Literature

I love to read.  I also love to write.  You can read one of my short stories here.  It's very silly- maybe eventually I'll get some of my longer, more serious work on here.  Below you'll find info about authors and some specific works I especially enjoy.  Sadly, I don't know a whole heck of a lot of people who like to sit down and read a good book, so if you are one of those people, cheers!  BTW, tell me what you think of my story, if you please!  Thankya.

Stephen King

I'm one of the fifty billion people out there who read Stephen King novels.  I started reading them several years ago after seeing "The Langoliers" on television (granted, the miniseries wasn't that hot, but I was intrigued).  Since then, I've read a great number of his books, at last count I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty-two.  Some I've liked, some I haven't.  For example, The Stand is my favorite book of all time.  I've read it over and over.  The plot (or plots) is (are) fascinating and wonderfully executed, and the pacing is neither too fast nor too slow.  The characters are on the whole believeable, and while obviously a one-sided work, there are enough ironic situations to keep the readers guessing on their (the characters') behavior.  On the other end of the scale is The Tommyknockers. I couldn't even get started on that one.  My recommendations:  The Stand, The Shining, Firestarter, The Dark Half, Misery, Desperation, Carrie, Christine, the Gunslinger series (so it's a lot of recommendations)...

Donald E. Westlake

I was introduced to Donald E. Westlake a few years ago by a friend of mine (thanks, Nick!) who overheard me talking about books I enjoy.  He told me about the book Humans, and told me that I'd probably enjoy it.  He was right.  The plot, in a nutshell, is this: God is fed up with the world and the way it's going, so he sends one of his angels, name of Ananayel, to set off a chain reaction that will destroy the earth.  Satan gets wind of this and sends one of his henchmen to save it, because he likes it just the way it is.  I found myself wondering who to root for.  Not all of Westlake's work is quite this philosophical.  He is also the author of a series of comic crime novels called the Dortmunder series.  They revolve around anti-hero John Dortmunder, a professional thief, and his band of inept henchmen.  In one novel they steal a bank, in another they have to steal the femur of a saint.  All of them are brilliantly funny, and you never know what to expect. My recommendations: Humans, The Ax, Smoke, the Dortmunder series.

J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series

I'll admit I was skeptical at first when I heard about these books.  My sister received the first one for Christmas, and so, having nothing better to do, I sat down and I read it.  When my mother bought the second one, I read it in one sitting.  When my sister bought the third one, I read that in one sitting, too.  The fourth one took a bit longer (cos it IS longer).  Now we're anxiously awaiting the fifth one, to learn of more of the adventures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and the like.  They're simply marvelous books, not only for children.  While sometimes formulaic, they're not predictable.  The endings of all three have held me in suspense.  The books chronicle Harry's seven years at Hogwarts School for Wizardry and Witchcraft, beginning when the lad is eleven years old.  He was orphaned as a baby by the evil Lord Voldemort, and left with his nonmagic (or Muggle) aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, who are simply horrible people.  Ms. Rowling writes with great humor and compassion for her characters, and... well, suffice it to say that I really, really like this series.

Other Notable Works / Authors

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery Waiting for Godot and Endgame, by Samuel Beckett (see the Theatre section) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll The Picture of Dorian Grey and The Importance of Being Ernest, by Oscar Wilde The Hitchhiker Trilogy, by Douglas Adams The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, by Douglas Adams Le ton beau de Marot, by Douglas R. Hofstadter The Beljars, by Molly Glass (also see Movies)

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