Authors

It’s obvious I love reading. There is no genre that I will not read. Start from pulp fiction to deep philosophy I read all that I can get my hands on. It helps if someone recommends an author or some work.  I wrote about books some moons ago and my journey towards the love of reading and followed it up with a post about comic books. Felt it is time to complete that story about the written word, by looking at some of the authors I read and have liked. The Bard, Enid Blyton, Herge, Peyo, Goscinny, Stan Lee, Lee Falk and a few more will not be covered in this post; these authors for me are evergreen and cannot be compared to others in the same genre. Will also skip my love for reading autobiographical works. 

Let’s see where do I start. May be with an author named Joseph Heller the author of a book named Catch-22. The psychological and cultural impact of that work is such that an absurd paradox is now known as a catch-22. What a brilliant novel that captures the human psyche and the absurdity of choice when in reality no choice is available. Catch-22 is a  novel I read while in the 8th or 9th standard at school while my batch mates were reading the likes of Nick Carter, James Hardly Chase and Sidney Sheldon. (I read them too, Loved a book called No Orchids for Miss Blendish and another one called Just a Matter of time by JHC.. Loved the other side of midnight and If Tomorrow comes by Sidney Sheldon) My choices in books changed after reading Catch-22 and the next author I read was Ayn Rand. One can wonder and argue if a 14/15 year old would or could understand what she wrote. My first book was Atlas Shrugged. Read the fountain head , Anthem much later. Atlas Shrugged like Catch-22 has had a lasting impression on my life. 

Started to read the works of Richard Bach, James Clavells, Leon Uris (have theirs entire works) the books they wrote were more than just a story of some characters. They were more like what Ms Rand wrote - there were layers to peel, in order to understand a deeper psychological and philosophical idea. 

I discovered JR Tolkien while in college and wondered why I had not read him earlier when the books were in the school library. Discovered two Scandinavian authors after college . The first was Jostein Gaarder (this was more like a recommendation - a cousin gifted Sophies World to dad and I read it before he got a chance) and the next was Stieg Larson. (The millennium trilogy is fantastic on multiple levels).  Have read some interesting works by Quinn (B and Ishmael are a must read), Kafka, Sartre, Simone Beauviour and by Camus.  

Currently have been reading Osho, Krishnamurthy and Alan Watts.

So there you have it my favourite authors in no particular order are - The Bard, Enid Blyton , Herge, Peyo, Goscinny, Joseph Heller, James Clavells, Richard Bach, JR Tolkien, Ayn Rand, Leon Uris, Jostein Gaarder, Stieg Larson, Alan Watts -  They are my favourite because I can pick up any work of theirs and start at a random page and stop at a random page feeling satisfied with what I have read. There are other authors whoes particular work has had a lasting impression but don’t fall in this category where I can pick and read absolutely anything written. 

Watts was absolutely correct when he said “For the use of words, and thus of a book, is to point beyond themselves to a world of life and experience that is not mere words or even ideas”.  

C