Micheal Chabon, anyone? He won the Pulizter a few years ago for "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay", my all time hands down favorite book. He's young, mid-thirties, but this guy...wow, can he write. I wish I could write like that. He also wrote the novel "Wonder Boys", which was adapted into a movie starring Micheal Douglas (who was a horrendous choice for Grady Tripp, I think) and he wrote the screenplay for "Spider-Man 2". Now, I understand that those last two seem too visually oriented, but...pick up Kavalier and Clay, I dare you.
He's modern, for sure, but I think he compares well with the greats.

I never would have guessed that the bloggers here at JoeU were such avid readers...

Jack Kerouac - all of it.

Allen Ginsberg - 'Howl'

Dante Aligheri - 'nuff said, I think.

Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales.

there's one for ya! 

I'm having way too much fun with pics today!

MJ has a new toy ..." rolls eyes "

Thomas .. I really like the reasons you gave in your other article.

I'm still trying to think of a worthy comment for that one

Jess

I thank you guys for all your support and really making this blog rock out.... I really appriciate your comments

Jack Kerouac - all of it.

Allen Ginsberg - 'Howl'

definitely

as well as burroughs and kesey

Here's another good Pirsig quote:

"there's a kind of inner peace of mind that isn't contrived but results from a kind of harmony with the work in which there's no leader and no follower. The material and the craftsman's thoughts change together in a progression of smooth, even changes until his mind is at rest at the exact instant that the material is right."

Applies to the creation of a good blog too?

as well as burroughs and kesey

Oooh, yeah.....

How d'ya feel about Wambaugh, Kingbee?

Oh poo, double post.  will someone kindly delete one for me?

thank you!

Okay Dharma I deleted it... I too hate when that happens....
Nah Joe I dont think this is zen like, this just goes to show you of the ppl that have stated what their authors are as what they feel are great minds placing meaning into words where sometimes actions fail. Though I will say that if you guys wanna hop over to my other blog with my reasons for it and plop down yours that would be cool too I will give you guys the link soon enough at the end of this... you know the funny thing is Jessica and I have been talking a lot about lit and stuff lately which is a good thing... you wouldnt know it by just looking at her but shes a damn bookyholic... maybe I should add that one to my The Perfect Woman Article... must have a reader... they dont read I dont 'spec them to be to bright when it comes to base reason.

At the moment I am reading: Queen Of The Damned by Rice, im doing the anthology thing I guess now... cause previously to reading this book I read Interview and then Lestat... and the next in line is Body Thief so...

Thanks for all the comments keep them coming I appreciate them and I love hearing what you guys are reading on at the moment...
As for what Jessica is reading that changes like everyday... baby slow down...

Thomas

Getting My Linkage ON!

I just finished re-reading most of Kerouac's work.  Before that I re-read Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series....she appeals to the PI side of me.

I just haven't found any new fiction that I can really get stuck into and enjoy.  Anyone got any suggestions?

I love Patricia Cornwell ...Scarpetta is such a great character.

I will admit to King and Koontz

Jess

dharma,
that depends on what you like I like stories about people and they don't have to have too much action as long as the characters are strong.
I just finished a book by Paul Theroux called Hotel Honolulu which I really enjoyed. I will be reading more of him.
I will push my favourite author yet again. Somerset Maugham wrote some excellent short stories and you can easily find the collections of them at the library, the good thing about short stories is that if you dont like the author you can read one and give up.

I know that rice writes some pretty strong characters... and she deals with the interunal struggles that they go through in the novels
Thomas

Here are a few authors that i admire:

Francis Bacon: New Atlantis (1627) All of his essays are written beautifully

Ralph W. Emerson: I have only read his collection of essays but i found them insightful.

Fyodor Dostoevsky: The Brothers Karamazov. a very disturbing novel since i found myself being able to relate to all four brothers. its a bit scary to find out that if the circumstances were right i might also do some of the things they did.

Terry Goodkind: Sword of Truth. Though a fantasy author he adds a certain element of philosophy to all his books. Mostly about free will though there is a lot more than that.

Homer: The Odyssey. A true classic.

Stephen King: The Dark Tower. One of the best books ive read.

Madeleine L'Engle: A Wrinkle In Time. Probably the only book i loved as a child.

Nicolo Machiavelli: The Prince. "Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved." I learned this lesson when i was still a young boy. i was suprised when i read this in the book.

I have a few more but it would take up too much space.

Okay we are gonna sound like total geeks here but have you read Debt Of Bone about Zedd yet... its pretty good...
Ive read bacon... he was okay not my style but what can I say right... I read some of Dostoevsky kinda funny since I have two of his books... C&P and TBK
Im a Goodkind fucking geek I have all his books I think the last four I have in just hard back because I didnt want to wait for paper back
Homer... dude thats a no brainer....
King's On Writing... that was one of the most beneficial books I have ever read... and the first of it was funny as hell too.
L'Engle... I just couldnt get into her and never probably will
I was temped to pick up a copy of Machiavellis Prince but decided against it... maybe I should have.

Oh and who said it would take up too much space this is my blog.... when your talking about books you can never take up too much space... so type them fuckers out... !!

And think about it this way... I named ten author and stated what books I liked the best out of all thier stuff... ten... man Im not stoping you from posting ten in here.. I think its cool

Thomas

I see no traces of Douglas Adams,Zadie Smith or John Irving.Almost all living today !

Marten I have only heard of two of your three, Adams, and Irving... Could you possibly suggest some titles by them and please tell me a little about Zadie Smith?

Thomas

This question just dawned on me, no pun intended, but what to you guys think of stoker, how he has created a mythos that has in a way over shadowed Vlad Sie Tepes himself, and do you think from stoker creating a "beautiful" drinker of blood that most modern writers that write this fiction can only see them as hansom or beautiful? If you take into account Nosfaratu, he was a hidious creature... yet was tangible enough on teh silver screen.
What are you guys thoughts?

Thomas

white teeth, about 2 wartime friends, one english and one indian and theyre life/family in the uk after the war.When you know irving
you should have no trouble enjoying this one.Second one autograph man , i'm reading now,alternating with irvings fourth hand.

Forgot to mention that was about Zadie Smith,english writer,with indian parents(if I rember correctly) White teeth should be read in original language,looses a lot in translation.
And yes , this was posted with the use of Stardock central version 1.99 ;>

I second Brothers Karamazov; Mice & Men above Grapes of Wrath...hardly. Since I chose a Joycian character for my name, I could not omit "Ulysses." I guess, no one cares for whales, eh?--Melville's Moby Dick.

Steven I have never read Ulysses, though I have wanted to because I heard Joyce is such a good writter... and for the Melville, it was an okay book, not obviously one of my favorites but nonetheless a good book.
Marten I will see what I can find, and thanks for the book titles.

Grapes of Wrath... thats to my memory a really long drawn out novel, but nevertheless I was pleased with reading it. I think Steinbeck had a flare with characters, made them much more personaly than even today modern writers, even I am guilty of not making my characters as personal as they could possibly be. I heard once that even Hemingway was fantastic in his creation of characters because of his impecishable keeping a passed conversations with friends and others... I think I actually saw that on Book TV.

Thanks again for all the comments. I dont want this thread to stop... its so much fun.

Thomas

Just a thought..how can you say" Greatest Authors of ALL time" well I agree that Steinbeck was a great writer at on point in time
, but things change.I loved steinbeck , Kerouac , Kafka and all those so called great writers at one time, but now I like someone
else. Is it that we want the books we read and loved to be the greatest of all time ? Ask a kid what he/she think is the greatest
writer of all time.....guess what , I dont think that any of those old dead people will make it to the top 50 list! ,>