Before I give you B-listers, I want to ask for a favor. Joni had a very good idea. She made the suggestion that everybody send me a list of their 3 favorite books of all time. This is a variation on what Josh did last year. He asked a number of people for their favorite all-time book. Then he read only those books for the entire year. This time, I'll compile the list from everybody's choices and get that list to all of you. What the heck. This seems like a great way to promote top-notch books. I'll post the list in a couple of weeks.
Now, on to the B-listers (an A-list will be the subject of a future blog). These are authors that I read and like but don't love. I still pick up and read all of their books, and I enjoy them. They're good reads. It's just that I don't wait for them like I do the A-listers. If you want to know about a specific author, please let me know which one it is. I will be happy to synopsize their work for you. I have no doubt that some of you will want to weigh in on my selections. There could well be a bunch of disagreement on this one. So be it. What fun would it be if everybody agreed with my list. That's right - no fun at all (I'm not looking for sycophants).
As they say on Dancing with the Stars, these are in no particular order:
Michael Palmer
Philip Margolin
James Grippando
Christopher Moore
James Swain
Robert Harris
Tami Hoag (except for Night Sins and Guilty As Sin - both excellent)
John Lescroart
David Rosenfelt
John Dunning
Larry McMurtry (except for Lonesome Dove - one of my all-time favorites)
David Robbins (not the rabbi from San Jose)
Brad Meltzer (his latest one is very close to A-list)
David Baldacci (other than The Camel Club series)
Christopher Buckley
John Case
Dean Koontz (his earliest books - Lightning, Strangers, Watchers, Midnight - were horror classics - now, not so much)
Dan Jenkins
Robert Morris
John Darnton
That's all folks.
Favorite books of all time. This is HARD. I will just recommend 3 books that have not been mentioned yet. I loved these books and have an easy time recommending them to many types of readers.
ReplyDeleteThe Summerhouse- Jude Deveraux (chick book- but I don't typically like chick books. This is different).
A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khalil Somebody or Somebody Khalil- same author as Kite Runner.
This is where I would normally recommend The Help by Stockett, but it has already been mentioned.
Hmmm...The Harry Potter series? I originally read the first book just to see what my students were excited about. I loved that there was a book that was hooking kids to be readers. I then became someone who looked forward to the next book. Before my own kids came I would sit with Potter until it was done (a couple of days max).
I will stop at three as you suggested.
Jen
3 favorite books of all time, well that certainly brings conflicting thoughts to a book lover. here's my attempt.
ReplyDeleteBryce Courtenay, The Power of One. Bryce is Australian and wrote this one in 1990. The adventures of Peekay are timeless.
Evolution Man: Or, How I Ate My Father by Roy Lewis is laugh out loud funny.
This one will not make most top book lists, but to me Consilience, The Unity of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson (the ant professor) is like no other book I've read.
Looking forward to the Sage's compilation.