02-15-2006, 05:15 PM | #21 |
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I travel a lot for my job, and find myself on airplanes a couple of times a week. When reading on a plane, page turners are the kind of book you want to read because with all the distractions you want a book that moves fast and doesn't require a lot of thought. A couple of authors that you can't go wrong with are Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard.
If you're an aspiring writer and want to learn how to write dialogue, read Elmore Leonard. He does it better than just about anybody else. And Hiaasen is just dang funny. I've read 3 Dan Brown books. I enjoyed The DaVinci Code because it introduced ideas that were new to me. I then read Angels and Demons and thought it was too far over the top. I decided to give him another chance, so I read Digital Fortress. That book was just dumb all the way around. His assertions in that book were so stupid that it forced me to rethink everything he had written in The DaVinci Code. I would be a much bigger Dan Brown fan if I had stopped at The DaVinci Code. Another writer that disappointed me with subsequent books is Dennis Lehane. I read Mystic River and thought it was one of the best books I had read in years. So I went out and read some of his other books and hated them all. Though Mystic River is still one my favorite reads in the last 10 years.
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02-15-2006, 05:40 PM | #22 | |
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Any suggestions on an Elmore Leonard book if I were interested in trying one out? |
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02-15-2006, 06:30 PM | #23 | |
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...You've been under attack for days, there's a soldier down, he's wounded, gangrene's setting in, 'Who's used all the penicillin?' 'Oh, Mark Paxson sir, he's got knob rot off of some tart.'" - Gareth Keenan |
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02-15-2006, 07:14 PM | #24 |
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I'm going to add what may be considered an odd one for this list, but for me was the ultimate page turner and also one of my favorite books. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. I absolutely love Michael Lewis writing style, and he is able to make all the people in the book incredibly interesting. I knocked out the book in a matter of two days and at no point wanted to put it down.
I also will throw in another Michael Lewis book Liars Poker in this list as well. |
02-15-2006, 07:23 PM | #25 | ||
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If you like the hard boiled stuff in my opinion James Elroy (L.A. Confidential, American Tabloid, etc.) is much more satisfying. But he definitely isn't for everybody.
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02-15-2006, 07:33 PM | #26 |
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Did anyone ever read "Bringing down the house"? This was a great page turner and a fantastic story...
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02-15-2006, 07:45 PM | #27 | |
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02-15-2006, 08:58 PM | #28 |
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I read Atlas Shrugged last year, and it felt like running an intellectual marathon getting through the book.
When I finally finished it, I was more than just a little perturbed at having wasted so much time on that book, but as time has passed (last August) I've begun to appreciate the experience and reading the book more. The ideas and concepts presented in the book on moral relativism were rather intruiging. I'm definetly glad I read it. On Dan Brown: The Da Vinci Code was good, but overated. I loved Angels & Demons and thought it was by far his most exciting book. Deception Point was boring and disapointing. After reading that I didn't even waste my time with Digital Fortress. I realize he might not be a great writer, but that begs the question...does one have to be a fantastic writer in order to always enjoy his books? I say no. I think a writer can be down the totem pole when it comes to his literary prose, yet can still be a lot of fun to read depending on the topics. One book I read last year that I hated, and was called majorly insensitive because of it was "The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Nightime." That book could've been written by a 3rd grader. |
02-15-2006, 09:23 PM | #29 | |
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John Grisham is not considered a serious writer, but he is a good story teller. I don't care for the legal genre much, so I haven't read a lot of his books, but I did read The Painted Barn and was surprised at what a good job Grisham did of telling the story. He obviously knows his craft. Another writer who is not considered a serious writer, but is very good at what he does is Stephen King. I'm not a big fan of his genre either but have read a couple of his books. He does a fantastic job of drawing characters. After you read one of his stories, you absolutely know the characters. Stephen King is no Theodore Dreiser and Misery probably won't ever be studied in Freshman English class, but if you ask me which character is more memorable between Carrie Meeber and Annie Wilkes, I've got to give the nod to Annie Wilkes.
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...You've been under attack for days, there's a soldier down, he's wounded, gangrene's setting in, 'Who's used all the penicillin?' 'Oh, Mark Paxson sir, he's got knob rot off of some tart.'" - Gareth Keenan |
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02-15-2006, 09:37 PM | #30 | ||
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