Who is your favorite author.

What kind of books do you like to read.

Mine are William W Johnstone and Louis Lamour.

Western novels

Wow, tough question since I could make a very very long list here. I tend to read all over the map and sometimes several books are "going" at the same time (not read silmultaneously though :D )

If I had to pick the book that has made the biggest impression on my thoughts so far... it would have to be Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Who is John Galt? :p

But some favourite books are also from childhood, and mostly for the gorgeous illustrations in them like The Golden Book of Fairy Tales illustrated by Adrienne Segur, which is still in print I understand.

Good Question, Demon!

I haven't read fiction in many years, but a couple of my favorites when I did were

Michael Crighton (science related fiction but not really "science fiction")
Allan W. Eckert (based on historical events)
Stephen King (I was a big fan and even have a handwritten answer to one of my fan letters from him!)

Lately, I'm on an Ian Wilson kick. (archaeology and history). Have read 3 of his books over the past couple months.

Mildrid D Taylor - Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry
Margaret Atwood - The Handmaids Tale

Michael Palin,Dan Cruickshank,Terry Jones,Michael Wood.All travel,and history writers.Their DVD's,and books,are easily found worldwide.

For me too, this is a hard question to answer. I have so many favorites and I read so many different genres.

If I had pick a specific book that had the most influence on me, I can easily name The Great Imposter by Robert Crichton. This was a biography of Ferdinand DeMara. This book very literally changed my life.

As to favorite genres, I read sci-fi, action, mysteries, political and historical novels among others. Favorite authors include Heinlein, Asimov, Clancy, Ludlum, Follet, Stout, Parker, Grafton, Drury among others.

I also Like Jk Rowling

My favorite changes all the time. I tend to go through phases where I read everything by an author and then get sick of them and move on. As others have mentioned, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, and Michael Crichton are previous favorites of mine. Right now I am into Agatha Christie, as I never read anything of hers before. Some of my all time favorite authors though (who I never get sick of) are Anthony Burgess, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Isaac Asimov.

By far Dean Koontz

I know what you mean about wearing some of them out Chava! Lately I have been reading and rereading a very short, very sweet kid's book called "Guess How Much I Love You". Anyone else heard of it?

I am undoubtedly going to wear it out, but for the moment... it just sends me! :p :D :)

Hmmm that book sounds familiar... who is the author and illustrator? My favorite kid's books are the Dr. Seuss ones, and also "Good Night Moon", "Where the Wild Things Are", "Harold and the Purple Crayon", and the Arthur series and Little Critter series. I read TONS of kids books now haha, with having the kids around.

Haven't done a lot of book reading since this dog gone computor got my attention but Steven King was my favorite and loved the movies too!I like the sci-fis and westerns and Jon Carter of Mars series.

OMG Good Night Moon!! That is my little one's favorite

I don't read all that much, I mean I enjoy reading GOOD books, but for me it's hard to find one I classify as good. I can really only think of one author who has changed the way I view the world, J.D. Salinger. I loved catcher in the rye, so much I went out and bought all of his books and read them all. They are so insightful, and his outlook on religion is one that I have never seen before. Also, I really enjoy his style of writing, I like how he writes his books in a stream of conscience kind of way, also I would like to mention another author, not necessarily a writer, but a poet. Robert Frost. I adore his work and I have all of his poems and I think he also has a great out look on life and it's inspiring to read his work.

I like Tom Clancy.

I would recommend The Lonesome Gods by Louis Lamour

I know what you mean about wearing some of them out Chava! Lately I have been reading and rereading a very short, very sweet kid's book called "Guess How Much I Love You". Anyone else heard of it?

I am undoubtedly going to wear it out, but for the moment... it just sends me! :p :D :)


That is absolutely a cute book.

Yeah, with the house remodel and the wild 2 year old, these days all I read are the little people books. Just tonight we read chicka chicka boom boom, birthday monsters, and hand hand fingers thumb.

Oh well. My dusty friends will still be there in the library when I get a chance to say hello again.

I think the last books I read were the red tent, lamb (story of jesus as told by his childhood friend biff, absolutely funny), and some painful fiction novel I hated but had to read to the end to see if it ever got better. Bleh.

I am a fan of Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, and Robert Jordan. I really enjoy books of fantasy and magic.

Steve Niles...

My favorite author of all time is Janet Evanovich! She has a great series I've gotten into and am currently waiting for the 12th book!

Generally, my choice leans towards Courtroom/Lawyer Suspense, Murder Mystery, and an occasional Romance novel with some interesting plots. I also am a huge fan of Real Life Murder Cases... I can thank my Mom for this since she went back to school at 38 and majored in Criminal Justice.:D

My favorite authors are Jackie Collins, Dean koontz, Iris Johansen, and J.K. Rowlings

I tend to favor suspense, fantasy, and sci-fi horror.

Margaret Atwood - All her stuff really
Juliet Marillier - Sevenwaters books
Jaqueline Carey - Kushiel books
Emily Maguire - Taming the Beast (highly sexual)
Many many more

Mainly Japanese author simply because I'm Japanese, but these books are worth to read. I'm not sure if these books are translated or not.

Natsuo Kirino---"Out"
Murakami Haruki---"Five Spot After Dark"
Hanamura Mangetsu---"Jin Jin Jin"
Kenzo Kitamura---"Waiting For The Wind"

1. Tim Dorsey (Triggerfish Twist, Florida Roadkill)
2. John Kennedy Toole (A Confederacy of Dunces)
3. Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty)
4. Carl Hiassen (Strip Tease, Lucky You)
5. Kurt Vonnegut (Breakfast of Champions, Sirens of Titan)
6. Rita Mae Brown (Rubyfruit Jungle)
7. Frederick Forsyth (Day of the Jackal, The O.D.E.S.S.A. File)
8. Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
9. John D. MacDonald (Pale Grey for Guilt, The Tourquoise Lament)
10. Robert B. Parker (Spenser detective series)
11. W.E.B. Griffith (Brotherhood of War series)
12. Allen Drury (Advise and Consent)

My favotite author is Sarah douglass she's writes fantasy novels... personally I think she's one of the best Australian authors since tolken... (The Wayfarer Redemption Series = 6 books in total so far I think.. 3 during "present times" and 3 from their children's lives 40 or 30 years later..

I just love the whole gang from MAD magazine. All of them... the whole crazy bunch of them.

Good Question.

Wally Lamb (She Comes Undone-I Know This Much
Is True)
Shakespeare (The Taming of the Shrew)
Jane Austen (mmmm... Mr Darcy)
Janet Fitch (White Oleander)

Also I am a closet Nora Roberts reader. Her books are great for when you just want your brain to have a holiday. Perfect beach reading.

Hg Wells great: Sci Fi
Louise Amore's: great Westerns
Alfred Lord Tennyson: great poetry

Dean Koontz is interesteing to read as well. Never a dull moment. Some authors having tremendous reputations test the reader's patience. Some of these I have forced myself to read based on their reputation. But it shouldn't be that way.

Exploring this great website and found this question -- couldn't resist.
In the SF and fantasy genres: Terry Pratchett, Frank Herbert, Ann McCaffrey. Also liked Stephen King's Dark Tower series, Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy, Robert Holdstocks' Mythago Wood books, and Louise Cooper's Indigo series.
Of course, there are the single favorites: Songs from the Drowned Lands, Bridge of Birds, and Moonwise.
Westerns :anything by Louis L'Amour; I also enjoyed Don Coldsmith's Spanish Bit series about Native Americans.
Horror/Thrillers: Dean Koontz, Charles Grant
Classics: Finnegan's Wake, Beowulf, most of Shakespeare's plays, Le Mort d'Arthur (and the numerous versions of the Arthurian legends), The Oddessy and the Iliad (and versions surrounding the people and events surrounding the battle of Troy), Celtic myths and legends, fairytales and The Poetic Edda.
I love poetry, too, but not much of the contemporary stuff. Favorites include Yeats, Kipling, Pope and Service plus a hefty collection that ranges from ancient Greece and Rome to the Oriental dynasties to the British Isles and more.
Oh, and I'm still a sucker for beloved children's books such as Heads Up! By Patsy Gray and Shamrock Queen by Marguerite Henry.
The rest of my reading is non-fiction.

Who is your favorite author.

What kind of books do you like to read.

Mine are William W Johnstone and Louis Lamour.

Western novels
My favorite author is Sigrid Undset and my favorite book is her work, "Kristin Lavransdatter." Other favorite authors are Hemingway, Hill, and Rolvaag.

I enjoy reading historical non fiction and fiction, documentaries, biographies, and family histories.

Have to say my favourite author is Stephen King. I also really enjoy books by Clive Barker, Irvine Welsh, Patricia Cornwell, Thomas Harris, C.S. Lewis, also Tennyson's poetry is beautiful. And I also love Robert Burns.

I love to read - so any kind of book really. I always have a book on the go and it doesn't matter to me the genre really! Apart from fiction I also love reading true life stuff - like books about mass murderers, mysteries etc!

This is a fantastic question. It's really interesting to read about others opinions on this too!

I like the usual Stephen King and Dean Koontz

However, my favorites are:
Comedy : Janet Evanovich (One For The Money 1 out of twelve in the series!)
Gothic Type: Anne Rice (Interview With The Vampire or The Witching Hour) - Trust me start
With these ones as they are the first of two series
Suspense/Detective: Michael Connelly ( Blood Work, The Black Ice or The Poet) Warning! -
Not for those who easily get attached to the characters, I've cried
More than once.
Classic: Alexandre Dumas ( The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Count of Monte
Christo, Man in the Iron Mask)

Hope this helps anyone looking for a good reading workout! Most of these are long books that one has to stick with and pay attention to.

Like many respondents I have several favourite authors. When I was a child I was limited to Enid Blyton and JM Barrie, but now I am grown I have enjoyed and been moved by so many, some of which are:

The Anglo Saxon Chroniclers
Jeffrey Chaucer
William Shakespeare
Bede
Louis Golding
Richard Llewellyn
John Steinbeck
Nikos Kazantsakis
Pushkin
Winston Churchill
Charlotte Brunty
William Dawes
John Bunyan
Edgar Allen Poe
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Great McGonigle
Charles ens
Rudyard Kipling
Etc...

Not enough credit goes to John Steinbeck or J.D. Salinger on this board lol

Not enough credit goes to John Steinbeck or J.D. Salinger on this board lol

Steinbeck is on my list of favourites.

But, to be fair, wizzkid, the question asked for personal preferences, so who does and who does not get 'enough credit' is moot. Choosing a favourire anythings is not rocket science. It is nothing more than what appeals to each person. I havre read Salinger, but he does not rank among my 'favourites'.

:)

I have to agree with Val... [U]Atlas Shrugged[U] changed the way I look at the world more than any other book has.

Favorites though... Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, George R. R. Martin, J. R. R. Tolkien, Sara Douglass, Mercedes Lackey, Stephen King, Raymond Feist, David Eddings, Terry Goodkind... the list goes on and on.

My favorite author is John Irving. The Hotel New Hampshire and A Prayer for Owen Meany are amazing pieces of literature. His last few books have been less than inspiring, though.

Donald E. Westlake's Dortmunder series. If you haven't read them you should.
It's a series of comedy/crime novels.:)

Hmm, how did I miss this?

I don't read enough anymore, even though I spend half my life in a used bookstore. Talking about favorites doesn't mean much, as that varies quite a bit based on the types of books I'm in the mood for. Right now, I'm in the middle of:

The Masks of God by Joseph Campbell (four book series on comparative mythology)
A Brief History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Ulysses
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin, 4 books thus far of probably 8 total
Welcome to the Monkey House by Vonnegut... actually, it's rare that I'm not in the middle of this one.
Dark Seas of Infinity and The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft, collections of H.P. Lovecraft stories... same as the Vonnegut above
Shamela by Fielding... haven't actually started it, but I've had it sitting on my desk for two weeks. Maybe I'll actually do that (and then re-read Richardson's Pamela for a laugh) tonight.
Harry Potter
Life is Elsewhere, The Joke, and Farewell Waltz by Milan Kundera.
Anthem, Ayn Rand
Justine, Marquis de Sade

...

That seems short... I know I'm reading something else now, even leaving out textbooks and other research materials.

In terms of fiction, it would have to be Jostein Gaarder, Lemony Snickett and Milan Kundera (probably in that order too), they write so well. When it comes to non-fiction at the moment it would have to be M. Scott Peck I just enjoy his writings.

At the moment its Robert Jordan & Terry Brooks.

But mostly anything sci-fi.


(& the Bible)

:o

Ask me this question next week I'll have a different answer. I read to be wrapped in the author's mind. When I read some ficition it is as lyrical as music. The cadance and word choice is integral to the plot. Authors that have transported me: Robertson Davies, Angela Carter, Hermann Hesse, Ursula Hegi, Barbara Kingsolver, V.S. Niapal. Raold Dahl, Tom Robbins. Brooks Hansen, Nicole Krauss, Linda Hogan, D.H. Lawrence, Muriel Spark, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Louise Erdrich, Wallace Stegner,.

I'd have to pick these books who are my fave...

A Painted House by John Grisham
Scream Queen by Edo Van Belkom
Don't let me die by Lindsay Caldwell
Dumping Billy by Olivia Goldsmith

If you were to look up these books to see which type of books I like. It's pretty much impossible to put them in one category.

A Painted House is set back in the old times on a farm and most of john grisham's books are about law and court but this one isn't at all.

Scream Queen is like a horror. Some teens spend a night in a haunted house. Sounds typical but is VERY VERY good! I'm telling you it's a must read.

Don't let me die is a drama. Girl gets in an accident and loses her boyfriend to a friend and gets put into a wheel chair. It's good.

Dumping Billy. Well about a guy who likes to dump a lot of girls but when this other woman comes along. Billy becomes a keeper. More of a romantic novel.

So I have a wide range of books I like to read.

Jk rowling. The harry potter series is AWESOME!! I also like nicholas sparks... the guardian was really good

I would have to say Patricia Cornwell novels are my favorite "who done it" books, and for short and sweet uplifting love stories, I would have to say Sandra Brown

Terry Pratchett rocks! He is the most amazingly funny author. Whenever I am feeling down, I pick up one of his books and am laughing by the second page!

I also love Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer

Give me Spiderman the comic book any day!! (I love pictures) SciFi is my favorite. (Yes I've been to Mars a few time and they are not green, most of the time!)

NO WAY DUDE! MAD MAGAZINE RULES! :D

Actually, At this very moment, I am enthralled by Gore Vidal.

"Benjamin Franklin was shown the new American constitution, and he said, 'I don't like it, but I will vote for it because we need something right now. But this constitution in time will fail, as all such efforts do. And it will fail because of the corruption of the people, in a general sense.' And that is what it has come to now, exactly as Franklin predicted."

An American Icon: Gore Vidal on Italy, Iraq - and Why He Hates George Bush (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0623-01.htm)

I love to read ! And I too read all kinds of different books .
Pearl buck- all her books
Pat Frank - Alas Babylon (made a impact on me )
Dan Brown -all his books
Ann George- all of her books, Best southern writer that got me into funny mystery
Danielle steel -never dissapoints
Fannie Flagg - southern writer
Sue monk Kidd - The mermaid Chair and the Life of bees (love this one )
J.A. Konrath - Bloody Mary- Great book
And I am now reading Augusten Burrowughs a Memoir call DRY and also read his frist running with scissors ! True but what a wild life !
I also like to read books on Art and I love to read about the royal family ,Loved Diana
I guess I am sort of a book worm really I have hundreds of books and I read them all !

S.E. Hinton- the outsiders (by far one of the best books ever read)
Louis Lowery- the giver, gathering blue, the messenger, and gossamer (makes you look at life differently)

I have been waiting for a book called "Eden's Atlantis" to come out by Dawn Bergemann. Looks wicked.

Robert Jordan's wheel of time series
Wies and Hickman
Terry Goodkind
Merceades Lackey
Yep I read a lot of fantasy though it really depends on what my current interest like the latest book purchased Is by Wynne Benti and Megan Lawor, Favorite Dog Hikes

Terry Pratchette
Isac asimov
Arthur C Clarke
Anne Crispin

J. K. Rowling
John Green
Ellen Hopkins
Jane Austen
Stephen king
Frances Hodgson Burnett