Who's your favorite novelist?

Cafe Society
1

Heh, given all the book threads, now I want to talk about books more. :slight_smile:

Try to pick someone where you’ve read at least 2-3 of their books.

For me, it’s a horse race between Anne Rice, Michael Crichton and Stephen King.

I think Anne Rice’s style is incredible. She’s my goal.

Crichton is more mechanical and less fluid than Rice, but he’s probably made more money than Rice. He’s my inspiration.

Stephen King’s greatest work was when he was drunk, and he hasn’t written anything decent since he sobered up. He’s my hero.

If I had to pick, I think I enjoyed Crichton the most.

2

Currently:
Richard Russo
Michael Chabon
Bernard Malamud
maybe Christopher Moore

All time:
Tom Robbins
Kurt Vonnegut
possibly John Irving

3

Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven when he was young
Terry Pratchett

4

My favorites aren’t the best of the writers I like, but they’re my favorites anyway: Stephen King and George R. R. Martin. I’ll read whatever they feel like writing*. They tell good stories and I like their style.

*Except Lisey’s Story. That was way too self-indulgent.

5

Lately, John Sanford.

6

If I had to pick on, John Barth. I love even his bad stuff – it’s filled with amazing pyrotechnics. And The Sot-Weed Factor is one of the greatest novels of all time.

Other favorites include:
Terry Pratchett
James Morrow
Kurt Vonnegut
Kit Reed

7

Tim O’Brien
Mark Helprin
Pat Barker
Peter Straub

8

Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine).
Ed McBain.
Elizabeth George.
Sharyn McCrumb.
Robert Crais.
Kurt Vonnegut.
Anya Seton.
Norah Lofts.
Shirley Jackson.

9

Used to be Beckett but now it’s either Joyce or Faulkner. Conrad, Melville, Cervantes and Tolstoy aren’t far behind though.

10

Thomas Harris. Although we’ll forget all about Hannibal Rising.

Stephen Hunter

11

Terry Pratchett is number one on this list, no doubt about that. Also worth mentioning are (in no particular order): Neal Gaiman, Dan Simmons, and Douglas Adams.

12

Me too.

Outstanding characters, great stories, funny as hell, beautiful women, wonderful sexual repartee. I don’t know if I agree with his 100 best rock tunes though.

When I was younger I wasted my life reading literature, now I just read for pleasure. Screw the White Hotel and Vineland. And I still live the horror of Naked Lunch, although that probably just hippie drivel. or was that beat crap?

13

Nabokov and Fitzgerald. I flip flop on who’s first and who’s second, but Nabokov’s skill and artistry and command are second to none.

14

These are another two of my favorites. I just finished Hunter’s The 42nd Samurai (or was it 47th?) Thomas Harris doesn’t write nearly fast enough.

15

I’ve just begun reading Terry Pratchett in the last year or so, and some books I really enjoy and others I just don’t find myself engaged. When he’s good he’s really good tho.

Lately I’ve been enjoying S.M. Stirling and Richard K. Morgan a lot. Like devouring every book, then re-reading them all as I wait for the next to be published.

16

Oh, yeah that was a couple three books back, wasn’t it? I don’t remember much on the list, but I do remember not being terribly impressed. But I liked that other characters would throw in suggestions and Lucas kept having these “D’oh, why didn’t I think of that one?” moments.

This might be worth it’s own thread – can you remind me which book it’s in?

17

When I was in high school it was Douglas Adams, Tom Clancy, Lawrence Saunders, and Issac Asimov.

Now it’s probably Jim Butcher, Robert Heinlein, and Neil Gaiman (a distant third, often his endings seem rushed to me).

18

Another one for Stephen King. I think he wins out on ratio too. I just dig his style, and he’s always been an inspiration to me, despite his enormous popularity.

Other than that, I just read whatever I find interesting. A lot of science fiction and non-fiction. Don’t pay attention to many other authors. Maybe Clarke or Crichton for second place, but they’re hit or miss.

I think the problem is I really enjoy short fiction, so King, Clarke, Asimov and Heinlein (et al) come out on top.

19

Silly goose! I am contractually unable to name anyone but Kathy Reichs! :wink:

20

Neal Stephenson, William Somerset Maugham, Umberto Eco, John Steinbeck, Kazuo Ishiguro, Tim Winton. (But I’m not widely read in the “classics”, so I probably under-represent them).