Mr. T's Favorite

Books & Authors

Last updated on Thursday January 26, 2012 03:37 PM -0500

people have checked out my recommendations

If you check out any of these recommendations, let me know what you think.  If you have some favorites, share them with me! I'm always looking for a good book to read.

It's impossible to list every good book I ever read, or every author I think is worth reading.  These are some titles and names that immediately come to mind when I think of enjoyable books I've read and authors who rarely fail to hold my attention.

Books (in no particular order):

• Anything by Spider Robinson
• Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein - The book is nothing like the movie.  It's an interesting look at society, a fast-paced action story, and a sly social commentary, all wrapped up in a well-plotted narrative.
• Expanded Universe by Robert A. Heinlein - A collection of short stories and essays by the amazingly gifted (and prolific) author.  His thoughts are not only interesting, they make you ask, "Why don't we do things his way?  It makes so much more sense!"
• The "Dresden Files" series by Jim Butcher
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli - The story of a girl with an unusual name, told by a boy at the high school she transfers into.  This is a fascinating story in its own write, filled with mystery and interesting characters; but this story goes deep, too, examining teen-relevant questions such as "What is popularity?", "Why do we treat people the way we do?" and "What price do you pay to be popular?"
• Longitude by Dava Sobel - Two stories told at once.  One is about the man who created a portable clock, which allowed accurate shipboard navigation.  The other is about the man who re-discovered the timepieces created nearly a century before and his attempt to restore them.
• The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe - Wolfe is a former reporter who tells the story of America's attempts to start a "Man on the Moon" program in the late '50's and early '60's.  A fascinating story in and of itself, described in gripping prose.  Part fact, part fiction, all entertainment.
• The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin - A very coherent explanation of how we can put a man on Mars almost immediately, with a relatively small cost, and why we should.
• The "Ender" series & the "Bean" series by Orson Scott Card:
  • Ender's Game - A young boy's ability to play games may be humanity's only hope in a war with aliens.
  • A War of Gifts - A story set during Ender's battleschool years - What happens when you tell the most brilliant children in the world that they can't do something, but they decide to do it anyway?
  • Ender's Shadow - This book is a "companion novel"; the story takes place at the same time as Ender's Game.  It follows Bean, the boy who was supposed to be Ender's "understudy."  It tells basically the same story as the second two-thirds of Ender's Game, but from a different perspective, thereby creating a very different story.
  • Shadow of the Hegemon - Bean's story continues: What happens to Earth after the Second Formic War?
  • Shadow Puppets - Bean's story continues: Bean helps Ender's brother, Peter, as he tries to take over the world.
  • Shadow of the Giant - Bean's story concludes: Will the Earth be saved from another World War?  Will Bean be saved from his enemies?
  • Ender in Exile - Follows the story of Ender as he leaves Earth after the Bugger War. 
  • Speaker for the Dead - This book picks up several centuries after the events in Ender's Game.  Ender is still alive; he's an adult who travels from planet to planet.  Can he help the inhabitants of a colony planet deal with their secrets?
  • Xenocide - This book picks up several years after the events in Speaker for the Dead.  Ender's home is threatened by an alien species, the second one encountered by humans.  Will humans destroy this species, too?
  • Children of the Mind - Concludes the story of Xenocide.  Will humans destroy Ender's human colony to stop an alien disease?
  • First Meetings in the Enderverse - the backstory of some of the characters in the series, explaining how they met.
• The "Myth" series by Robert Asprin:
  • Another Fine Myth -   First in the series.  A young man, Skeeve, accidentally becomes a magician, accidentally becomes the apprentice of a demon, accidentally buys a dragon, and accidentally becomes involved in stopping the strongest magician of all time.
  • Other "Myth" books:
    • Myth Conceptions
    • Myth-ing Persons
    • Hit or Myth
    • Myth-ion Improbable
    • Little Myth Marker
    • M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link
    • Myth-nomers and Imp-Pervections
    • Myth Directions
    • M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action
    • Sweet Myth-tery of Life
• The "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling:
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azhkaban -
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -

Authors (listed alphabetically):

• Piers Anthony - Writes fantasy, mostly.  The stories of his I've read have been very playful, both in having fun and interesting plots and in his use of language.  The more you know about English, the funnier his stories are.
• Robert Asprin - Writes sci-fi and fantasy.  Very humorous guy.  His "Phule" series (about a rich guy in the future who joins the army) and his "Myth" series (about a young man in a fantasy setting who accidentally becomes a magician) are full of odd and interesting characters and situations.  The "Thieves' World" series he edits and writes for is also very good, but much darker.
• Dave Barry - A hilarious writer!  His newspaper columns were so wacky and laugh-out-loud funny that they were collected and published as books a dozen times.  He follows in the tradition of Peter Benchley
• Max Barry - Writes bitterly sarcastic sci-fi set in the extremely-near future; his writing really examines what we're willing to put up with if it makes life more convenient.  Funny, fascinating, and scary.
• Berke Breathed - Most famous for his Bloom County comic strip of the '80's and early '90's which are absolutely hilarious at times, heartbreaking at others.
• Jim Butcher - In the "Dresden Files" series, writes an interesting blend of fantasy and detective fiction.  Also writes a straight-up fantasy series, "The Codex Alera", which I haven't read.
• Orson Scott Card - Writes sci-fi and fantasy books with amazing characters and insights into why people do what they do
• Michael Crichton - A brilliant man who writes about many different topics and in many different genres.  Every book of his I've read has been a page-turner.
• Cliver Cussler - Writes action/adventure, mostly.  His "Dirk Pitt" books are very entertaining stories about a marine historian who manages to save the world in nearly every book.
• Roald Dahl - Wrote in many different genres.  Author of James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Great Glass Elevator, and many other stories.  Also a prolific writer of short stories, every one of which is fascinating. 
• Phillip K. Dick - Wrote sci-fi short stories.  Most of his stories deal with the questions, "What is reality?"  and, "How do we know who we are?"  Great mind-bending stuff.  Many of his stories have been made into movies (The Minority Report and Total Recall ["We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"] are two of the most popular)
• Harlan Ellison - Writes mostly sci-fi.  Wrote hundreds of scripts for some of television's greatest shows, including Star Trek and The Twilight Zone.  Great characters, interesting plots. 
• Lev Grossman - His The Magicians and The Magician King novels are fascinating, a sort of "real world" Harry Potter.
• Robert A. Heinlein - A former admiral in the U.S. Navy, Heinlein turned to writing later in his life.  I don't like all of his stories, but there's so many, it's hard not to find something enjoyable.  My personal favorites of his are Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers.  I also like his essays.
• Steven King - Writes horror and fantasy.  A brilliant writer; he can craft characters so realistic that when they get into weird and horrible situations, you believe it.
• Bill Maher - A comedian with a brain.  His writings are both humorous and thought-provoking.
• Michael Moore - The documentary film maker is also a very entertaining author, combining biting wit with social commentary.
• Ogden Nash - Wrote poetry.  A very unusual poet.  He played with expectations and forms to create unusual combinations.  Most of his poetry is written in rhymed couplets.  Some of his poems are two lines long, some are pages and pages long.  Rarely are any two lines of the same length.  He also wasn't afraid to make up words or change their spelling to fit his rhyme scheme.  His series of animal poems are among my favorite poems.
• Spider Robinson - Writes sci-fi, mostly, though some of it is extremely subtle.  Most of his stories have to do with the ability to read minds, and what good and bad can come of it.  Most of his stories have very positive, optimistic, hopeful endings.
• Joel Rosenberg - Writes fantasy, mostly.  Another great character creator.  His "Guardians of the Flame" series, about some college kids who end up in a medieval setting, is interesting in how it deconstructs the "Sword and Sorcerer" genre, turning it inside-out.  Humorous, dramatic, and full of heart.
• Shel Silverstein - Wrote poetry.  An amazing poet.  His work is sometimes considered to be "for kids," but it's very deep and rich, in addition to being fun to read.  Also wrote several "children's" books.