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Favourite Authors and Books
Authors: |
William Shakespeare |
| Iain Banks | |
| Robert
Rankin |
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| Will Self |
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| Books: | Harry Potter |
| Bridget Jones Diary | |
| The Metaphysical Touch | |
| Bright Young Things |
Anyone who still believes that Shakespeare is purely the realm of boring high school English lessons has been proved wrong many times in recent years. Thanks largely to the merits of covering a mixture of comedy, traedgy and historical dramas, Shakespeare has one of the biggest impacts on modern English literature, yet appears just as modern and contemporary as anything in Hollywood or in international bookstores today.
Two young lovers who kill themselves because the parents are bitter enemies; a father who struggles with which daughter to leave his land to, and who is then betrayed; a young man who thinks he is going mad when the ghost of his father appears to him; and a man who ends up killing his boss and his best friend in order to secure privilage and power. Or, alternatively, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth.
To anyone who thinks Shakespeare is old and boring, I'd say, just look at what Leonardo Di Caprio (in Romeo and Juliet), Mel Gibson (in Hamlet), and Joseph Fianes (in Shakespeare in Love) have done, and give him another chance!
Fascinating Fact you probably already knew about William
Shakespeare:
He is often known as The Bard, and wrote many poems and
sonnets as well as plays.
Fascinating Fact you probably already knew about William
Shakespeare:
His birthday falls on St George's Day (the patron saint of
England), and to many he is probably seen as the patron saint of English
playwrights.
Info coming soon! Watch this space
The Observer newspaper once described him as a 'stark raving genius', and in opinion this sums up Mr Rankin very well. He is an amazing and unique writer, who makes me laugh out loud then scratch my head in pleasant confusion, then later explains everything in just the right way. He's oten compared to Douglas Adams and Terry Prattchett, and I think if you like either of them you would like Robert Rankin. His settings are more 'realistic' than Adams or Prattchett's but he injects just enough surrealism and absurdity into them to make you wonder where you're really living on the same planet at all!
My personal favourites include (and this gives an idea of the type of writer he is!):
Fascinating Fact you may not have known about Robert Rankin: He creates the paper-mache models used on his book covers himself.
Fascinating Fact you probably already knew about Robert Rankin: He seems to have an obsession with both sprouts and with 'old traditions, charters or something'.
Visit Robert Rankin on the web at www.booksatransworld.co.uk/robertrankin, or www.lostcarpark,com/sproutlore
Info coming soon! Watch this space
Yes, I'm a massive Harry Potter fan, and I urge everyone to at least give him a try! These books do appeal to both children and adults, and the characterisation is so complete that you will be totally drawn into JK Rowling's world. With the film of the first book due out next month and others to follow, Harry looks set to be here for quite a while. Already cited as a modern classic, this is pure, indulgent, enjoyable escapicism.
Fascinating Fact you may not have known about Harry Potter/JK Rowling: J K Rowling was a struggling single mother when she began to write the first Harry Potter book
Fascinating Fact you probably already knew about Harry Potter/JK Rowling: The first book has a different name in the UK and in the US. In the UK it is 'The Philosophers Stone' and in the US it is 'The Sorcerer's Stone'.
Visit Harry Potter on the web at www.scholastic.com/harrypotter, or at www.bloomsbury.com
OK, I admit I'm also a big Bridget Jones fan. It's fun, funny, well-written, and seems to have revolutionised the so-called 'chick lit' genre. You may think it's unrealistic, you may think it takes itself too seriously (personally, I don't), but the impact it made cannot be denied. If you're female and for some strange reason, havng read it, do so. Even if it's just to see what all the fuss is about! Then, go see the film ;)
This book, by Sylvia Brownrigg, is one I came across unexpectedly. It quickly exceeded all expectations and has become one of my favourites. It tells the story of the virtual relationship between a girl who has just lost everything in a fire and a guy who feels that something is so missing in his ife that he's preparing to committ suicide, by writing the longest suicide note in history and publishing it on the Internet.
Click here to read my review of The Metaphysical Touch
Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas is essentially a mystery story. In my opinion, though, it is a lot more, and I think it has the potential to become a modern classic with 20-somethings. It all starts when 6 20-somethings respond to a job advert for 'bright young things', and wake up on a deserted island. The mystery deepens, but as they attempt to learn about what happened to them, they also learn more about each other and themselves. There are plenty of pop culture references, which are fun if you recognise them, and some general philosophical and physchological ideas and remarks about people as individuals and about our society today. It is cleverly written, original, and kept me hooked until the last page.
This page last updated on 28 October
2001