[Dewman]

Personally, I really like John Steinbeck. I've read several of his works and I think "Of Mice and Men" would be my favorite with "Tortilla Flat" a close second. I've read a few of Hemmingway's novels but could never get into it very much. He tends to wander off into the wild blue yonder a lot and leave me in the dark as to where he's at at the moment.


I've read several books by an author named Vardis Fisher. He wrote a book called "The Mothers," about the ill-fated Donner Party disaster. A gripping tale, for sure. He also wrote a book (excellent, by the way!) called "Mountain Man," about Liver Eatin' Johnson. It was the basis for the movie "Jeremiah Johnson," starring Robert Redford. He has written several very good books. One called "Tale of Valor," about Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery is superb!


Bill Dugan comes to mind, also. He wrote a series of books called "The Great Chiefs." They detail, in historical novel form, the life and times of the great American Indian chiefs.


Kyle Onstott, Carl Merlantes, Kahlil Gibran.


I tried reading science fiction, but just couldn't bring myself to stick with it. Maybe I'm not imaginative enough.


Dewman
SW Idaho, USA

[Tako Kichi]

Hmmm, difficult, there are a number of authors that I like but here are a few of my favourites and why:

Terry Pratchett
TP writes science fantasy and has written more than 40 books about a single planet (Discworld) and I have almost all of them (just missing some newer ones and some spin-off books). TP likes to parody life on earth and his books often have a 'theme' which rips apart well known stories/events/plays etc.

Spike Milligan
Spike was a famous UK comedian/writer/poet who excelled in many fields (radio comedy, TV shows and the written word) but his series of war memoirs covering his experiences during WWII are particular favourites of mine. A great man who I still miss.

Tom Sharpe
A prolific author who's books contain a lot of true life experiences (even if exaggerated by his characters) and he really captures the essence of the story in his books. His works have lots of humour (sometimes dark humour) and make you think at the same time. Several of his books were made into TV shows/series in the UK.

J.K.Rowling
The HP series is a favourite of mine and I have all 7 books and the 8 movies (the last book was split between 2 movies) and I have read the series of books from start to finish several times.

[SpecialK]

I read a lot of Ray Bradbury as a kid. Rather flowery writing. I think Isaac Asimov's I, Robot; the Foundation trilogy; and his "robot novels" are my favorites for the subject matter, though his style is rather...unflowery :-)

The short story "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester is a favorite, and I was recently introduced to some of J.G. Ballard's short stories that have an unusual and bleak viewpoint.

I read and enjoyed a couple of James Michener's (long) novels such as Hawaii (about, um, the development of Hawaii...), and The Source (a particular archeological dig in the midEast, with each chapter covering the time-frame of a discovered relic). These are fiction but heavily researched for authenticity.

King Rat (about WWII POWs) by James Clavell (also an excellent movie), and Falconer (set in a prison) by John Cheever are a couple novels I enjoyed.

[kharry2012]

Larry Mcmurty / Lonesome Dove
VS Naipaul / A House for Mr Biswas or The Mystic Masseur
Cormac McCarthy / The Road or Blood Meridian or No Country for Old Men
David Mitchell / Cloud Atlas
JM Coetzee / Disgrace
Jim Harrison / Legends of the Fall
Salman Rushdie / Midnight's Children
Annie Proulx / Close Range
J.R.R. Tolkien / The Hobbit

I like fiction. Each of these books spoke to me and enlarged my perception of the world. High definition writing on every page. Almost photographic in fact.

[magkelly]

I read such a wide variety of things and have so many favorites that picking just a few is actually very hard for me. I have "favorites" in every genre practically. I read the classics. I read junk like romance novels and thrillers. I read poetry, non fiction on topics galore. I'm big on horror and romantic era poetry so I like Stoker, the Shelly's, Byron, the Brontes, stuff like that. I like LeFanu, Bloch, Matheson, King, Yarbro, Rice, all of the major horror authors, name one and I've probably read them to death plus many not so well known ones besides. I'm a rabid Sherlock Holmes fan, always have been, so Doyle, though I like all of his stuff not just Holmes. Tolkien, Lackey, Rowling, Baudino, Huff, just about all of the major high fantasy stuff I've read it. I'm not as much into Sci Fi with the exception of TV show related stuff. I've read most of the books for Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactic TOS, Alien Nation, V etc.

I've always liked classic monsters so anything good related to vampire, werewolf mummy lore I've likely read it, but I don't like a lot of the newer series stuff like that anymore. There are some exceptions but lately it's all very formula driven and I get tired of reading the same thing over and over again. I'm not a Twilight fan, let's put that way. I like thrillers, been reading a lot of Heather Graham lately and I'm actually in the middle of one by Inger Ash Wolf at the moment. I just saw the movie they did of "The Calling" I went to read the book and the sequel after because I liked it. I read Dickens, Wilde, Poe, all the time. But goes back and forth from pulp horror stuff to thrillers to romance novels and back again. It's just what I am in the mood for at any given time.

Non fiction I read everything from truly obscure books on medieval witchcraft and the Inquisition to modern ghost hunter junk paranormal stuff. I read tons of books on art, photography, cooking, and various crafts. Lots of bios, particularly bios of old silver screen film stars and historical figures. I'm currently in the middle of a new beading book, a book on using available light, a newer biography of Aleister Crowley, and a very serious scholarly academic oriented 2 volume tome on the history, psychology, and neurobiology of Possession and Exorcism by a guy named Patrick McNamara. He actually wrote another book on Nightmares that I thought was really good so when I saw this set I picked it up too. I'm also reading a book of poetry by John O'Donohue that I apparently missed. I was very sad to find out he died recently actually. Most of his books are still physically on my shelf, not just e-books. I read a lot on comparative religion. I've read a lot of stuff related to Buddhism, Witchcraft, Wicca, Hinduism, Gnostic Christianity related stuff like the Nag Hammadi. Authors like Elaine Pagels, Matthew Fox, Andrew Harvey, Micheal Baigent, I've read a lot by them. Most of the major religions, their "holy" books I've studied all that pretty extensively in and out of college. I've read a lot about various cults and their beliefs, and various cultures and their mythology too. I'm not particularly religious myself but why people believe what they do it has always fascinated me.

I've read a lot of Earth Science related books. I'm fascinated by rocks, minerals, volcanoes, etc. A lot of stuff on various big epidemics, like AIDS, Ebola, The Black Death etc. I've admittedly got a very morbid side and I'm always reading books related to death and forensic criminology. Serial killer books, particularly anything on Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden. I've read most of what's out there on the Black Dahlia murder too. Dance and music related books, everything out there on yoga practically, lots of history related books. I've read a lot of stuff on the Civil War, WWII. Quite a bit on the Revolutionary War too actually. Some on Vietnam and wars after but not as much.

In other words, just about everything and anything related to any subject that interests me. I have probably as many books as my local branch library, maybe more. Most of them are e-books at this point. No room for anything else, they number in the double thousands, and I add to them all the time. I've probably read 2/3 of it at least, but I daresay I'll not finish them all before I die even at the rate I read, laugh. I read 30-50 books a week, easy unless I am learning something, crafting a lot, or catching up on the few shows I watch. I belong to several libraries online and off...

[JinDesu]

I like many authors (Terry Goodkind, Robert B. Parker, Steve Perry, William King, and more), but my favorite is Terry Pratchett. If anything, for this line:

“If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards!”

If comics count for authors (and to me, I would say yes - if the comic sells itself on literary play/thoughtful passages), then Bill Amends/Bill Watterson.

[jimr-pdx]

I'm pretty much a fiction guy. My sister loaned me Tolkien's stuff in 1968 and I loved it. Recently though I'd put Ursula LeGuin slightly above JRR; her alternate visions are amazing and thorough, whether Earthsea the Hainish set or the spooky Lathe of Heaven. When I saw Avatar I left thinking that her 'Planet of Exile' would have been far better material. Sci-fi masters like Asimov and Herbert are also fun reads for me, also Tolkien's buddy CS Lewis with Narnia and his space trilogy. Some of the less-spooky thriller types from Dean Koontz (esp. Strangers!) and Stephen King (the Talisman w/P.Straub), but I find those not as consistently interesting as the others. My last huge series was the Wheel of Time and its cast of thousands, now I'm following up by reading Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I do love many classics from Dickens and such, but even there Wells and Verne caught me more readily. The 'Game of Thrones' works are too explicit and savage for my taste, even 2nd-hand rereads at tor.com are too strong.

Oops, almost forgot Douglas Adams - bizarre, but in a good way really enjoyed Hitchhikers and the Dirk Gently novel.

[bigted]

Oh boy, my favourites vary from the quickie paperback to true works of literature. Basically I'll read anything as long as it isn't a Harelquin romance.

My favourite modern author is Bryce Courtenay, he turned to writing later in life. My favourite of his is The Power of One. He passed away in 2012 and I miss is writing.

If I want a quick read then I like John Grisham, Jeffrey Archer, and Michael Connelly.

For more classic reading my favourites are Thomas Hardy Tess D'Ubervilles, John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.

[wildman]

Who are your favorite authors.... and why?

Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov 1880.
John Steinbeck - the Grapes of Wrath 1939. Both the book and the film.
D. H. Lawrence - Women in Love and Lady Chatterley's Lover.

There are other books by other authors, of course, but these quickly jump to mind.

Right now I'm reading the poems of Rilke (Rainer Maria Rilke 1875 – 1926).
I'm trying to wade through them, both in translation and in the original German, but it's heavy going.

Why? Without writing a tome, because they deal with the fundamental issues of human existence and meaning.

For a break from all this I watch the kids show "Thomas and Friends" on PBS. I'm not kidding - it's a refreshing
break for an old man. When even that fails there is always sitting out on the porch with my beloved cat in my
lap watching the birds - life is good.

[boriscleto]

I'm primarily a fan of the Science Fiction & Fantasy genres so my list probably isn't as long as some others.

I'm really hoping George RR Martin finishes the Song of Ice and Fire series before he dies. Otherwise we'll end up with the mess that is Dune after Chapterhouse...

In no particular order: Frank Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, Piers Anthony, Kim Stanley Robinson, David Brin, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova, Lloyd Alexander, J.K. Rowling

If you want to include graphic novels/comics: Bill Willingham, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman

[Rondec]

JRR Tolkien -- Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion (didn't like The Hobbit very much -- a very different feel from the other stories).
Raymond Chandler -- The Big Sleep (Best Philip Marlow novel by far).
Wilkie Collins -- The Woman White (well done Gothic novel by a contemporary of Dickens)
Stephen R Donaldson -- First Thomas Covenant trilogy (tough to wade through, but well drawn characters).

But I don't read much for fun any more.

[reeftool]

I'm also a si-fi reader. My favorites have been Larry Niven and Frank Herbert. I've read a lot of other sci-fi authors but these two guys I've read a lot. One of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time is Walter Miller's " A Canticle for Leibowitz". I've also enjoyed several Tom Clancy novels and also Stephen King.

[Tom S.]

Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe series)
Stephen King (Hit and miss, but mostly hits.)
James Clavell (Especially the Shogun series)
John Grisham
Tom Clancy (Until he stopped writing and farmed it out.)
James Michener
J. K. Rowling
Ian Fleming
Dean Koontz (Especially the Odd Thomas series.)
Ernie Sledge (Old Breed)
Stephen E. Ambrose (Band of Brothers)
Clive Cussler

And at least a dozen I'm forgetting.

[RoxnDox]

I'm with Mags - just about anything and everything (except the romances, those I skip...), and darn near impossible to pick a favorite. Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, JK Rowling, King, Clavell, Turtledove, and many many others... In general, I do prefer the harder SF with good world-building, but a good story is more important than a believably accurate world. And the world setting doesn't matter if it is today, future, alternate history, or pure fantasy. Or whether its a happy place or bloody gore, as long as there's a good story

Jim

[savoche]

Hmm... Some of my favourite authors are unknown, lost in time. I have really enjoyed reading some of the Sagas of Icelanders, like Njáls saga and Gìsla saga, and also Egla (Egil's saga). I suppose those almost count as fantasy even though they are very much based on real life Iceland about a millennium ago. To think this great literature was produced in the backwaters of civilisation on the outskirts of the known world...

Apart from that:
- Tolkien, of course. LotR I have read in three languages by now (To be fair, two of those languages are both Norwegian - but still different languages...)
- Alexander McCall Smith writes very good light reads. Perfect travel literature.
- Conn Iggulden does a good job of breathing life into history with his novels.
- Dostoyevksy I find demanding but brilliant. "Crime and punishment" was a very dark and fascinating read.