum)

I re-read this recently, and had a hard time connecting with it. It is well-crafted, and a page-turner, in the sense that I wanted to see what happened next, but I never got emotionally invested in any way to the story.

Moorcock

Is that a real name?

Stephen King (IT)

My favorite author and book. My other top King works: Bag of Bones, The Stand, Christine.

Other favorite authors, without any specific favorite works:

Lee Child
Jonathan Kellerman
Nelson DeMille

[PB1]

The Bible - God

[Tomislav95]

Dostoyevsky: Crime and Punishment (my favorite book), The Idiot (also read some shorter stories)
Herman Hesse: Steppenwolf, Demian (I read many of his books but these two are my favorites)
Max Frisch: Homo Faber
Dennis Lehane: Kenzie & Gennaro series
Dan Simmons: Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion
Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express (her books got me into reading when I was kid)
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
Stephen King: Insomnia, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
...and I love Harry Potter series

[Prog Snob]

Herman Hesse: Steppenwolf, Demian (I read many of his books but these two are my favorites)

My ex gave me her copy of Demian and told me I should read it. I haven't got around to it yet but I'm told by others it's an excellent book.

Authors:

Dick
Moorcock (Can't pick one for the above list; maybe Gloriana, but probably not)

This is just a coincidence, right? 

Neil Gaiman (American Gods)

I just finished the first part. It has been an interesting read so far. I love the part with the carousel.

[Chino]

I could read Carl Sagan's work all day.

[Grappler]

Dan Brown (all time-favorite)

Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time Series)
Preston & Child (Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child - Pendergast Series)
Lee Child (I love the handful of Jack Reacher books that I've read)
John Grisham
Dean Koontz
Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch/Lincoln Lawyer series)
JK Rowling / Harry Potter series

My train station has books out for commuters to take while riding the train, so I've checked out a lot of detective/thrillers by Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, Stuart Woods, and other authors as well that I've enjoyed, but just don't have the time or money to really dig into.

[Logain Ablar]

All time favourite book: The Lord Of The Rings

Favourite authors:

Fantasy
JRRT (LoTR)
GRRM (GoT)
Robert Jordan (WoT)
Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, Way Of Kings, The Reckoners)
Robin Hobb (Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders)

Non fantasy
Lee Child (Jack Reacher series)

Others I've recently dipped into:
David Baldacci
Michael Connelly
Peter May

Others I've read lots of in the past but not recently:
Terry Pratchett
Stephen King

What I would typically do is to alternate between a heavier fantasy series novel, and a short easy read like a Reacher novel.

[Stadler]

The Bourne Identity (Ludlum)

I re-read this recently, and had a hard time connecting with it. It is well-crafted, and a page-turner, in the sense that I wanted to see what happened next, but I never got emotionally invested in any way to the story.

For some reason, I did.  I don't know why.  And then they made a TV movie with Richard Chamberlain (ok) and Jaclyn Smith (possibly the woman on the planet I've you know what to the most) and that sealed the deal.   I've read the book like five or six times and I always picture her as Marie.   I liked the tie-in with real life, too (Carlos the Jackal). 

Moorcock

Is that a real name?

Uh, I'm surprised that he's not better known, especially on a music site.  Yes, it's a real name:  Michael Moorcock.  He wrote the Elric of Melnibone series (I think there's 8 books now, plus a trilogy about his offspring).   He also wrote a ton of lyrics for Hawkwind (the albums The Warrior At The Edge of Time, and the Chronicles Of The Black Sword) and Blue Oyster Cult (the songs "Veteran of the Psychic Wars", "Black Blade" and a couple others).  He coined the term "the Multiverse" and part of his ouvre is an "Eternal Champion" - of which Elric is  but one - that span space and time.  Elric's sword (and one of the books in the series) is named "Stormbringer" (that is also the subject of "Black Blade" and "The Chronicles of the Black Sword").  You may have heard of a little Deep Purple album by that name (though Coverdale denied knowledge of the Elric connection until after the album was released).

Elric and the sword have influenced aspects of the Elder Scrolls games (I'm actually playing Oblivion right now) and the Zelda series (Girahim). 

[Kotowboy]

Just for fun I read the first chapter of " The Da Vinci Code ".

I couldn't believe an adult wrote it.

It was like someone in twelfth grade wrote it and was overly descriptive because they thought it would sound clever.

When Chuck Palahniuk writes sentences like " Her coat was white. Like a holiday in the french alps kind of white ".. It's because he's also saying something about the person wearing the coat.

They can afford to go ski-ing in the French Alps. Where the snow is particularly fresh. They have a lot of money and are used to the finer things.

When Dan Brown writes sentences like " It was a Rolex Datejust 41 Steel and Yellow Gold Champagne/Index Jubilee 126333 with a Steel/Yellow Gold case, Jubilee Steel/Yellow Gold strap, Champagne/

Index dial and Automatic movement. " It's because his "research" was to go on Google and search "expensive watch". That's it.

[Stadler]

I get that I'm not always a great example of someone who savors the delicacies of fine literature, but the two writers I can think of in recent times that simply ruined a story by their horrible prose were Dan Brown and E. L. James. 

[vtgrad]

Stephen King (always emotionally invested... even if I try not to be.  IT and Salem's Lot still take the cake for me)
Jack Ketchum (may be a little less known, but very potent stuff.  Off Season and The Lost)
Lovecraft (At the Mountains of Madness)
Jack London (Call of the Wild)
David Moody (the Autumn books; I have the original Infected Books versions of these titles)
Charles H. Spurgeon (the Prince of Preachers indeed... likely seems out of place with the other authors here)
Robert Frost (Country Things and Other Things... contains my all-time favorite poem The Road Not Taken)
Peter Straub (Ghost Story)
Ray Bradbury (Something Wicked this way Comes)
Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air... somewhat appropriate he is mentioned in light of what has happened on Everest this past week and in the past 5-years as well)

The Bible - God

I'll second that.  2nd Timothy 3:16-17 KJV

[PB1]

Christopher Hitchens
and Richard Dawkins

both authors should be mandatory reading in high school IMHO

[Kotowboy]

Christopher Hitchens
and Richard Dawkins

both authors should be mandatory reading in high school IMHO

[Kotowboy]

" I hate when people's beliefs are shoved down my throat "

" dawkins should be mandatory reading ! "

[WDADU]

Favourite writers:

Stephen King
Clive Barker
Wally Lamb
Michael Crichton
Bret Easton Ellis
Dennis Lehane
Chuck Palahniuk
Ransom Riggs
Gillian Flynn
William Peter Blatty

Favourite novels:

It - Stephen King
We Are Water - Wally Lamb
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane
Weaveworld - Clive Barker
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
The Shining - Stephen King
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

Holy shit, I can go on forever. As somebody trying to be a published novelist, I guess I can list a thousand books that have inspired me. But I think these are the ones that come to my mind immediately when asked about influences/favourites.

[Prog Snob]

Christopher Hitchens
and Richard Dawkins

both authors should be mandatory reading in high school IMHO

Hitchens was brilliant. Whenever something major happens in politics, I always wonder what Hitch would have said.

Just for fun I read the first chapter of " The Da Vinci Code ".

I couldn't believe an adult wrote it.

It was like someone in twelfth grade wrote it and was overly descriptive because they thought it would sound clever.

I felt the same thing when I read the first couple of chapters of Fifty Shades of Grey. The writing was terrible.

[TAC]

Nobody reads Tempus Vox?

[ariich]

" I hate when people's beliefs are shoved down my throat "

" dawkins should be mandatory reading ! "

Er, why are you attacking someone (and a reasonably new member at that) for something they never said?

[Kotowboy]

Sorry it sounded funnier in my head 

Perhaps I should have used green font. 

[Prog Snob]

Sorry it sounded funnier in my head 

Perhaps I should have used green font. 

Damn British humor. 

[v_clortho]

humour

[Prog Snob]

You're right. Sourry about that.

[v_clortho]

no proublem

[Mr. Beale]

My favorite book is probably Dune by Frank Herbert.

[Jaffa]

When pressed for an answer, I say that House of Leaves is my favorite book of all time.

Other top contenders include:

It, by Stephen King
Invisible Monsters, by Chuck Palahniuk
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
I, Lucifer, by Glenn Duncan
Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn
The Collector, by John Fowles
The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris
The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
The Presitge, by Christopher Priest
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Illusions, by Richard Bach
How to Set a Fire and Why, by Jesse Ball
Legion, by William Peter Blatty

As for favorite authors overall, I would say my list has to include Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, Neil Gaiman, Lois Lowry, Glenn Duncan, H.P. Lovecraft, Arthur Conan Doyle, and J.K. Rowling. 

[Kotowboy]

You prefer Invisible Monsters to Survivor ?

Survivor is awesome. I wish it was a film - even though it would never be as good as the film in my head whilst reading it.

Choke was a crap film. Lullaby could be cool in this superhero obsessed world !

Diary is boring.

[Jaffa]

Invisible Monsters is definitely my favorite Palahniuk novel.  To be fair, it was also the first Palahniuk novel I read, so that may have something to do with my love for it.  Palahniuk makes a hell of a first impression.

Survivor is also great, though.  I've thoroughly enjoyed everything I've read by him. 

[Kotowboy]

I didn't like Diary. It was really boring compared to the previous ones. Took ages to get to any point.

If Invisible Monsters was ever a film - I don't know how you'd conceal the twist that the supermodel with no jaw and the male character ( i forget their names ) are twins.

[Jaffa]

Diary was definitely I low point, I would agree.  But I still enjoyed it overall.

Yeah, I don't really know how Invisible Monsters could be pulled off as a film.  I mean, to be fair, I wouldn't have thought it would be easy to pull off the Fight Club twist on the screen either, and that one worked out pretty well.  But Invisible Monsters feels like it would be difficult to film in general.  You'd have to have approximately one billion jump cuts, for starters.