Author Love

I have loved to read since I was a small child. Bookstores fill me with delight (especially used ones. I miss Hyde Brothers so much when I'm up at OU). I'm also starting to get into bookcases to get some ideas for when I replace my old one. I've decided to to share a sampling of some of the authors that I love with you. I'm always looking for new authors to explore though! If you have any suggestions, let me know! I also linked to the wikipedia pages of the novels I mentioned. :)


In the meantime, here are four authors that I just adore.

1. Cormac McCarthy


He has a very distinctive style. It is not elaborate, but he says so much with such simple diction. One of my favorite English teachers introduced me to him with All the Pretty Horses. Instead of being dismayed by his sentences, I loved them. I can't even begin to describe how excited I became when I learned they were turning one of his novels into a movie (The Road), which I did finally get to see. I always get an urge to read this book at the beginning of the year.

Enjoy the first excerpt from The Road:

Then he just sat there holding the binoculars and watching the ashen daylight congeal over the land. He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke ( Page 5).

2. Christopher Moore


This quirky author has written some of the most hilarious books that I've ever read. My favorite among them is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's one of the best takes on what happened between the time Jesus was born and when he died. Where else could you read about Jesus healing people while hyped up on coffee? I also like how a lot of his characters show up in some of his other books.


Have another Excerpt:

Onlookers were cheering on the Baptist, who was having a little trouble keeping Shem under water.
"I think he's drowning Shem."
"Baptizing," Joshua said.
"My mother will be happy that Shem's sins have been cleansed, but I have to think we're going to be in a lot of trouble if he drowns in the process."
"Good point," Josh said. He stepped into the water. "John! Stop that!" (page 80).

3. Oscar Wilde


I named my car after him. After my friend read The Picture of Dorian Gray, I decided to read it too. I loved it. I have also read a few of his plays. I intend to read the rest of them someday. Wilde catches my attention because he just seems to have been a very interesting, scandalous man.


Another excerpt:

The studio was filled with the rich odor of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amid the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn" (Page 3).

4. Robert Penn Warren


I first read All the King's Men when I was a sophomore in high school. I thought it was an interesting story then, but I only occasionally thought about Jack and his Great Sleep (and a fondness grew for Jack Burden). I was then thrilled at the chance to reread it for a class last semester (as I had been meaning to for a couple of years now). I also got to learn a little bit about Robert Penn Warren. I didn't know that he wrote biographies or that he made sure not to write the same story twice. I also liked that he had so many variations to All the King's Men. I have only recently acquired another book of his. My grandmother has informed that most of his books are out of print, so I will be checking out used bookstores or maybe the internet for some of his other books. I'd also like to check out his poetry. Either way, All the King's Men is a magnificent book. I love what he did with language and the metaphors.


Here is your last excerpt for the day:

You can build an awful lot of habits in six years, and you can fill an awful lot of little black books in that time and put them in a safety-deposit box when they get full because they aren't something to leave around and because they would be worth their weight in gold to some party to get their hands on" (Page 30).