Reading / Books
I love to read!
My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Austen is very good at capturing the essence of witty conversation.
Click HERE for a list of books I think are noteworthy.
Generally, I like to read all kinds of fiction, but my favorites are
For a list of books I've read (starting with August 2000), click HERE. The list is sorted according to author because I started a lot of series.Dean R. Koontz - unquestionably the master of horror fiction. His writing draws in the supernatural in such a way that it is very believable, and that is what makes it really scary. My favorite Koontz novels are Lightening, Hideaway, and more recently, Eye of the Beholder.
Anne Rice - a superb writer & creator of mystical beings. She is especially well known for her vampire series, whose first book, Interview with the Vampire is one of my favorites. I also enjoyed her Mayfair witch series.
Click HERE to read my thoughts on sci-fi, fantasy fiction and magic.
I have listed below several authors whose works I enjoy reading. Right now, I enjoy fantasy fiction a little more than sci-fi, so most of the authors listed below write fantasy fiction.
Terry Brooks - his Shannara series incorporates druids, elves, many other faerie creatures, and of course lots of magic. I've also been reading his recent Knight of the Word books. They are a blend of modern times and magic. I highly recommend Terry Brooks. His works are well written and original.
Orson Scott Card - I've never really been into science fiction books (I prefer books with magic, elves, dragons, and so forth), but I really enjoyed Orson Scott Card's series of books about Ender Wiggins, beginning with Ender's Game. I really got into the story & involved with the characters. Since I enjoyed the Ender books so much, I read others, and I have yet to be disappointed.
Raymond E. Feist - I love Raymond Feist's Riftworld Series. It deals with 2 worlds connected by a rift: Midkemia & Kelewan. I'm big on connecting with the characters in the books I read, and I'm really fond of the two main characters, Pug (the magician) and Tomas (the warrior). Read them for yourself, I know you'll enjoy them.
Terry Goodkind - his Sword of Truth series is action packed, and I can't stop reading them because I have to know what is going to happen to the characters. These books are also well written; I enjoy elegant language, and I've kept quotes from several of his novels.
Frank Herbert - he is a legend in the world of science fiction. I just read his novel, Dune, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I will definitely have to read the rest of the books in the Dune series.
Robert Jordan - he is becoming a legend in the world of fantasy fiction. His Wheel of Time series (he just wrote the 8th book) is highly enjoyable. I will say that I dislike several of the characters in the series, but if I feel so strongly about those characters, then Robert Jordan has done his job.
George R.R. Martin - The thing that stands out most about Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire, is the characterization. Martin writes his stories from the point of view of approximately 8 characters, each of them giving the reader more insight into what is really going on. Martin fleshes his characters out, none are 1 dimensional. Martin is also true to human nature. Martin makes us feel compassion for some of the most hated people in the novel by letting us see what's really going on inside them.
R. A. Salvatore - he creates a tremendous world full of magic in his Dark Elf series. Drizzt Do'Urden, a Dark elf and the protagonist in the series, is one of the most fascinating characters whom I've ever had the good fortune to meet in my years of reading. Need I say more?
Mary Higgins Clark - my favorite mystery author.
Robin Cook - medical thrillers, very suspenseful medical thrillers.
Patricia Cornwell - novels of supense, filled with murder & mayhem (my favorites). My favorite books by Cornwell are those centered around a medical examiner, Kay Scarpetta. I didn't like Hornet's Nest, but she's redeemed herself with Southern Cross.
James Patterson - again, suspensful novels of murder & mayhem. I usually like his Alex Cross novels, but Cat and Mouse sucked big time. Other than that book, I have enjoyed every Patterson novel I've read. I just read a book in his new series about the Women's Murder Club, and I really liked it.
Elizabeth Peters - mystery novels with a theme of Egyptology.