# Name your top three present day authors (and your favorite work of theirs) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306 "2012-01-22T15:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/1 "2012-01-22T15:38:34Z")
Mine: 1. **Mark Helprin** (_A Soldier of the Great War_) 2. **John Irving** (_A Prayer For Owen Meany_) 3. **Cormac McCarthy** (_The Road_) mmm ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/2 "2012-01-22T16:02:08Z")
David Brooks (_The Social Animal_) Simon Winchester (_Pacific Rising_) Gita Mehta (_A River Sutra_) ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/3 "2012-01-22T16:14:12Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Mine: > > 1. **Mark Helprin** (_A Soldier of the Great War_) Preach it, **MMM**! 1. **Mark Helprin** - A Soldier of the Great War 2. **Tim O’Brien** - Going After Cacciato 3. **Matthew Kneale** - English Passengers (thanks, **twicks**!) Honorable Mentions: Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash) and Pat Barker (Regeneration Trilogy) ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/4 "2012-01-22T18:32:15Z")
Colson Whitehead, _Sag Harbor_ Tana French, _In the Woods_ Michael Chabon, _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_ ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/5 "2012-01-22T18:46:06Z")
I’m with you, mmm ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/6 "2012-01-22T18:57:39Z")
P.T. Deutermann _Official Privilege_ [http://www.ptdeutermann.com/book-officialprivilege.html](http://www.ptdeutermann.com/book-officialprivilege.html) Beverly Connor _The Night Killer_ > **[The Night Killer: A Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation: Connor, Beverly:...](https://www.amazon.com/Night-Killer-Fallon-Forensic-Investigation/dp/0451229606)** > > The Night Killer: A Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation \[Connor, Beverly\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Night Killer: A Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation David Hagberg _The Kill Zone_ > **[The Kill Zone (McGarvey Book 9) - Kindle edition by Hagberg, David. Literature...](https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Zone-McGarvey-Book-ebook/dp/B000FA5TW4)** > > The Kill Zone (McGarvey Book 9) - Kindle edition by Hagberg, David. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Kill Zone (McGarvey Book 9). John Sandford _Shadow Prey_ > **[Shadow Prey (The Prey Series Book 2) - Kindle edition by Sandford, John....](https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Prey-Book-2-ebook/dp/B000QUCO6M)** > > Shadow Prey (The Prey Series Book 2) - Kindle edition by Sandford, John. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Shadow Prey (The Prey Series... ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/7 "2012-01-22T19:55:04Z")
Depends on the genre, but I rarely get tired of Augusten Burroughs. I also love [Ann-Marie MacDonald](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann-Marie_MacDonald), a Canadian author who didn’t write enough [novels] and should write more. And Barbara Kingsolver. Love. That. Woman. That woman taught me how to write, and I don’t know how to write yet. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/8 "2012-01-22T20:33:55Z")
Lois McMaster Bujold, _A Civil Campaign_. Terry Pratchett, _Lords and Ladie_s. Malcolm Gladwell, _The Tipping Point_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/9 "2012-01-22T20:38:45Z")
John Barth, _The Sot-Weed Factor_ Samuel R. Delany, **Dhalgren** Thomas Pychon, **Gravity’s Rainbow** ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/10 "2012-01-22T20:40:26Z")
Dean Koontz is my favorite author currently. I’d say my most favorite book by him is probably _From the Corner of His Eye_. That was quite an excellent book. Close seconds are _Lightning, Strangers_, and _One Door Away From Heaven._ Stephen King has been a long favorite of mine and my favorite book by him (and favorite book of all time) is _Needful Things._ There’s about 10 others tied for second place. Either Jeffery Deaver or Michael Connelly would be third. Both write a series of books with the same characters, so it’s hard to pick one favorite over the other. I like the series books as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/11 "2012-01-22T22:58:45Z")
Criteria is that I’ve read at least three of their books and liked all of them: George R. R. Martin – _Fevre Dream_ David Mitchell – _Cloud Atlas_ Stewart O’Nan – _A Prayer for the Dying_ – the cover of which creeped me out so bad that I gave the book away, just to get it out of the house Too bad the OP said “present day”, because Don Robertson would be #1 on the list. ---
**Author:** ![coffinjumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@coffinjumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffinjumper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/12 "2012-01-22T23:55:39Z")
Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman. The first two each had/have a series that probably win. The Dark Tower and Discworld. I think I could get away with saying the first one, but the second is too long. Honestly my favorite is Good Omens which was Pratchett and Gaiman so I’m not sure it it counts. If just picking his I’m going to go with Small Gods, but that’s an instinctual pick, actual thought of all the Discworld books makes a favorite pretty much impossible. Gaiman’s is Neverwhere. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/13 "2012-01-23T00:31:54Z")
**Stephen King** (I don’t now how to even begin to choose a favorite, but The Stand, The Long Walk, Misery and The Dark Tower series are all at the top) **Richard Adams** (Watership Down) **Robert Charles Wilson** (Spin) is fast becoming one of my favorite SF writers today. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/14 "2012-01-23T01:59:14Z")
Stephen King, _It_ J. K. Rowling, the \*Harry Potter \*series Graham Masterton (British horror author), _The Manitou_ (but it’s hard to pick–I also like _Mirror_, _Ritual_, _The Doorkeepers_, and many others) I don’t have highbrow tastes in literature, and I’m not ashamed to admit it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/15 "2012-01-23T02:06:56Z")
I’m also a big Augusten Burroughs fan. If I had to pick a favorite I guess it would be his memoir _Dry_. Curtis Sittenfeld- _American Wife_. Bret Easton Ellis- _Less Than Zero_. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/16 "2012-01-23T04:47:12Z")
**Michael Chabon** - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay **Larry McMurtry** - Lonesome Dove **Ray Bradbury** - The Martian Chronicles (Yes, he’s still alive - he’s never going to die, apparently - something about a circus magician…) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/17 "2012-01-23T05:51:23Z")
Iain M Banks - _Player of Games_ China Mieville - _The City and the City_ Terry Pratchett - _Night Watch_ ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/18 "2012-01-23T06:25:10Z")
Guy Gavriel Kay - _Under Heaven_ Caleb Carr - _The Alienist_ Neil Gaiman - _Neverwhere_ ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/19 "2012-01-23T06:31:12Z")
Iain Banks “Use of Weapons” John Crowley “Little, Big” Tim Powers “Declare” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306/20 "2012-01-23T14:33:54Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > **Stephen King** (I don’t now how to even begin to choose a favorite, but The Stand, The Long Walk, Misery and The Dark Tower series are all at the top) > > **Richard Adams** (Watership Down) > > **Robert Charles Wilson** (Spin) is fast becoming one of my favorite SF writers today. Well, based on your first two choices, I’m going to go look up Robert Charles Wilson. **Stephen King** ’s my main man, my favorite of his is _The Shining_ (and a bunch of other ones). _Watership Down_ is one of my top three favorite books, but I hesitate to choose Adams as a favorite author because I read another book of his (_Girl in a Swing_) and frankly hated it. My second favorite author…I’ll say **Joe R. Lansdale**. He writes very dependably, although I can’t easily pick a favorite work. However, I remember well the first time I took notice of him. It was after reading his short story [Night They Missed the Horror Show.](http://www.revolutionsf.com/fiction/horrorshow/01.html) Warning: not for the faint of heart. Lansdale also writes the Hap & Leonard series, which is funny and not as harsh as the linked story. He even writes YA books now. I want to deliberate on my third choice a bit more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-top-three-present-day-authors-and-your-favorite-work-of-theirs/610306.md?page=2)