Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with books and authors

Perhaps a chair coated with glue?

BitterOldPunk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:09:03 -0800

With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard. Realizing that the point is to get 50,000 words written, I've jettisoned all illusions of producing quality, publishable prose. My only goal is to finish without having to copypaste "All work and no play makes BOP a dull boy" five thousand times. I have a (rather vague) outline, I have some preliminary character sketches, and I have every expectation that the first ten thousand words will flow fairly quickly. But. I suck at follow-through. I have the attention span of the common housefly. So, writers: how do I stick with it, fight through discouragment and ennui, and produce 50,000 reasonably coherent words?

Note: I'm not looking for tips like "prepare moar" or "work your plan". I'm looking for how to stay motivated when the fun stuff stops and the hard work begins.

Are there any authors like Cormac McCarthy?

Bacillus — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:11:26 -0800

Which author comes closest to Cormac McCarthy? I am a great fan of Cormac McCarthy. I only read one book and instantly became a fan. I read a few more and loved his style.

Can anyone suggest an author who's like him?

PS. If anyone has a hardcover good copy (1st printing would be nice) of his "Blood Meridian" (Not book club edition) they would like to sell, please let me know.

Help me drag my uncle out of the literary dark ages!

badmoonrising — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:04:13 -0800

My uncle recently mentioned to me that he's never read any book written by a woman. Apparently this is because he doesn't think they'll be any good - he seems to think women can only write romance novels. I find this both horrific and hard to believe, but he seemed serious. So, Hive Mind, I need your help in drafting a list of the very best books written by female authors. Help me teach him the error of his ways! I've checked out a few previous questions, but I am somewhat hampered in my list-making by the fact that many of the obvious classics (and most of the books that sprang to my mind) are books that I think he will not enjoy, e.g. the works of the Brontë sisters or Jane Austen, or even Toni Morrison.

Specifically, he likes crime novels and thrillers, and fast-paced storylines without too many descriptive passages. (Or, as he put it, books "where it doesn't take the author three pages to describe a table.") So suggestions vaguely along those lines would be especially appreciated. I immediately suggested Agatha Christie and Patricia Cornwall to him, but crime is not generally my preferred genre so I'm having trouble coming up with much else.

The books do not have to be thrillers, but I suspect he will abandon anything too romance/family-orientated. So no Pride and Prejudice or The Thorn Birds, please. We're coming up with a list for a rather conservative, old-fashioned, golf- and rugby-loving Englishman in his late sixties. (So no Tipping the Velvet either!)

So, AskMeFites, please fire away!

(Also, I'm well aware of how sexist and misogynistic my uncle may seem, and I'm not interested in hearing any commentary on that, thank you. I myself want to batter him over the head with something heavy until he sees the error of his ways, but he IS family and I love the guy. So if I can rein in my violent urges, then I hope AskMeFi can too.)

How to safely get an endorsement?

CollectiveMind — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:06:21 -0800

OK, I've posted on this subject before. Each time, I'm a little further along. Here is where I am right now. I've been working on a book since March. The idea upon which the book is based has been getting a lot of attention recently and has consistently been in the news for about four years. After a recent post about some impending national publicity, it was suggested that I create a proposal and find an agent to help distribute the book. The agent I found says that the marketing portion of the proposal needs to have endorsements about the book from authors a publisher would recognize. This is to prove that the agent isn't the only one who thinks the idea is viable.

So, I've searched the Internet for the email addresses of all of the authors of the books I compared to my own in the proposal. Agents want this done to show a publisher that few or many books on a subject might show market potential. Anyway, I've found the email addresses for the authors of about half of the books in my proposal.

Should I have any hesitation of explaining this possibly novel concept to established authors who write books on parallel concepts in hopes of getting their endorsement? Are their endorsements likely?

Wrapped Up in Books

troika — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:25:55 -0800

I need some new favourite writers! Please recommend some ones that I'll love as much as Mark Kurlansky and Italo Calvino, etc. I've read everything that Mark Kurlansky, Michael Pollan, Jared Diamond, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Italo Calvino have ever put on paper (that I know of. I tend to get absorbed in writers). Recently I've enjoyed Boris Akunin, Umberto Eco, and Haruki Murakami. Thomas Pynchon, Simon Winchester, and Mark Monmonier are also beloved. What have you liked that are similar to any of those guys?

I really like single-item histories (like Kurlansky's Salt, Cod, etc) and geography/geology-related nonfiction.

What amazing books am I overlooking or unaware of? I need something new for my long train commute!

Thank you.

Are there successful multi-genre authors?

wackybrit — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:31:28 -0800

Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre? It's very easy to find authors whose writing is predominantly in a single genre - horror (King, Koontz), fantasy (Tolkien, Rowling), crime (Crumley, Christie), romance, and the like. But are there any famous (or at least semi-known) authors who jump between genres regularly?

Variety doesn't seem to be a remarkable attribute in musicians (Sting, for example), but while I can think of writers who straddle or work with two distinct genres (Ballard, Dahl), I cannot think of any who have produced significant works in, say, all of horror, crime, romance, and sci-fi - and I would like to look into the works of any who have.

Women writers like Neal Stephenson, are there any?

exceptinsects — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:24:03 -0800

Women writers like Neal Stephenson, are there any? I love the way his books seem to be such a reflection of what he is interested in and wants to write about, and how he is perfectly willing to take 900 pages to explore whatever he feels like. Like, a lot of other writers would take out that section in Anathem about the folding chairs, or in Cryptonomicon about the cereal, etc. but those are some of my favorite parts.

Infinite Jest has a lot of this kind of thing too, (plus footnotes, yay).

However, lately I just feel like reading more women authors. No special reason, I guess.

So: long, digressive, complicated, somewhat humorous, fun novels that teach you stuff you didn't know about...but written by women?

So... not Hemingway.

zoomorphic — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:38:05 -0800

ProseFilter: Nabokov's Lolita was once hailed as "a love letter to the English language." I'm looking for modern and contemporary authors with similar aspirations. I have a hankering for prose almost to rich for my blood. I specifically love Nabokov's ability to draw tensile connections between object and literary signifier: in Lolita, skies are "heavenlogged," killers are "goatish," plain women are "terrestrial."

I also waded through Ada, and very much enjoyed Atonement, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Midnight's Children, Middlesex, Song of Solomon, and God of Small Things.

What else should I pick up?

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.

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)

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!

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 $$.

Celebrity Bargain Bin Books

clairezulkey — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 11:38:20 -0800

I'm looking for books by famous people that they wrote early in their career or under a nom de plume. I'm writing a roundup of books by celebrities that they probably wish had never been published--books that are probably embarrassing now that they'd written earlier in their career. For instance, Dan Brown wrote a book of dating advice under a nom de plume, and Bill O'Reilly wrote a crappy thriller. Already got Jewel and Ethan Hawke and Suzanne Somers' and Leonard Nimoy's books and poetry on there...other recommendations? The stinkier the better!

Thanks!

"-aard" author who wrote about animals?

vorfeed — Thu, 25 May 2006 23:01:57 -0800

I've forgotten the name of an author I used to read as a child. His last name ended in "aard", I think, and maybe started with a K or an L? He wrote a number of books about dogs... The books were adventure/nature tales about dogs, foxes, wolves, etc. I think one of them had a color in the title ("Silver Fox", "Red Dog", something like that). I was born in 1977, and read the books in kindergarten. I think these books were already old at the time. Does anyone remember the author's name? Please help, this is driving me mad!

Which famous sci-fi author wrote the worst book he could on a bet?

pornucopia — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 07:49:24 -0800

Which famous sci-fi author bet another author that if he wrote the worst book he could, it would become a hit? Long ago, I read a science fiction novel (don't recall which one), where, in the foreword (or afterword), the author told the following story:

Two famous science fiction authors were arguing about just how awful the public's taste was. One author proposed a bet: He would write the cheesiest, most cliched book he could possibly write, and it would become a hit. He wrote such a book, and it became such a big hit that the public demanded several sequels.

The author telling the story said that he wouldn't print the names of these authors, but that it was a very well-known story, and you could ask around at any sci fi convention to get the names. It's been almost 20 years and I still haven't been to a sci fi convention. Does anyone know any more about this story? I'm starting to wonder if it's a trick played on conventiongoers or something.

Fill my every waking moment with the awesome fruit of your knowledge-loins

longbaugh — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 09:13:41 -0800

Need more input! I need suggestions for games/reading/comics/music etc. I have gotten a lot of great ideas for stuff to entertain me from fellow MeFites, from books, comics, movies and games. I'd like a little help with some further suggestions and also, more usefully other websites that might help me find stuff for myself in the future.

Comics - I am a huge fan of Garth Ennis, Alan Moore etc. Current favourites include Punisher MAX and Runaways. I would like some suggestions for excellent new (or classic) comics and also websites where there is a slightly more mature tone than "OMG! Spidey Suxxorz!"

Movies - Again I'm looking for a place that can discuss movies with a modicum of maturity (i.e. the exact polar opposite of the IMDB comments section). I like all sorts of movies from cheesy kung fu flicks to foreign art house flicks. I'd like recommendations for websites that can deal with any genre in a sensible fashion and appreciates each film for it's intended audience rather than some nebulous standard set by the author's specific taste.

PS2 Games - My XBOX is dead and the PC is old and knackered so my PS2 is all I have to play games on. I need suggestions for games that both by myself and the missus can play - any genre as long as it's entertaining. The only restriction is that my time is limited to maybe an hour of an evening so sprawling RPG epics are not really that easy to play. I'm also looking for a website (again with a slightly mature tone - think Edge magazine style) that is capable of reviewing games without succumbing to the urge to big up a game in exchange for an early review/cash sum. From the recent PS3 thread I've noted Shadows Of The Colossus as a game I'd like to try. My other favourites would be the Soul Calibre series, GTA:SA and Killzone - all great games imo. Suggestions for a 6 year old to play (either with my help or on his own) would also be appreciated.

Books - I'm a terrible stickler for authors. I get one book and if I like it I'll go hunt down everything they've ever done - whilst this is wonderful for collection it does limit my experience of new or lesser known authors. I'm mostly a reader of science fiction but do have a place in my heart for a well written spy novel (I am a particular fan of Gerald Seymour). Ideally I would appreciate a website that introduces me to new authors, preferably with short sections of the novels to get a feel for them. Again a sensible reviewing system would be useful - amazon kind of meets the requirements were it not for the sort of people who review the books I normally like having a room-temperature IQ.

I know it's a lot to ask in all one question but for some bizarre reason I trust in the combined wisdom of the AskMeFite hordes to direct me to their own trusted resources. Any personal suggestions you make will also be considered. As required I shall dip in to steer the course of the thread to my own preferences if that's okay, otherwise - have at it and my thanks in advance.

Dead Book Club Walking

divka — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 17:05:32 -0800

I went to a first meeting of a book club tonight, and it was an utter failure. We need, at the very least, a great book with broad appeal to discuss at our next meeting. So, only two of us showed up--which was a bad start. To add to our troubles, the book we had chosen in hurry turned out to be a dud. It was too short and predictable and so we had to struggle to find something to talk about. After twenty awkward minutes, we called it quits.

We need a book that:
1) can be read in about two weeks
2) would be engaging to a wide variety of people (all women, in this case, but with unknown personal preferences)

It doesn't have to be a recently published book--we're open to classics and other older books, as long as it is something that an average person can plow through in two weeks.

Is there a schedule of forthcoming books?

mattr — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 10:03:45 -0800

I have a number of favourite authors - who I would buy books from - on spec - so I'm keen to know when their next work is coming out. Is there a site that tracks 'forthcoming' books...so I can plan ahead?

What Are Some Modern Authors With Their Own Unique Writing Style

grefo — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:15:02 -0800

I recall reading an article critizing some of today's popular writers (Clancy and King were two I recall) for being bland or suffering from too much Strunk and White. What then are some modern writers who gush with their own, unique style? That second sentence should be "Who then..."