"Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks, and I learned much from both of their styles." --Jimmy Buffett, Son of a Son of a Sailor
I'm a voracious reader. Always have been. Although I don't seem to have as much time for reading as I used to, I try to read when I can. And my bookshelves are literally overflowing!
Particular favorites of mine include:
This is probably my favorite, all told. There are very few authors whose writings I will read no matter what, but there are a few.
| Larry Niven | If you've not read his stuff, do it. I also like his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle, although I have no use for the stuff Pournelle writes on his own. Also check out Niven's collaborations with Steven Barnes, especially the Dream Park books. I've been reading some of my old Niven books lately, and enjoying them immensely. The newest thing I've read of his, Destiny's Road, is rather different, but still quite interesting. |
| Orson Scott Card | Ender's Game is one of my favorite books of any kind, and Card is supposed to be working on a movie screenplay based on it. Haven't read a lot of his stuff lately, but I mean to. |
| Robert A. Heinlein | There's nothing like him. Love him or hate him, or a little of both.... |
| Spider Robinson | Puns, shaggy dog stories, you name it. He does it and does it well. I'm particularly fond of the Callahan series. Sometimes I think ol' Spider bought a little too much into Heinlein's free-love-open-marriage stuff, but I still enjoy his work. His wife, Jeanne, is also a good writer in her own right. |
Also check out one of my favorite bookstores, The Other Change of Hobbit in Berkeley. Great source for Science Fiction and Fantasy books and information.
Novels are a great thing.
| John Irving | He is a favorite. Perhaps it has something to do with our shared affection for bears. I think my favorite of his is The Hotel New Hampshire, but his best book, literature-wise, has to be A Prayer for Owen Meany. His novel A Son of the Circus, was a disappointment, but his latest, A Widow For One Year is fabulous. He's got a collection of short stories, memoirs, and commentary out, which is kind of a mixed bag. Some of it is excellent, and if you like Irving, it's well worth it. |
| John D. MacDonald | I really enjoy the Travis McGee novels. Not great literature, perhaps, but interesting as social history, and it's fun to see the characters develop over the years. |
| Mark Twain | No list would be complete without him! Great novels, short stories, travelogues. The man had amazing wit. |
| Carl Hiaasen | He writes about very strange people in Florida, sort of like the Travis McGee series, but without the leading central character, and with much more bizarre characters. He knows about this stuff because he's an investigative reporter and columnist for the Miami Herald. I liked what Dave Barry had to say about Carl. |
| Kinky Friedman | Now largely retired from the music business, the retired leader of the Texas Jewboys writes mystery novels starring himself. Wacky and weird, with a love of puns and such. Definitely an interesting twist on the mystery genre. |
| A.A. Milne | Of course, an all-time favorite is Winnie-the-Pooh. Here's one page devoted to that: An Enchanted Page - Virtual Cotchford Farm. And here's another: Winnie the Pooh - An Expotition. There's also a newsgroup, alt.fan.pooh. I was personally saddened when Christopher Robin Milne died in 1996. He seemed like a very nice person. I recommend his autobiography, The Enchanted Places. |
| William Shakespeare | And who could follow Pooh but The Bard? Comedies, tragedies, histories, poems: I love them all. |
How do you categorize this?
What can you say about the works of Douglas Adams? The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels are brilliant. And I loved Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, although the sequel left me a little cold.
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. "Gonzo Journalist." Though he is best known for his gonzo books on the Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I first got to know Thompson through his political writings.
From his position at the National Affairs Desk at Rolling Stone, Thompson covered the 1972 presidential election, and compiled the results into the book, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972. I found this book on the shelf in the office of a U.S. Congressman back in the late 1980s, borrowed it, and couldn't put it down. Between the venomous attacks on Richard Nixon and the other characters Thompson ripped to shreds, there's brilliant political analysis.
And his subsequent compilations of his Gonzo Papers, including the latest, Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, provide amazing insight, both into Thompson himself and many of the leading characters littering the modern political landscape.
Better Than Sex is worth reading, if only for the hastily-appended reprint of Thompson's Rolling Stone obituary for Nixon, following the man's death. The very fires of Hell could barely scorch Nixon so well. Or so deservedly, IMHO.
I used to wonder whether to categorize Thompson's writings as fact or fiction. I gave it up long ago. Now I just enjoy them. He's a slice of culture not to be missed.
Yup, I sometimes read poetry. I have a strong preference for poetry that rhymes and has meter...not this "modern" stuff. My favorite poet ever is probably Richard Wilbur, a former Poet Laureate of the U.S., and one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.