User Comments

1. 

   10/25/08

   SocialCitizen

   I've always really enjoyed Ann Rice. She's a fantastic storyteller.
   
   Stephen King is creepily amazing.
   
   Just read Chelsea Handler's newest book and it had me in stitches.

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2. 

   10/25/08

   alexmcone

   Stephen King ... coz he seems to know what I want.

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3. 

   10/25/08

   sisterofmercy

   Well, the child in me will always love JK Rowling for her Harry Potter books. Whenever I was sad opr having trouble with things, I used to read her books, usually Prisoner of Azkaban onwards, and it would cheer me up. It also makes me think of my best friend
   
   However, now I have to say Oscar Wilde. I think Oscar Wilde is brilliantly witty and his plays are charming and have many levels to them. Plus I think he led a truly interesting life.

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4. 

   10/25/08

   SailboaterRob

   Ray Bradbury and George Orwell.
   
   Steven King is interesting in person, but his writing is way too "real" for me...

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5. 

   10/25/08

   sulz

   roald dahl. he's wicked.

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6. 

   10/25/08

   Ponkotsu

   Haruki Murakami. He writes haunting, elaborate and utterly brilliant magic realist narratives with a mindblowing style, wit, and intelligence.

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   1. 

      10/25/08

      freeatlast

      I'm cosigning this one, because I hate picking favorites... but he is definitely one of them.
7. 

   10/25/08

   bradhart

   I like a lot of different authors for different reasons and in different genres but if I had to pair it down to a single author that isn't myself I would go with Robert J Sawyer.

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8. 

   10/25/08

   lordiwanttobewhole

   Anne Rule! because she simply rules!

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9. 

   10/25/08

   loverofjazz

   probably lorrie moore. she's written a pair of novels and 3 short story collections. her last was called "birds of america" and it's one of my favorite books. hard to describe her work. she has a great sense of humor but her stories are not, strictly speaking, funny. she's hard to categorize, but amazing.

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10. 

    10/25/08

    Arashmania

    There are many that I enjoy reading, but a favorite one... it would have to be Dostoevsky.

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    1. 

       10/25/08

       freeatlast

       once again cosigning... I'm cheating on the pick one author rule of this thread.
11. 

    10/25/08

    CreativeJunkie

    Erma Bombeck ... she was one of a kind.
    
    Pat Conroy ... he could write the phone book and I'd read it cover to cover.

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    1. 

       11/11/08

       Hangingonahyphen

       Hell yeah, Pat Conroy is number one on my list. I could almost memorize 'The Prince of Tides". My wound is geography... hahaha...
12. 

    10/25/08

    dsriharsha

    Tolkien, because HE IS.

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13. 

    10/25/08

    latewire

    Cormac McCarthy

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14. 

    10/25/08

    freeatlast

    Angela Carter is my most RECENT favorite author... magical realism... poetic... extremely extremely intelligent... and not enough people know about her, and though she's dead, she needs all the press she can get.

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    1. 

       10/25/08

       freeatlast

       and like it or not, i recently fell head over heals in love with politically incorrect Henry Miller...
15. 

    10/25/08

    rfburnhertz

    Fiction: Victor Hugo. Every little detail in his stories means something, ties in some where. The details seem not to simply relate to the present situation he is telling of but to the past and the future with in the story.
    
    What I like most about his stories is that at some point you will run into yourself.
    
    Right behind him would be O Henry.
    
    Theological: Ravi Zacharias. He brings a more than interesting understand of the bible especially given his having been raised in India.
    
    Political: Mark Steyn. Smart and a smart a**. Great combination.

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16. 

    10/25/08

    Rozie818

    Right now it has to be Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb and here Eve Dallas in Death series. The plots are good but the cast is well developed with humor, heart and humanity.
    
    and to mention
    # Jeffery Deaver
    # John Sandford
    # Andrew Vachss
    # Thomas Perry
    # Lawrence Block

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17. 

    10/25/08

    boytrotters

    Probably Philip Yancey for me. He's a Christian apologist of sorts, whose gentle style of writing is not of the usual "fire and brimstone", "three step programme to heaven" ilk that you normally come across in a Christian book store. In fact, he takes a more thoughtful, philosophical, exploratory tack that I find very tolerable.

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    1. 

       10/25/08

       rfburnhertz

       Phillip Yancey is awesome.
18. 

    10/25/08

    JNMiller

    Jane Austen and J.K. Rowling.

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19. 

    10/25/08

    amitchopra22

    kabir das,
    raidas,
    and meera bai. cause in all there thoughts i can find my god.

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20. 

    10/25/08

    cnsolanor

    John Steinbeck who wrote Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row is superb.

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21. 

    10/25/08

    jackpayne

    My claime to fame? ??? Nobody said me. R.R. Bowker, who adinisters the numbering system that identifies all books published throughout the world, and who publishes "Books in Print," which is in just about every library in the world, said about my Six Hours Past Thursday: "With shades of 20th century American classic Fitzgerald's The Great Gatesby, this novel has every chance of finding a place alongside such classics." (Full book review is in their "Books in Print.")
    
    Oh, well, guess you can't win 'em all.

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22. 

    10/25/08

    Dukepro25

    My favorite author growing up was Gary Paulsen.
    
    Author of The Hatchet.
    
    The only thing I read now are Self Help books.
    
    Yes - I am a Self Help junkie. lol
    
    So...I really don't have a favorite right now.
    
    But, If I were to pick one, I would say Robert Allen.

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23. 

    10/25/08

    DocNicole

    I have always loved Michael Crichton for his ability to engage readers about complex scientific matters. Fav book of all time though: "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" Betsy Smith is such an inspiration. I keep this on my fridge:
    
    There is a tree that grows in Brooklyn
    
    Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls,
    
    It makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows luchly...
    
    survives without sun, water, and seemingly without earth.
    
    It would be considered beautiful except
    
    that there are too many of it.

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    1. 

       11/11/08

       SweetViolet

       I read that book when I was 14, recommended by my stepmother. Even today, images from that book pop into my mind. It was profound readimg.
24. 

    10/25/08

    DaneMorgan

    Orson Scott Card. It's like learning philosophy, with out the learning part.
    
    Abigail and John Adams. My God, is all I can say about those two.

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    1. 

       10/25/08

       Dukepro25

       OSC is good.
25. 

    10/25/08

    Hoeno

    If it says a lot about me, then I'd rather not say.
    
    ~JD

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26. 

    10/25/08

    Dukepro25

    Terry Brooks is good.
    
    Knight of the Word

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27. 

    10/25/08

    dougist

    (Cross post from the Writing a Book group...)
    
    Don DeLillo - Beautiful Joycian proses that makes you stop and after one page, first with wonder, then green with envy because he is just so good - kind of like Mark Helprin without the fantasy, or Annie Dillard with vastly expanded scope.
    
    
    
    ...oh and Jack Payne!!! You said we get two right?, no? Only one? Ut Oh... decisions... decisions...

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28. 

    11/10/08

    AnnStorer

    There's no way I can narrow it down to just one...
    John Varley for his imagination, adventure, and characters' depth.
    Henry Miller for being in love with himself and with life, and making me love it too.
    Norman Spinrad for interesting concepts and people you can really get attached to (Child of Fortune made me cry!).
    China Meiville for his twisted, surreal, excellent landscapes.
    
    Gah, if I thought about this again tomorrow, I'd have a completely different list!

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    1. 

       11/11/08

       drjay1966

       Norman Spinrad--there's a name I haven't seen in a long time. Twenty or so years ago, I was really blown away by his books, though they were mostly out of print. Are they available at all, now?
29. 

    11/11/08

    drjay1966

    Walt Whitman, America's great prophetic poet.

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    1. 

       11/11/08

       LGramlich

       My hubby's been reading "Leaves of Grass" since I moved here over 5 years ago now. *LOL* Just not his thing, I guess...
30. 

    11/11/08

    AnnStorer

    @ drjay:
    
    I haven't had much trouble finding his books so far, though I seem to find them a lot in second-hand stores-- the beaten up old '70s editions in particular-- so maybe they are out of print. Hope you can find a couple though, and reread what you used to like.
    
    It's always interesting to read a book you first encountered a number of years ago, and see how your perspective on it has changed.

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31. 

    11/11/08

    mosudavidluca

    CARLO COLLODI!

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32. 

    11/11/08

    roentarre

    Wylbur Smith!

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33. 

    11/11/08

    earthwire

    Ayn Rand. She had very different thoughts, favouring individualism and Objectivism captured in an interesting plot and with several good quotes.

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34. 

    11/11/08

    Luisa66

    Paul Auster (US)
    Andrea Camilleri (Italia)
    Fred Vargas (France)
    Luis Sepúlveda (Cile)

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35. 

    11/11/08

    acousticguitarist

    Alan Watts

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36. 

    11/11/08

    LGramlich

    My husband, Charles Gramlich, because he's damned talented. The cliffhangers in "Cold in the Light" were virtually agonizing. It was great.

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37. 

    11/11/08

    GrimlyFiendish

    Terry Pratchet for his wit and his humerous comments/observations on human nature and society.

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38. 

    11/11/08

    wastedlola

    Nabokov can string together a sentence and make it sound nice!

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39. 

    11/13/08

    HorsePucky

    Dave Barry's humor makes me laugh 'til I cry.

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40. 

    11/13/08

    HorsePucky

    I have several favorite writers. What does that say about me?

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41. 

    11/13/08

    HorsePucky

    Pincola-Estes is a spiritual storyteller who gets deep into the soul.

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42. 

    11/13/08

    Epicharis

    Virginia Woolf. She expresses the feelings I could never articulate and pulls me completely into every moment.

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43. 

    11/13/08

    Vinty

    Augustine "Og" Mandino. Captivates my imagination and inspires me to challenge myself everyday.

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44. 

    11/13/08

    DeadRooster

    My favorite writers are:
    
    Ray Bradbury (my VERY favorite)
    Richard Matheson
    Harlan Ellison
    Robert Bloch
    Mark Twain
    Dave Barry
    Stephen King
    
    I know, it's an odd combination.

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45. 

    11/13/08

    angstless

    Dorothy Parker by far!
    Dorothy, my dear
    You’ve seen me through another year.
    Your vitriolic wit
    accounts for all I’ve writ.
    
    I claimed sex's revolution.
    
    Then set about, as losers will
    turning all of them to imbecile.
    Thought I had men dead to right.
    But you know I’m a poison pen neophyte.

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46. 

    11/13/08

    Anniepooh

    Peter Mayle and M.F.K. Fisher

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