Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with authors

Is there an equivalent of IMDB or Allmusic for books?

mairuzu — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:10:18 -0800

Is there an equivalent of IMDB or Allmusic for books? i.e. A site that lists all books written by a particular author with ratings, reviews, comments etc? English language based.

short story recommendations?

Salvatorparadise — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:53:47 -0800

What are your favorite short stories or short story collections, anthologies etc. Hi all. I'm interested in writing short stories, but really need to read more of them before I dive into this. What are some of your favorite short stories, anthologies or collections that I should check out?

I'm a reporter and write for a living, and wrote a book a few years ago (haven't tried to publish it, i'd like to try to write it again sometime to make it better) and want to begin writing fiction more seriously. I'd like to start with short stories but I haven't read very many, and that's a problem when one wants to write them!

help me out!

What American authors write about Spain?

mizrachi — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 07:42:44 -0800

What literature is written about Spain or the experience of living in Spain by American authors? This is for a class to be taught in Valencia called, "Spain through American Eyes."

CAY-muss, de-LEE-yo, NAY-bo-koff, PROWST

Darth Fedor — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:25:12 -0800

How do I pronounce some of my favorite authors' names? (Names inside.) J.M. Coetzee
Halldor Laxness
Junot Diaz
Kenzaburo Oe
Michel Houellebecq
Michael Chabon

Phonetics appreciated. Thanks!

Who Am I?

greenmagnet — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:16:50 -0800

My brother is being tormented by being unable to identify a mental image of a photograph of a man who he believes to be an author. He can't recall a lot of details, but here's what he has; I told him if anyone could help, it would be you guys, so don't let me down. :) - Male, relatively young, dark hair, beard - Probably an author, or if not, at least someone well-known - Possibly German or Russian, maybe of Jewish descent - Name may be Joseph or something similar, but not Stalin - Pretty sure it's a black & white photograph, which probably places him in the early 20th century I know this isn't a lot of information, but I figured it was worth a try.... Thanks!

I want to read stories or articles like those on 'This American Life'

reenum — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:48:34 -0800

I've been reading 'New Kings of Nonfiction' by Ira Glass and love it. I want to read more articles and books in this vein. Ira Glass put together a collection of nonfiction articles that are very TAL-like in their tone and storytelling.

I've tried to find more by the authors in the book, especially Jack Hitt.

Can any of you point me towards books and articles or authors whose work has that distinctive feel that is found on stories featured by 'This American Life'?

Women writing SciFi: Your Picks?

taz — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:52:55 -0800

In your opinion, who are the best female science fiction authors? What are the best scifi books written by women? Interpret the genre as broadly as you wish - "Hard" SciFi, Space Opera, Fantasy, Time Travel, Alternate History/Universe - it matters not! I especially love Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and New Weird, and am probably least interested in romances that just seem to have an incidental scifi setting and extremely politicized writing, but the most important criterion is overall quality - as long as the work is superior, I'm interested. I am asking for women writers because while I've read a fair amount of scifi, I realize I've only read a handful by women writers (most of which I've liked very, very much), and would like to read more.

I understand that I can go to any anthology of female scifi writers to get a list of names, but I'm asking for Mefites' personal recommendations for excellent women writers in this genre as well as specific books that stand out to you. I don't care if the author is not well-known or widely recognized - or, on the other hand, if the name is so obvious that everyone knows it.

How do I find authors the same age as me?

aclevername — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:33:08 -0800

Is there any resource online that lists fiction (and possibly non-fiction) authors by age? I'm looking to find and read books by authors of a similar age to me (I'm 29). Similar to the idea that Douglas Coupland, being of Generation X, had a age-based cultural type of writing, I'm curious to read any of "my" generation (whatever that may be).

Really what I'd like is some way to search a list of authors by age or birthdate. Nothing turns up on google. Nothing I want, anyway. My searches have only turned up listings of authors by historical "age" (e.g. Elizabethan, etc).

Short of looking up individual biographies of authors, is there any way to do this?

Book in which female editor writes to authors?

Drohan — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:13:52 -0800

What'sThatBookFilter: A not-recent, nonfiction book by a female editor in which she, among other things, writes letters to her authors? The book may be a memoir, it's definitely non-fiction, unlikely to have been written within the past 30 years. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

What's The Word? And it ain't Thunderbird!

jonmc — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 08:54:50 -0800

Lit-crit/what the hell is the word I'm looking for? I really like the novels of John Sayles, Mike Magnusson, Chris Offutt, Tom Perotta, Moredcai Richler and early Richard Price. These authors vary widely in background and subject matter, but their prose style is very similar in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm talking prose style (especially the way they write dialogue) as opposed to subject matter or their own personal background here.

I keep wanting to say 'conversationalist' or 'naturalist' but those aren't the right terms, are they? What's the word I'm looking for, the technical term a literature professor would use?

Bonus question: any female writers who write in a similar style? I'm looking to broaden my horizons.

It's all here in writing

freston — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:17:22 -0800

Smallish bunch of creative writer-types (who've met up in person a couple of times) would like somewhere to hang out online: please suggest what kind of website might suit us best. So we'd like to publicise future meetings, provide links to individual websites, publish our work and receive criticism from other members. Needs to be set up such that any member can contribute, possibly membership by invitation only. Are we talking some sort of blog? Google group? Forums? Suggest away.

Nyet, Natasha is too many syllables!

mrzarquon — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:42:07 -0800

Need female russian authors with two syllable names. To name a dog. I realize there has been "name my dog" questions before, but I haven't found one like this. Specifically, my Aunt who used to work with Penguin Books, ran her own book store in Hong Kong, and who is an extremely literate person, is getting a new dog. She has a standing tradition of naming her animals (currently 2 dogs, 2 cats, and over 10 birds) after authors.

She is now rescuing a 6 year old female red and white coated siberian (this is where the russian comes in) husky, and has asked me to help find more Russian names for the new member of the household. Currently on the table is Anya and Maya (not russian, but after the Angelou). Some names used in the past or current are: Shelley, Dickens, Beckett, Poppet, Yoa Ling, and Pushkin.

Is Iain Banks' new book, The Steep Approach to Garbadale worth buying?

Surfyournut — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:04:49 -0800

Is Iain Banks' new book, The Steep Approach to Garbadale worth buying? I have read all of his books so far, especially enjoying his sci-fi under the name Iain M. Banks, but have found his more recent fiction writing somewhat lacking.

Most recently I read Dead Air, which was good and involving, but somehow not as gripping and interesting as The Crow Road, Whit or The Bridge, and seemed more formulaic than usual. The Steep Approach to Garbadale is heralded as "Iain Banks's most compelling novel since The Crow Road", but I want to hear what others think before I shell out for the hard-cover.

Extra question: Any authors you would recommend for an Iain (M.) Banks fan?

Who are some literary figures who either 1) had a knack for words or 2) who analyzed other people's words?

Java_Man — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:28:08 -0800

Who are some literary figures who either 1) had a knack for words or 2) who analyzed other people's words?

Help me find authors like Tom Robbins

sunimplodes — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:40:05 -0800

Help me find novelists that are similar to Tom Robbins. Last summer, I read Even Cowgirls Get The Blues and I've just finished Jitterbug Perfume. I've loved both, and I'd like to find some other authors with a similar flavour, peculiar humour, passion, and intelligence.

Any suggestions?

Wordpress confuses authors/identities in small group blog owned by Mefi member...

dash_slot- — Mon, 21 May 2007 11:44:22 -0800

Our group blog (WordPress 2.1.1) confuses our IDs, and so sends email notifications to the wrong author. Also, this screws up loads of other stuff too. Is this a known issue? Our blog [thejulyclub.com] has just 8 members, and very little commenting. Since day one, the blog thinks that certain members are posting, when in fact they aren't. They get email updates that they have posted new threads, when in fact it is usually me that has posted the thread. Any ideas what may cause this?

This is what I mean: screenshot

This shows that I have made only one post (I've made 32), and 'berry drabs' has made 21 (he's made 2). It shows that threehats has made 13 posts where he has made 6.

This doesn't seem to be an exact swap of ID's, just that somehow WP isn't filing them right. Any ideas?

I have googled, yahoo'd and [lord help me] posted in the ever-so-wonderful WP forums. So far, no dice.

Admittedly the email notifications are annoying, and a workaround might suffice, but I really just want it to work right.

Mainstream slumming on the sci fi side of the street?

nanojath — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 12:02:51 -0800

I just found out that the dystopian/futuristic movie Children of Men is based on a novel by P.D. James. It made me think of the excellent short story The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster. It made me wonder: are other examples of mainstream authors experimenting with speculative fiction? I'm particularly interested in the case where the author is primarily known for mainstream, literature, or a different genre fiction - I thought of the example of Margaret Atwood (who's entry in Wikipedia, incidentally, has singlehandedly destroyed what marginal faith I had in that "reference") but she's really crossed that line several times in more than one fashion.

How to hunt out great books and good authors?

planetthoughtful — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 18:38:08 -0800

As I get older (and possibly more cantankerous) I'm becoming less willing to spend good money on potentially bad books (well, maybe not bad per se, but books I don't enjoy). Once upon a time, in the increasingly dim past, I used to purchase many books on the assumption that some would prove worth reading. Now, books are becoming increasingly expensive in Australia, and I'm consequently becoming more and more demanding that the book be worth reading before I part with my cash. So, I'm wondering if any of the Mefites have hit upon an almost-surefire-method for picking the next book you intend to read? I've tried various methods - I've waded through multiple 'The 100 Best Books Ever Written' lists, and if I ever see another copy of Ulysses I will almost certainly scream. I've tried reading through books that have won awards, and while Proulx may be a literary genius, her writing (and the writing of others who have won important literary awards) leaves me cold. And I've also tried buying books from bestseller lists, but that just makes me want to assault Dan Brown, damn his eyes.

I have reasonably wide reading interests, and I'd cite favourite authors as being Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson, John Steinbeck, Joseph Heller, Truman Capote, John Connolly, Peter Straub, Jasper Fforde, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Douglas Adams and others. My three favourite books? Why, they would be Catch 22, To Kill A Mockingbird and East Of Eden (probably followed closely by something by Terry Pratchett). I enjoy fantasy, satire, serious literature, science fiction, crime, conspiracy, supernatural thrillers. I like long stories and short. Most of all, I like a well-written tale through which I am not forced to be conscious of the writer (my main criticism of authors like Dan Brown - does every chapter have to end with a cliff hanger, you overly-popular-hack?).

I have this nagging suspicion that if I knew better how to use sites like Amazon or Barnes And Noble, my strike-rate for worthwhile vs oh-my-god-I-don't-believe-I-paid-good-money-for-this-trash books (I'm looking at you again, Mr Brown) would be at a much more satisfying level. For example, in the trash category for me would be authors like Dan Brown (no surprises), JK Rowling (sorry, I wouldn't have read this series even as a child), L Ron Hubbard (don't get me started), Piers Anthony (formula writing for formula readers) and others. This is not to upset anyone who enjoys these authors, just to give some insight into my prejudices.

So, does anyone have any advice they can share? Please? Before I go out of my tiny mind while yearning for a great read? Thank you in advance!

(Note: a public library isn't currently all that handy, and even if one was, I'd still appreciate advice on how others go about preselecting potentially good books and authors)

How do I contact author William Goldman?

jackypaper — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:42:16 -0800

The author of THE PRINCESS BRIDE and BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID doesn't have a website or any other presence on the web. I'd like to write to him. It's not so easy as simply writing to his publisher, as he isn't releasing novels or nonfiction these days, so I'm not sure who his publisher would be. Apparently he's spending his twilight years touching up screenplays for other writers. At any rate, I'd like to send him a letter. He lives in New York. Sadly, "William Goldman" is a fairly common name in NYC, so my search isn't getting very far.

Non Fiction Women No Longer

Xurando — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:39:58 -0800

Help me to let go of my bias against women's fiction. What fiction books written by women would a "real" man like? A friend of mine recently suggested a thriller written by a woman and actually took it out of the library for me. I read the first page and got no further, the bias had set in.
I can't describe it, but I find offsetting, something in general about how women write fiction. This does not necessarily apply to non-fiction though it does apply to memoirs as well. One exception to this was Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan.

If pushed to describe it, I would say that women's fiction wanders from outside narrative to the interior feeling state far too easily. I like the story line to be present throughout despite being eclectic, whimsical, funny, or what have you. I like thrillers, travel writing, current life.

My friend now calls me the misogynist. Is there hope for me? Any suggestions for authors I might like?

Book recommendations that meet a specific criteria...

dobbs — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:08:22 -0800

Looking for inspiration in two kinds of books. Perhaps you've got some recommendations? 1) Novels with very short "chapters" or fragments or pieces, that combine to make a whole; 2) Books boldly written, whether that be a writer being bold with timelines, punctuation, language, etc. (examples of both types of books inside). I'm trying to finish up a novel. The problem is that I seem to only be able to write extremely short passages. (For example, I recently sent 3 pieces off for publication and their total word count was under 600.) Though I know I shouldn't, I'm finding (my knowledge of) the lack of work previously published like this to be rather disheartening and therefore resistence-fostering.

Have you got any examples of published novels that are the sum of a series of very short "entries"? (Note that I'm not looking for short story collections that make up "novels".) Three examples I can think of are Stephen Marche's Raymond and Hannah, Laszlo Krasznahorkai's War & War, and maybe Fernando Pessoa's Book of Disquiet.

I also seem to get much inspiration out of writers who are bold with presentation (though I don't consider myself to be). Examples would be Hubert Selby Jr, Stephen Dixon (I), James Kellman (How Late...), Kathe Koja (Kink), Julio Cortazar (Hopscotch), etc. I'm not really looking for things that are necessarily difficult or "impenetrable" to the average reader (ie, Ulysses), just writing that you'd consider bold.

Thanks!

who said this?

Postroad — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 06:32:31 -0800

A notable saying by an author. I would like to find out who the author is. I had come across this somewhere: a Great mind talks about ideas. A Good mind, about events. The average person talks about people.

Who said this? is it fairly accurate an assessment?

Who are authors writing on the impact of the Internet as a communications medium?

Jaybo — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 09:55:17 -0800

Who are scholars and/or popular authors writing on the impact of the Internet as a communications medium, specifically those talking about how the Internet removes previous time and/or space biases that are inevitably present in other forms of communication technology (telephone, television, radio, etc.)? I'm writing a paper on the ways that the Internet is supplanting television as the dominant communications medium in our society. To keep it manageable, I'm specifically comparing TV and the Internet as broadcast methods for video (although I may talk about other forms of "broadcasting" including RSS, blogs, etc.)

The essay's starting point is last summer's Live 8 concerts which caused one reporter to observe: "Television seemed shockingly old-fashioned in how it followed Saturday's worldwide concert for poverty relief. AOL's coverage was so superior, it may one day be seen as a historical marker in drawing people to computers instead of TV screens for big events"

Although my main question is asking for authors writing about how the Internet is fundamentally erasing space and time barriers that exist in communication currently, I'd also be interested in any suggestions of topics/issues/examples to cover. YouTube, the role of "The Long Tail", convergence, copyright and clearance, unsuccessful TV shows gaining large viewerships when released online, costs of production - ie. Rocketboom, the role of memes in online broadcasting are just a few examples of things on my "brainstorm" list.

Thanks in advance!

Can a woman write a novel like a man?

gummo — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 21:24:29 -0800

Can a woman write a novel like a man? Please forgive me if this gets a little sexist. I'm trying to be the good guy after all.

I have a bet with a friend of mine who claims that he can't read books (fiction) written by women. That they have a different style. The he doesn't think the same way women do, and therefore can't ever get into a book written by a women. I bet him that he is full of it, and can't tell the difference simply from the content.

So the bet goes like this: I give him the first two chapters of 6 books. No title. No author. Any number of those books can be written by a women. He has to tell me which. With no mistakes.

My problem is this. At first glance, I'm having trouble finding books. A quick glance at the New York Times bestsellers list give me 3 books by women in the top 5 of each hardcover and softcover. All 3 are not too promising. Now none of the problems with these books are in and of themselves deal breakers as a selection. But combined as a whole, I'm nervous. The problems are these:
All 3 have female main characters.
Phrases like "Self-loathing lesbian", "kick-ass woman warrior", "discover eternal love", and "her soap opera life, her handsome lover" show up right in the synopsis. (synopsi?, synopsises?)
Not to mention the Pink. One of the books has a cover just dripping in pink. That can't be a good sign.
I thought I had a good one until I read a review of it which included the phrase "This neatly structured story is a little too moist with compassion."

Is my friend on to something? Am I doomed? I don't think so. Not yet. But I can't think of any books I've read recently that were written by women. My favorites are Stephen King, Crichton, Grisham, Koontz, Kellerman lately. Clavell, Asimov, Scott Card, and others back in the day. No women in that list.

So that's my dilemma. I'm perfectly willing to believe that there are books out there that meet my needs. My needs being, a few books written by women, but not clearly so. Or failing that, some books written by men that seem somehow to be written by a woman.

Oh. Also, they need to be books "we would both probably read". That doesn't limit me much. Basically, I'm just not allowed to pick any romance novels.

There it is. Hopefully I didn't offend anyone too much. Any help you guys (and gals) can provide, would be great.

What Do You Love About Your Agent?

clairezulkey — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:08:10 -0800

What do you like about your literary agent? (Besides the fact that he or she has made you money and gotten you fame and fortune, of course.)

I'm curious to hear from authors with agents what's so great about their particular agent, including business acumen, a great eye for talent, marketing ideas or even just a fabulous personality.

I was just wondering if there are many intangibles that separates agents from great agents, or if it's just who makes authors the most $$.