My favorite page turners

[non sequitur]

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.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

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.

Amen on Dan Brown.

Any suggestions on an Elmore Leonard book if I were interested in trying one out?

[non sequitur]

Originally Posted by homeboy

Amen on Dan Brown.

Any suggestions on an Elmore Leonard book if I were interested in trying one out?

Get Shorty is one of my favorites, but you've probably seen the movie so you won't enjoy it as much. I also really enjoyed Maximum Bob, Freaky Deaky, Killshot, Tishomingo Blues, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, The Big Bounce. Elmore Leonard has had a bunch of his books made into movies, and the movies rarely do the books justice (Stick, 52 Pick Up, Jackie Brown, Out of Sight, The Big Bounce, Be Cool).

[mpfunk]

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.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

Get Shorty is one of my favorites, but you've probably seen the movie so you won't enjoy it as much. I also really enjoyed Maximum Bob, Freaky Deaky, Killshot, Tishomingo Blues, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, The Big Bounce. Elmore Leonard has had a bunch of his books made into movies, and the movies rarely do the books justice (Stick, 52 Pick Up, Jackie Brown, Out of Sight, The Big Bounce, Be Cool).

Elmore Leonard is very good. He has a predictable formula and I got tired of his stuff. My favorites are Split Images and Freaky Deaky, but I've hardly read all of them. I recall Glitz was pretty good.

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.

[Mormon Red Death]

Did anyone ever read "Bringing down the house"? This was a great page turner and a fantastic story...

[fusnik11]

Originally Posted by Mormon Red Death

Did anyone ever read "Bringing down the house"? This was a great page turner and a fantastic story...

i did.....a fantastic story and read.

[RockyBalboa]

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.

[non sequitur]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

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.

It depends on what you consider a fantastic writer. Some writers are looked down on because they are not "serious" writers, but they are excellent at their craft. Here are a couple of examples:

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.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

It depends on what you consider a fantastic writer. Some writers are looked down on because they are not "serious" writers, but they are excellent at their craft. Here are a couple of examples:

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.

Good points. Maybe the best examples of this phenomenon are the underappreciation of Tolkein, Le Carre, and Poe simply because they wrote in disrespected fantacy, spy, and horror genres, while as creators of character, images, and plot they are second to none. Poe is finally getting his due at universities. One of my pet peeves is the way even such esteemed writers as Henry James have denigrated "historical fiction." Yes, most historical fictin is terrible. But this condemns with way too wide a swath. I submit the greatest fiction ever is historical fiction--the Illiad (written 500 years after the events depicted and filled with historical anachronisms), War and Peace (in my opinion the greatest novel ever; the one novel that does everything a novel could possibly do), Hadgi Murad (another Tolstoy masterpiece largley ignored in the United States), even by and large the Bible (okay, this is my opion), Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, etc. Modern historical fiction that is truly great includes Lonesome Dove, Blood Meridian, A tale of Two Cities, Heart of Darkness. Ironically, minimalist novels about suburban angst and adultery or about American expats living aimlessly in Europe (James' specialty) are what seems to be most respected in terms of genre. It's really bullshit. In my opinion the greatest fiction is historical fiction well crafted that deals with universal, transcendent problems.