Just too many my favourites would be tho

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
Ghostwritten - David Mitchell
Survivor - Chuck Palahniuk
The Beach - Alex Garland
Purple America - Rick Moody
Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland

Read them and enjoy!

Oh- I have to add The Sopranos, by Alan Warner-- not about the mafia, but a wonderful, wonderful novel... he wrote Morvern Callar, too, but I haven't yet tackled that. Has anyone read the new Zadie Smith or the new Donna Tartt yet?

Oh favourite books! I am a great fan of Milan Kundera, Immortality being his best in my opinion. I also LOVE the humour of Tom Robbins, if I want a laugh he is the choice and such great and rather bizarre writing! Other old favourites are Kerouac, any book by him, The Big Sur being one that is dear to me as I slowly went mad with him, Last Exit to Brooklyn by Selby and Franny and Zooey by Salinger and so so so many more that I can hardly begin to tell! Any suggestions of authors to try will be gladly appreciated.

Just a note to say that the mention of "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever" should have been all as one search phrase, being the trilogy title...

Other than that, nice piece of work to whoever ran through this putting search links in this thread.

Has anyone read 'Geek Love' by Katherine Dunn?

Haven't read this Bev. But am intrigued by the title. Tell us more.

The synopsis reads 'A story which mixes tenderness, terror, suspense and dark comedy. It is told by Olympia Binewski, a bald albino hunchback dwarf and members of the American carnival family. Al and Lil, proprietors of Binewski's Fabulon, hit upon the idea of breeding their own freak show.'
Just my cup of tea!

Sorry to drag up an old subject but I am thrilled to find another Stephen Donaldson fan.
I keep telling people about the Thomas Covenant Chronicles but I've never met anyone before who has heard of them. I first read them in the late seventies, early eighties. (I even had a dog, a Newfoundland, called Bannor). I was half way through the first book before I could put it down long enough to rush out and buy the other two. Then I had to wait on tenterhooks for the second trilogy to come out. I have been known to read all six and then immediately start again from the begining.
In fact, I think I feel a TC moment coming on...
Dee.

Aah, excellent.

I wasn't even walking by the time the seventies were over, and so I only read the books in recent years, but they could have been written yesterday with the way they're written.

Have you also read Donaldson's Gap series? His writing has truly matured in those books, and it's truly awesome.

<Added>

Truly, truly. Truly.

Wow, lots of writers I have not got to yet. Yes, Anna, I did plough my way through The Autograph Man. I feel very ambivalent about Zadie Smith's writing. I don't like her characters much and nor did I really enjoy the story, but her ability to describe events and people is so extraordinary and feels so real that I read on in spite of myself. I think we will have to wait a few years, the best is still to come and it will be very good.
A pleasant and very easy read I have just finished is Reading Chekhov: A Critical Journey, by Janet Malcolm. I am not even a Chekhov fan but this is a great mixture of journalism, biography and a critical wander amongst his short stories.
Cheers, Hilary

Hi IB,
Yes, I've read the Gap Series and Mordant's Need but they didn't quite grab me the way Thomas Covenant did.

Have you read Robin Hobbs' Farseer Trilogy? It's not the same but, by god, it drags you in...
Dee.

I read the Thomas Covenant stories when I was a teenager and enjoyed them mightily. Have you ever read 'Daughter of Regals' by him? That was pretty damn good too.

The book that got me writing and seriously interested in literature was, without doubt, 'The Hobbit' by J R R Tolkien. I used to emulate these and the Narnia stories when I was a boy, and this has lead on to writing seriously as an adult. Alan Garner 'The Weirdstone of Brisingham' was also cool, as was the sequel 'Moon of Gomrath'.

Recently, I read 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel. It won the Booker but don't be put off by that. It is one of the best books I've read in adult life. Sometimes I read Minette Walters as I appreciate any writer who can make me enjoy something I don't really like i.e crime fiction. Douglas Coupland's 'Miss Wyoming'was also a top read.

Oh, and 'Cocaine Nights' by J G Ballard. Love him. Any other Ballard fans out there?

I am just pages away from finishing Richard Branson’s autobiography and I found it written very well indeed, your not just bombarded with facts about his life but he talks you through each event as he would do a friend.

I am of late somewhat of an entrepreneur and that is why I brought the book in the first place since I thought I may pick a few handy notes up and that I did.

However, though it is interesting for a business person to read there are tons of events that make for fascinating reader for those who couldn't care less about the way the business world wheels and deals.

I give this book eight out of ten, a high mark, the only reason it isn’t higher is because I always like to leave a bit of room in case a better book comes along but this was really interesting and fun to read.

What do you lot think of autobiography’s? I also read Frank Skinners and he has a very interesting life but obviously in a totally different way to Mr Branson’s, Skinners book is full of warmth, touching emotions and hilarious scenes and even a few shockers

I loved Bob Geldof's 'Is that it?'. Haven't read that many.