authors I'll automatically buy books from
Submitted by kbuxton on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 10:00
Tags:
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Tom Robbins
- Neil Gaiman
- William Gibson
- Peter F. Hamilton
- Will Self
- Julian Barnes
- Nick Bantock
- Haruki Murakami
- Christopher Moore
- Neal Stephenson
- Bruce Sterling
- Vernor Vinge
- Robert Anton Wilson
- Kim Stanley Robinson
- John Irving
- James Morrow
- Ian McDonald
- Jonathan Carroll
- Greg Egan
- Paul Di Filippo
- Charles Stross
- Richard Powers
Author Comments:
These are some of the authors whose books I'll automatically pick up when they're first available. (Sometimes I wait for paperback).
John Irving, Tom Robbins, and Kurt Vonnegut are favorites of mine-- and I've never heard of the other authors. Are they similar-- or more properly-- if I like those three do you think I will like the rest.
Well, I like them all obviously, but for many different reasons, so you might or might not.
Neil Gaiman -- Everyone should read Gaiman. He's fantasy (mostly) but in a very quirky sort of way. Check out Good Omens by him and Terry Pratchett as a starting point.
William Gibson -- cyberpunk
Peter F. Hamilton -- hard SF
Will Self -- kinda weird British author. Check out The Quantity Theory of Insanity
Julian Barnes -- somewhat less weird British author. Check out A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters
Nicholas Bantock -- Beautiful art/fiction books.
Haruki Murakami -- I bet you'd like his stuff. Try Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Christopher Moore -- Highly humorous author. Definitely worth a try. Bloodsucking Fiends is my favorite (though it's a close call).
Neal Stephenson -- mostly SF
Bruce Sterling -- cyberpunk
Vernor Vinge -- SF
Robert Anton Wilson -- wacked out sex, drugs and conspiracy theories. I'm pretty sure Robbins has read some Wilson.
Kim Stanley Robinson -- SF again. I quite liked his Mars series.
I find Murakami to be the best writer of the past 20 years that I've read. I have to admit I haven't read too many novels of these past times, but he's easily one of my favorite writers. Vonnegut is also another of my favs. I've only read A Prayer for Owen Meany by Irving, it was a great story but I didn't love the writing style. I don't think I've read anything by any of the other writers you mention here, any specific books of theirs that you could recommend?
Tom Robbins - Jitterbug Perfume or Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas would be good places to start
Neil Gaiman - American Gods, or the Sandman comics (I don't normally like comics and I loved them)
William Gibson - Neuromancer
Peter F. Hamilton - The Reality Dysfunction
Will Self - The Quantity Theory of Insanity or Great Apes
Julian Barnes - A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters
Nick Bantock - Griffin & Sabine
Christopher Moore - Bloodsucking Fiends
Neal Stephenson - Snowcrash
Vernor Vinge - A Fire Upon the Deep
Robert Anton Wilson - the Illuminatus Trilogy (not for everyone, I warn you)
Kim Stanley Robinson - Red Mars
James Morrow - Bible Stories for Adults
Ian McDonald - Evolution's Shore
I love Griffin and Sabine, glad to see Bantock included in this list.
Yes, so do I. I actually got all of my books signed a few weeks ago when I saw him speak at Powells. Quite a cool event actually. He showed a bunch of slides of his artwork before actually reading anything from the books.
I think, I have to write down some authors to buy books from them. You seem to share my preferences... Which one would you mostly recommend?
It's impossible to limit it to one. I just saw Neal Stephenson speak so he's at the top of my mind right now.
I'll try one of his books...