Who is your favorite author?

[level250geek]

I like "The Dreams in the Witch House" as well. My other favorites by him have got to be "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," "The Music of Eric Zahn," and "The Call of Cthulhu."

[Vector]

For great Lovecraft homage, read a short short story called (I think, it's been many years) The Prodigy of Dreams by Thomas Ligotti.

[Meaghan_Sedai]

My all time favorite series is definitely the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Actually my favorite books in the series are the ones that Brandon Sanderson finished. He did a marvelous job topping of what Mr. Jordan started in my opinion. I mostly read a lot of fantasy and post-apocalyptic stuff. If you're looking for a great anthology of post-apocalyptic lit I would recommend Wastelands. Absolutely amazing authors in there.

 

I'd also like to throw in my favorite poet. If you're looking to make someone swoon check out the love Pablo Neruda lays down.

[laurabzz]

Neil Gaiman is my god. His books usually blow my mind, be it children's stories or adults'. Recently finished Good Omens (written with Terry Pratchett), funny as hell. Waiting for a copy of The Ocean by the End of the Lane to reach my mailbox next week. I mean, I love everything about this guy, even his wife is awesome.

 

Next favourites would be JK Rowling and George R. R. Martin. I mean.. I owe Rowling my childhood and to Martin  - my tears and lost trust.

[swe]

Philip Pullmans 'His Dark Materials' is the best trilogy i've read. Especially the third book where the ending is just so well written and a book where certain parts can actually make you upset for a few days simply because he writes so descriptively and accurately that the reader can't help but be sucked in

[laurabzz]

Philip Pullmans 'His Dark Materials' is the best trilogy i've read. Especially the third book where the ending is just so well written and a book where certain parts can actually make you upset for a few days simply because he writes so descriptively and accurately that the reader can't help but be sucked in

 I loved the third book! I couldn't get that ending out of my head for a few weeks. I still think about it sometimes. I think I'll re-read the books in a couple of years.

[iatetheyeti]

Gah, choices everywhere.

 

I love Stephen King's work to the extent that I have a rather large collection adorning my shelves. Particular favourites include the Dark Tower books, Dreamcatcher, Desperation, and The Long Walk (written as Bachman). It's as much the way he writes as it is what he writes that enjoy so much.

 

Other well-loved authors include Raymond E. Feist, Philip K. Dick, Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, and Robin Hobb. I may have a slight fantasy obsession going on, but nothing's been proved yet I blame my mother, she reads similar things and passes the books on to me, which of course means I have to read them and get hooked!

[sumdawgtwigg]

Huge Stephen King Fan.

[laurabzz]

I see there are some King's fans here. I've never read anything by Stephen King because for a long time I was sure he's writing only horror stories. After I realized that I'm mistaken, I still haven't tried reading anything by him, What would be the first book by King that you'd recommend for someone to read? He has like a bazillion of books. (No horror for me please.)

[sumdawgtwigg]

I see there are some King's fans here. I've never read anything by Stephen King because for a long time I was sure he's writing only horror stories. After I realized that I'm mistaken, I still haven't tried reading anything by him, What would be the first book by King that you'd recommend for someone to read? He has like a bazillion of books. (No horror for me please.)

 

I really like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It's got a tiny bit of horror, mostly suspense, but it's mostly a drama about a little girl getting lost in the forest. That or The Body, which I don't really consider horror either. 

[iatetheyeti]

I see there are some King's fans here. I've never read anything by Stephen King because for a long time I was sure he's writing only horror stories. After I realized that I'm mistaken, I still haven't tried reading anything by him, What would be the first book by King that you'd recommend for someone to read? He has like a bazillion of books. (No horror for me please.)

 

As suggested already, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a good one, and some of his newer ones are virtually non-horror (though plenty of suspense and sometimes supernatural elements) such as Under the Dome and 11/22/63. There's also The Green Mile, Eye of the Dragon, a lot of the stuff he wrote as Richard Bachman (actually, all of them with the exception of Thinner), and a number of short stories.

[Shereads]

As suggested already, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a good one, and some of his newer ones are virtually non-horror (though plenty of suspense and sometimes supernatural elements) such as Under the Dome and 11/22/63. There's also The Green Mile, Eye of the Dragon, a lot of the stuff he wrote as Richard Bachman (actually, all of them with the exception of Thinner), and a number of short stories.

 

I loved Eye of the dragon by King. It was something I got my feet wet with in his books. I In my early teens I found Peirs Anthony. His Xanith series got me through some tough school years. I got to read a few books from the Incarnations of immortality series recently. It was a good read.I liked Anne McCafery's early works before the Dragon riders of Pern series that made her so famous.Although the first book or two of that was pretty good. The books based off of what happened later were difficult for me to get into. I took one winter holiday and read Clan of the cave bear series but have not re-visited that one.  I am a bad fan I forget authors and titles but keep books I loved around. The only reason I remember those two is because I have been reading their books so often. I don't have a lot of their books since someone keeps culling my library.

[laurabzz]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. King will be read soon, I promise.

[Logros]

There are many but I had to weigh in:

 

Latest favourite author is definitely Steven Erikson. You either love him or hate him in my experience talking to people about him. Just the most epic fantasy series of all time under his belt, and prolific as well. He was smashing out a book every 12-18 months at one point, and the series is now 15 books long. 

 

Others include Pratchett, Feist, Tolkien, Sanderson, Le Guin, and Bernard Cornwell. I would've put George RR Martin in there at one point, but he pissed me off with the delays on a Dance with Dragons. I think he wrote himself into a corner to be honest. I used to LOVE Stephen King (Dark Tower series especially) - there has never been a book that has given me nightmares like It. Except for Lovecraft, who I also love, and his stuff is creepy in a way that no one else has ever managed since.

 

Sci fi wise my favourite is Philip K Dick hands down. Do androids dream of electric sheep? is a fantastic read. I also like original Dune, and have Asimov's Foundation series on my to do list. 

 

I dont read a lot of non fiction, although I'm currently reading a book of anatomy and physiology. Yes, for fun. It ties in to work but I've wanted to read it cover to cover for a long time anyway. Work wise I read ophthalmic and diabetic articles, and the occasional epidemiological book or journal. 

[Tutunga]

My favourite(s) are William Gibson and Philip Pullman for their sprawl trilogy and dark materials trilogy respectively.

 

I like what little of Philip K Dicks books I've read, and I'm quite fond of Metro 2033, the Redwall books, Flashforward and Maximum Impact.

 

Currently reading A song of fire and Ice, but I'm struggling to get on with George R.R. Martins style of writing.

[ComancheD]

Who: Chuck Palahniuk

Why: he makes my "bad thoughts" look like children's stories

Favorite Book: fight club - which is probably the most tame of his stories

[Resqtech]

Hands down it is  H.P. Lovecraft

[ResolvedMom]

My favorite author is John Grisham!! I have everything he has written.

[Octopope]

David Eddings, without a doubt. Why? Me and his series Belgariad and Malloreon have grown up together, I read them first time when I was 11 and I still read them once a year to enjoy the greatness of those stories.

[Annabelle]

Oh my.. favorite author is always such a hard question.

 

Jacqueline Carey (The three Kushiel's Legacy trilogies had me hooked start to finish, though some people don't like her style. Very mature content throughout)

Anne Rice was the first author I ever actually sat down and read through her work chronologically, up until I graduated high school.

George R.R. Martin I started reading last summer, and I'm enjoying it. I haven't had time to read much of it since I finished the first book though.

Marie Brennan is a good YA novelist. Her Warrior & Witch combo is a fun read.

Faith Hunter's Rogue Mage novels are really good, but that's coming from someone who enjoys playing a mage in her local White Wolf game  

[PNH]

I love series and so it really comes down to what time in my life I was reading. Stephen King, Peter V Brett, George RR Martin, Roger Zelanzy, Philip Pullman, Brian Jacques, Douglas Adams, Orson Scott Card, JK Rowling, Frank Herbert, Preston and Child. These are just the series writers and all of these people wrote different things that had/are having positive affects on my life. 

 

My single favorite book is called Dancing Naked in the Mind Field by Kary Mullis. He won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1983 and wrote an autobiography that is both hilarious and very informative on the thought processes of a man who is clearly much smarter than the majority of us.

 

My favorite author is Stephen King for The Dark Tower series which is easily the grandest adventure I've ever read and is my favorite set of books. He specifically only wrote these books on days when he was feeling particularly enthused about writing and it shows. Far outweighs LoTR in scope and I could write pages and pages about what made the books so well written and such an excellent story.

 

My favorite short story is The Last Question by Isaac Asimov and if you have maybe 10-20 minutes to read it, it will blow you away.

 

My favorite book based on sheer magnitude of ideas is A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Read it and I promise your life will never be the same.

 

 

Once you get past pure favorites and into things that I absolutely think are worth reading, the list becomes immense and series will undoubtedly make up half or more of everything I have read.

[kaelvan]

Edgar Allen Poe. I always love him since I was a kid. I just love the dark themes he writes about. Can't beat murder and insanity. I blame my mom always having horror and serial killer movies on as a kid. 

"Black Cat" was my favorite of his work.

[iliovasilema]

Moment I saw this, I was thinking Vonnegut. Although my favorite book is probably "The Lathe of Heaven" By LeGuin.

*mentally high-five*. Vonnegut and Kundera and Orwell are my favourite <3 

[Millie Hurtz]

Can't believe I've only just discovered Ursula K Le Guin. I read Left Hand of Darkness so quickly, I adore it. About to jump into the Earthsea series and I am terribly excited.

Roald Dahl will always be a favourite of mine from childhood.

Terry Pratchett has a comfy armchair in my literary heart.

 

Angela Carter is magical. I re-read her stories often and I encourage you to do so too.

[Harbard]

Tough question.

 

As far as volume of work that I've read and/or own, it's a close race between Frank Herbert, Kirk Vonnegut, and Stephen King.  I love them all for different reasons:

 

Herbert's world building and ability to walk that fine line of "applicability vs allegory" that Tolkien harped about is only matched by Tolkien himself, and maybe George R. R. Martin.  I love Tolkien and Martin as well, but there's something about how Herbert melds the far future and advanced technology with primal human tendencies that makes him stand out for me.

 

Vonnegut is dear to my heart, because his work has a strange effect on me.  At the end of most of his books, I am left with the feeling that the world is shit, but I love it anyway.  I could intellectualize about that for hours, but that's the simplest way to put it.

 

Finally, no one writes a page turner like King.  Some people call out his "world building" because so many of his stories "connect" through the Dark Tower series, but I think those connections are actually very weak.  It's always felt like he added superficial connections just to make readers think, "Oh, he talks about that in the other book?  I should read that one too!"  That's a little bit of an authorial cheap shot in my opinion, but hey, it's a great way to sell books.  Still, even though I have a tiny chip on my shoulder about that little bit, whenever I've read a King novel in the past, I had to finish it like it was a bag of potato chips.  Must be something good going on there.