When I saw Write Tribe’s Wednesday prompt I knew I had to write this. This week the prompt is to write your 12 most favorite things, it could be anything – food, books, or may be a fashion brand (I was very tempted to write on some of my favorite apparel, handbag and makeup brands, but I’ll keep it for another day J ).
Now I have written a lot about my favorite movies, songs, books, food etc etc in my previous posts. But today I want to write about my 12 Favorite Authors. I am crazy for some of them that I do not miss a single novel of theirs. Some of them are Bengali authors as well.
So here goes my 12 Favorite Authors – not mentioned in any order of preference
1. Dan Brown: The day I read The Da Vinci Code, I knew I was in love with the way he writes. It’s only after The Da Vinci Code that I read up his other works. The 24 hour storyline, the thrill that he offers, are all super thriller ingredients. I didn’t particularly like The Lost Symbol because at the end of it you feel a little disappointed. And if I had to rate among his works I’ll rate The Da Vinci Code, Deception Point, Digital Fortress and Angels and Demons as my favorites from his arsenal (in the same order of preference).
2. Enid Blyton: As a kid I remember being completely crazy about Famous Five, and almost had a parallel imaginary life of mine thinking myself as Georgina!! It was such fun then. I liked Noddyand Secret Seven as well but FF was an experience itself.
3. Robert Ludlum: For a thriller and crime lover Robert Ludlum is still a genius. The Bourne series, The Matarese Circle, The Matarese Countdown are some of my favorites. It’s just amazing to read the way he builds up the plots, the conspiracy theories. I love them.
4. Tom Clancy: I somehow am fascinated with all these thrillers that have this war and military backdrop. And Tom Clancy was a master of it. The Hunt for Red Octobercan still be a go to thriller any day.
5. J.K.Rowling: I got into the Potter Mania much latter, only after I started enjoying the movies. May be after the second or the third movie I decided to read up the books, and yes that is an experience that I am very happy of. I can’t pick and choose which one I liked most though The Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets remain most engrossing for me.
6. Charles Dickens: I first read David Copperfield in my school book and I liked the little prose so much that I read up the novel. My dad has an amazing collection of novels himself. And I ended up reading Oliver Twist. Later on I loved Tale of Two Cities & Great Expectations. But I will never forget David Copperfield, I was so moved by his story!
8. Sarath Chandra Chattopadhyay (Bengali Author) – Though I am mentioning Bengali author, he actually needs no introduction. He is one of the finest authors that the world has seen. Be the way he built up the character ‘Srikanta’ or ‘Sabyasachi’. He probably is the author whom I have read the most. People go gaga about ‘Devdas’ but probably have not read other classics like ‘Datta’, ‘Pather Dabi’, ‘Parinita’ (now people know because of the Bollywood movie), ‘Dena Pawna’, ‘Boikunther Will’, ‘Biraj Bou’, ‘Bindur Chele’ and I probably will lose count. There isn’t a single novel of his that I have read and not liked. It needs maturity to understand the underlining thoughts and he is one of my most favorite authors.
9. Satyajit Ray: (Bengali Author) Yet again he doesn’t need an introduction. Most people know of him as the Oscar winning director, but he was also an amazing writer and specialized in writing detective thrillers and murder mysteries. His character ‘Feluda’ and ‘Jatayu’ are evergreen characters both of the pages and celluloid. I have read some 100 detective short stories of his.
10. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Now any thriller lover can never ever miss worshiping Sherlock Holmes and obviously the man who etched him. Sherlock Holmes is my all time favorite character and I can pick up the volumes and start reading over again any day.
11. William Shakespeare: One word – Genius. There is no other way I can explain. I might sound very old and classic lover type but William Shakespeare is and always will be a big influence in my life. So much so that I visited Stratford-upon-Avon to see the place he was born and brought up. In fact, my dad was more enthusiastic about that visit!
12. Frederick Forsyth: This list can never be complete without him. When I read The Afghan, I was instantly a fan of his writing. As I told you all these military action and covert operations excite me like hell. I loved his The Fist of God & The Cobra.
You might think why I didn’t include Rabindra Nath Tagore, but as I told you I am more of the thriller, murder war, covert kind of person, so I am not including him here, though I have read and liked many of his works.
Huh, pretty long post but my favorite authors deserve this length. So who do you like reading? Name you five favorite authors.
