Friday, July 9, 2010

Book Blogger Hop II

I enjoyed last week's hop so I figured I would give it a go this week as well.

This Friday's Book Blogger Hop question is who are some of your favorite authors and why?  I have 3 favorite authors, at the moment anyway.

Bill Bryson: A friend of mine (the same one that recommended Kitchen Confidential and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) lent me Bryson's book Made in America: A Brief History of the English Language in the United States and I have been hooked since.  I'm pretty sure he could write about paint drying and it would be funny.  He mostly writes travel books but he has a few language books, a memoir and even a science book.  I constantly re-read his work.  It's my go to book when I'm in the mood to laugh.

Jasper Fforde: Another author I was introduced to do via a lent book.  It's my favorite way to learn about new works.  Anyway, his works are generally a mix of satire, dark humor, fantasy, lots of literary allusions and overall hilarious.  One of the first books I re-read for this blog is The Eyre Affair the first book in the Thursday Next series, which I'm pretty sure I've read at least 5 times.  I anxiously await his latest work Shades of Grey to come out in paperback.

Christopher Moore: This is a relatively new favorite author, for me anyway.  A co-worker had been bugging me to read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal for months before I finally got around to it and I don't know what I was waiting for.  I loved that book.  I've since read 6 of his other works and have had to hold myself back from buying more each time I go to the bookstore.  I'm taking a little break to read someone else's work, at least for a little while.  I wrote a couple entries about his book Coyote Blue for this blog.

One other thing I love about these authors is they all reference Shakespeare and I love Shakespeare.  Bryson wrote a biography on him, Shakespeare: The World as Stage.  Fforde references Shakespeare in at least some small way in all of his books I've read so far and Hamlet is even a character in Something Rotten (see, there's one of those references).  And Moore retells the story of King Lear from the point of view of the Fool in his book Fool.  Fool is a close second to Lamb as my favorite Moore book.

If you are looking for a book, I recommend anything by the author's above.  I'm yet to be let down.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by. I have been hearing good things about Jonathan Strange, I should add that to my list. I am your newest follower!!

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  2. Hop Hop Hop on by an hoping around to check out your blog :)

    Elyssa

    http://literarydaydreams.blogspot.com
    Personal Book Blog

    http://ikissbooks.blogspot.com/
    Group Book Blog

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  3. I will be back later, I can't seem to be able to follow as 'the followers'is a blank right now. Do I do it from friend connect on the top?

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  4. BookQuoter - I've noticed the followers box disappearing on some of the other blogs I've visited today as well. If you refresh the page it seems to fix it. Or else using the follow on top

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  5. Thanks for the recommendations. I haven't read anything by these authors and probably need to soon :)

    I came over from the hop and became a new follower.

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  6. Hello, I stopped by on the blog hop and just became a follower. I'm looking forward to reading your posts. Gotta love anyone who loves Shakespeare!

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  7. Hi! Thank you so much for visiting, I'm glad to hear from you. My sister has been pushing me to read Lamb by Christopher Moore for over a year. I really want to as I've heard great things, but something else always seems to get in the way. I'm sure I'll feel the same way you do once I finally get to it.

    I enjoyed your posts on I Was Told There'd Be Cake. I agree that the first line of "Pony Problem" is what attracted me to the book in the first place. "Pony Problem" in its entirety is just a fantastic, hilarious, relatable read. I do think there are certain stories in the collection that lose the reader's attention, though.

    Anyway, I am your newest follower and I look forward to hearing more from you!

    Krista
    http://kristainthestacks.blogspot.com

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  8. Bryson is one of my favorites, too. I first found out about him by listeneing to an audiobook of "A Walk in the Woods," which was hilarious and educational at the same time. I also love "Notes From a Small Island," which is a great book for me considering I'm a (temporary) ex-pat in England.

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  9. Hi Red, just hopping over to check your blog.

    Bill Bryson has recently released a book called At Home which I think is about everyday things so there might very well be an anecdote about paint drying!

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  10. Krista - I hope you like Lamb! I can't say I was excited about reading a book about religious topics (though to say it is religious is a bit silly) but as soon as I started it I couldn't put it down!

    Isaac - I heard Bryson's audio books are good. I should check them out! A Walk in the Woods almost makes me want to go hiking. Then I remember how much of a fan I am of beds and bathrooms and that idea goes out the window.

    Suzanne - I didn't realize Bryson's new book was out yet. I'll have to look for it! I wouldn't be surprised if he does have a (hilarious) anecdote about paint drying or grass growing or any of the other mundane details of every day life

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  11. I just read Bryson's "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" which my sister gave me and said I would like.

    I was a bit apprehensive at first because the last book she highly recommended was "Wicked" but I actually enjoyed it very much.

    I'm looking forward to picking up some more of Bryson's books.

    http://manoflabook.blogspot.com/

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  12. Hi Man of la Book! Thanks for stopping by!

    When I first picked up Thunderbolt Kid I wasn't super excited with the premise but I trusted I would be amused. I loved A Short History of Nearly Everything and I can't say I'm drawn to science books. I hope you like your next Bryson book as well! Neither Here Nor There is my personal favorite.

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  13. Howdy! Found you via the Hop and am a new follower.

    My blog if you want to hop over -http://www.primoreads.com/

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