Favourite author?

[RedBrian84]

And why?

 

I love reading. It's ace. Being a history teacher I love historical fiction, especially Bernard Cornwell. In particularI l love his Warlord Trilogy based around the legend of King Arthur, and also his Sharpe books, which he is most famous for. He is obviously a history enthusiast, his books are well-researched and his characters are brilliant.

 

I also love anything by Tolkien. I am currently ploughing through The Book of Lost Tales. The man's imagination was limitless, and he went to great lengths to make it all believable. The world of Middle Earth reads out like a real, forgotten history that somehow we've missed, that's how good his creativity and imagination was.

 

However, for me, my favourite author is someone who is a self-confessed Tolkien fan, yet his works consistently poke fun at all things fantasy- Terry Pratchett.

 

In my opinion he's the funniest, cleverest author I've ever read. His Discworld series is immense, and consistently laugh-out-loud funny. He obviously is a big fan of the fantasy genre, but his books flip it on its head. He is a brilliant satirist and definitely a national treasure, and sadly has discovered he has a form of Alzheimers which will utlimately rob him- and the reading world- of a superb talent.

 

There are so many great books within the Discworld series, and he also wrote the first 'proper' book I ever read- Johnny and the Dead, that I couldn't possibly choose one as my favourite, but I really love the City Watch books, and the Rincewind stories.

 

So- who do we love to read on here? Any particular favourites?

[Guest The Chimp]

I have to read a lot of fairly heavy political-science/political theory based stuff so the last thing I want to do when I can chose my own reading is engage in anything too heavy. As such (and as far as easy reading goes) I really used to like Raymond Feist and David Eddings. As a teen I was also was a big fan of Robert Howard. I have tried to get into Pratchett but just couldn't. That said, it seems that I seem to enjoy the same type/genre of books as you do, so maybe I should give him another go again?

[Faustus]

I'm not sure if he can be described as a conventional author, but I absolutely love George Orwell and I'd definitely class him as my favourite writer.

 

One of the things I love about Orwell is the passion that comes through with every word. Political writing can sometimes be dry and sterile and poor writers can even fall into a trap of just listing a number of events in chronoligical order with little or no insight, but Orwell's writing style is infectious and you can't help but be drawn in.

 

I find that everything from him is must read material. Nineteen Eighty Four is a timeless masterpiece that is still relevant 60 odd years after its publication. The same, I suppose, could also be said of Animal Farm as it works brilliantly on a number of levels.

 

Even after a couple of reads of something by him, you always spot something new. He still challenges you and one of the things I love about his work is that you get out whatever thought you invest. For instance, you can enjoy a few of his works as narratives, but there's always the deeper meaning within. It never becomes a case of 'look at how brilliantly clever I am' with him and you can tell his work is written to appeal to everybody, from the average man in the street to academics.

 

An absolutely brilliant man who has shaped many of my own views. I think he's one of the most influential men of the 20th century.

[Guest The Chimp]

That's a fantastic appraisal there Faustus. The tendency for a number of political writings to be dry and sterile is spot on. I haven't read Orwell in years as I had to leave most of my book back in Liverpool (just too heavy/expensive to get them shipped over). Might go the library and have a re-read.

[Unrighteous]

I'd definitely have to pick Raymond Feist, despite there being better authors in the genre. I've been reading his books since I was young and still am absolutely hooked on the world, characters, and classic good vs. evil themes.

 

I've probably read every book he's ever penned a few times, and some much more than that. I especially loved the riftwar saga, and the serpentwar saga. I have read both numerous upon numerous times and usually pick them up at least once a year and give them a good read.

[hamstrung]

Scargill

[Wig]

I know there a awesome authors out there, some already mentioned, but hand-on-heart my best is Roald Dahl.

 

The fella got me into reading with Fantastic Mr Fox and I've never read a bad book by the man. Ok some are a lot better than others, but the way he told (tells) a story is awesome.

 

Sounds a bit silly, but Dahl will always be the best for me.

[Uncle_Meat]

Too many to choose just the one, but got a bit of a shortlist of those who are all totally enjoyable.

 

Robert A. Heinlein, Tolkien, Robert Silverberg, Robert Anton Wilson, Issac Asimov, Richard Rhodes, William L. Shirer, Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen King, Michael Palin, Douglas Adams, Bill Bryson and Ernest Hemingway to name but a few.

[jackofdk]

As tedious and up his own arse he can be, Hunter S. Thompson is probably my favourite. The pure madness combined with his fantastic reporting of both specific situations and society as a whole is just brilliant.

 

A great writer who could probably have done well with some more rigid editing.

[longballs]

I don't know who most of the ones mentioned are but the only author that I have read all of their work is Lee Child. I struggle to think of another that I have read most of their work, perhaps Chuck Palahniuk.

[Yerma'satexan!]

Albert Camus, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Peter Lamborn Wilson (Hakim Bey), Robert Anton Wilson, Thomas Paine, Charles Bukowski, Friedrich Nietzsche, Stephen Vizinczey, Aldous Huxley, Octave Mirbeau, Primo Levi to name a few.

[jackofdk]

I don't know who most of the ones mentioned are but the only author that I have read all of their work is Lee Child. I struggle to think of another that I have read most of their work, perhaps Chuck Palahniuk.

 

I've only read Fight Club once, but I've seen the movie 20+ times, I think. One of my favourite.

 

Which other books of Palahniuk's are must reads?

[Jennings]

Anthony Buckeridge. His books made me laugh out loud - such a rarity.

[longballs]

I've only read Fight Club once, but I've seen the movie 20+ times, I think. One of my favourite.

 

Which other books of Palahniuk's are must reads?

 

Haunted is by far the best work he has done. It is a collection of stories within a story and some of them are Palahniuk at his twisted best. Choke is another good one which was recently made in to a film.

[jackofdk]

Haunted is by far the best work he has done. It is a collection of stories within a story and some of them are Palahniuk at his twisted best. Choke is another good one which was recently made in to a film.

 

Cheers! I'll buy Haunted next time I shop books online and the probably get round to reading it within the next year or so. I'm way better at buying books that actually getting the read, unfortunately.

[NickConklin]

Barry Eisler and Lee Child, neither particuarly high brown just writers of good thrillers. Early James Patterson as well before he became a conveyor belt of 4 or 5 average books a year.

[jackofdk]

Oh, I forgot another of my favourites, the swede Jan Guillou. His series of 10-11 books about the agent Carl Hamilton are (or is?) amazing.

[paddyberger15]

Albert Camus. Existentialist phiolosophy rules the shit and Camus rocks it the most. L'Etranger, La Peste and A Happy Death are my favourite books.

[Yerma'satexan!]

Albert Camus. Existentialist phiolosophy rules the shit and Camus rocks it the most. L'Etranger, La Peste and A Happy Death are my favourite books.

 

Amen brother!

[Unrighteous]

I've only read Fight Club once, but I've seen the movie 20+ times, I think. One of my favourite.

 

Which other books of Palahniuk's are must reads?

 

Choke is fairly mad and quite awesome. It became a film earlier this year as well... good read, and fun watch.

[neko]

since most of life i've read non-fiction (war history and architecture mostly) i'll give a nod to john keegan (does tend to enjoy the run-on sentence though).

 

for classic literary genius i'll vote george orwell - i can read any of his books over and over and still get great pleasure from them.

 

i'll also follow the herd with chuck palahniuk - brilliant writer (happens to be a friend of a friend of mine, so i have some signed copies)

 

same friend also knows irvine welsh (who i've met) and always enjoyed reading in a scottish accent. it takes awhile for me to catch up with the slang, and i don't like how it changes my vocabulary (the c*nt word is not popular on these shores). it was hard to read 'porno' on the train as well - had to put it in a brown wrapper.

[longballs]

same friend also knows irvine welsh (who i've met) and always enjoyed reading in a scottish accent. it takes awhile for me to catch up with the slang, and i don't like how it changes my vocabulary (the c*nt word is not popular on these shores). it was hard to read 'porno' on the train as well - had to put it in a brown wrapper.

 

I remember reading a load of his stuff in uni. Filth is one of the most fucked up books I have ever read but utterly brilliant.

Edited May 31, 2009 by longballs

[BatChainPuller]

A tie between Ian McEwan and Gabriel Garcia Marquez for me. Both very readable and able to convey complex ideas and emotions with simple and elegant prose. I find Marquez very atmospheric and reading him is like going on holiday to Latin America. Ian McEwan has never disappointed me.

[SpeedyG]

Albert Camus. Existentialist phiolosophy rules the shit and Camus rocks it the most. L'Etranger, La Peste and A Happy Death are my favourite books.

 

Amen brother!

 

Interesting I've always thought of Camus as a bit 1 dimensional and more of an existentialist commentator than philosopher.

 

My existentialist top 10.

 

Kafka. The trial. The castle. Metamorphosis. A hunger artist.

Jean Paul Sartre. Nausea. The Wall. Road to Freedom.

Hermann Hesse. Steppenwolf.

Dostoevsky. Notes from the underground.

Camus. Plague.

[Cosmos]

Amis's books are always good value, either of them.