your favorite writer

[raul]

1 Aldous Huxley
2 Hermann Melville
3 Arthur C. Clarke
4 George Bernard Shaw
5 Gustave Flaubert
6 Anton Pavlovič Čehov
7 Jules Verne
8 Emile Zola
9 Miguel De Cervantes
10 Thomas Faulkner
11 Oscar Wilde

[hibgal]

What? No women? Not even the inestimable Jane Austen? Shame, shame! :nono4:

[Mccartneyluvr]

I prefer Hunter S. Thompson.

[VersusBatman]

What? No women? Not even the inestimable Jane Austen? Shame, shame! :nono4:
What about:

Louisa May Alcott
Mary Higgins Clark
Margaret Mitchell
Laura Ingalls Wilder
LM Montgomery

[raul]

its not sexist or anything, as for the poll i put those considered "the greatest". My choice is just my choice. Theres less famous women writters, i read less women, so...
I'll read "Bruce Lee:The man only I knew" by his widow Linda, and maybe Fear of flying by Jessica Jong, I think

[hibgal]

its not sexist or anything

Oh yeah? Jong is NOT representative for all authoresses. What about Doris Lessing for instance? She just got the Nobel prize! She's wonderful. Loads of famous female writer. If you select writer on gender you're missing out big time, you know.

[VersusBatman]

I forgot to mention:

Amy Tan
Alice Walker
Maya Angelou

[edubeltran]

It's not intentional but my top two are ladies: Barbara Wood and Agatha Christie. I also love Mary Higgins Clark,

[raul]

Oh yeah? Jong is NOT representative for all authoresses. What about Doris Lessing for instance? She just got the Nobel prize! She's wonderful. Loads of famous female writer. If you select writer on gender you're missing out big time, you know.

cmon! i just havent read almost anything by a female author...i didnt avoid it or anything...i believe im missing a lot. I dont select ANYTHING on gender ie sex, not even sex itself. im anti-sexual.

[raul]

It's not intentional but my top two are ladies: Barbara Wood and Agatha Christie. I also love Mary Higgins Clark,

well, there you go-agatha-now THERES a genius, i dont know if any man has written anything as intelligent

[GirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes]

My favourites are Vladimir Nabokov and Sylvia Plath.

And if possible, I'd cast a negative vote for Hemingway in the poll.

[sourmilkpinky]

Elmore Leonard
Judy Blume or Nancy Friday

[raul]

My favourites are Vladimir Nabokov and Sylvia Plath.

And if possible, I'd cast a negative vote for Hemingway in the poll.

why? cause he killed him self? i'll check out if it can be done.

[bearkat77]

I'm surprised that Stephen King isn't on that list.

[FPSHOT]

I am way too impatient to read 'real' literature...the Poll name I know two of but like Shakespeare I have only read quotes from..not any books.

As for female writers...I like the books by Nicky French which is 50% female...not the books...but the writer

I very much like Khalid Hoesseini, a 'new' Afghan writer who wrote two books sofar but is amazing for me in writing style and what he writes.

John Grisham's books I like too and the rest I read are all individual things based on what it's about.

I adore Michael Palin's books though.

[raul]

I'm surprised that Stephen King isn't on that list.

well, sorry. Theres only room for 10. He's certainly good enough to be there. I heard he disliked Kubrick's realisation of his Shining, hence the TV series, I think. Its just that I like more "complete psychos", as someone, wrongfully, might see Huxley. its just that, for example, he once took an extremly heavy drug, and then wrote about what he was going through, and it wasnt negative, not a bit. He pretty much ended up with the sentence, in fact he came up with the conclusion "So, I was no-I, who was in the leg of the chair" He is controversial, I admitt.

[george_on_cloud9]

I only voted on Shakespeare. But my favorite writer is a mexican. Her name is Laura Esquivel and her book is "Like Water For Chocolate". My favorite book!

[GirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes]

why? cause he killed him self? i'll check out if it can be done.

'Cause I don't like his writing style at all, he appears to have a bit too much of a macho ideal, and, at least in A Farewell to Arms he doesn't seem to portray women (well, Catherine) very well. But it's all a matter of preference/taste I guess.

[GirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes]

I very much like Khalid Hoesseini, a 'new' Afghan writer who wrote two books sofar but is amazing for me in writing style and what he writes.


I haven't read The Kite Runner yet, but A Thousand Splendid Suns was amazing...I finished over half of it in a day, just sitting and reading with some breaks for tv, possibly food, etc. Khaled Hoesseini is probably one of my favorite 'modern/contemporary' writers.

[raul]

'Cause I don't like his writing style at all, he appears to have a bit too much of a macho ideal, and, at least in A Farewell to Arms he doesn't seem to portray women (well, Catherine) very well. But it's all a matter of preference/taste I guess.

well, his writing style is often described as "journalistic", he writes novels like newspapers! Just for note, I don't like him at all, either. Really Moby Dick kickes both old man's and sea's ass. And yah, i think he was a women hater, but i dont know, really.

[jesgear]

Ogden Nash
Don Marquis

[GirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes]

well, his writing style is often described as "journalistic", he writes novels like newspapers! Just for note, I don't like him at all, either. Really Moby Dick kickes both old man's and sea's ass. And yah, i think he was a women hater, but i dont know, really.

I think he has the potential to be a really good journalist (I know he was trained as one, but I haven't actually read any of his articles), but it just doesn't translate well into literature.

[digdad]

Well, since the title is "favorite" and not "greatest" writers, I can put down some writers I enjoy but might not be the deepest stuff in the world.

Neil Gaiman ("American Gods" and "Anansi Boy" are wonderfully fun reads.)
Alexander McCall Smith (I love the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series.)
Sharon Kay Penman (great for getting your Medieval on)
Günter Grass ("The Tin Drum" is one of my favorites.) - he actually could be considered one of the greats

[raul]

Tin drum is a classic. There's also another novel about a young kid, completely autistic, disconnected from everything, and when he yells its on about 9999 terawatts megadeath, and led zep can go and fuck them selves, so that he destroys everything withina 9999 miles radius, windows break, everything shakes...an earthquake appears...it may as well be tin drum

[Lynner]

I'm not a big fan of anyone on the list. To me, Shakespeare can be a bit of a bore, but I do love his sonnets.
I have more favorite books than authors. I love Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", but am not too wild about her other stories.
I'm not sure how you decided on the 10 you picked for the poll - care to explain?

[Magill]

I'm surprised that Stephen King isn't on that list.
Yeah. Me too. King is one of my all time favorites. Although, since his accident, his stories have been really quite dull and predictable. Or maybe I've just grown accustomed to his style. :nono3:
Dean Koontz is also a very good novelist.

[lennonluvr9]

Well my fav isnt on there (and I'd be mighty surprised if she was!) probably because she's current maybe not that many people know about her. It's Meg Cabot, most famously the author of the Princess Diaries but she writes so much more than that. My fav is the Mediator series and she also writes novels for adults as well. I guess I just like the stories and the way she writes. She writes the way people talk, and I like that. Plus when i started reading her books the things she wrote about were some of the same things I was thinking about so I guess they spoke to me, in a way.

[Grace]

Lav Tolstoy? He's Lev (which means Lion) actually and English speaking people prefer to call him Leo. But he's by no means "Lav". :teeth1:

Anyway, I'm glad that there are three Russian writers there - Tolstoy, Dostojevski and Chehov. I love all of them. I really do and I think Tolstoy's "War And Peace", Dostojevski's "The Crime And The Punishment" and Chehov's short satiric novels are the masterpieces of world's literature. I'm happy to know that foreigners (Woody Allen for example :cross2:) know and love these writers as well. I voted for Dostojevski but it was a hard decision. I've chosen him probably because I'm rereading "The Crime And The Punishment" (for the third time :blush4:) right now so the impressions are fresh.

To speak about writers that are not in the list... well, my all-time favorite writer is Mikhail Bulgakov ("The Master and Margarite"). I'm also a fan of Tom Stoppard's plays though I've read only a few but I already wrote a reaserch work on "Rozencranz And Guildenstern Are Dead" (and won a special prize :cool1: :teeth1: ). I also like Richard Bach ("Jonathan Livingston Seagull").

[raul]

In Croatian it's lav, which I am. I cant stand my own narcicisme any more. Ill kill my self. Just in case. THIS WAS A J O K E. for bleedin sakes . I dont take ANYTHING seriously, just like Bruce Lee didn't. he had a serious/nonserious regard towards jeet kune do, a martial art he him self created. btw, this is NOT off topic, cause he was a writer, too.

Yes, I know, Leo IS English transition from Russian Lev. Proper names have their own versions in a langue, just like commun names do. For example, Raul is Spanish, Raoul is French, and it's all derived from German Rudolf. English-Grace, Italian-Grazia, German-Gretta, French-Grace, pronounced in a different way than in English.

Of course he's not "Lav", he's Virgo.

As for Dostojevski, he's too heavy for me, all those moral issues, mind you, he was actually a sado-mazochist, he totrmnted him self, and everyone around him. Tolstoj is a bit lighter, but still too heavy for me. You have to go through 500 pages of character description in War and peace, so that action finally takes place, for bleeedin sakes! It is considered the Mount Everest of novels, though, although these days Moby dick and Don Quichotte get (rightfully so, imo), even more credit. Don Quichotte wasrecently pronounced the greatest novel ever, I reccomend it...fighting against windmills..., short time afterwards, Moby Dick was pronounces the greatest ever. Melville IS Leo ASC Capricarne, and Cervantes Libra, like John, btw. Huxley's also Leo ASC Gemini (which Paul is). Jagger is also Leo asc Gemini, so Cervantes is John, Huxley is Mick hahahaaa.

As for Čehov, he's another story altogether, The man's AQUARIUS, my fav sign. So, Čehov is Yoko (aquarius) hahhaaaa. I like him, Three sisters, Uncle Vanja, the sour cherry thing only an Aquarian can write like that . NO ONE else. Not even Leo. Those three are the real masterpieces, imo.

congrats on the prise.

Bach, yeah, jonathan Livingstone seagull has a special place in my heart, in my mind, and in my soul(a line from July morning by Uriah Heep, an unbelievable song.

[mari]

Salman Rushdie.

[Grace]

///

[Grace]

Čehov is Yoko
http://rm.foto.radikal.ru/0710/01/ab88e025b09e.gif

Comparing Yoko to Anton Chekhov is so wierd.

I always compared Chekhov's humour to Woody Allen's.

English-Grace, Italian-Grazia, German-Gretta, French-Grace, pronounced in a different way than in English.
I don't think there's a Russian equivalent of this name. :afraid2:

[digdad]

I thought the Russian equivalent was Gravy.

[Grace]

I thought the Russian equivalent was Gravy.

:laugh5:

[raul]

http://rm.foto.radikal.ru/0710/01/ab88e025b09e.gif

Comparing Yoko to Anton Chekhov is so wierd.

I always compared Chekhov's humour to Woody Allen's.


I don't think there's a Russian equivalent of this name. :afraid2:

Aquarians ARE weird, Grace...in THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER, cause theyre missunderstood, oftenly. It takes a Leo to FULLY understand an Aquarion. Thats why I UNDERSTAND yoko, Čehov, Jules Verne, Cherles Darwin Galileo, John mccenroe, james dean, boris ieltsine, lord byron, bob merley, jacques prevert, paul newman, gene hackman, lee marvin, could go on and on, but you have to ADMIT they ALL hace something incommon-theyre wackoes hahaaaaaaaaaaaa
And Woody is Sagittarius, so no wonder he's similar to čehov, both cold male signs

even if theres no equivalent, so what? shouldnt bother you. Names arent important anyway.
aquarians are AN INSTITUTION FOR THEM SELVES.

[Grace]

Aquarians ARE weird, Grace...in THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER, cause theyre missunderstood, oftenly. It takes a Leo to FULLY understand an Aquarion. Thats why I UNDERSTAND yoko, Čehov, Jules Verne, Cherles Darwin Galileo, John mccenroe, james dean, boris ieltsine, lord byron, bob merley, jacques prevert, paul newman, gene hackman, lee marvin, could go on and on, but you have to ADMIT they ALL hace something incommon-theyre wackoes hahaaaaaaaaaaaa
And Woody is Sagittarius, so no wonder he's similar to čehov, both cold male signs
I could listen to him for hours. :teeth1:

even if theres no equivalent, so what? shouldnt bother you. Names arent important anyway.
To me names are more important than signs. At least they are not that boring. I don't want to offence you or anyone else who believes in signs. I just think that it's ridiculous to take them seriously. I'm Scorpio. So what? I don't want to tie myself to some silly stereotypes. I am who I am.

[raul]

as for astrology i KNOW its witchcraft, its a very dangerous thing.

David Hilbert, the greatest mathematicain of 20th century,and along with Euler, Gauss and Cauchy, greatest ever, and arguably THE greatest ever, ironically an Aquarian him self put it best:

If you put 10 wisest men in the world together to come up with the stupidest thing in the world, they couldnt've come up with anything stupider than astrology.

As for me, really, whats important? Nothing. I'm a pure nichilist. Nothing exists.

[raul]

I'm not a big fan of anyone on the list. To me, Shakespeare can be a bit of a bore, but I do love his sonnets.
I have more favorite books than authors. I love Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", but am not too wild about her other stories.
I'm not sure how you decided on the 10 you picked for the poll - care to explain?

I put them, cause there's this idiotic thing called "greatness". I mean if you told a comparative litterature (he would of have be stiff, though), ordinary professor at a university "Shakespaera is shit. ..ok he's ok, but machiavelli and luigi pirendello, and someone even (s)he has never heard of, (s)he would probably phy....ok it would have to be a man hahahaa, he would probably physically attack you, if he's crazy enough. The reason that Shakespeare is most famous and probably most popular writer, is cause he impressed in a positive way more people than any other writer-mass popularity, thats what it is. So, I assumed he would get some votes here, so, of course I put him on the list. The list is like "top 10 popular writers". I regret i forgot about Stendahl, and I maybe couldve put Balzac or Hugo in stead of Camus.

[Rellevart]

Personally, I don't read "great literature" because all of it that was forced on me in high school was dreadfully boring. These days I read for entertainment, much like other people watch TV or go to the movies, so I prefer to read things that are entertaining rather than weighty. Not to say they're necessarily light and fluffy (although there is a time and a place for that sort of reading), but I just want a good story with good characterization, I'm not out to particularly learn anything. So I'll vote for "other". :smile1:

[pattiboyd's slave]

http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/b10/490/b10490e1-40f5-4d7f-9418-511f91588fb3

http://todayspictures.slate.com/20070312/images/NYC23579.jpg
American writer and leader of the Beat movement Jack Kerouac. His most famous work was On the Road. Written in a new and unedited style in just three weeks while Kerouac traversed the states, it grabbed the attention of the country.
NEW YORK—American writer Jack Kerouac, 1953.

[raul]

Bukowski's out of this world! He's my mom's fav.

[raul]

Why am i posting here? cause i dont wanna get into spammers hall of shame. lennonluvr9 just mentioned Nemo. I read 20000 leagues under the sea 20000 times divided by 100. I used to read it as a kid every summer for years. Its really scientifically written, look at what Jules predicted-electricity, submarines. he was 20000 years ahead of his time, a true visionary. At times i thought i was reading a biology textbook. there's footnotes about every bleedin sea species on god knows how many pages.

http://www.areyougame.com/images/items/36021.jpg

[hibgal]

Salman Rushdie.

I loath Salam Rushdie. By far the worst writer to win the Nobel price. :thumbd: I think he made up that the Ayatollah put a price on his head to get himself noticed! :bigeyes3: (I'm being outrageous, I know) Of course, one person's poison etc. :wink2:

Shakespeare's greatness is really on the stage, not as literature. His comedies are hilarious. As you like it, Twelfth night, Much ado about nothing, to name a few, have me :laugh7:!

Btw, anyone liking Thackeray's Vanity Fair? I finally got around to reading it and was amazed that he would bother to write about characters he so obviously despised. I found it quite dated, particularly the narrator voice with its air of superiority and all that Victorian moralizing.

If I should pick a favorite besides Jane Austen it could be P.G. Wodehouse! Oh, and I like James Herriot's self-biographical work as well. I read all those weighty books like Anna Karenina when I was a teenager so now I mostly select the fun. :laugh5: I go with Relle on this one. :wave1:

[raul]

satanic verses, is that him, salman? i dont know anything about that.

[hibgal]

That's him!

[raul]

what the "hell" is that about?