Favorite writers?

[Nonsensical]

Stephen King may be my favorite, but more or less because of the books. He's a great intuitive writer, and it's a joy to pick up on his references and nuances (when I recognize them).

Henry David Thoreau- I recently finished reading Walden and Civil Disobedience and really really understand and am passionate about his ideals. He also knows how to use words in a creative way.

J. D. Salinger- numerous books he have published I love, i.e: Cather in the Rye.

J.R.R. Tolkein- I need not say. He is brilliant.

 

[phthalocyanine]

i second kafka, orwell, poe, goethe, bradbury, asimov, vonnegut, palahniuk, burroughs, dahl, and rand (agree also that her philosophy kinda sucked)

i add:

hermann hesse
carson mccullers
philip k dick
allen ginsberg
leo tolstoy
anais nin

 

[01011010]

Fyodor Dostoevsky -- I've only read two of his books, and already I count him as one of the greats. He wrote of the moral and spiritual realms with an insight almost unmatched by any other novelist. He knew how to spin a tale, too.

Franz Kafka -- He transforms the mundane into the surreal and the surreal into the mundane until I can't tell the difference. Some say he's disturbing, but I'm amused by every little flourish that turns life into something absurd.

Friedrich Nietzsche -- A poet, a philosopher, and a psychologist, all in one.

Ayn Rand -- Not a consistent writer and an even worse philosopher, but when she wrote well, she wrote well.

Lewis Carroll -- There's a reason the Alice books keep getting made into films.

Good list. I've enjoyed almost every book Dostoyvesky has written. Highly recommend you read the rest.



OP: I don't really have any favorites, but for this thread I will say it's Dostoyvesky and Nietzsche.

 

[Liminality]

Robin Jarvis.
JKR.
David Cleament-Davis.
Richard Bach.
James Riordan.
Haruki Murakami - more admiration than liking (apart from Kafka, which is awesome incarnate, the rest suck rancid hairy balls, Okay, The wind up bird chronicle did).
Roald Dahl.
David Gemmell.

Sarah waters, but only 50%, TtV and FS were phenomenal imo, the rest mediocre.

 

[Oom]

J.D. Salinger and William Gibson

 

[Spamtar]

Eead A Clockwork Orange at 16 and it has pretty much remained my favorite book since. Still enjoy Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series as very funny and creative.
Love Dostoevsky too. I also like early Irvine Welsh (pre Filth, although I enjoyed Filth too for all the wrong reasons). C.S. Lewis, George Orwell and Vladimir Nabokov wrote some great books. I tend to consistantly like Jack Kerouac's work.

 

[Sniffles]

Too many to list - plus I doubt many of you have heard of them even.

 

[avolkiteshvara]

off the top of my head

kurt vonnegut
william s burroughs
katherine dunn
alfred bester
chuck palahniuk
charles bukowski
robert mccammon
william gibson

Yes.

I'm not much for fiction. But Palahniuk has always grabbed me.

 

[Lux]

Kurt Vonnegut
David Sedaris
Jane Austen
Dante
JKR
Dr. Michio Kaku
Neil Gaiman
Cormac McCarthy
Hauraki Murakami
Homer
JRR Tolkien
Tom Robbins

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

James Clavell - without a doubt my favorite. The Asian Saga is a masterpiece (Tai Pan is incredible).

Barry Eisler - Most entertaining books I've ever read. The Rain series is awesome.

J. R. R. Tolkien - A genius. Most believable alternate universe ever created.

 

[Polaris]

I forgot to mention Mervyn Peake. He wrote the Gormenghast trilogy, which reads like a dark dream full of vivid images and eccentric characters.

 

[paperoceans]

Haruki Murakami