[Quiet Man Cometh]

I'm curious to know what sort of writers people like, and why if people care to explain. Are there any paricular authors you are fond of? Any that you don't normally like but perhaps found a specific book to be good?

I used to read a lot of R.A. Salvatore books. He was my favorite for a while but I make the mistake of reading way too many without taking any breaks and now I find his stuff too predictable.

I've started reading a book by Guy Gavriel Kay, who I've heard lots of good things about, though I'm still deciding myself. One currentn author that I find I like is George R.R. Martin, even though I didn't like Game of Thrones and ultimately got rid of the book (I was 350 pages in so I figured I gave it a fair try). I picked up an anthology of short stories from him though, so see if I like those any better.

I have to say I liked G.R.R Martin's writing, even though I wasn't so fond of the story. I find I have the reverse situation with Tolkein. Great story behind Lord of the Rings, but I wasn't too fond of the actual writing.

[Espy]

...Does Shakespeare count as an author? Seriously, I love love love his works, especially Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. I've yet to read the whole Hamlet.

I think my friends have mentioned R.A. Salvatore a few times....should go check that out.

Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy is decent as well, albeit a bit dry in a few places. If you read the summary, you'll probably know why I love it. The Ranger's Apprentice series is also decent, although a bit trite.

One of the books/series I really love is Operation Red Jericho. It's action+semi-historical mixed into one, and while it says it's completely factual, I'm not too sure how much the author's edited it....the second/third book (forgot which one) doesn't seem probably, what with the levitating mechanism.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Shakespeare counts (are you referring to the fact that scholars aren't terribly sure if he really wrote all he did or if the name was a cover for more than one writer? Compicated guy, apparently.) I'm more of a Chaucer fan myself though. His stuff can be pretty darn funny, and pretty dark rude! Part of that might depend on how much effort I'm willing to put into reading though. Middle English is sometimes easier to work through than Elizabethan...sometimes.

Chaucer's Book of the Duchess is my favourite of his. For Shakespeare, I do like Hamlet. The guy is a bit of a knob though, but then, it is a tragedy. I actually recomend watching a movie version (perhaps the one with Kenneth Brannah though I don't necessarily agree with his interpretations of some of the lines) after reading it because I found the visual representation and recitation of the lines can bring out details or sequences that one missed while reading. There was a passage where Hamlet met two soldiers going off to fight a battle that I didn't really think about until I saw it on film and it added more to the meaning of the play for me.

[Espy]

Yeah, for Shakespeare, I sometimes need a visual. But then again, I'm one of the few in my class who can actually "fluently" speak in Elizabethan and understand it all. I can do the accent somewhat, too. And I don't look like it XD

For Chaucer, I've only read the Canterbury Tales...part of it. Not too horribly interesting for me.

[Glitch]

Marion Zimmer Bradley. Author or The Inheritor, Ghostlight (same series but whatev! XO) Witchlight -- which is where I got my username from, and Mists of Avalon. (other stuff too)

I just love her.

[Gallowsraven]

I like Chaucer, especially The Wife of Bath's Prologue & Tale, she's so funny. Did you know that he was an out there feminist during his time? I can even read it with a more-or-less correct accent and pronounciation, curtesy of my Lit. teacher :D she was adamant that we read it properly in class.

I only like a few of Shakespear's plays, mainly Othello, Macbeth (or The Scottish Play) and A Midsummer Night's Dream, two very opposite ends of the spectrum huh.

I also like Of Mice & Men (love the two lines of poetry it's based on), Kresley Cole, author of the oh-so-delicious Kiss of a Demon King, James Herbert (the Uk's own version of stephen King), Stephen King, Graham Masterton (especially Spirit), L. J. Smith the author of the Night World series and The Vampire Diaries (do not get me started on that tv show it's rubbish!), Roald Dahl, Kathy Reichs, Nichola Morgan's Highwayman series (she based it off my fave ever poem! ^^), James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, Meg Cabot's The Mediator and a host of other stuff.

scanning through all that it's actually quite a broad range of genres, not including what i can't remember. No wonder my family joke that i can start my own library

o.o

[Quiet Man Cometh]

**Warning. Literature student talking. Make way for long post...**

I can understand middle english enough to get the gist of things. There is the odd particular word that one just has to know, though. And as far as accent goes, I don't know if there is a correct accent, seeing as there aren't exactly any recordings around of anyone speaking the language. From the rhythm of the poetry though, one can pick up where the other syllables and such might be.

Wasn't a fan of The Knight's Tale, and only read The Wife of Bath and the Miller's Tale to go with that. I had a really fun teacher for the course though, and it was great fun even without being too interested in Literature. The ones I do like, (besides Book of the Duchess,) would be the little bits and pieces between the tales in the Canturbury Tales (the narrator amuses me) and general character interaction. The Knight's Tale has absolutely nothing to do with the movie in any way (which I've heard is actually closer to the Squire's Tale instead) but then, Chaucer didn't write all that he intended to. Maybe the screen writer really did get it right?!

I can handle Shakespeare only because I forced myself to read and understand Macbeth back in high school. Took me ages to get through but I had a functional understanding of Shakespearean English by then. Besides Macbeth I read Winter's Tale, Hamlet, Titus Andronicus, Henry V (most of it), Twelth Night, Midsummer Knight's Dream, and The Tempest. If anyone out there is interesting in studying English in college, get ready for this stuff, Pre 1800 Lit courses are mandatory. :( (My preferences lie almost entirely in post 1800 stuff.

I don't think I've become interested in any contemporary author for some time. One of the "newer" authors I like is Knut Hamsen. I read his Hunger which was one of the oddest books I've ever read. I have a collection of his on my eReader. Being an out of copywrite author his stuff is dirt cheap! (Unless you buy phyical books).

[Gallowsraven]

Well, say accent, you're right we can only guess, like the Ancient Egyptian accent is now, sadly, extinct. But it was supposed to be cross between French and English and something else like the language was so anywhere in the middle is good enough. I can't say my teacher was fun per say, but she didn't like doing things by halves. When we read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof we had to use the proper accent; problem with that was i spoke like a texan the rest of the lesson too :D

And i know, Chaucer's hilarious isn't he. Dry and sparkling humour. The Wife of Bath is a character you either love or hate really, as her prologue and tale are all about how a common girl can get up the ladder in the world. Hence why she's a love/hate character. Since you're a Lit. student i guess you know that most of the tales aren't with the originally intended characters then. I just find the whole thing fascinating. And usually i have no problem reading it, unless i'm tired in which case i can't speak two words of it! Shakespear i have to be in the mood to read, though Macbeth i can read almost any day; love the witches and Hecate :D

It took me ages to realise that the character in the film A Kinght's Tale was in fact meant to be Chaucer ^.^'

"Benedicte!"

[Azrael]

Augusten Burroughs. God I love that man, I adore his writing, and am always eager for more of his books. I've read them all <3

Charlaine Harris for the Sookie Stackhouse Series, I always wait each year faithfully for the new one to come out. I have this year's, but won't read it till July on my road trip.

Mmm... otherwise, I dunno. I look into a lot of authors from books I've read, but... those are the only ones that really stand out for me like, author wise.

[Gallowsraven]

Maria V. Snyder, writer of the Study trilogy and the Glass Trilogy, formally known as the Yelena Zaltana novels and the Opal Cowan novels respectively. I love Yelena, such a sassy character ;)

I never really got into the Sookie Stackhouse books, don't know why. Just one of those things i guess. Are they any good? Might try again if they are. Love House of Night series and the Goddess series though by P.C. Caste. Maybe because she includes real witchy rituals in her books and not the propaganda stuff most people believe.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

I recently packed away all the books I own that I don't like, and... I only have about 20 books left on my shelves, where there used to be a couple hundred.

Looking at those, we have:

Steven Erikson and his monstrous Malazan Book of the Fallen
Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing and Aspect-Emperor trilogies
Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant Chronicles
and Glen Cook's Black Company novels.

Oh, and I've recently started reading Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, which I'm relatively enjoying (not quite to the degree I've seen some people devour his work) so those make the list, too.

On the other hand, I tried to start reading Follett's The Pillars of the Earth yesterday (loved the t.v. series on Starz) and that has to be one of the most poorly-written books I've ever read. I despair at that thought of slogging through 1,200 pages of that man's writing.

[Gallowsraven]

Then let's put it in with Twilight saga and Phillip Pullman shall we? :D

Sorry but i tried reading his Golden Compass series and i barely got through the first book, didn't get past the first chapter of the second. I don't think he's a very good writer, he's very boring and has a tendency to over-repeat himself that in Chaucer's time would have won him an avid audience, but in this day and age i'm not so sure :D

[Quiet Man Cometh]

I didn't mind Golden Compass but I'm not in any hurry to read the rest of the novels, if I bother to get around to it at all.

I haven't made enough of an inroad into Lord Foul's Bane yet to make any comment on Donaldson so far though I've heard good things from relatives.

Surpised about Pillars of the Earth. I've seen a piece of the series but I'm only heard of the book and it's always been rave reviews. Hmm.

Brought books to read at the farm here but haven't made any inroads yet. Liking GG Kay so far but again, not enough info to make a judgement call. Brought Mrs. Dalloway and Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe too. I find I like what's I've read of Virginia Woolf so far, which isn't much beyond A Room of One's Own and the earlier mentioned partial book. I still remember the cat line from Room. Hee hee. As far as kids books go, I am liking C.S.Lewis too. Magician's Nephew was a interesting start to Narnia and I liked the character of Cedric quite a bit. He's a bit brash sometimes but has very strong ideas about what it right and what is not.

[Gallowsraven]

I liked The Magician's Nephew too, thought it was very interesting and i quite liked how Narnia started. Where they end up with Aslan is Aslan's Land (?)

Film-wise i'm up to The Silver Chair, book-wise i'm on Prince Caspian.

At the minute i'm reading John Wyndham's The Chrysalids (for those old enough to know, or with parents like mine who believe in educating their young about films, he wrote The Day of the Triffids). It's a damn good book, but with a lot of religious themes. But then, i'm into distopia at the minute. Before this it was The Handmaid's Tale and before that it was Watership Down (damn good book by the way). I can't read A Clockwork Orange; opening scene makes me really queasy.

[Suzerain of Sheol]

Originally Posted by Quiet Man Cometh

Surpised about Pillars of the Earth. I've seen a piece of the series but I'm only heard of the book and it's always been rave reviews. Hmm.

Yeah, I heard the same and was expecting... well, something different. I'll rant about it next time you're on MSN, since I have a long list of complaints and don't want to derail this thread.

To stay on topic, I forgot to mention Tolkien above. I keep his books out, too, though I like his expanded-world stuff more than Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. The Silmarillion is one of my favorite books.

[Gallowsraven]

Go on, rant, someone's bound to rant about Twilight sooner or later ;)