Favorite Authors

[carrie721]

so, ledgies, who are your favorite authors?

my one true literary love is nabokov. his ability to manipulate language is unparalleled. my favorite of his is invitation to a beheading; the descriptions of the gardens in the book are breathtaking; i highly recommend it.

after VN, my favorites are david sedaris, thomas hardy, jk rowling, david crystal, and philip roth ... to name a few.

[skcin]

Alice Hoffman

Sue Monk Kidd

Dave Eggers

Mary Higgins Clark

Richard Russo

[DrummerDeanna]

JK Rowling :nod:
Adrianna Trigiani
Fannie Flagg
Sue Monk Kidd

Those are the ones that come to mind...

[sasja]

Anthony Trollope has been my number one favourite for 12 years now.
Other than that:
Philip Roth
Erich Maria Remarque
Henry James
George Elliot
William Makepeace Thackeray
Edith Wharton
Evelyn Waugh


I like my fiction 1800-1950 ish :D

I was born a century or so too late.
Sasja

[JazmenFlowers]

Anne Rice
Toni Morrison
Alice Walker
Eudora Welty
Stephen King (getting his new book "Lisey's Story" soon)
Tom Dolby
Candace Bushnell

[skcin]

Anthony Trollope has been my number one favourite for 12 years now.
Other than that:
Philip Roth
Erich Maria Remarque
Henry James
George Elliot
William Makepeace Thackeray
Edith Wharton
Evelyn Waugh


I like my fiction 1800-1950 ish :D

I was born a century or so too late.
Sasja


Sasja, I love your sig. I had the priveledge (OMG, I forgot how to spell that) to see the Dalai Lama speak here last month. He's an amazing man - and funny too!

[sasja]

Thanks, and yes he is :D
He is just a breath of fresh air for the human spirit :woohoo:
So happy for you that you got to hear him speak!

Sasja

[Aisling]

my one true literary love is nabokov. his ability to manipulate language is unparalleled. my favorite of his is invitation to a beheading; the descriptions of the gardens in the book are breathtaking; i highly recommend it.


be still my heart!!!!!!!!!! my love for nabokov knows no bounds. i am always amused how the beauty of the english language came to be known at the hands of a russian. :nod: a true linguist, a true genius. . .a tad arrogant, but he more than had the goods to back it up.

invitation to a beheading, ada or ardor, lolita, the defense. . .all brilliant. i also love his translation of lermontov's 'a hero of our time'. his footnotes bring literary snark to a whole new level.

i am also a fan of nikolai gogol, mikhail bulgakov, edith wharton, milan kundera, and e.m. forster.

[Aisling]

Evelyn Waugh



i forgot to add him to my list. as well as carson mccullers.

[GypsySorcerer]

Margaret Atwood
Toni Morrison
John Irving
Kate Chopin
John Updike
Joyce Carol Oates

[goldustsongbird]

Stephen King. Although pretty much everything after Misery was a real disappointment.

Colleen McCullough. Especially The Thorn Birds. I can't even imagine being able to write something as enduring as that. It's sheer brilliance. She (like SK) has the ability to create such strong, realistic characters. (except for whatsitcalled, uh.. An Indecent Obsession. Seemed kinda rushed)

Nabokov. That reminds me, where's my copy of Lolita?

Frank McCourt. Angela's Ashes is incredible. The story itself can be so depressing, but he manages to weave this subtle, cheeky humour into it, and sometimes you end up laughing at things you think you shouldn't because of the way he describes it.

[carrie721]

be still my heart!!!!!!!!!! my love for nabokov knows no bounds. i am always amused how the beauty of the english language came to be known at the hands of a russian. :nod: a true linguist, a true genius. . .a tad arrogant, but he more than had the goods to back it up.

invitation to a beheading, ada or ardor, lolita, the defense. . .all brilliant. i also love his translation of lermontov's 'a hero of our time'. his footnotes bring literary snark to a whole new level.

i am also a fan of nikolai gogol, mikhail bulgakov, edith wharton, milan kundera, and e.m. forster.

another nabokov lover! i see you've included gogol and bulgakov - are you a russian lit fan? have you read much dostoevsky? i really enjoyed notes from underground.

Stephen King. Although pretty much everything after Misery was a real disappointment.

Collen McCullough. Especially The Thorn Birds. I can't even imagine being able to write something as enduring as that. It's sheer brilliance. She (like SK) has the ability to create such strong, realistic characters. (except for whatsitcalled, uh.. An Indecent Obsession. Seemed kinda rushed)

Nabokov. That reminds me, where's my copy of Lolita?

Frank McCourt. Angela's Ashes is incredible. The story itself can be so depressing, but he manages to weave this subtle, cheeky humour into it, and sometimes you end up laughing at things you think you shouldn't because of the way he describes it.

i should have included king, although i've only read two of his books, and just started reading him very recently. i really liked carrie and misery, and i should seriously get crackin' on the shining and the gunslinger. lady, read invitation to a beheading!

[foxyluva]

Im not really a big book reader - I like books for books, I don't really like authors. Although I have to say my favourite author of all time is Enid Blyton :D

[goldustsongbird]

i should have included king, although i've only read two of his books, and just started reading him very recently. i really liked carrie and misery, and i should seriously get crackin' on the shining and the gunslinger. lady, read invitation to a beheading!

Yessum! Get thee to the nearest library and find a McCourt book.
How many books have you recc'd to me now? lol. I need to write them all down.

[carrie721]

Yessum! Get thee to the nearest library and find a McCourt book.
How many books have you recc'd to me now? lol. I need to write them all down.

:laugh: probably dozens.

come over here and help me eat this fresh mozzarella & ricotta i just bought. :laugh: and get yo' azz on MSN!

[JazmenFlowers]

Stephen King. Although pretty much everything after Misery was a real disappointment.
I've read that his new one is a return to his well-crafted balancing act between the "real" world and the "horror" world. I can't wait to pick it up.

[goldustsongbird]

I've read that his new one is a return to his well-crafted balancing act between the "real" world and the "horror" world. I can't wait to pick it up.

Which one is that? Hopefully not Cell. :lol: That was stupid.

[goldustsongbird]

:laugh: probably dozens.

come over here and help me eat this fresh mozzarella & ricotta i just bought. :laugh: and get yo' azz on MSN!

Girl, I could make a lasagna outta the mozz and ricotta. I'm gonna go downstairs and record somethin', since everyone's taking off for awhile.

[carrie721]

Girl, I could make a lasagna outta the mozz and ricotta. I'm gonna go downstairs and record somethin', since everyone's taking off for awhile.

but making lasagna out of it would spoil the fun of having this round ball of mozzarella!

sweeeeeet.

[JazmenFlowers]

Which one is that? Hopefully not Cell. :lol: That was stupid.
"Lisey's Story"

http://www.amazon.com/Liseys-Story-Stephen-King/dp/0743289412/sr=8-1/qid=1161721825/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6253536-4102335?ie=UTF8&s=books

[goldustsongbird]

but making lasagna out of it would spoil the fun of having this round ball of mozzarella!

sweeeeeet.

Who eats cheese balls, srsly? :p

"Lisey's Story"

http://www.amazon.com/Liseys-Story-Stephen-King/dp/0743289412/sr=8-1/qid=1161721825/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6253536-4102335?ie=UTF8&s=books

Ohh, okay. I have heard of that one. I'll look for it next time I'm at the libary!

[carrie721]

Who eats cheese balls, srsly? :p

omg, i'm not eating cheese balls! i'm so offended. :laugh: it's just a perfect mozzarella ... curd. :laugh: i'm a freak.

[Aisling]

another nabokov lover! i see you've included gogol and bulgakov - are you a russian lit fan? have you read much dostoevsky? i really enjoyed notes from underground.

yes i love russian literature. i have read a lot of dostoevsky, but i am not really a fan. they have a saying that the fan of dostoevsky is never one of tolstoy and vice versa. but i never liked tolstoy either, so i guess i am abnormal! :laugh: the one piece of dostoevsky's that i do enjoy though is his novella 'white nights'.

[goldustsongbird]

omg, i'm not eating cheese balls! i'm so offended. :laugh: it's just a perfect mozzarella ... curd. :laugh: i'm a freak.

:p Uh, you can have the curds... I'm not hungry.

[CreepingDeath]

J.R.R. Tolkien
JK Rowling
Anne Rice
Mary Higgins Clark
Jane Austen
Edgar Allen Poe
Dante Alighieri
Fyodor Dostoevsky
William Shakespeare

[sasja]

OOOh yes yes yes russian literature..... Specially in the wintermonths!!! With snow outside and hot chocolate and a nice warm blanket...

"Oblomov" by Ivan Goncharov is a favorite of mine, and I LOVE anything Pushkin ....

I've not read much of Vladimir Nabokov but this thread is inspiring me to go back to the library tomorrow!! :D

So interesting to read all these... I am writing new names on my library list!

Sasja

[KarmaContestant]

Favorite authors...Clive Barker, Tom Robbins, Patrick Suskind, Gregory Maguire, Anne Rice, Mika Waltari, Joan Grant, Italo Calvino, Mary Stewart.... But mostly just Tom and Clive. :nod:

[GateandGarden]

another nabokov lover! i see you've included gogol and bulgakov - are you a russian lit fan? have you read much dostoevsky? i really enjoyed notes from underground.I also really enjoyed Notes from Underground. Maybe I should check out Nabokov since you are such a big advocate!

These days it's all about Paula Vogel, Bev Marshall, and Yusef Komunyakaa for me, though I shouldn't lump all three together because one is playwright, one a novelist, and the other a poet, respectively. I'm really getting into Jose Saramago, too.

I noticed that at least one person mentioned Evelyn Waugh. Maybe he's quite good, it's just that I was forced to read Vile Bodies in one of my undergraduate classes and I thought it was just tripe. Aren't other novels of his considered to be better?

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

Mary Higgins Clark

Terry Pratchett

JK Rowling

Sophie Kinsella

[carrie721]

J.R.R. Tolkien
JK Rowling
Anne Rice
Mary Higgins Clark
Jane Austen
Edgar Allen Poe
Dante Alighieri
Fyodor Dostoevsky
William Shakespeare

oh, i forgot to list tolkien and austen! i love them both. i've been meaning to read some anne rice for quite a while now - what would you recommend i start with?

yes i love russian literature. i have read a lot of dostoevsky, but i am not really a fan. they have a saying that the fan of dostoevsky is never one of tolstoy and vice versa. but i never liked tolstoy either, so i guess i am abnormal! :laugh: the one piece of dostoevsky's that i do enjoy though is his novella 'white nights'.

i should pick up white nights - thanks for the recommendation!

I also really enjoyed Notes from Underground. Maybe I should check out Nabokov since you are such a big advocate!

These days it's all about Paula Vogel, Bev Marshall, and Yusef Komunyakaa for me, though I shouldn't lump all three together because one is playwright, one a novelist, and the other a poet, respectively. I'm really getting into Jose Saramago, too.

I noticed that at least one person mentioned Evelyn Waugh. Maybe he's quite good, it's just that I was forced to read Vile Bodies in one of my undergraduate classes and I thought it was just tripe. Aren't other novels of his considered to be better?

definitely check out nabokov. of course everyone knows lolita, but i always recommend invitation to a beheading because a) not everyone knows it and b) it's better prose, IMO. i'll have to check out the authors you listed; you always mention authors/artists i've never heard of before, and that's cool. hey, how was ani the other night?

[BlackWidow]

I love the Authors of a book called: THE BIBLE!

[skcin]

J.R.R. Tolkien
JK Rowling
Anne Rice
Mary Higgins Clark
Jane Austen
Edgar Allen Poe
Dante Alighieri
Fyodor Dostoevsky
William Shakespeare


Well isn't this a blast from the past. Where the hell have you been? :p

[JazmenFlowers]

I love the Authors of a book called: THE BIBLE!
urm. ok. you do realize you've broken about 12 of the 15 commandments?!

:lol:

[CreepingDeath]

Well isn't this a blast from the past. Where the hell have you been? :p

Worshiping Satan. All in all not much different than the Ledge. :xoxo:

[CreepingDeath]

oh, i forgot to list tolkien and austen! i love them both. i've been meaning to read some anne rice for quite a while now - what would you recommend i start with?

I love both the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches. So if you go with one of those start with Interview With The Vampire or the Witching Hour. If you want just a stand alone novel though, Cry To Heaven is very good.

[GateandGarden]

hey, how was ani the other night?Oh man! She was astounding! She plays the hell out of that guitar! I was really impressed by her voice, too. I didn't think of her as having much vocal range, generally speaking, but she surprised me. She's a talented vocalist as well as a musician and songwriter. Damn! Thanks for asking. :)

[DrummerDeanna]

Sophie Kinsella

I just read "Can you Keep a Secret" and LOVED it - thought it was very cute and clever...I'm definitely planning to pick up more of her stuff.

[JazmenFlowers]

I love both the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches. So if you go with one of those start with Interview With The Vampire or the Witching Hour. If you want just a stand alone novel though, Cry To Heaven is very good.
god how I lurve The Witching Hour

the Mayfair witches would make a hell of a TV show or movie

[skcin]

Oh man! She was astounding! She plays the hell out of that guitar! I was really impressed by her voice, too. I didn't think of her as having much vocal range, generally speaking, but she surprised me. She's a talented vocalist as well as a musician and songwriter. Damn! Thanks for asking. :)


Was she showing yet? I can't remember when she's due.

[GateandGarden]

Was she showing yet? I can't remember when she's due.Yes, she definitely was! She was all giggly about it and she said it's a girl. :) She looks to be about six months along, not that I'm a really good judge of that or anything. She has a prominent belly, but she's still a pretty tiny woman.

[Rickypt]

Ian McEwan
Michael Cunningham
Toni Morrison
a.a. milne

and of course Armistead Maupin for his brilliant Tales of the City series.

[carrie721]

Ian McEwan
Michael Cunningham
Toni Morrison
a.a. milne

and of course Armistead Maupin for his brilliant Tales of the City series.

ooh, i really enjoyed McEwan's atonement! a.a. milne has also been a favorite of mine since i was very small - winnie the pooh was my first book. :nod:

[skcin]

I want to say she's due early March? So she's probably at least 5 months.

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

I just read "Can you Keep a Secret" and LOVED it - thought it was very cute and clever...I'm definitely planning to pick up more of her stuff.

You should. The shopaholic series are hilarious. I recently read her latest.. The Undomestic Goddess.

[Aisling]

OOOh yes yes yes russian literature..... Specially in the wintermonths!!! With snow outside and hot chocolate and a nice warm blanket...

"Oblomov" by Ivan Goncharov is a favorite of mine, and I LOVE anything Pushkin ....

I've not read much of Vladimir Nabokov but this thread is inspiring me to go back to the library tomorrow!! :D

So interesting to read all these... I am writing new names on my library list!

Sasja

is ivan goncharov related in some way to natalia goncharova, the futurist painter? i love her work. . .

[Aisling]

I also really enjoyed Notes from Underground. Maybe I should check out Nabokov since you are such a big advocate!

These days it's all about Paula Vogel, Bev Marshall, and Yusef Komunyakaa for me, though I shouldn't lump all three together because one is playwright, one a novelist, and the other a poet, respectively. I'm really getting into Jose Saramago, too.

I noticed that at least one person mentioned Evelyn Waugh. Maybe he's quite good, it's just that I was forced to read Vile Bodies in one of my undergraduate classes and I thought it was just tripe. Aren't other novels of his considered to be better?

in regards to evelyn waugh, i haven't read 'vile bodies', but i really liked 'brideshead revisited'. i thought it's depiction of youthful friendship, and how it changes as we age, was touching. but that's just me!

[GateandGarden]

in regards to evelyn waugh, i haven't read 'vile bodies', but i really liked 'brideshead revisited'. i thought it's depiction of youthful friendship, and how it changes as we age, was touching. but that's just me!That's cool. I remember some of the criticism I read praised that one as well as another one for which the name escapes me. But, yeah, apparently I was forced to read the wrong one.

[gypsysoul]

Carrie721 - Two Nabokov nuts on one thread. Well, here's a third.
I've read everything that man ever wrote, including I think, all his cheque stubs!

Apart from the obvious classics, I have a soft spot for The Eye and King, Queen Knave.

In my teens while other girls read romances I was into the heaviest of heavy Russian literature, the really depressing, suicide inducing stuff! I'm still the only person I know who has read BOTH volumes of Cancer Ward:eek:

[carrie721]

Carrie721 - Two Nabokov nuts on one thread. Well, here's a third.
I've read everything that man ever wrote, including I think, all his cheque stubs!

Apart from the obvious classics, I have a soft spot for The Eye and King, Queen Knave.

In my teens while other girls read romances I was into the heaviest of heavy Russian literature, the really depressing, suicide inducing stuff! I'm still the only person I know who has read BOTH volumes of Cancer Ward:eek:

cool! glad to have another nabokov nut around. :xoxo: king, queen, knave is actually sitting on my nightstand waiting to be read, along with ada or ardor. so far my favorites of his are invitation to a beheading and despair. :)

i read the same kind of stuff in high school :laugh: . i never really read adolescent literature ... i read every nancy drew book i could find in 2nd and 3rd grade, and then i moved on to agatha christie and more adult books.

[irishgrl]

Marion Zimmer Bradley
Diana Gabaldon
Robert Heinlein
Andre Norton
Tolkien

[Musicman408]

So in this thread we can talk about some of our fave authors and books that we have read. THat way those of us who like to read can get a feel of some good books to chose from. Hope you all enjoy this thread.

Much Love,
Ethan

[carrie721]

hey ethan, there are already a couple of threads devoted to this. feel free to participate:

http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=16831

http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=29462

[skcin]

^ Great idea, Carrie! :wavey:

And Ethan? You may want to utilize the search function on this board to look for similar threads before starting another one. This prevents us from having 13 threads about the same thing. The subject of food is obviously exempt, since we do actually have 13 thread about it at any given time.

How Still My Love,
Paula

[Musicman408]

^ Great idea, Carrie! :wavey:

And Ethan? You may want to utilize the search function on this board to look for similar threads before starting another one. This prevents us from having 13 threads about the same thing. The subject of food is obviously exempt, since we do actually have 13 thread about it at any given time.

How Still My Love,
Paula

Sorry about that. I will definately use the search next time. As for the food threads, I don't think only 13 is enough:D

Much Love,
Ethan

[mikeschmike]

Sorry about that. I will definately use the search next time. As for the food threads, I don't think only 13 is enough:D

Much Love,
Ethan

Oh don't worry, I'm sure there will be twenty more by the end of the week.

[carrie721]

How Still My Love,
Paula

lmao. :cool:

[skcin]

Oh don't worry, I'm sure there will be twenty more by the end of the week.

Is that a challenge? :cool: Don't make me revive the "soup" thread.

[carrie721]

Is that a challenge? :cool: Don't make me revive the "soup" thread.

there's a soup thread? i'm having soup for lunch ...

[foxyluva]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I would love to recommend the book The Satan Seller by Mike Warnke. It was supposed to be 'real', and he fooled thousands, but it later turned out to be a giant load of crap, but still a really good read :laugh:

[elie]

Favorite authors:

Iris Murdoch

Philip Roth (*falls also under the category "famous people you 'd love to meet"*)

Alain de Botton

and I really enjoy reading Agatha Christie's books, esp. those featuring Hercule Poirot :p

[gypsysoul]

Elie - I love Philip Roth too. I once saw him in a shopping Mall in London with his then girlfriend Clare Bloom. I followed him for a bit (trying to be inconspicuous and not too stalker like).
I really wanted to say hello but then I remembered he's not supposed to be very nice to fans so I chickened out! I didn't want to have a bad memory of him.

I'm reading American pastoral at the moment.

[elie]

Elie - I love Philip Roth too. I once saw him in a shopping Mall in London with his then girlfriend Clare Bloom. I followed him for a bit (trying to be inconspicuous and not to stalker like).
I really wanted to say hello but then I remembered he's not supposed to be very nice to fans so I chickened out! I didn't want to have a bad memeory of him.

I'm reading American pastoral at the moment.

:wavey:
I think that'a exactly what I would have done if I had run into him in a shop or something. I don't really like talking to famous people. I would have preferred to meet him at a dinner or something - you know, impossible things lol-.
I am reading Letting Go at the moment. I can't for the life of me believe that someone at the age of 29 can write like that.

[Für Elise]

Favourite author: Stephen Fry.

[carrie721]

I'm reading American pastoral at the moment.

loved that book! :wavey:

[carrie721]

oh, i just remembered another one of my favorite authors. larry mcmurtry ... gotta love him. who here has read lonesome dove? i read it when i was in HS, but i may have to dig it out again. such a wonderful story.

[DrummerDeanna]

I'm really enjoying Amy Tan as of late :nod:

[carrie721]

Neil Gaiman

i've read a few of his stories ... i'm not familiar with enough of his work to call him one of my favorites, but i really like what i've read so far.

[DeadliestPoison]

I'm in love with Chuck Palahniuk at the moment, but my favorites are Sylvia Plath, Ayn Rand, and Patti Smith.

[gypsysoul]

I'm really enjoying Amy Tan as of late :nod:


Have you read her autobiography? She's had a pretty fascinating life and so it's as good a read as her novels.

[Peestie]

Terry Pratchett. Absolutely fantastic. Totally hilarious.

H.G. Wells. One of the best.