Writers

Favorite writers. Given that I like to read and write so much it is surprising that I have so little to list here.

The problem with good writers is that they become so revered, that to thought of reading their works is often perceived as swimming up a waterfall, as opposed to shivering in beauty.

I should also note that I have a vast appreciation of works whose content is so strong that it not only survives translation, but succeeds.

• Charles Dickens (1812/1870). English writer. He got quite wordy sometimes (I would too if I were paid by the word) but he's still a great read. Works include: Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations.
• Daniel Defoe (1660/1731-04-24). English writer and journalist. Works include: Robinson Crusoe [free ebook]. More at Gutenberg.org/browse/authors/d#a204.
• Edmond Rostand (1868-1918). French writer.  Works include Cyrano de Bergerac.  I have a particular fondness of this play but I'm not sure why. The play is comedic, romantic, and tragic. The play, like the nose, is so large that it is undoubtedly satirical. If the English translation is so poetic, then the original French must be phenomenal. BTW: Cyrano de Bergerac (1620-1655) was an actual person.
• Fyodor Dostoevsky
• George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). Irish writer. I almost hate to include this guy. Works include: Pygmalion.
• Homer (ca. 700 BCE). Ancient Greek writer. You can't ignore mythology! Works include: The Iliad and The Odyssey.
• Isaac Asimov. My favorite SF writer. See my blurb in my section on Sci-Fi.
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). German writer. Works include: Faust.
• J.R.R. Tolkien
• Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). Russian writer. Works include: War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
• Mark Twain (1835-1910). Aka Samuel Langhorne Clemens. American writer. Human, dark, and humorous. It's a shame that the book I had of his complete works fell apart.
• P.D. Wodehouse. The adventures of Bertie Wooster and his faithful valet Jeeves.
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616). English writer. Almost too good.

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