Who's your favaorite author and what are the coolest/trippiest books you've ever read?, page 1

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:34 PM

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My favorite author, and book series is Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, which is a satirical sci-fi type fantasy set on an imaginary world called the Discworld, which is really a distored mirror image reflection of our own, relative to which Pratchett is at once both playful, cute, hilarious, and yet merciless and cutting in his sometimes grave view of human folly, yet not without the bright light of triumph shining through again at every turn, I tell you his writing will fill your heart with glee and you might find yourself actually laughing out loud on the bus as you read him. He has 33 books (approx, as the guy just loves writing) in the series from which to choose, which can be read in any order, but are best savored one by one, page by page from book to book. Here's some more info on it from wiki

Discworld is a comic fantasy book series written by English author Sir Terry Pratchett,[1] set on the Discworld, a flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle,[2] Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and William Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, political and scientific issues. The series is extremely popular and more than 70 million copies have been sold, with translations made into 37 languages.[3]
Since the first novel, The Colour of Magic (1983), 39 Discworld novels have been published as of September 2011
Important Topic Updates
. The original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time (2001), had distinctive cover art by Josh Kirby; the American editions, published by Harper Collins, used their own cover art. Since Kirby's death in October 2001, the covers have been designed by Paul Kidby. Recent British editions of Pratchett's older novels no longer reuse Kirby's art. There have also been six short stories (some only loosely related to the Discworld), three popular science books, and a number of supplementary books and reference guides. In addition, the series has been adapted for the theatre, as computer games, and as music inspired by the series. The first live-action screen adaptation for television (Terry Pratchett's Hogfather) was broadcast over Christmas 2006 for Sky1. A second, two-part TV adaptation of The Colour of Magic was broadcast on 23 March 2008 in the UK. A third two-part TV adaptation, of Going Postal, was broadcast on 30 and 31 May 2010.
Newly released Discworld books regularly top The Sunday Times best-sellers list, making Pratchett the UK's best-selling author in the 1990s, although he has since been overtaken by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Discworld novels have also won awards such as the Prometheus Award and the Carnegie Medal. In the BBC's Big Read, four Discworld books were in the top 100, and a total of fourteen in the top 200.

en.wikipedia.org...

But aside from that, I think the two or three most interesting and utterly fascinating books I've come across would include

Tryptamine Palace, by James Oroc (a pseudonym), and

Who Built the Moon, by Christopher Knight and Alan Butler.

I hope you like my picks, what are yours?

This should be good, given the rather unusual and extraordinary membership we have here at ATS.

extra DIV

SLAYER69

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:39 PM

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I've been a fan of Dean Koonts ever since I picked up a copy of "Midnight" at a yard sale. I know some like him and others don't. I've heard both pro and con. But he writes the kind of story I like to read and explore.

edit on 27-9-2012 by SLAYER69 because: (no reason given)

Agarta

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:46 PM

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Richard Bach

Jonathan Livingston Seagull, One, Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul

Sublimecraft

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:46 PM

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reply to post by NewAgeMan

My three favourite (coolest and trippiest at the same time) books actually cover the same subject matter...........

Timothy Good - Above Top Secret......

Stan Deyo - The Cosmic Conspiracy....

The Bible............

LevelHeaded

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:48 PM

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Well, where to start, there are so many...

For just fun and the sake of reading for fun, I have to go with Douglas Adams "Hitchhikers Guide" series.

For Sci-Fi, it's going to have to be Issac Asimov's "Foundation" series

For Fantasy, hands down, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit"

OratoryHeist

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:48 PM

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reply to post by NewAgeMan

For me it would be the 'The K-Brothers'... Koontz and King.

Just got through reading 11.22.63 which I enjoyed. A little predictable in places, but a good trip.

"....although I admit I have wondered about his possible relationship to the World Trade Center holocaust or the big Japanese earthquake. I tell myself there is no connection ... but still I wonder."

littled16

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:49 PM

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reply to post by NewAgeMan

Stephen King is my favorite author, but the trippiest book I've ever read is written by Clive Barker. It's named Imajica. Not one of his latest but definitely the trippiest!

PatriotGames2

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:49 PM

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I was born and raised in Bangor, Maine. Hometown of Stephen King (well, he spends half the year in Florida now, too. Can't blame him there). He is probably my favorite author due to nostalgic reasons and he has plenty of trippy books, in my opinion. I'd have to say the best are definitely the Dark Tower series, each of them are extremely well written and considering it deals with alternate dimensions and realities and all sort of strange creatures and characters, I'd give them my vote. They are sort of the Lord of the Rings on acid. Pet Semetary is quite creepy, and heartbreaking, as well. And the Dead Zone is amazing, any ATS stalwart would enjoy that read... about a teacher who becomes psychic after a car accident and ends up meeting a politician, who, after shaking his hand, he finds out is destined to do very, very bad things. So he decides to take him out before he can. Kind of a take on the old, "If you could go back and time and kill Hitler, would you?" type of scenario.

I'm an avid reader though and there are so many awesome books out there to read. Another one of my favorite authors is David Foster Wallace. Anything he wrote was brilliant, and Infinite Jest is another sorta trippy read.

Don DeLilo's Libra is a good one for anyone interested in JFK assassination and Lee Harvey Oswald. He writes his own account of how he thinks Oswald was tied up with the CIA and the assassination, I think it is quite possibly the best take an author has put forth, especially impressive considering he is a fictional author who bases some of his stories on actual events.

edit on 27-9-2012 by PatriotGames2 because: (no reason given)

Agarta

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:50 PM

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reply to post by LevelHeaded

For Sci-Fi, it's going to have to be Issac Asimov's "Foundation" series

It was a good series but I preferred " The shores beneath" myself.

smyleegrl

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:50 PM

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All time fave: Margaret George's "Autobiography of King Henry VIII". I've read it at least twenty times.....it's incredible.

Love Stephen King's older work, like "The Stand."

Dean Koontz is decent, he did an amazing job with "Intensity" and "Watchers".

NewAgeMan

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:51 PM

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Originally posted by Sublimecraft
The Bible............

That's funny! I forgot that it's also a book, author, largely unknown..

Edit to add: I'm not laughing at the Bible, only that it was among your top three after saying..

My three favourite (coolest and trippiest at the same time) books actually cover the same subject matter...........

Just to be clear!

edit on 27-9-2012 by NewAgeMan because: edit

SLAYER69

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:53 PM

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reply to post by PatriotGames2

I feel King's writing style changed a bit after his near death experience. I haven't been able to get into his later writing as much.

Could be my personal perception and changed writing style preference.

MDDoxs

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:56 PM

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Jim Marrs has some interesting reads. "The rise of the fourth Reich" was quite a entertaining read. As for its connections....who knows

redtic

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:57 PM

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Been really into Cormac McCarthy lately - Blood Meridian was one wild read - excellent. Trying to figure out what to read next...

PatriotGames2

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:57 PM

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reply to post by SLAYER69

It certainly has changed. You'll get differing opinions from critics and readers alike, but many consider it to be more detailed and his character development more sound. I tend to agree, I think his writing has actually gotten better, but I believe his older work in general is better all around. Somewhat contradictory, but oh well. He seemed to turn out better work more consistently in his golden years, but now he spends more time on his books and they tend to be longer. Under the Dome and his newest, 11/22/63, also about the JFK assassination and a man who goes back in time to stop it, I thought were excellent, though far from his best. Opinions are subjective though and I know plenty who would rather pick up one of his classics then a newer piece of work. I tend to like them all considering my bias.

edit on 27-9-2012 by PatriotGames2 because: (no reason given)

NewAgeMan

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 03:59 PM

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Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by PatriotGames2

I feel King's writing style changed a bit after his near death experience. I haven't been able to get into his later writing as much.

Could be my personal perception and changed writing style preference.

The Shining, Dead Zone, Firestarter - those were first rate, but yes, I think his writing deteriorated into what he himself referred to as the writing equivalent of a burger and fries at McDonalds, all he has to do is stick his name on it and it's a best seller. I went and spent a good 20 bucks or so on the hardcover of one of his most recent called "Under The Dome". I'm an avid reader and I couldn't maintain my interest and never finished it, it was crap imho. But to each his own of course, in case someone here thought Under The Dome was the best book of all time!

Edit to add: I posted that without having read the post above me! Figures!

You may have liked it or thought it excellent, but I had a different take on it, but it's all about personal preference so there's no judgement of course as to another's top books of all time.

edit on 27-9-2012 by NewAgeMan because: edit

SLAYER69

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 04:00 PM

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reply to post by PatriotGames2

True.

I was an avid SK reader until I moved onto Koontz and a few others.
Of course I've left out Tom Clancy

chiefsmom

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 04:00 PM

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Love the Diskworld series!!!
I have to agree with some of the guys here.
Koontz and King (mostly BA King)

Short story: The Raft(? I think) By King. Scared the bejesus out of me. At the age of 14, my sis and I spent an hour and 45 minutes on a raft, because of that story. Wouldn't get off until an older lady swam out and got us.

Koontz's last book Odd Apocalyptic actually made me do more research on Tesla. Great series!

chiefsmom

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 04:02 PM

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I would agree with most comments about AA King, except that I LOVED Under the Dome!!!

SLAYER69

posted on Sep, 27 2012 @ 04:03 PM

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reply to post by NewAgeMan

To tell the truth "Tommyknockers" bored the crap out of me.
Hard to believe but true. I made it through though...