Polargirl Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 My favourite book is Watchers by Dean R Koontz. I follow several authors faithfully. Hard to pick just one. I think I'd have to go with Lawrence Block for his consistently good writing. I like murder mysteries the most. Link to comment
Vector Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Oh, phooey. Elizabeth Hand - Winterlong may be my favorite book...such a crazy strange story.I'd have to add authors:Jack Womack- especially AmbientGraham Joyce- especially the Tooth FairyLucius Sheppard- especially Life During WartimeI grew up on Moorcock and Philip K. Dick. Link to comment
Jashella Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Hmm, for me it would have to be Jules Verne. I still reread his books from time to time, and they never seem to get any less interesting! Also have to agree with some posters and say Douglas Adams! Level 1 Wood Elf Assasin STR 1|DEX 2|STA 3|CON 3|WIS 4|CHA 2 "Knowledge does not grow like a tree where you dig a hole, plant your feet, cover them with dirt, and pour water on them daily. Knowledge grows with time, work, and dedicated effort. It cannot come by any other means." -- Ed Parker Link to comment
Dizzy Posted March 9, 2013 Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 Neal Stephenson by far.Cryptonomicon was amazing, as is most of his other work.Snow Crash is generally accused of popularizing the term avatar for interactions online.If you like epic historical fiction that can't be fit into a genre, it's hard to beat The Baroque Cycle. Me toooooo!! Neal Stephenson is by far and away my favourite author too. I love them all. I adore the Baroque Cycle & feel really grateful that I read Crytonomicon after it as I loved the Shaftoes even more since I knew where they'd come from (even though it was the prequel so to speak). Works of genius. Iain M Banks "Culture" novels are a close second for me. Level 1 Gobelin RangerSTR 3|DEX 3|STA 2|CON 3|WIS 2|CHA 2 Link to comment
Kunai Posted March 9, 2013 Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 Agatha ChristieStephen KingIsaac Asimov Height 6'2" Age 26 345/215/435 Strength isn’t just about winning. Even if my attempts are pathetic and comical, and even if I’m covered in the mud of my defeat, if I can keep fighting and look up at the sky as I lie on the ground, that alone is proof of true strength! Haruyuki Arita (Accel World) Link to comment
JasontheKiwi Posted March 9, 2013 Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 My fave author always changes... at the moment I am captivated by Raymond E Feist, am up to a darkness at sethanon... love it. My BlogMy Book Reviews "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain Link to comment
joedog Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 I'd have to say either Neal Stephenson or Robert Ludlum is my favorite author. I love the Bourne trilogy, and Stephenson's cyberpunk writing. Snow Crash is absolutely amazing, and Cryptonomicon is a book I find fascinating, but never can seem to finish it. That said, none of those books are in my top 2. My favorite book ever is 1984, with Shutter Island coming in a close second. Shutter Island is a seriously disturbing book. Like so many books, it's a million times better than the movie. The movie didn't leave out anything huge, but there were a lot of small things in the book that made everything more intense.Thanks for the Shutter Island recommendation. I couldn't put it down. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 joedog, level 15 Monk Current Challenge Link to comment
re-animator Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 I'm a huge Scott Sigler fan, love the gory horror novels; but I also his abilty to make simple things like a piece of moving newspaper or simple tickle on the skin poop yourself terrifying.I also love Charlie Huston, his Joe Pitt Casebooks make me happy; vampire novels that have a protagonist who isn't pining over a highschool love and who isn't afriad to rip a throat out if he needs to feed, love them. I read a lot though, so my loves change a lot. Level 1 Gnoll. Druid at heart, training with the ScoutsSTR 3|DEX 1|STA 3|CON 2|WIS 4|CHA 2 Good? Evil? Let's just say I'm chaotic stupid Link to comment
BopGun Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm going to buck the trend and go with David Halberstam ("The Reckoning", "Summer of '49" and "The Breaks of the Game") and David McCullough ("Truman", "John Adams" and "1776"...no, not the musical). ESPECIALLY "The Reckoning". Anyone who wants to know how and why the U.S. auto industry lost its hold on the marketplace needs to read that. I really really really should read "The Powers That Be" and "The Best and the Brightest" sometime. ...though if you measure it strictly in terms of volumes read, I suppose my favorites would be Ian Fleming and then John Gardner, who took up the mantle of the James Bond novel franchise in 1981 and kept with it through the mid-'90s. Over the years, I've not only read, but owned, all 30ish James Bond novels that those two produced. (I no longer own any of them.) Link to comment
paul119 Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 George Orwell - I've read through 1984 a half-dozen times, and love it more and more after every read. His memoir about fighting in the Spanish Civil War is also excellent, and so are the other novels he's written. Interested in traveling, personal wellness, and learning - currently blogging at travelnwellness.com Link to comment
Max Power Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 I'm going to buck the trend and go with David Halberstam ("The Reckoning", "Summer of '49" and "The Breaks of the Game") and David McCullough ("Truman", "John Adams" and "1776"...no, not the musical). ESPECIALLY "The Reckoning". Anyone who wants to know how and why the U.S. auto industry lost its hold on the marketplace needs to read that. I really really really should read "The Powers That Be" and "The Best and the Brightest" sometime. ...though if you measure it strictly in terms of volumes read, I suppose my favorites would be Ian Fleming and then John Gardner, who took up the mantle of the James Bond novel franchise in 1981 and kept with it through the mid-'90s. Over the years, I've not only read, but owned, all 30ish James Bond novels that those two produced. (I no longer own any of them.) I like McCullough, H.W. Brands is probably my favorite biographer though. I've read through all of Ian Fleming's JB books, but never anyone else's. I picked up Jeffrey Deaver's "007 Carte Blanche" a few weeks back, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. The path to Swolehalla is paved with a lot of Swolehate, and you won't get there without being Swole of Spirit too. Race: Fiendish Blue Extension Cord Class: Warrior Links: MFP Battle Log Current Challenge Link to comment
DeathDealer Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Jules Verne's The Time Machine is my favorite author/book combo. The Odyssey by Homer is my favorite book. Odysseus has been my hero since I was a child. He tries to out think first, backs it with force when needed, and never gives up or forgets who he is. None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear. -Ferdinand Foch Link to comment
ModernSpartacus Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 I'll be honest, after all this time, JK Rowling is still my favorite author of all time. Her books were my childhood and Hogwarts is my home. Level 2 Gladiatrix-in-TrainingSpartan Warrior STR 8; DEX 4; STA 4.75; CON 5; WIS 2.75; CHA 4.5"A man must accept his fate, or be destroyed by it.""Do or do not, there is no try." Link to comment
Ananke86 Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 People I read include Stephen King, Laurell K Hamilton, JR Ward, Phillip Pullman, LA Banks Favourtie book and author are The Godson by Robert G Barrett. It's very ocker, dirty old man kind of book but with guns and an unfortunate pommy that gets subjected to a King's Cross bouncer's hilarity. Fight now, cry later. Link to comment
Grayfang Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I keep wanting to claim these well-respected authors like tolkien or orwell, or GRRM, or JKR (all of which I've enjoyed) but honestly that'd be a lie. My favorite author is Anne Bishop. Her books are not masterpieces of literature (probably closer to smut and fluff), just dark fantasy, but they've been my companions since I was 16 (10 years). I've literally reread Queen of Darkness so many times that my copy split in two. *sigh* guess I'm just not cultured enough... (lol!) Level 2 Pandarian AdventurerSTR:7 DEX:2 STA:1 CON:6 WIS:5 CHA:5.5Daily Battle LogChallenge 2 Challenge 1"Don't kill yourself in the machine shop; I don't want to deal with the paperwork." Link to comment
Raikas Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 We're talking fiction? I love Robin Hobb's High Fantasy (favourite: The Liveship Traders series) and CS Friedman's SciFi (favourite: This Alien Shore). For non-genre, I've loved all of Pat Barker's WWI-centred books (the Regeneration Trilogy, Life Class, Toby's Room). My favourite novel in general is The Quiet Violence of Dreams (K Sello Duiker's death was such a loss - he'd only written 3 books). Cryptonomicon is a book I find fascinating, but never can seem to finish it. Heh, I loved Cryptonomicon, but my god - that book seriously needed an extra round of editing. Wood Elf Assassin -- Level 10 --STR 26 | DEX 13 | STA 19 | CON 7 | WIS 14 | CHA 14 Link to comment
Tarmac Posted April 26, 2013 Report Share Posted April 26, 2013 My favorite author is probably a tie. I can't decide between Jonathan Carroll - From the Teeth of Angels is one of my favorite books of all time - but I also love Neil Gaiman (and American Gods). Ohhhh, conundrums... Level 1 Human RangerSTR: 2 | DEX: 3 | STA: 4 | CON: 2 | WIS: 2 | CHA: 2 "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then, the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle." - Phillips Brooks Link to comment
Crooked Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 So so so many good ideas for summer reading in this thread. I have to go with Haruki Murakami, though Margaret Atwood is also way up there. And Dickens, mostly for A Tale of Two Cities. Comeback Challenge Link to comment
direrael Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 Tolkien, all the way. His books, and the movies, changed my life. I remember walking into Fellowship when I was 11, and walking out with a completely different look on life. I had never experienced something that pulled you completely, 100% into another world, and I realized the power that storytelling and the arts can hold. I ended up wanting to do something visual - media, movies, etc, and later chose a college and majors based on that. Now I get to work in one of the fields I majored in, and have other things I can't wait to pursue in my life. tl;dr - Tolkien's books unlocked something in me that led me to where I am today. Plus, the dude was amazing in real life. Fought in WWI, had a voice like an Ent, and he wrote this amazing letter to an anti-semitic publisher during WWII that I can read over and over. Current challenge - fighting the Bane of a broken back Link to comment
level250geek Posted June 5, 2013 Report Share Posted June 5, 2013 My immediate answer is Neil Gaiman, with American Gods being my favorite book. However, the expanded list includes Tolkien, Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King (especially The Shining), Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock stories, and Joe Hill (can't WAIT to read his new book). I'm a librarian, so of course I love to read, and I've read lots of great stuff over the years. I dabble in a bit of everything. I'm a big fan of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, westerns, and detective/mystery stories. Level 2 Human RangerSTR [5] DEX [4.25] STA [3] CON [4] WIS [6] CHA [6.25]Current ChallengeMy Introduction"Blood and sweat washes away pain and fear."Current Challenge Goals: Link to comment
Incantor Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 I LOVE Neal Stephenson. The man is a nerd demi-god. I've read everything he ever published, multiple times, and never get tired of it. I especially like Cryptonomicon/The Baroque Cycle and Anathem. When I read Reamde I was amazed at the total change in mood and pacing and just the extreme silliness of it - MMORPGs, Chinese hackers, Russian mobsters, Islamic terrorists, whaaaaat??? Very fun, a nice change from the previous works which had grown ever more complicated and cerebral. I also enjoy Lovecraft, Herbert, Martin, Gaiman, Barker, and Constantine - off the top of my head. Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
level250geek Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 I LOVE Neal Stephenson. The man is a nerd demi-god. I've read everything he ever published, multiple times, and never get tired of it. I especially like Cryptonomicon/The Baroque Cycle and Anathem. When I read Reamde I was amazed at the total change in mood and pacing and just the extreme silliness of it - MMORPGs, Chinese hackers, Russian mobsters, Islamic terrorists, whaaaaat??? Very fun, a nice change from the previous works which had grown ever more complicated and cerebral. I also enjoy Lovecraft, Herbert, Martin, Gaiman, Barker, and Constantine - off the top of my head.What's a good starter book for Neal Stephenson? He's been on my to-read list for awhile. Level 2 Human RangerSTR [5] DEX [4.25] STA [3] CON [4] WIS [6] CHA [6.25]Current ChallengeMy Introduction"Blood and sweat washes away pain and fear."Current Challenge Goals: Link to comment
Incantor Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 If you are into sci-fi, start with Snow Crash (virtual reality) or Diamond Age (nano technology). If you like historical fiction, try Cryptonomicon (a dual story, WW2 era and a 90's timeline, interleaved). For a fast paced thriller, try the newest book, Reamde. As with all Stephenson books, the themes are only jumping off points and there are lots of little digressions on various subjects like Cryptonomicon's famous interlude on the best way to eat Cap'n Crunch.I don't recommend that you start with my favorite, Anathem, or the Baroque Cycle (7 books, 3 volumes). The Baroque Cycle is very slow and can be hard too get into. It is fascinating, but I think it helps to be accustomed to Stephenson's voice before attempting it. Anathem is very weird and lots of people give up on it before they get to the action. Again I think it's better to get used to his unique style before tackling it. Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
direrael Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 I also enjoy Lovecraft, Herbert, Martin, Gaiman, Barker, and Constantine - off the top of my head. +1 for Lovecraft! Some of his stories give me chills, like the one about the hill-dwellers in Appalachia. Current challenge - fighting the Bane of a broken back Link to comment
Incantor Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 My favorite Lovecraft is Dreams in the Witchhouse, very creepy. I also really enjoyed At the Mountains of Madness. Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
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