You Americans have some brilliant authors -

[BlinkinCat]

I do a lot of reading (mainly fiction with the occasional autobiography thrown in) and many of my favorite authors are American.

At present I am halfway through one of the Lake Wobegon series by Garrison Keillor. I find his books to be hilarious.

Another favorite is E. Annie Proulx - I found Shipping news to be superb. Her other novels are equally brilliant.

Do you have a favorite author or two? Not necessarily American.

Cheers - :)

[peter d]

I always think that it's not easy to recommend authors to other people. But authors I have enjoyed recently are Cormac McCarthy, Philip Roth, Margaret Attwood, Kazuo Ishiguro, Sebastian Faulks. There are many others I could recommend. I don't now whether you'll enjoy them but they are all good authors well worth a read. Enjoy!

[BlinkinCat]

Thanks very much Peter - I will take note of all of them - :)

I have read several books by Philip Roth - He is very good!

[drawkcab]

I like Annie Proulx (Accordion Crimes is excellent), Phillip Roth and I grew up in Keillor's Lake Woebegone culture so of course I find him hilarious.

Recent American stuff? If you can stomach metaphysical noir, the recent American to read is Paul Auster--his New York Trilogy specifically. Of course there's always Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace.

I recommend the S. African J.M. Coetzee--waiting for the Barbarians is fantastic. Even moreso, if you haven't read 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez or the Collected Works of J.L. Borges, you're really missing out.

[BlinkinCat]

I haven't read any of them drawkcab - but I will - thank you - :)

[standingwave]

Here goes. Some recent reads I've enjoyed and some all-time favorites...


The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig (this would make an awesome film)
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (seeing the movie with its excellent use of voice-over narration led me to track this one down and I was not disappointed.)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (or anything by John Irving)
James Gleick for geeky non-fiction
John le Carré (rereading to get ready for the new Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy film)
Replay by Ken Grimwood (I try to read this once a year)
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Absoultely marvelous and I don't even like the genre - which indicates just how good it is.)
Neal Stephenson for some mind-bending science fiction
Rudyard Kipling for some poetry & prose
Sebastian Junger (Perfect Storm, War)
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose

[thatguruguy]

I like Annie Proulx (Accordion Crimes is excellent), Phillip Roth and I grew up in Keillor's Lake Woebegone culture so of course I find him hilarious.

Recent American stuff? If you can stomach metaphysical noir, the recent American to read is Paul Auster--his New York Trilogy specifically. Of course there's always Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace.

I recommend the S. African J.M. Coetzee--waiting for the Barbarians is fantastic. Even moreso, if you haven't read 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez or the Collected Works of J.L. Borges, you're really missing out.

+1 to David Foster Wallace. His fiction can be somewhat dense (it's metafiction, actually), but his essays are much more accessible. I can't recommend his first essay collection, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, highly enough.

[juancarlospaco]

Which part of America?, iam on America and iam not on USA

[BlinkinCat]

Thanks so much standingwave!

Do you all know what I love doing? No doubt no -
I really enjoy ordering books online from my local library - Now I have heaps of new authors and books to enjoy - I really appreciate all who contribute to this thread -

Thank you - :D

[BlinkinCat]

Which part of America?, iam on America and iam not on USA

I am sure you have good authors from you part of the world too!

I am interested in any authors or books enjoyed by ubuntu users -

Cheers - :p

[BlinkinCat]

+1 to David Foster Wallace. His fiction can be somewhat dense (it's metafiction, actually), but his essays are much more accessible. I can't recommend his first essay collection, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, highly enough.

Noted - Thanks thatguruguy!

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

At present I am halfway through one of the Lake Wobegon series by Garrison Keillor. I find his books to be hilarious.

I have some audio files of Garrison Keillor telling the stories of Lake Wobegon. I laugh until tears flow.

[standingwave]

Thanks so much standingwave!
Have you not read any of those? I envy you because you can only read a book for the first time once.

[BlinkinCat]

Have you not read any of those? I envy you because you can only read a book for the first time once.

Other than Kipling, to the best of my knowledge I haven't - lately I have been simply picking out crime novels but all of that is about to change -
I can see I am really going to be enjoying myself in the months ahead thanks to all of the contributors.

Thanks again -

[forrestcupp]

I do a lot of reading (mainly fiction with the occasional autobiography thrown in) and many of my favorite authors are American.

At present I am halfway through one of the Lake Wobegon series by Garrison Keillor. I find his books to be hilarious.

Wow! With all of the anti-American sentiment, I'm touched to hear something positive. Thank you!

My dad is a huge fan of Garrison Keillor. He listens to his radio show "The Prairie Home Companion" whenever he can.

I like Steinbeck a lot.

[standingwave]

Other than Kipling, to the best of my knowledge I haven't - lately I have been simply picking out crime novels but all of that is about to changeBeing part of the commonwealth, you must be familiar with Alistair MacLean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_MacLean) but if not, they're great fun provided you stick with his works prior to 1970 when his alcoholism began to seriously impair his work.

[BlinkinCat]

No worries -

I always knew you were a gentleman and a scholar forrestcupp! -

A lot of my favorites are American

As for T.V. - I'm a mad Seinfeld fan - ;)

(Who said anything about T.V.? No one, I just threw that in)

[BlinkinCat]

Being part of the commonwealth, you must be familiar with Alistair MacLean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_MacLean) but if not, they're great fun provided you stick with his works prior to 1970 when his alcoholism began to seriously impair his work.

Yes - I really enjoyed his earlier books -

[cpmman]

Pick of the bunch?

James Clavell's Asian Saga books

Shogun - Feudal japan
Tai-Pan - Founding of Hong Kong
Gai-Jin - Japan power struggles
King rat - semi-autobiographical Japanese prison camp
Noble House - Hong Kong in 1960s
Whirlwind - Iran & Oil exploitation 1979
All history novels based on fact running to 1300+ pages of small type.

+ his edit of The Art of War by Sun Tzu

My personal library runs to several hundred books from Greek classics, Shakespeare and Dickens, Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Kurt Vonnegut Jnr to modern authors like Zizou Corder's Lion Boy books and auto/biographies of John Peel, Bob Harris, David Niven, John Major, Tony Blair and classics such as Jane Austen. Lots of "A" level revision books. A fairly eclectic mix.

In addition I have some 15,000 Kindle and ebooks on DVD which I figure should keep me going a while (I'm 64) but keep my eye on the new releases in newspapers.

[standingwave]

Another one I just thought of and this qualifies as American or at least North American. Farley Mowat, especially The Dog Who Wouldn't Be and The Boat Who Wouldn't Float. Very funny stuff and probably more in line with Garrison Keillor than anything else I've commended.

[BlinkinCat]

Thanks so much cpmman!

I'm 67 and thought I was quite an avid reader but I bow to your superiority in all things related to reading. I will certainly take note of your suggestions - I am so pleased with the results derived from this thread. - :)

[BlinkinCat]

Another one I just thought of and this qualifies as American or at least North American. Farley Mowat, especially The Dog Who Wouldn't Be and The Boat Who Wouldn't Float. Very funny stuff and probably more in line with Garrison Keillor than anything else I've commended.

Thanks again standingwave - I feel myself fortunate as I have only read four of Garrison Keillor's books so far. I look forward to reading your latest suggestions - Thank you.

[jfreak_]

P G Wodehouse RULES. And so does Enid Blyton if you are under twelve. Co-incidence that they are from the British isles?

[BlinkinCat]

P G Wodehouse RULES. And so does Enid Blyton if you are under twelve. Co-incidence that they are from the British isles?

You are so right jfreak - I love P G Wodehouse - Particularly Jeeves and Wooster - ):P

And to answer your question - Definitely no!

[madebyjordan]

Don't forget ol' Jack Kerouac!

[mips]

Being part of the commonwealth, you must be familiar with Alistair MacLean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_MacLean) but if not, they're great fun provided you stick with his works prior to 1970 when his alcoholism began to seriously impair his work.

Never read any of his books but did enjoy some movies based on his books, Ice Station Zebra, Bear Island, Where Eagles Dare, The Secret Ways etc and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Currently reading books by
Lee Child (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Child)
John Burdett (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burdett)
Jack Higgins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Higgins)

All from the UK.

[Ji Ruo]

Any Elmore Leonard. 'Pagan Babies' is a good one to start with if you haven't read any of his.
Kinky Friedman is usually an acquired taste, but 'Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned' is quite nice.
And the other book I've read in the last 10 years that I've enjoyed is 'Love and Longing in Bombay' by Vikram Chandra.

Hmmm, I really need to read more.

[BlinkinCat]

Many thanks to madebyjordan, mips and Ji Ruo for your suggestions.

I really appreciate your contributions - :P

[forrestcupp]

I just read an 1854 book by Maria Cummins called The Lamplighter. It's a pretty amazing book. It was in competition with its contemporary, The Scarlet Letter, and it blew it out of the water in sales and popularity. As popular as it was, not many people today have heard of The Lamplighter, and everyone has heard of The Scarlet Letter.

It's almost impossible to find a good copy of The Lamplighter, but Kindle has it for free. I'm pretty sure The Gutenberg Project has it, too.

[mips]

James Clavell's Asian Saga books

Shogun - Feudal japan

Sick with flu I spent a weekend in bed not to long ago watching the tv miniseries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dgun_(TV_miniseries) which was excellent.

[standingwave]

Never read any of his books but did enjoy some movies based on his books, Ice Station Zebra, Bear Island, Where Eagles Dare, The Secret Ways etc and thoroughly enjoyed them.

The Guns of Navaronne is probably his most famous movie adaptation but it's a fantastic read. Night Without End, Fear is the Key, When Eight Bells Toll and The Black Shrike are also excellent. Here are the opening lines to Where Eagles Dare (since you saw the film) to give you an idea of his writing style. A book just gives you so much more than a film.


The vibrating clangour from the four great piston engines set teeth on edge and made an intolerable assault on cringing eardrums. The decibel-level, Smith calculated, must have been about that found in a boiler factory, and one, moreover, that was working on overtime rates, while the shaking cold in that cramped, instrument-crowded flight-deck was positively Siberian. On balance, he reflected, he would have gone for the Siberian boiler factory any time because, whatever its drawbacks, it wasn't liable to fall out of the sky or crash into a mountain-side which, in his present circumstances, seemed a likely enough, if not imminent contingency for all that the pilot of their Lancaster bomber appeared to care to the contrary. Smith looked away from the darkly opaque world beyond the windscreens where the wipers fought a useless battle with the driving snow and looked again at the man in the left-hand captain's seat.

Wing Commander Cecil Carpenter was as completely at home in his environment as the most contented oyster in his shell in Whitstable Bay. Any comparison with a Siberian boiler factory he would have regarded as the ravings of an unhinged mind. Quite dearly, he found the shuddering vibration as soothing as the ministrations of the gentlest of masseurs, the roar of the-engines positively soporific and the ambient temperature just right for a man of his leisured literary tastes. Before him, at a comfortable reading distance, a book rested on a hinged contraption which he had swung out from the cabin's side. From what little Smith could occasionally see of the lurid cover, depicting a blood-stained knife plunged into the back of a girl who didn't seem to have any clothes on, the Wing Commander held the more serious contemporary novelists in a fine contempt.

[zer010]

While some will probably give it a thumbs down, Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. If you've never read the Gunslinger saga, I would highly recommend it.

Another of my favorite authors from long ago is Madeleine L'Engle. "A Wrinkle in Time" and those following were quite intriguing.

[BlinkinCat]

While some will probably give it a thumbs down, Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. If you've never read the Gunslinger saga, I would highly recommend it.

Another of my favorite authors from long ago is Madeleine L'Engle. "A Wrinkle in Time" and those following were quite intriguing.

Thanks zer010, all that matters is that you enjoy what you are reading. Although many would like the choices made on the first post, I have little doubt many would not particularly enjoy other authors I like -
These include -
Alexander McCall Smith (The Scotland Street Series)
Lawrence Sanders (The Archie McNally Series)
Stephen Hunter
Robert Crais
John Sandford
John Grisham
John Clarkson
Elizabeth Darrell
Micheal Connelly
Lawrence Block
Kenneth Cameron
Colin Bateman

I would just again just like to thank all posters to this thread. I have found that some of your choices are not available at my library, however I may choose to follow some up with purchases from Amazon - :)

[mips]

Wilbur Smith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Smith) (River God, The Seventh Scroll, Warlock, The Quest)

Daniel Easterman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Easterman) This guy writes some brilliant dark religion based thrillers.

[Bachstelze]

Woah, no Hemingway?

[Random_Dude]

I've been reading Philip K. **** lately.
I just bought "The Man in the High Castle", it's supposed to be one of the best books he wrote. Let's see if it lives up to the reviews.

EDIT: The name is censored automatically by the forum. With the amount of science fiction geeks around, everyone probably knows who I'm talking about. :lol:

[BlinkinCat]

Thanks again mips!


Woah, no Hemingway?
No that is my shameful admission - but I will make a point of it - thank you

Random_Dude - I know who you mean - I have not read anything of his but will!

[Pujims]

A fun lighthearted author to get young readers interested is Piers Anthony. I got two of kids interested in reading using his Xanth novels

[sanderella]

Currently, I like Charlaine Harris. :D

[Bachstelze]

A fun lighthearted author to get young readers interested is Piers Anthony. I got two of kids interested in reading using his Xanth novels

Also Roald Dahl.

[BlinkinCat]

A fun lighthearted author to get young readers interested is Piers Anthony. I got two of kids interested in reading using his Xanth novels


Currently, I like Charlaine Harris. :D


Also Roald Dahl.

Thank each of you for your input - :)

Edit: Time to mark this thread as solved - I now have quite a list of authors and books from which I will be able to obtain many hours of enjoyable reading - Many thanks to all contributors - :p

[ice60]

i'm going to read this next. it's a true story -
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Kate Summerscale.
i don't know how good it is though!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jeETaoc8eg

i remember i liked void moon by Micheal Connelly. i saw you mention him.

i want to read this too. every reviewer gave it 5 stars -
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gulag-Archipelago-1918-1956-Perennial-Classics/dp/0060007761

[BlinkinCat]

i'm going to read this next. it's a true story -
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Kate Summerscale.
i don't know how good it is though!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jeETaoc8eg

i remember i liked void moon by Micheal Connelly. i saw you mention him.

i want to read this too. every reviewer gave it 5 stars -
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gulag-Archipelago-1918-1956-Perennial-Classics/dp/0060007761

Thanks for your thoughts ice60 - they are appreciated - I will read those books too - :P