Favorite authors, and book recommendations...

[May]

I really like every book I've read by Dean Koontz, and I've probably read between 15 and 20 of his books by now. Steven King is good, as long as you read the book after you've seen the movies (the books are way better than most of the movies). I'm also a fan of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories and some novels by Ernest Hemmingway.

[Sugarinii]

If you like scandalous chick-lit, I reccomend anything by Candace Bushnell and Sophie Kinsella.

And everything and anything Scott Westerfield is always good. Particularly the [u]Uglies[/i] triliogy.

[werepup]

Hmm, I'm a big Charlaine Harris fan... in fact, most supernatural authors I love. Even if it's cheesy as anything - I'll still make myself read it the whole way through.

[Xandra]

And everything and anything Scott Westerfield is always good. Particularly the [u]Uglies[/i] triliogy.

Yesyesyesyesyes. I also loved the Midnighters series, So Yesterday and Peeps. Haven't read the sequel to Peeps yet, which is called The Last Days. But omg. I want to. (and may be getting it today- this weekend is the book festival in my city, and so lots and lots of bookstores bring their stuff downtown so yay!)

His wife, Justine Larbalastier, is writing a series, the first book of which is called Magic or Madness. It's goooooood. And the last book comes out next year- I'm half anxiously anticipating it and half wanting it to never come out. I'm the same way with the last HP book. Final-books-of-series make me sad. :'(

[Mongrel]

Final-books-of-series make me sad. :'(

I know EXACTLY what you mean. I've talked to my friends about Harry Potter's last book, and how that will mean the end of a phenomenon. It has to end, and that will be the end of a series that defines our generation. I once said that our generation will be remembered for black Chucks and 9/11, but I should really include Harry Potter in that list.

My all-time favorite author is Robin McKinley, even though she's written a few books that are utter crap(like Sunshine...that book was such a disappointment). The good stuff she's written includes The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown(my all-time favorite book of hers), and Deerskin, although that has a bit of unpleasantness in it, so I don't recommend that one to people under sixteen. Her short story collections are good, too.

The Weetzie Bat books, by Francesca Lia Block, are girly but they're pretty good. They're collected as Dangerous Angels plus a sixth book that's not in the collection, Necklace of Kisses. They're sort of unconventional, and some of the characters are homosexual, so this series might not be for everyone. Her other books are mostly really strange, and even though I consider myself an openminded person I just didn't like what she wrote about drugs and incest, but there are two other books by her that I like: I Was a Teenage Fairy and Girl Goddess #9. Her books are generally geared at high school girls.
Another author I like in the same vein is Holly Black. She writes stories with a modern-day setting, and then brings magic into them.
And most already know of him, but Neil Gaiman is a good author as well. He's another that combines reality with surreality, but unlike Block and Black, his books are appealing to a wide audience.

[pipsqueeek]

The Weetzie Bat books, by Francesca Lia Block, are girly but they're pretty good. They're collected as Dangerous Angels plus a sixth book that's not in the collection, Necklace of Kisses. They're sort of unconventional, and some of the characters are homosexual, so this series might not be for everyone. Her other books are mostly really strange, and even though I consider myself an openminded person I just didn't like what she wrote about drugs and incest, but there are two other books by her that I like: I Was a Teenage Fairy and Girl Goddess #9. Her books are generally geared at high school girls.

I read Echo, by her. It was... weird. And really hard to follow. Even after I was done, I still wasn't quite sure what had happened in parts of it.

[Sakura]

The Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys-Meyers

It's kind of a "revision" of Jane Eyre, except it's set in the Dominican Republic.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Salmon Rushdie

It's a really long book, but it is SO worth the read. The inside book-flap describes it as a "Modern Fairy Tale". It runs parallel to the love story between Orpheus and Eurydice. Instead of Orpheus's lyre, the author uses Rock Music. The point of view is quite interesting, because the love story is told through a mutual friend of both parties, who happens to be in love with Vina (The main woman)

[On a Rubber Duck]

Tamora Pierce-
All of her books. Especially the Tortall books. GO KEL!

Garth Nix-
The Abhorsen Trilogy. I'm in the process of getting the Keys to the Kingdom books.

Brian Jaques-
Redwall is an awesome universe. There is no denying the potency of intelligent warrior rodents.

Anne McCaffrey(Now including her son Todd)-
Pern is a marvelous universe, and I'm happy that her son has the potential to spin a great tale himself in this universe.

[Xil]

Douglas Coupland..

Anyway. Anyform. Anytime.

Rawr.

[benladesh]

Anna Rice has written some amazing books, not only the vampire chronicles but many other books. They keep you hooked. The stories are amazing. I'd seriously concider her stuff.

Dan Brown as well but we all know that. His work is simply amazing

[hikaru_dream]

The other day I was thinking about books and I remembered some that I forgot to write down. I can't even believe I forgot it!!!
It's the 'Dealing with Dragons' series, what's the whole series called, forgot who wrote it
'Ella Enchanted' also forgot the name

[Tharkun]

Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine. Lucky that the movie is of so little account that it doesn't even spoil the cover art.

Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove, an AU in which the Armada takes over England, and Shakespeare is enlisted to foment a revolt. Really captures that Elizabethan feel, pomp and grit both.

The Amulet of Samarkand. I'm going to read the rest of the series as soon as I feasibly can, because that was knock-your-socks-off in both the drama and humor departments - like Artemis Fowl, except instead of getting there by compromise, it got there because it was very strong in both, and employed dancing wit for the transition. The universe tickles my fancy better than Artemis Fowl's, too.

[Mongrel]

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles(Dealing With Dragons, Searching For Dragons, Calling On Dragons, and Talking To Dragons) is written by Patricia Wrede. She also did a collection of short stories called Book of Enchantments that's not bad.

And the Ella Enchanted movie...*shudder* It was laughably bad, but it was such a shame that the movie would give such a good book such a bad name.

[ochazuke=yummy]

I love Robin McKinley's stuff, especially her renditions of Beauty and the Beast and the Damar books. Also, one book that never fails to make me start bawling into my pillow is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. So does the movie, actually. Gerald Morris' King Arthur remakes are hilarious, and Roald Dahl is interesting in a kind of twisted way.

[werepup]

I love Robin McKinley's stuff, especially her renditions of Beauty and the Beast and the Damar books. Also, one book that never fails to make me start bawling into my pillow is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. So does the movie, actually. Gerald Morris' King Arthur remakes are hilarious, and Roald Dahl is interesting in a kind of twisted way.

Robin McKinley wrote the book Sunshine, didn't he? I read that a couple years ago... it was gruesome, but great.