Reading recommendations for the cold dark months ahead..
As the image accompanying this post illustrates, (from january 2006) I’m a die-hard Stephen King fan, but this isn’t to say I don’t read anything else.
Here’s a short list of some excellent writers, that i’ve only just discovered in the last 2 years.. I personally can’t live without books.. reading in the bath, reading while i knit, and of course reading myself to sleep.. I urge people to check out the following, if they haven’t already:
Margaret Atwood. Absolutely brilliant Canadian author, just entering her seventies, but still writing and still wonderful. I’ve read nearly every book she’s written, and loved nearly all of them - there was one short-story book in which some of the stories failed to captivate me completely. But on the whole, a gem. Sharp, cynical and at the same time extremely poignant and often hilarious ( laughing out loud from a book is a rare occurance for me, but her books have had this effect on me more often than not )
Some favorites of hers: Alias Grace, The Robber Bride, Oryx and Crake, The Blind Assassin, The Edible Woman, The Handmaids tale… If you’re anything like me, you’ll start, get hooked and dig up everything by her at the library.
Tess Gerritsen. A doctor turned novelist, this woman can out-gross any of her male counterparts. Focusing in most of her books on reccurring characters - the main ones being a policewoman and medical examiner who work together on solving (usually quite gruesome) murders, she uses her past personal experience as a practicing physician to lend credibility and detail to her intricate plots. The one’s i’ve read so far have been of the un-put-downable sort: The Mephisto Club, Vanish, The Surgeon, The Bone Garden, The Sinner, Body Double. Great fun.
Fay Weldon. Only read two of her books as of yet, but both were extremely enjoyable. Probably a bit too feminist-oriented for the average male reader, but I think she’s awesome. I’ve read The Spa Decameron and Puffball so far, both were thoroughly enjoyable. Will definitely be looking into more of her work.
Stephen White. I like this guy. Not very high-brow reading, (but then, that’s not really my thing), his books pass the time very quickly. Set in Colorado and most starring psychiatraist Alan Gregory as the main character, who somehow manages to get involved in intricate crime plots through his patients. One’s i’ve read: Kill me , The best revenge, Blinded, Warning Signs
Jeffrey Deaver: Many people may remember the movie “the bone collector” .. well, Deaver wrote the book. All of his books I’ve read so far (except one) involve the same cast of characters- paraplegic forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme, policewoman Amelia Sachs, and a bunch of others that have almost become well-known friends after reading more than two. Deaver is an absolute master of the unexpected plot twist.. sometimes taking it to ridiculous lengths, adding a new twist again and again when you’ve already thought many times that you’ve figured it out. At times, his writing style can be a wee bit corny, (as are some of the titles , which remind me of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books) but that’s a small annoyance compared to the entertainment value. I’ve read the following: The Vanished Man, The Cold Moon, The Broken Window, The Twelfth Card, and Garden of Beasts, which is his best by far, not dealing with Rhyme and his buddies, but a World War II thriller set in Berlin, which i found genuinely captivating.
And finally, i’m going to briefly mention John D MacDonald. Not because he’s a secondary writer (he’s HUGE), but because i’ve only read one of his books - The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper - and am currently on the second- The Lonely Silver Rain. I know, however, that i’ll be reading many more. His writing style is wonderful, written in first person from the point of view of the hero, Travis McGee (i can almost hear a film-noir-spoofish voice doing a voice over while i’m reading) and just really funny at times.. but a sortof dry humor that doesnt jump out at you. Great stuff.
Thanks for the info.
Dear Rebekka,
Only just started following your blog. I love the theatricality of your work. Just finished a degree in Drama and Theatre Studies and Italian in Cork, Ireland, so not much time for anything but academic reading for a while. Now that’s over, think I’ll give Margaret Atwood a shot, because it’s quite strange to find yourself laughing out loud on your own. You kinda look around to see if anyone is lookng at you, and of course there’s no-one but you there!That in itself is hilarious! Found myself doing that with Italian playwright Dario Fo’s ‘Death of an Anarchist’It’s absolutely mental…a tonic! Thanks