Favourite authors

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egb_hibs

egb_hibs

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Jul 2, 2002
This thread will be shaped by people that respond which is right, but I'm not intending this to be favourite books but specifically favourite authors.

I don't know why it is, but it must be something to do with writing style in some way I can't describe, even more than the subject matter they focus on. I do find that with some writers I like most of their books whereas others I cannae go even if the book's topic is interesting.

Anyway I'll go for

Don Winslow - goes like a bullet with no faffing with too much description of surroundings etc.

Mick Herron - of Slow horses. Id normally recoil from anything described as humorous but he writes cracking spy thrillers which are amusing not because they are comedies but because the characters have good patter

James Lee Burke - defies my usual preferences by being one of the few writers where I like his descriptive writing (though I can only go it once in a while). But he made me want to go to new Orleans, and eventually I did. And its great.
 
Not read books anywhere nearly enough in my adult life. But I read everything Benjamin Zephaniah wrote as a teenager.
Been so long I couldn't even tell you what it was that made me enjoy his stuff, but he always comes to mind when books come up.
 
Franz Kafke, I've read his collected works.'Metamorphosis' is my favourite. Milan Kandura 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' was one of my favourite books.China Mieville,I like his style. Christopher Brookmeyer ,I can race through his books.George Orwell,Homage to Catalonia was a favourite.Alice Walker,again I like her style.Thomas Hardy and Fyodor Dostoievsky.
 
Findlayhibby said:
Franz Kafke, I've read his collected works.'Metamorphosis' is my favourite. Milan Kandura 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' was one of my favourite books.China Mieville,I like his style. Christopher Brookmeyer ,I can race through his books.George Orwell,Homage to Catalonia was a favourite.Alice Walker,again I like her style.Thomas Hardy and Fyodor Dostoievsky.
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I think Dostoyevsky is marvellous. Just staggeringly insightful given the era he was writing in. But boy is he hard work! Tbh I struggle with old authors, their hugely long sentences (yes I'm aware of ironies) do not mix well with some of my challenges with reading.

I read somewhere that Orwell and Hemingway helped reshape writing to the shorter sentences of today. In Orwell's case at least it was a political act deliberately aimed at making books more accessible to all. I owe them.
 
Dub said:
Isaac Asimov was my favourite growing up but I'd maybe opt for Philip K Dick or Robert Heinlein.
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What do you like about them D? (That's not a loaded q its what I'm trying to learn given how much authors work / don't work for me)
 
egb_hibs said:
I think Dostoyevsky is marvellous. Just staggeringly insightful given the era he was writing in. But boy is he hard work! Tbh I struggle with old authors, their hugely long sentences (yes I'm aware of ironies) do not mix well with some of my challenges with reading.

I read somewhere that Orwell and Hemingway helped reshape writing to the shorter sentences of today. In Orwell's case at least it was a political act deliberately aimed at making books more accessible to all. I owe them.
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I apologise to at least two of the authors for not being able to spell their names.
 
Ian Rankine apologies to all but it's good to get them out here, you read it and know whereabouts he is talking about
Frank Herbert Dune author is another one.
At the moment it's audiobooks on Spotify.
 
When I was at school I devoured anything by John Norman and Denis Wheatley. Did I do this because I liked the author and his style or did I just love the books? How can you tell? I'll go for the latter but I'm not understanding this thread, how can you separate the two?
What would be your position if you read the first of a trilogy, loved it so read the second, loved that too so read the third and didn't like it so much?
Think I'm trying too hard here 🤔
I just like what I like.
 
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egb_hibs said:
What do you like about them D? (That's not a loaded q its what I'm trying to learn given how much authors work / don't work for me)
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I'm basically a SciFi fan Eeg. Growing up Asimov was top dog IMHO and then Philip K Dick came along and wrote books a few of which were turned in to films:
Bladerunner (Do androids dream of electric sheep)
Total Recall (We can remember it for you wholesale)
A Scanner Darkly (A Scanner Darkly)
The Minority report (the minority report).

The man in the high castle TV series from a book of the same name.
 
Bangkokhibby said:
When I was at school I devoured anything by John Norman and Denis Wheatley. Did I do this because I liked the author and his style or did I just love the books? How can you tell? I'll go for the latter but I'm not understanding this thread, how can you separate the two?
What would be your position if you read the first of a trilogy, loved it so read the second, loved that too so read the third and didn't like it so much?
Think I'm trying too hard here 🤔
I just like what I like.
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I think perhaps you are overthinking it a wee bit. Here is what I mean and it could be a me thing as I struggle with reading long texts including books.

So I like cold war spy novels, among other genres. Take two books with that subject matter, and I'll rattle through one by author x, while limp through then abandon one by author y. It's not about the subject matter or the story, but how they tell that story.
 
egb_hibs said:
I think perhaps you are overthinking it a wee bit. Here is what I mean and it could be a me thing as I struggle with reading long texts including books.

So I like cold war spy novels, among other genres. Take two books with that subject matter, and I'll rattle through one by author x, while limp through then abandon one by author y. It's not about the subject matter or the story, but how they tell that story.
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OK I do get it. Would it then follow that you might not read anything else by author Y? You could be missing out.
I've been comparing it to bands in my mind. I'm so glad I didn't stop listening to Genesis because I didn't like "From genesis to revelation"
 
Bangkokhibby said:
OK I do get it. Would it then follow that you might not read anything else by author Y? You could be missing out.
I've been comparing it to bands in my mind. I'm so glad I didn't stop listening to Genesis because I didn't like "From genesis to revelation"
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That sort of thing, but more that I will typically go on to enjoy other things by author x.

I don't think bands are quite the same. Sure, like you, some bands I like some stuff and not other stuff, but it's not a struggle to listen to it. I listen to it and like it or not. In book terms this is more comparable to the story I think, but with some writers I cannae get into the story cos of how it's written. I can't really describe why.
 
I’m not a reader tbh. The only stuff I attempt are autobiographys, :-
Mike Oldfield
Sandy Lyle
Valentino Rossi
Messi
Haaland
The famous five
Are some examples
Very rarely get to the end though, my attention span is limited 😩
Nowt to do with the thread though, but adds to the complexity of my persona 🧐
 
Joseph Heller is my favourite author. When I first read Catch-22 as a teenager, I was absolutely blown away by it. The non-linear storytelling, and excellent characterisation, that allowed the reader's interpretation of events to be completely flipped just by seeing things from another characters perspective was huge for me; not just in terms of realising what can be done with storytelling but it was a big life lesson too.

Heller's talent for making the reader empathise with his characters, even if you find them repulsive, is unmatched for me. Something Happened is pretty spectacular in the way it puts you into the head of a real piece of shit but holds a mirror up to the reader, forcing you to recognise the motivation for his navel gazing and selfishness. It's bleak and hilarious.

In terms of more traditional storytelling, I've always loved Stephen King and Christopher Brookmeyer for pulpy thrills.

Woody Allen's short story collections are something I've come back to time and time again. They never fail to raise a wry smile, even when I know what's coming.

Also, Roald Dahl deserves a special mention as he was really formative in my taste for dark humour, and reading his stuff again with my own kid has been a joy.
 
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For once I agree with ye Eegie!
Herron writes spy stories, but not the way Le Carre wrote spy stories. Not so much subterfuge as blunderfuge ( i doubt that's a word but..)
R. L Stevenson is up there. Countless times I've read his stuff.
For Polis stuff I found Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo( Beck) different and entertaining.
I started off reading with Alistair McLean thrillers 50+ years ago, so I suppose he must be another biggie .
 
Annie Proulx - I don't think there's an uninteresting sentence in any of her books
Helen Dunmore - French revolution, WW1, WW2 historical novels
Kate Atkinson
 
joethehibby said:
I’m not a reader tbh. The only stuff I attempt are autobiographys, :-
Mike Oldfield
Sandy Lyle
Valentino Rossi
Messi
Haaland
The famous five
Are some examples
Very rarely get to the end though, my attention span is limited 😩
Nowt to do with the thread though, but adds to the complexity of my persona 🧐
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David Niven's The Moon's a balloon and the follow-up Bring on the empty horses are worth a read iirc.
 
Whilst have many "favourite" authors, too many to list them all, my go to's remain Tolkien and Dumas.
 
Dub said:
David Niven's The Moon's a balloon and the follow-up Bring on the empty horses are worth a read iirc.
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Haven’t read his follow up but enjoyed The Moon’s a Balloon. Read Eddie Turnbull’s. That’s it. I’m not a bookworm. They’re the only books I’ve ever read in my life
 
Dub said:
My point is that you said you like autobiographies, and I gave you two examples of ones I thought were worth reading. I know you're thick, but I didn't realise how thick you were.
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Your such a nice person eh . I only read biographies of people I admire, like, even . Dinny bother bringing one out 🤣
 
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Quite a lot of well read bouncers, go figure. Personally I enjoy our very own Irvine Welsh, love Mario Puzo, used to avidly read Paul Theroux travel books, enjoy the historical romps of both CJ Sanson and SJ Parris and Tim Parks books on Italy. Like Findlay, I enjoyed Animal Farm and Homage to Catalonia. I recently read Robert Harris' Act of Oblivion which I thoroughly enjoyed, and reminded me of some of his best books. Otherwise, every second book I read is about Spain, teh Spanish or written by a Spaniard, read some tripe and some very good books.
 
1875 said:
Quite a lot of well read bouncers, go figure. Personally I enjoy our very own Irvine Welsh, love Mario Puzo, used to avidly read Paul Theroux travel books, enjoy the historical romps of both CJ Sanson and SJ Parris and Tim Parks books on Italy. Like Findlay, I enjoyed Animal Farm and Homage to Catalonia. I recently read Robert Harris' Act of Oblivion which I thoroughly enjoyed, and reminded me of some of his best books. Otherwise, every second book I read is about Spain, teh Spanish or written by a Spaniard, read some tripe and some very good books.
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If you ever have the stamina for it - it's a bit of a brick - The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas is a brilliant book on that sorry interlude.

I'm sure you will have read this one, but Morbo is good on Spanish football
 
Beagle said:
Haven’t read his follow up but enjoyed The Moon’s a Balloon. Read Eddie Turnbull’s. That’s it. I’m not a bookworm. They’re the only books I’ve ever read in my life
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I've got Eddie Turnbull's. My mate's mrs bought it for me for Christmas years ago and couldn't remember his name and asked in the shop if they had the book on Eddie Snodgrass. After explaining who he was the bookseller got the right one and here it is as presented to me on Christmas day

Snodgrass.jpg
 
egb_hibs said:
If you ever have the stamina for it - it's a bit of a brick - The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas is a brilliant book on that sorry interlude.

I'm sure you will have read this one, but Morbo is good on Spanish football
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One day and yes, read Morbo years ago.
 
Classic authors,
Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Conrad and Zola.
I read a huge amount of SF. Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Philip K Dick, Iain M Banks, Neal Asher, J.G. Ballard, Dan Simmons, Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon books and The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey.
More modern stuff. William Boyd, Kate Atkinson, James Ellroy, John Le Carre, David Mitchell, Elena Ferrante, Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series, Emily St. John Mandel and Mick Herron. Bought a stack of Don Winslow on @egb_hibs recommendation.
And the ones that don't fit into the above categories. Tove Jansson, Jorge Luis Borges, George Orwell, for his essays rather than novels, Christopher Hitchens, Jan Morris, David Kynaston, John Gray and Dominic Sandbrook.
 
Too hard a question!

If I narrowed it down on the basis of the ones where I've read everything they've ever written, it would make a weird wee list:

C.S. Lewis
Stephen King
George Orwell
Philip Roth
Bret Easton Ellis
Alan Sillitoe
Thomas Hardy
 
aggie said:
Too hard a question!

If I narrowed it down on the basis of the ones where I've read everything they've ever written, it would make a weird wee list:

C.S. Lewis
Stephen King
George Orwell
Philip Roth
Bret Easton Ellis
Alan Sillitoe
Thomas Hardy
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Eclectic to say the least ! Stephen King is a great story teller but I eventually tired of his inability to deliver a good ending. Apparently he starts out with no ending in mind, which I gather is unusual for authors, and tbh it shows.
 
Used to read everything written by Irvine Welsh, Chris Brookmyre, Duncan McLean And Iain Banks. Tried one of Banks’ sci-fi books once but it wasn’t for me. Recently read more biographies, mainly of musicians (Michael Marra, John Martyn, Rory Gallagher etc) and enjoyed those so much I’ve read them all at least twice.
 
egb_hibs said:
Eclectic to say the least ! Stephen King is a great story teller but I eventually tired of his inability to deliver a good ending. Apparently he starts out with no ending in mind, which I gather is unusual for authors, and tbh it shows.
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Yeah, to be honest, I'm still persevering with him because his 70s and 80s heyday novels were so formative and pivotal to my reading life, then and since.

PS try his two collections of short stories, which are great.
 
aggie said:
Yeah, to be honest, I'm still persevering with him because his 70s and 80s heyday novels were so formative and pivotal to my reading life, then and since.

PS try his two collections of short stories, which are great.
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Alistair MacLean, Joseph Heller, Tolkien, Thomas Hardy and Ray Bradbury were the authors I read most during my teens. Bradbury is the only one I've really returned to. I read Catch-22 numerous times and a few of his other books too but he never wrote a book as good as Catch-22. Although, as he modestly admitted himself, neither has anyone else.
 
I used to read tons of novels - as a teen I used to sit in a wee cafe near the art college conspicuously reading authors like Kafka because I thought it would impress the Siouxsiealike waitress (it didn’t)

I liked authors like Knut Hamsun (till I discovered he was a nazi), Hermann Hesse and Gunter Grass.

Later I read lots of American authors like Richard Brautigan, Annie Proulx and Cormac McCarthy. For a long time one of my favourite books was The History of Luminous Motion by Scott Bradford. Also The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill.

Nowadays I find it hard to get into a novel and tend to read factual stuff - and I’ve just read the expose of Facebook - Careless People.
 
Bofahibee said:
I used to read tons of novels - as a teen I used to sit in a wee cafe near the art college conspicuously reading authors like Kafka because I thought it would impress the Siouxsiealike waitress (it didn’t)

I liked authors like Knut Hamsun (till I discovered he was a nazi), Hermann Hesse and Gunter Grass.

Later I read lots of American authors like Richard Brautigan, Annie Proulx and Cormac McCarthy. For a long time one of my favourite books was The History of Luminous Motion by Scott Bradford. Also The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill.

Nowadays I find it hard to get into a novel and tend to read factual stuff - and I’ve just read the expose of Facebook - Careless People.
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Funny you should mention Hamsun. Just read an interesting article about him. The old can you separate the art from the artist dilemma. Hermann Hesse I like a lot.

thecritic.co.uk

Novelist, Nobel laureate and Nazi | Richard Holledge | The Critic Magazine

On 16 December, 1947, Knut Hamsun, Norway’s most famous living novelist, stood in court to answer charges of treason
thecritic.co.uk thecritic.co.uk
 
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