[it wasn't always easy but i sure had fun]

[minervacat]

Dear Red Sox fans:

Thanks for not burning Boston down, yo.

Love,
Min

P.S. I heard some outrageous rumor that your team beat the Yankees to win the AL pennant; way to go! *grin*

In other news, there is no other news, but there is a Top 5 topic. Top 5 Authors You Think Everyone Should Read. We've done Top 5 Books You Think Everyone Should Read,

Comments

[humpingbears]

1. Kaye Gibbons - Modern, Southern, essentially female writer. Start with Ellen Foster, which is sort of harrowing and moving and funny all at the same time, and then move into either A Virtuous Woman or Charms for the Easy Life, which is hands down one of my favorite books ever. I wrote my college entrance essay about my admiration for its protagonist.

2. Nick Hornby - he is everything Kaye Gibbons isn't: Male, British, harsh, and sexist. And I love him. And? he has one of the greatest views of modern music in the whole wide world, even if I don't always agree with him. My favorite is, of course, High Fidelity, which is much, much, much better than the movie version, which is pretty good. About a Boy is also much better than its film, although the film also a) is pretty good, and b) stars Hugh Grant with non-floppy hair.

3. David Sedaris - I don't care where you start. Just read him, for god's sake. My favorite is Me Talk Pretty One Day, but you'll be rolling on the floor with any of them. I think Naked is probably the

[minervacat]

Someday, when I have lots of money and time to spend pouring over all of them, I am going to own all of Nick Bantok's stuff. I have distinct recollections of listening to him read Griffin and Sabine on tape, in the car when I was a kid, and then finally actually seeing the book for the first time - there's nothing that compares to the sheer beauty of his work. They're not books, they're works of bloody art.

I have read at least one book by everyone on your list! *dances* (I don't like Krakauer, but mostly because his genre doesn't interest me; he's a tremendous author, just not for me.)

[humpingbears]

I can totally understand how Krakauer would not mesh with a lot of people, but I think everyone should give him a try. I didn't read him until I was visiting a family friend up near Glacier National Park,a nd she had a copy of Into Thin Air on the coffee table, and I read like half of it in a day. It was the perfect setting for it.

And Nick Bantok...sigh. I heard him speak last summer at this huge Southern Festival of Books thing we have here. He was great, and he totally talked about the writing/drawing in seperate voices thing, and it blew my mind. If you want to read something of his other than the Griffin and Sabine series, I really recommend The Forgetting Room, especially for you.

[minervacat]

Oh, I tried. I read all of Into Thin Air and it was good, but it didn't make me want to read more. My dad's read all of his stuff, though. It's right up his alley. :)

The Forgetting Room ... seems to me I might have read it - the title rings a bell at least - but I can't recall a single thing about it. I'll have to read it again. Thanks for the nudge.

[caffeinediary]

Ann Patchett-
Her brillaint evocations in The Magican's Assistant should be enough to get you started. Move on to Taft and Bel Canto and you'll see why everyone should read her. Brilliant and beautiful in everyday life prose.

Lorrie Moore-
I love, love, love her collection Birds of America. That alone should get her on this top five list. I'm not a big re-reader of things, especially short stories, but this one is fun and wise.

Daniel Mendolsohn-
I beleive he only has one book but, my god, what an amazing book. He talks so elegantly about the elusiveness of desire and finding your identity in the world.

I can only think of three for now.

[minervacat]

I've been meaning to read Lorrie Moore, especially since I've been writing short stories; I'll have to check her out for certain now.

[mellyflori]

Good topic. Of course, you snatched Chris right out from under me. Curse you! So let's assume I started with Chris too, and that I even recommended starting with Lamb and going forward like you did. Let's call these next ones 2 through 6

[minervacat]

You could have said Chris Moore again! There can never be enough reinforcement that he is brilliant and should rule the world! (Also I am waiting patiently for the sequel to Fiends and it can't come soon enough. *wants*)

And if people are reading Gaiman, I have to insist that they read all the Sandman comics, too, even if they "don't like comics". Gaiman's writing with McKean's art is just too much for me to take. It makes my heart hurt, it's so gorgeous.

Read "The Hippopotamus" because no one likes to sit next to the crazy laughing lady.
It's true! It's why reading Lamb on the bus was so often. People edged away from me and left me plenty of open seats. <3

[mellyflori]

Did you read this special Sandman? I swear, I wept.

And for Fry, if you ever find it, try "Making History" ... its theory is "What if Hitler was the best option?" And it makes your brain go all twisty-like.

[minervacat]

I haven't been able to lay my hands on that one yet. I read most of them the summer after my senior year when my friend missingm, who owns all of them, was living down the hall from me. But he didn't have that one then.

I'll look for Fry when I go to the library this weekend. I've been meaning to read him for ages, but when I go to look at books, I never remember him. Writing Making History down right now, so I don't forget.

[protoainsley]

1) Jane Austen--her plots are wonderful, particularly for the hopeless romantics among us. But, better, her sardonic castigation of those who castigate the less fortunate in elegant language should stand as a lesson to all. Satire can be as beautiful as the blue sky over Chapel Hill. :)

2)Ann Rinaldi--never heard of her? Don't worry. Seems to me that no one else has, either. Like YA books? Like American history? Rinaldi writes YA historical fiction. She goes inside some of the most important or famous homes and events in US history, weaving fascinating personal plots that make excellent use of the external events. I re-enact, and her history is so accurate I use her books as research, because once I understand what something was like, it's easier to read the dry stuff. Plus, she takes the time in an author's note to tell you what happened and where she deviated from what really happened. She has books set from the Salem Witch Trials to the Hatfield/McCoy feuds, so what I'd recommend would depend on what your interests are.

3) L.M.

[minervacat]

If I recall correctly, L.M. Montgomery has written quite a few ghost stories, has she not? I think I read them in high school and enjoyed them much more than I enjoyed the Anne books, though Anne, of course, has a special place in my heart. She really is more than the sum of the Anne books; good choice!

[protoainsley]

She did indeed write ghost stories as well. :)

I just grabbed Anne books 2-8 this weekend, and am reading through them, otherwise I'd likely have not thought of her. I'm horrid at thinking of books I love, and worse at identifying authors. But...I had to pick! Because I cannot let a book Top 5 go by.

[caffeinediary]

The Blue Castle is wonderful indeed. and I'm so glad I saw the Anne books for you. :)

[aussie_nyc]

1. Stephen Jay Gould. I have learnt so much from reading his essays, and wish all the time that there were still new ones on the way.

2. Michael Marshall Smith. The most devious, evil author on the planet. He's written too many stories that left me thinking I want to have written that.

3. Douglas Adams. Duh.

4. Catherynne M. Valente, aka yuki_onna. Because she's on LJ and very cool and writes horror and fantasy and poetry with more layers in it than I'll ever grasp.

5. Greg Egan. The best writer in Australia, or most anywhere else. Science fiction with a very hard edge.

[minervacat]

I like real authors who use LJ. It gives me hope. :)

Douglas Adams should be read by everyone in the world. There is no better fake-trilogy than Hitchhiker's Guide, etc. *grin*