Bryaxis Hecatee Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Don Camillo was also made into hugely succesfull movies in the late 50's/early 60's, they're hilarious ! I'll look a bit like a broken record but I too am a huge fan of Tolkien and F. Herbert, but I also like Tom Clancy a lot. Other than that i must say a good Walter Scott or a R.L. Stevenson please me a lot, like a Jules Verne or a Alexandre Dumas. Victor Hugo i'm a bit more reserved while I must confess I can't stand Stendhal nor Balzac. Arthur Conan Doyle is also an author I like to read, as is R. Feist ( a Fantasy author who created the world of Krondor ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docoflove1974 Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 I do like Clancy's early novels...while the movie was well-done, The Hunt For Red October was a fantastic read. But he got long-winded, boring...and uses ghost-writers. Nope, no more for me. Same with Michael Crichton. I forgot one big one: AA Milne. Winnie the Pooh was a childhood favorite...but I still read it today. I have a crush on Pooh Bear, I admit it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDickey Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Wow. This is a hard one for me. There are so many. Hemingway is definitely on my list. So is James Joyce. F. Scott Fitzgerald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) Don Camillo is where I got Lambrusco from. Castor oil settles matters rather than bullets. One day the soccer teams, both communist and Christian, were praying to God for victory. The priest quipped that if God granted one their prayer, the other could justly curse God. ------------------- Anyone mention: P.G. Woodhouse Mark Twain Oscar Wilde Edited January 25, 2008 by Gaius Octavius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docoflove1974 Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 I had Mr. Clemens (the writer, not the cheating pitcher) on my list...and Oscar Wilde is on my list to read. DDickey: I really tried to give James Joyce a try. But I barely got through his stories, and can't remember a lick of them, other than they were dull. Eh, to each their own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Augusta Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 For modern authors, Renault cannot be surpassed for me in historical fiction terms; I'm sorry but there is no one to touch her, although when Manda Scott learns to trim her prose she may approach that holy altar. I would say that Donna Gillespie has that title. I think that Scott writes great, but Gillespie is a great writer - for me, she's the natural successor to Mary Renault. Of course, it's all about opinion, but the Light Bearer and Lady of the Light are modern classics - for me, that term is bandied about too often, but with Gillespie its deserved. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Manda Scott but Gillespie's writing transcends anything I've ever read. I feel that her work will be more appreciated as time goes on. Her biggest "fault" is that her output is slow, but I guess genius takes time! Put it this way, if you read her user comments on amazon, you'll find more than one person saying that the works changed their lives. I've not put that comment on there, but it is true for me too. I can't recommend her work highly enough. Cheers Russ Well, this lady has completely passed me by, I'm afraid. I've never heard of her! Is she British? On your recommendation, lanista, I shall go hunting for her books now. But I can relate to the 'life-changing' feeling. There are just certain authors that grab you and never let you go. Thanks again for the recommendation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornelius_sulla Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Science fiction and fantasy are it for me. I read a lot of non fiction, and I find that all that reality can be really taxing. What better salve that to leave Planet Earth altogether? Tolkien, Frank and Brian Herbert, Raymond.E.Feist, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, TERRY PRATCHETT (he's the man, homey), Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin....the list is long and chock filled with wonderful writers who've created wicked worlds. And all of the books are better than their Hollywood big screen adaptations. I've yet to find a contemporary author that isn't just re-hashing the classics written by these luminaries, though. Any suggestions. Anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silentium Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Just novels or also poetry and plays? Some of my favourite contemporary novels are , Proust's In Search of Lost Time, Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, Notre Dame de Paris (Victor Hugo), Tolstoy's War and Peace...the list is endless. "The Late Mattia Pascal" by Pirandello is my favourite Italian novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustus Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Science fiction and fantasy are it for me. I read a lot of non fiction, and I find that all that reality can be really taxing. What better salve that to leave Planet Earth altogether? Tolkien, Frank and Brian Herbert, Raymond.E.Feist, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, TERRY PRATCHETT (he's the man, homey), Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin....the list is long and chock filled with wonderful writers who've created wicked worlds. And all of the books are better than their Hollywood big screen adaptations. I've yet to find a contemporary author that isn't just re-hashing the classics written by these luminaries, though. Any suggestions. Anybody? SF - find some A.E. Van Vogt: Universe Maker, World of Null-A, Players of Null-A, Slan (CLICK) (first chapters of some) (Null-A; Non Aristotelian Awareness; every page moves the story forward) Van Vogt was always interested in the idea of all-encompassing systems of knowledge (akin to modern meta-systems), the characters in his very first story used a system called 'Nexialism' to analyze the alien's behaviour. Van Vogt operated a storefront for Dianetics, the secular precursor to Hubbard's Church of Scientology, in the Los Angeles area for a time. Writer and critic Damon Knight wrote in 1945 that "van Vogt is not a giant as often maintained. He's only a pygmy using a giant typewriter". Faustus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladius Hispaniensis Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Arthur Conan Doyle is also an author I like to read Excellent choice my dear Bryaxis! Although I am a Sherlock Holmes fan myself, my late father told me Conan Doyle's non-detective novels are also very good. I will take the time to read them some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spittle Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Edward Bunker 'No Beast So Fierce'. Semi-autobiographical novel. Bunker had a chaotic childhood and ended up with the usual cycle of substance misuse and institutionalisation. It may sound like a million other books but he did it best. P.G.WOODHOUSE. Hats off to Bertie Wooster and his genius valet 'Jeeves'. Its pure escape into a lighthearted and hillarious world of aristocratic idiots with little to do except waste the family fortune. How P.G. managed to write these books without dipping a toe into social commentary is genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladius Hispaniensis Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Edward Bunker 'No Beast So Fierce'. Semi-autobiographical novel. Bunker had a chaotic childhood and ended up with the usual cycle of substance misuse and institutionalisation. It may sound like a million other books but he did it best. P.G.WOODHOUSE. Hats off to Bertie Wooster and his genius valet 'Jeeves'. Its pure escape into a lighthearted and hillarious world of aristocratic idiots with little to do except waste the family fortune. How P.G. managed to write these books without dipping a toe into social commentary is genius. Woodhouse is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Paulinus Maximus Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Has anybody read any of Tad Williams work? I'm not really much of a fan of Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels but quite a while ago a friend lent me a series of books by this author called "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" It was one of the most entertaining series I've ever read. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/tad-williams/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaius Octavius Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 And Wodehouse wrote it all while living on Long Island, N.Y., USA. Did you know that my personal hero, Bertie, subsequently became the MP for Rushey Platt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornelius_sulla Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Has anybody read any of Tad Williams work?http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/tad-williams/ Yeah! I've read Memory, Sorry and Thorn, and thought it was entertaining if not as engrossing as the works of the masters of the genre. I just couldn't seem to get lost in his world the way I did in Middle Earth or Arrakis. Mr. Williams is, in my humble opinion, one of the better 'modern' sci fi writers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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