Friday OT - On Good Author-ity

  • After Iowa State won the Big 12, a Cyclone made a wonderful offer to We Will that now increases our match. Now all gifts up to $400,000 between now and the Final 4 will be matched. Please consider giving at We Will Collective.
    This notice can be dismissed using the upper right corner X button.

Angie

Tugboats and arson.
Staff member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Mar 27, 2006
28,183
12,852
113
IA
Who is your favorite author? Do you have more than one? What are your favorite works by them?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cyclonepride

coolerifyoudid

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2013
16,122
23,836
113
KC
I can't say I have a favorite, because my choices depend on my mood at the time. I like Preston and Child for the suspense/crime genre, though. Still Life With Crows is one of my favorites by them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Angie

MJ29

Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2020
2,580
5,329
113
I tend to read a lot of romance, so any author I list here will probably be unknown to most. But I definitely have a few authors whose books I pick up the day they come out without hesitation.
 

GMackey32

TJ's spy team member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Nov 2, 2009
15,470
22,163
113
37
Ames Via Cedar Falls
Seth Grahame-Smith has been a favorite for awhile
I just dug into Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City" and am enjoying it so I'll be looking up his other works
I also enjoy memoirs/biographies/autobiographies so it's hard to pin down a favorite author on those.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MeanDean and Angie

Cyclonepride

Thought Police
Staff member
Apr 11, 2006
96,591
57,460
113
53
A pineapple under the sea
www.oldschoolradical.com
Seth Grahame-Smith has been a favorite for awhile
I just dug into Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City" and am enjoying it so I'll be looking up his other works
I also enjoy memoirs/biographies/autobiographies so it's hard to pin down a favorite author on those.
I have The Devil in the White City on my wishlist. I read Dead Wake and really enjoyed it. Never really got into In the Garden of Beasts, but I'll probably go back and try it again.
 

Angie

Tugboats and arson.
Staff member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Mar 27, 2006
28,183
12,852
113
IA
I constantly come back and reread JD Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jane Austen. I'm a sucker for classics, and read them so much.

I really enjoy Christopher Moore, as well. I like some humor to lighten things up.
 

Angie

Tugboats and arson.
Staff member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Mar 27, 2006
28,183
12,852
113
IA
I tend to read a lot of romance, so any author I list here will probably be unknown to most. But I definitely have a few authors whose books I pick up the day they come out without hesitation.

I'm not a big romance reader, but I think I've read everything Emily Henry has put out (both young adult and romance), just because I like the wit in her dialogues!
 
  • Like
Reactions: MJ29

Mr Janny

Welcome to the Office of Secret Intelligence
Staff member
Bookie
SuperFanatic
Mar 27, 2006
40,948
28,669
113
Tolkien (obvious)
Orwell (Animal Farm)
Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive)
Richard Adams (Watership Down)
Great call on Richard Adams. That's one of my absolute favorite books.

Maybe I'm strange, but I don't really do "favorites" on anything outside of sports teams.

Naming "my favorite X" always feels limiting to me.

For authors, my first love will always be Franklin W. Dixon, who I don't believe was even a real person, but had their name on the cover of the Hardy Boys series that I voraciously consumed starting in 2nd grade.
 

MeanDean

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
Jan 5, 2009
13,250
17,898
113
Blue Grass IA-Jensen Beach FL
My reading has really dropped off since I moved. Used to read lots of biographies, autobiographies, and historical accounts - for a while really concentrating on true survival stories - Shipwrecks, Earthquakes, Plane crashes, POWs, etc.

Longtime favorite author is probably Robert A. Heinlein. Read most of his stuff over the years but the first one that got me hooked was one from the Scholastic Books thing through school, called "Have Spacesuit - Will Travel."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Angie

Saul_T

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2020
1,996
3,330
113
38
I really love Stephen King, but my favorite series of books is the Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin. He's an incredible writer and did an incredible job of world building.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Angie

isucyfan

Speechless
Apr 21, 2006
20,963
4,451
113
51
Saint Paul, MN
Mine is David Mitchell. He is most "famous" for his book Cloud Atlas being adapted into a so-so movie with Tom Hanks starring, but he is just an amazing author. He can write credibly in so many voices, and his books span genres as well. He has easter eggs/common threads throughout all of his novels that all tie in to his overall "universe". I am in the book biz, and have had a chance to meet him and chat with him a few times over the years, and he's a great guy to boot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Angie

GMackey32

TJ's spy team member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Nov 2, 2009
15,470
22,163
113
37
Ames Via Cedar Falls
I have The Devil in the White City on my wishlist. I read Dead Wake and really enjoyed it. Never really got into In the Garden of Beasts, but I'll probably go back and try it again.
I started on it the other day while at Jury Duty. Seems like it's going to be a quick read. I heard that Leonardo DiCaprio bought the rights to turn it into a movie which excites me.
 

madguy30

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2011
49,754
46,494
113
Don't read a ton but David James Duncan has some really great stuff. The River Why being a favorite. Neeed to read that again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Angie

Cyclonepride

Thought Police
Staff member
Apr 11, 2006
96,591
57,460
113
53
A pineapple under the sea
www.oldschoolradical.com
Stephen King (11/22/63)
Tom Clancy (and now the ghost writers) -the Jack Ryan Jr series
"New" author- Any Weir -Hail Mary -wow -maybe my favorite book ever (also wrote The Martian)
Stephen King is up there for me too. I like most of his books, though I tend to like his earlier work better (probably because I had more time to read then). Favorites: It and Salem's Lot
 

GMackey32

TJ's spy team member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Nov 2, 2009
15,470
22,163
113
37
Ames Via Cedar Falls
Stephen King is up there for me too. I like most of his books, though I tend to like his earlier work better (probably because I had more time to read then). Favorites: It and Salem's Lot
My Dad had a huge Stephen King collection when I was younger. Convinced me to read Cujo and Pet Semetary. Scared the crap out of me because I was like 10.