Author Reading Selection

[James (ObservantRaven)]

When it comes to choosing books to read apart from sword and lasers picks, what authors do you generally stand by when it comes to choosing your next book read?

[Michele]

The only non-sf/f authors I read regularly are Preston and Child. I love their Pendergast series and the Gideon Crew series is pretty good too. I've also read some of the stuff each has written separately, fun light reads.

I used to get Anne Rice but she...changed :)

Hmm, Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries, Laurence Block's Burglar Who mysteries, Laura Joh Rowland's Inspector Sano mysteries, Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series - these I will eventually get but I can wait on them til the price goes down or the mood strikes.

I guess I don't follow any authors who write stand alones, not religiously anyway.

[James (ObservantRaven)]

What bout other scifi or fantasy authors?

[Phil]

Off the top of my head the ones I always get are Robert Sawyer, Spider Robinson, and Christopher Moore, and most of Dan Simmons and Terry Pratchet and Guy Gavariel Kay and a lot of Larry Niven and Orson Scott Card. I used to get all the new Heinleins, Asimovs and Adams but since they died their output has dropped a bit.

[Michele]

Oh, I read your question as non sword and laser, instead of non S&L book club.

I'll buy Jim Butcher, James S.A. Corey, Wesley Chu, Jo Walton, Mark Hodder, Tad Williams, Neil Gaiman, John Scalzi, Connie Willis, Daniel Suarez, Diana Rowland, Ellen Kushner, Gene Wolfe, K.J. Parker, C.J. Cherryh, Robin McKinley and Pat Rothfuss.

That's most of the authors I keep track of for new books, even if I don't buy them right away. Also, I may only follow one series by each author (so far, like I haven't read Jim Butcher's Roman fantasy series, or Tad Williams' Bobby Dollar).

Those are authors that I can be pretty sure I'm going to enjoy when I pick them up.

[Ben]

I'll read anything that Neil Gaiman and Alastair Reynolds put out.

Then there are a few others who I'm slowly working my way through their back catalogue like Philip K Dick and Elmore Leonard.

[terpkristin]

I used to jump on anything that Neal Stephenson put out, but after Anathem and Reamde, I stopped that.

Lately, I've been pre-ordering things from Robin Hobb, Naomi Novik, and Brent Weeks, more or less sight unseen. I haven't even finished everything else by these authors (including series I'm buying into), but I've enjoyed them enough that I'm willing to take the risk.

I have a sort of a love/hate relationship with Neil Gaiman and have recently been buying/pre-ordering his stuff (by "lately" I mean in the last 10 years, with both Anansi Boys and The Ocean at the End of the Lane), but I haven't always done that before and I think it wouldn't be the same with his graphic novels.

Outside the genre, I'm a huge fan of the Andy Carpenter books by David Rosenfelt and those are day-1 buys for me.

I'm sure there are others I'm missing, but my brain isn't working properly right now, so if I think of more later, I'll add them. ;)

[Pat]

Generally I'll get straight on to new stuff by Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Chuck Palahniuk, Joe Abercrombie, Terry Pratchett, Neal Asher & Peter F. Hamilton.

I usually finish what I'm reading first but they go straight to the top of the queue as soon as they become available.

[kvon]

Immediate purchases--Lois Bujold. Tim Powers (novels). Ted Chiang (short stories). Tamora Pierce. P.C. Hodgell. Patricia Wrede. Steven Brust. Jo Walton. Sarah Monette. Tanya Huff.

Newer authors who've not yet disappointed me--Ben Aaronovitch. Patrick Rothfuss. Nnedi Okorafor. Ann Leckie.

[Rob]

There's always more Wodehouse to read.

[Dharmakirti]

James wrote: "When it comes to choosing books to read apart from sword and lasers picks, what authors do you generally stand by when it comes to choosing your next book read?"

R. Scott Bakker
China Miéville
Clive Barker
Steven Erikson
C.S. Friedman