Anyway, I keep telling myself that I'm not going to do too many of these weekly meme things, but there are so many that I really like. Right now I've got one for Monday and Friday, as well as the one that I'm doing for myself on Thursday. Well, now I have one for Tuesday as well.
Every week, The Broke and the Bookish hosts Top Ten Tuesday, in which a topic is given and a top ten list is used as the answer. This week's topic is:
Top Ten Authors That Deserve More Recognition:
In no particular order,
1) Derek Landy: I know I've talked about him and his Skulduggery Pleasant series a few times on this blog and now I'm going to talk about him again. He is such a funny writer and his world is very well-crafted...while not being too overly-crafted. Plus his characters are really fun as well.
2) Deanna Raybourn: Okay, I'm not one of those guys who usually likes books about romance and England and parties and all that (Jane Austen notwithstanding, of course), but I really love Deanna Raybourn's novels. The first one, Silent in the Grave, was one of the only mystery novels that ever had me going "Oh my God, that was not who I suspected". After that, I was hooked. Besides, she's also a really fun blogger and all-around awesome person.
3) Terry Pratchett: How is it that this man is not more well-known. At college, I could count the number of people who knew who I was talking about on one hand. And I didn't even use all of the fingers. His Discworld novels are insanely good and lots of zany fun. His characters are engaging, he's funny as hell, and he's really gifted at the art of satire. Put down whatever you're doing right now and go read him. I mean it.
4) Gordon Korman: I haven't read any of his books since I was a kid but I remember them being laugh-out-loud funny, especially I Wanna Go Home, a book about a trouble-maker at summer camp. Really great for kids...or for adults with a mischievous streak.
5) Tim O'Brien: I'm putting him on this list because, while many people know who he is, most people never read anything of his besides The Things They Carried. He is a genuinely talented writer and deserves to be seen as more than just one book.
6) Victor Hugo: Hugo is one of those novelists who gets a bad rep for being boring. He's definitely not. He's also kind of intimidating because, let's face it, bricks are smaller than the unabridged version of Les Miserables. So, yes, he's pretty well-known but I'm not so sure that he's that widely read. And that is a tragedy.
7) Gaston Leroux: I want you to try an experiment. Go outside and ask people who wrote The Phantom of the Opera. Did you do it? Did they say Andrew Lloyd Webber? Yeah, they'd be one hundred percent wrong. The musical was based off of this very funny and relatively short novel by French author Gaston Leroux. Not only is he under-appreciated, he's overshadowed by the success of Webber's play. Most people don't even know it was based off a book! Go. Read. Now.
8) Louis Sachar: Sachar is right up there with Tim O'Brien. He's a one-book name and that book is Holes. I will be the first to admit that it's a really great book, but he has tons of others, all of which are really fantastic.
9 and 10) Michael Ende and William Goldman: Show of hands--who knew that the film The Neverending Story was based on a book? Okay, how about The Princess Bride? Much like The Phantom of the Opera, many people are shocked when they find out that two of the biggest cult classics in the history of film are both based on books. And really fantastic books at that. Ende's Neverending Story is miles above any film version (especially the sequels which aren't even really worth mentioning) and Goldman's Princess Bride is just as funny on paper as it is on the screen.
So those are my ten--what are yours?
-Gabe
But Terry has a knighthood! I'm really surprised he is not well known outside of the UK. He's now had three TV adaptations which get prime time bank holiday slots and all the supermarkets stock his new releases too. He's a national treasure and we're all rooting for his Alzheimers to hold out :(
ReplyDeleteI couldn't put together a full top ten for this but now I'm thinking maybe there's loads of my favourite authors that few people know about overseas...
This makes me wish that I lived in the UK even more than I already did. Unless I just live in the wrong area of the States, he's not as well known as he should be in the US. He has hardcore fans, of course, but I'd say it's probably more of a cult following than anything else.
ReplyDeleteMany Americans tend to stick to the "big names" when they read. I don't mean those of us with book blogs, but the average everyday American who only knows people like John Grisham and Dan Brown or pretty much anyone else who has had a major motion picture made out of their mediocre novel. The TV adaptations of Pratchett's works are wonderful but they don't get airtime here in the States. Yet, some talentless writer drones on for four books about teenage emo vampires and suddenly it's "Oh my God, we must make a franchise."
Okay, I'm going to start ranting again, which isn't good. Putting it quite simply, I highly doubt that most of the authors you enjoy are known in the US and that really sucks. I'd love to hear who some of them are because I'm always on the lookout for new literature, especially from "across the pond".
I love Les Miserables! And Phantom of the Opera. I'm doing The Phantom of the Opera as one of my re-reads this year. It was so good the first time round.
ReplyDeleteI thought about including Tim O'Brien, but I'm one of those people who has only read The Things They Carried...
ReplyDeleteCheck out my post here: http://hawthornescarlet.blogspot.com/2011/03/top-ten-tuesday-check-um-out.html
Wow great list!
ReplyDeleteTerry Pratchett is indeed hugely popular here in the UK. His books always end up at the top of book charts. I do find that I'm one of the few people who favour his witch stories over the wizards and the guards.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Derek Landy. My ultimate goal is to be Skulduggery's sidekick - it could happen! Again he is quite popular here in the UK (although not popular enough in my mind).
Karen: You might be my new favorite person, simply because you know Skulduggery Pleasant.
ReplyDeleteI started out by reading the wizard books, specifically the Rincewind novels, but now it's gotten to the point where I'm running out of books to read. Personally, the Death novels are my favorite, but I've become quite a fan of Moist Von Lipwig.