NationStates Jolt Archive

Who is yours? Mine right now is Joseph Conrad. I was introduced to him last fall with "Heart of Darkness." I didn't like it at first, but I was haunted by it, then read it again, and eventually rated it as my all time favorite book. I'm now about a third-way through Nostromo, and it does not dissapoint me. I plan to read his other books later.

Charles Bukowski, D.H Lawrence, and Philip K. Dick are my top three, but I enjoy so many more.

Hm. I don't really have a favorite. Or at least, all my favorites seem to produce terrible work before and after the one book that really drew me in. So disappointing. :p

It's a toss up between Robert Heinlein and CJ Cherryh.

Dr Seuss.

Fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction. But if you feel so strongly about a non-fiction author with no imagination, please, do post.

Fiction. But if you feel so strongly about a non-fiction author with no imagination, please, do post.

Hmmm. I can't think of one. I have several. So hard to decide! :p

Fiction. But if you feel so strongly about a non-fiction author with no imagination, please, do post.

Does it have to be 'with no imagination'?

What about Truman Capote?

Not that he's my favourite, I'm just questioning the clause.

My favorite author is God. He wrote a unique book, a book like no other, called the Bible.

YOU should try reading it sometime. :D

Dr Seuss.

I was thinking I didn't have a favourite until I saw this - of course Dr Seuss.

Does it have to be 'with no imagination'?

What about Truman Capote?

Not that he's my favourite, I'm just questioning the clause.

Obviously, they must. It's just inherent with the genre. Fiction involves telling a story, whereas nonfiction involves reporting or interpreting facts, and by definition, limits the scope of creativity.

Robert Heinlein and J.R.R. Tolkien are my personal favorites.

EDIT: Might as well go with Douglas Adams, Chuck Palahniuk and Hunter S. Thompson as well, since they've been mentioned. :p

Big fan of Stephan Baxter

Obviously, they must. It's just inherent with the genre. Fiction involves telling a story, whereas nonfiction involves reporting or interpreting facts, and by definition, limits the scope of creativity.

You can't be creative in reporting facts, in the way you evoke the scene and the emotions involved?

I'd say it can be harder to report true facts in a fresh and original way, and therefore more creative, than coming up with fiction.

Does Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang count as fiction or non?

An author is an author is an author.

Obviously, they must. It's just inherent with the genre. Fiction involves telling a story, whereas nonfiction involves reporting or interpreting facts, and by definition, limits the scope of creativity.

I agree. It's like saying Bill O'Rielly is your favorite author. Well, that's the worst example possible, but you get the drift, right?

I agree. It's like saying Bill O'Rielly is your favorite author. Well, that's the worst example possible, but you get the drift, right?

Right. He's a news comentator, and one of the best damn ones there is out there:).

Right. He's a news comentator, and one of the best damn ones there is out there:).

Lolz.

He's the worst example because everything he says is a work of fiction.

I'm obsessed with Tennessee Williams. I write all of my poems in his memory, often with obscure references to his works.

Delilo, Oates, Melville, Shakespeare, Palahniuk, Moore, Vollman...a few others

Douglas Adams.

At the moment, Jeanette Winterson. I also like Robert Ludlum, in terms of entertainment.

Who is yours? Mine right now is Joseph Conrad. I was introduced to him last fall with "Heart of Darkness." I didn't like it at first, but I was haunted by it, then read it again, and eventually rated it as my all time favorite book. I'm now about a third-way through Nostromo, and it does not dissapoint me. I plan to read his other books later.

Originally Posted by Prumpa
Fiction. But if you feel so strongly about a non-fiction author with no imagination, please, do post.


Conrad is an outstanding writer, especially when you consider that English was his second language.

A great many "non-fiction" writers I know of are very imaginative and creative, especially with the truth. Read the works of some politicians - especially during an election year.

I would have to say that my favorites are Robert Heinlein, Lois McMaster Bujold, Marge Piercy, Herman Wouk, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Helen Hooven Santmyer, James Doss, John Hillerman, Lillian Jackson Braun, Elizabeth Peters, Michael Jenks, Tolkein and several others.

Bernard Cornwell, for the moment. Great stuff.

Also been reading alot of Hunter S. Thompson. Gonzo lives. http://www.derbypost.com/hunter.html

William S. Burroughs, obvoiusly (if you have sigs turned on, if not it may not be so obvious) Most of the beats as well, with grains of salt applied where neccisary.

Karel Chapek I've been digging on after reading War With the Newts.

Stanislaw Lem, Paul Auster. Italio Calvino (only read one thing, so maybe not)

Those are the only ones right now that I can think of having read more than one book by.

Playwrights would be Mamet, Beckett, Ackborn, Brecht. At least those are the ones that have most heavily influenced my own plays.

Huxley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World), Huxley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_%281962_novel%29), and Huxley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Counter_Point)

i have many, a few of whome i've had the pleasure to personally meet. that's one of the things the kind of conventions put on by fandom rather then media are for.

among these are the late great raffiel alloisius lafferty (d. 2002).
(and like i say, many many others, several in fact, for every letter of the alphabet)

for nonfiction i'd go with the many submitters of tecnical reports to scientific and tecnological journals. as well as 'how to' articles in hobby genre publications.

when it comes to politics and political journalism, i'd have to go with amy goodman and her crew and such lights as nome chomsky and howard zinn.

not that i've actually read political commentary in book form. it seems a waiste of perfectly good trees for something that is by its very nature in such an extreme and eternal state of dynamic flux.

=^^=
.../\...

Who is yours? Mine right now is Joseph Conrad. I was introduced to him last fall with "Heart of Darkness." I didn't like it at first, but I was haunted by it, then read it again, and eventually rated it as my all time favorite book. I'm now about a third-way through Nostromo, and it does not dissapoint me. I plan to read his other books later.

I had to study it for literature and did an essay on it for my school exam.

Stanislaw Lem, Paul Auster. Italio Calvino (only read one thing, so maybe not)


Hey, another Lem fan! :)

Everyone I know (including myself) has read only one thing from Calvino, Invisible Cities for me. :p Kinda funny - it's probably on account of his being so popular in English classes and harder to find at the library.

My favourite author is God. He wrote a unique book, a book like no other, called the Bible.

I'm fairly certain that God, who has no physical body and therefore cannot write, did not write the bible. I think you'll find the followers of Jesus wrote it. A common misconception.


My favourite author would have to be Mr Robert Jordan creator of the Wheel of Time series. In the world of fantasy novel writing I think he has created a masterpiece that could outlive the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien given the same level of publicity.

Dr Seuss.

Yay! :D

I don't have a favorite. But Isaac Asimov will always hold a special place of honor in my mind. *nod*

My favorite author is God. He wrote a unique book, a book like no other, called the Bible.

YOU should try reading it sometime. :D

Very good book, but I never really cared for fictionalize accounts of historical events. :p

I'm fairly certain that God, who has no physical body and therefore cannot write, did not write the bible. I think you'll find the followers of Jesus wrote it. A common misconception.

You must be a priest.

All-time: Marcel Proust.

Current: Christopher Hitchens. (non-fiction)

80's sitcom minor character author: J. Peterman. (catalogue writer)

Hmmm, Charles Stross, Andreas Eschbach and Andreas Schlüter are my favorite authors.

I'm fairly certain that God, who has no physical body and therefore cannot write, did not write the bible. I think you'll find the followers of Jesus wrote it. A common misconception.


My favourite author would have to be Mr Robert Jordan creator of the Wheel of Time series. In the world of fantasy novel writing I think he has created a masterpiece that could outlive the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien given the same level of publicity.

QFT.

You must be a priest.


Funnily enough no I’m just someone who likes to question, personally have no religion.
But I’m fairly confidant when I say that across all religions people are following books written by other followers. How will that ever be an accurate record of events? But I suppose they fit well into the Fiction category.

Sorry if anyone takes offence, but hey you should look at it from both viewpoints?!

My favorite author is God. He wrote a unique book, a book like no other, called the Bible.

YOU should try reading it sometime. :D
It seems to me not that different from other religious texts... and if you say the bible is written by God? how do you deal with all the other books which claim to be wriotten by God? do they all lie? if yes, can you be sure the bible did not lie? What makes you sure? Feeling? As a Sikh you'd feel the same about their holy book* and as a Muslim you'd feel like that about the Quran**. Reason? if yes what reasoning?

Sorry for rambling, but these questions still nag me because I want to undertand religion.

* My knowledge about their religion is slim at best, correct me if I misstated the statuis of the 'last master'.
** dictated by God and written by God are fairly similar here, eh?

Captain WE Johns, H Rider Haggard ,Richmal Compton, Jules Verne, Tom Holt

All-time: Marcel Proust.

Current: Christopher Hitchens. (non-fiction)

80's sitcom minor character author: J. Peterman. (catalogue writer)

What was he in before Seinfeld?

recent authors:

Robert Frezza
Alastair Reynolds

Ohhh Loads, I have just finished 'The Third Policman' by Flan O'Brien that was good, and 'Slaughtehouse 5' by Kurt Vonnegut, which was also good, but I have also just finished 'Sunset and Sawdust' by my current fave Joe R Lansdale Which was very good.

I don't know how many people here have heard of Joe R Lansdale, although each time I mention him anywhere I get the blank looks, but I highly recomend him.

Captain WE Johns, H Rider Haggard ,Richmal Compton, Jules Verne, Tom Holt

Johns was just superb. Have you read his sci-fi novels?

For me, Heinlein, Weber and Drake are personal faves, though I willingly devour anything Asimov.

i can't get enough of pratchett at the moment, i've been reading his books for years but i'm in exactly the right frame of mind for them now.

otherwise, j. g. ballard, arthur c. clarke, isaac asimov, ian rankin, reginald hill, ray lorega, hanif kureishi and plenty others.

Douglas Adams.

Seconded.


My favourite author would have to be Mr Robert Jordan creator of the Wheel of Time series. In the world of fantasy novel writing I think he has created a masterpiece that could outlive the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien given the same level of publicity.

Eh, Tolkien has to be recognised for making Fantasy mainstream. In modern writers I think George R. R. Martin is best, certainly better than Jordan.

Who is yours? Mine right now is Joseph Conrad. I was introduced to him last fall with "Heart of Darkness." I didn't like it at first, but I was haunted by it, then read it again, and eventually rated it as my all time favorite book. I'm now about a third-way through Nostromo, and it does not dissapoint me. I plan to read his other books later.

Douglas Adams. His fake-eloquent style works really well when describing funny things. Which happen all the time.

It is a tie between J.K. Rowling and Douglas Adams. I just love Harry Potter and The Guide is just hilarious.

Douglas Adams, Philip K. Dick, Patrick McLean (podcaster actually. Look up "The Seanachai" or "How to Succeed in Evil").

Hermann Hesse, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Kurt Vonnegut

Terry Pratchett/ Stephen Fry. Douglas Adams would get an honourable mention, as do the Naylor brothers.

Allen Ginsberg, Eric Arthur Blair, Edward Abbey, Jack Kerouac, Sandra Cisneros, though I really like nonfiction author Noam Chomsky

Agatha Christie, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway.

I'd say for the moment: Alexandre Dumas and Johnathan Swift.

Stephen King, Ursula K.LeGuin, Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick, Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (but only when they write together), P.J. O'Rourke when I want to laugh, and Orson Scott Card, to name a few.

erm... Max Barry? :D

erm... Max Barry? :D

Suckup.

Jack London, George Orwell and a bunch of others, but since I basically only read one of their books they don't warrant a seperate mention. :p

Hey, another Lem fan! :)
You should really read Chapek then. You'll probably like it.

Everyone I know (including myself) has read only one thing from Calvino, Invisible Cities for me. :p Kinda funny - it's probably on account of his being so popular in English classes and harder to find at the library.
Same book. An English professor friend of mine gave it to me.

Poppy Z Brite
Steven Brust
Neil Gaiman
Terry Goodkind
Ellen Kushner
Terry Pratchet
Kaori Yuki (X3)

I'm pretty firmly convinced that there isn't a novel by Brust or Gaiman that can be written badly. They have wonderful, unique voices and characters and... I am shamelessly obsessed with their writing X3

My favorite author is God. He wrote a unique book, a book like no other, called the Bible.

YOU should try reading it sometime. :D

I felt that the continuity was poorly done. I mean did Palestine get conquered overnight with some magical horn blowing round a city or a slow and protracted migrational conflict? You can't have it both ways!

Fiction. But if you feel so strongly about a non-fiction author with no imagination, please, do post.

That would be Sun Tzu or Machiavelli. Either of them had more imagination than most writers.

peter f hamilton at ze moment
Isaac Asimov is good
Robert Sheckley kicks arse
I was a dt fanatic

Right now, Jonathan Ames. He's not for everybody, but I love his stuff so much! He's freakin genius.

Robert Heinlein and J.R.R. Tolkien are my personal favorites.

EDIT: Might as well go with Douglas Adams, Chuck Palahniuk and Hunter S. Thompson as well, since they've been mentioned. :p

Bernard Cornwell, for the moment. Great stuff.

Also been reading alot of Hunter S. Thompson. Gonzo lives. http://www.derbypost.com/hunter.html
:eek: Awesome!

That would be Sun Tzu or Machiavelli. Either of them had more imagination than most writers.

Having read both of those, I can say that I can't answer to that. I'd have to read them untranslated.