This page lists my favourite authors, the type of books I enjoy reading and what I am currently reading right now.
My Favourite Writers
These are in no particular order but I will say that Stephen King has always been my absolute favourite author since I started reading his stuff as a teenager in high school.
- Stephen King
- Anne Rice
- Diana Gabaldon
- James Herbert
- Colleen McCullough
- Ben Elton
- Enid Blyton
- Terry Pratchett
- Judy Blume
- Terry Goodkind
- Gillian Cross
- Thomas Harris
- Sharon Penman
- Ed McBain
- Lois Lowry
- James Ellroy
- Lois Duncan
- Dan Brown
- John Steakley
- Douglas Adams
- Roald Dahl
- Robin Hobb
My Favourite Books
This is a small selection of books I particularly like. Some I have read more than once.
- Rose Madder (which I have read at least three times as it is exceptional) and The Dark Tower complete series (absolutely brilliant) by Stephen King
- Queen of The Damned and Cry To Heaven by Anne Rice
- Sepulchre, Moon and The Dark by James Herbert
- The Thorn Birds and An Indecent Obsession by Colleen McCullough
- Gridlock and Blast From the Past by Ben Elton (Blast from the Past on audio cassette read by Michael Maloney is brilliant)
- Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
- Lords and Ladies and Guards, Guards! by Terry Pratchett
- Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
- On the Edge by Gillian Cross
- Vampires by John Steakley
- The Long Dark Teatime Of The Soul by Douglas Adams
- The Eyes Of Karen Conners by Lois Duncan
- Angels and Demons and Deception Point by Dan Brown
- Any of Diana Gabaldon's works (everything I've read of hers so far I've found amazing)
My Favourite Genres
As you can see I do like the works of King, Rice and Herbert, which might lead you to think I enjoy all horror novels. I do like stories involving witches and vampires and things that go bump in the night but I don't find these things horrifying per se. King writes about people: people you might recognise as being like yourself or someone you know. They have their strengths and their weaknesses, they have problems. Some are successful; some are not. They are just people trying to live their lives, and weird and wacky stuff just happens. They find themselves sucked into other worlds, having to fight aliens or just deal with the unusual abilities life has awarded them. Herbert's characters are just ordinary folk forced into dealing with the extraordinary and Rice's immortals are as human in their souls as any mortal.
I do like humour and the humour of Pratchett and Elton is particularly appealing as it is laced with a dark edge and often reveals a truth we might not ordinarily want to face. "A lie can run halfway round the world before the truth has even got its boots on" (to paraphrase Pratchett) is not a pleasant thought but nevertheless true. But Pratchett helps us to laugh at things that are really not that funny when you think about them.
I like any story that is well written with good characters and is able to hold my interest. I like some children's books: Famous Five, Three Investigators, The Secret Seven, The Hardy Boys and the Anastasia Krupnick stories are all good. I don't think you need to be a teenager in order to enjoy such works (a good story is a good story no matter who it's aimed at) but it is unlikely that you will find me with a Mills and Boon in my hand. I don't mind a novel that incorporates a love story but I could never read a book where love and romance were the overriding themes. That's not to say they are not well written books. They may well be but I just can't bring myself to read one.
I enjoy reading sci-fi books and enjoy many of the Star Trek, Babylon 5 stories. I enjoy quite a few books that accompany certain films but in most cases I would say that the book outweighs the film. Not always - there are exceptions to the rule - but in most instances I would say so.
I have quite a large collection of books - hardback and paperback - but haven't actually read them all yet. I also enjoy reading X-Men comics and have amassed a fair sized collection.
Recently Read
- Rereading my collection of Terry Pratchett novels
Currently Reading
- Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
