Any Author Recommendations?

I love Stephen King… some of my King favorites are Insomnia, Gerald’s Game, The Long Walk, Desperation, The Stand, and The Green Mile (I actually had the lovely opportunity of having bronchitis just after the last serial installment came out, before they published them as one big book and way before the movie. Perfect.) The Stand was actually way better than the miniseries, and if you’ve seen the movie It, read the book. The movie is terrible.

I’m also a big fan of John Grisham. The Brethren was one of my favorite Grisham novels.

If your into that, I’d recommend Dean Koontz.

For something more literary I’d recommend Douglas Coupland and Steve Erickson.

Thanks guys, I’ll look for them next time I go to the Bookstore or Library.

Oh, and Bag of Bones by Stephen King was excellent also.

Try the person who wrote the historian.

You should try some of the really old horror writers like H.P.Lovecraft ( a favourite of Stephen King) or William Hope Hodgson.

I’m not much into that kind of writing, but Watchers by Dean Koontz was good.

King is my favorite and my favorite books are Eye of the Dragon and Insomnia. I also like Peter Straub and Clive Barker. Best Straub IMO is Ghost Story and best Barker is Weaveworld.

I just finished Swan Peak by James Lee Burke. It’s a mystery set in Montana. Quite good and a fast read.
This is my first exposure to Burke but he has been writing for years. Give it a look

SRM

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I’ll write them down and check them out next time I’m near a bookstore or library.

Hey if you like SK, try “It” whenever you have a week or two (LONG tome!)

Heart-Shaped Box is a book written by Joe Hill (whose dear old dad just happens to be Stephen King). I thoroughly enjoyed that book, and I can tell you he is definitely following in his dad’s footsteps.

Two American authors that are currently writing that I especially like are Richard Russo and Barbara Kingsolver.

Thanks everyone for your responses!

My two all-time favorite Stephen King books were It and The Stand. There’s one part of It that still creeps me out, and I’m 38 years old. I’ve re-read both of them more than once.

@Tantigirl: I had no idea Stephen King’s son was an author. My reading list just got longer… lol

Here’s the Horror Writer’s Association Favorites reading list. Good stuff, some new and some classics.
(Most of the recommendations above are in it)

@poofandmook – Heart Shaped Box is his first novel. I found out about it on Good Morning America just as it was being released, and they mentioned then that he was Stephen King’s son. From memory, I think he’d had short stories published before that. I highly recommend it, it’s a good read.

I noticed that Shirley Jackson is on that list you linked to Knotmyday. I had forgotten about her. She is one of the best you’ll read in the genre in my not so expert opinion. So MrMontpetit, you’ll be doing yourself a favor if you read at least one of her books, if not more.

Never thought I’d get this many responses. Thanks everyone.

Another book that you must read if you like to be scared out of your pants, is The Ghost Writer by John Harwood. This is a book that I cannot read at night!!!

How ‘bout going back a little further and maybe reading some Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett?

If you like seriously screwed up books, I would suggest Chuck Palahniuk. He’s not exactly scary like King is, but he likes to mess with the psyche. My favorite of his is Choke, but it’s kinda gross so I wouldn;t suggest reading that one first.

Peter Straub, Peter Straub, Anthony DiGiacomo, Anne Rice, Tony Ruggiero

Harris Thomas: Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs

Lee Child: the Reacher series, thriller novels about an ex-military policeman drifting around the U.S., always falling into assassination plots, serial killers, kidnappings. begin w/ Killing Floor

Bernard Cornwell: Richard Sharpe series (historical fiction), a Rifleman, marksman, swordsman in the the British Army during the Napoleonic wars. exciting battles, sword fights, missions, and plots. begin w/ Sharpe’s Rifles

try these search sites:
http://www.allreaders.com find authors similar to your favorites, search by genre
http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search enter a book you like and the site analyzes their database to make a suggestion
http://www.overbooked.org/booklists/index.html
http://www.overbooked.org/genres/index.html
http://www.authorsden.com/categories/books.asp?catID=52 64 categories and genres to search through

the wheel of time series by robert jordan
been a favourite of mine for years