A chance to share with you some of my favorite authors of fiction! There are many more, but these are the ones on my tongue today:

Favorite Authors — Very Much Alive:

I look forward to every new piece by these wonderful writers:

Haruki Murakami – novels with a surreal feeling, both cross-cultural and postmodern. See www.randomhouse.com/features/murakami/.

Colin Dexter – a convincing protagonist (Inspector Morse) in a culturally appealing venue (Oxford, England). See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Dexter.

William Gibson – pioneer of “cyberpunk” fiction, with Burning Chrome and Neuromancer. See www.williamgibsonbooks.com/.

Carl Hiaasen – crime fiction humor with environmental and political overtones, sited in Florida. See wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Hiaasen.

David Sedaris – a writer (and speaker) of autobiographical stories that one suspects have been exaggerated for humorous effect. See https://www.barclayagency.com/speakers/david-sedaris.

Calvin Trillin – a humorist whom I especially appreciate for Tepper Isn’t Going Out, a novel about parking in New York City. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Trillin.

Steve Martin – besides being a great entertainer, he’s a very good writer. I particularly liked Picasso at the Lapin Agile. In this play Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein and Elvis Presley meet at a bar in Paris, France. See www.stevemartin.com/.

Favorite Authors — Departed But Warmly Remembered:

It’s also a joy to re-read these classic authors:

Isaac Asimov – a prolific science-fiction writer, who wrote more than 500 books. I vividly remember his Foundation books, and I, Robot. See wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov.

John Mortimer – novels about Horace Rumpole, a barrister (attorney) defending clients at London’s Old Bailey court. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_mortimer

Michael Crichton – writer of techno-thrillers, often set in the present to near future. See www.michaelcrichton.com/

P. G. Wodehouse – an English humorist. He created a fictional world of leisure in 90 novels, plus many plays and short stories. His most famous creations were Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. See www.pgwodehousesociety.org.uk/

Philip K. Dick – nominally a science fiction writer, his novels are provocative and surreal. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick

Kurt Vonnegut – hailed as a “morbidly comical commentator” on society. A single novel, Cat’s Cradle, is bursting with useful made-up words. For example, foma are harmless untruths. And a karass is a group of people linked together in a cosmically significant manner. Also, this novel invents ice-nine, a simple molecule which proceeds to destroy Earth. See https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/about/

W. S. Gilbert – Gilbert is best known as the librettist of the comic operas for which Arthur Sullivan composed the music. Those best known today are The Mikado, H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance. In addition, a half-dozen others are just as enjoyable. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W_s_gilbert

Arthur Conan Doyle – Edgar Allan Poe is usually hailed as the father of detective fiction. However, Doyle is the creator of its most famous protagonist, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is featured in 56 short stories and 4 novels. See www.arthurconandoyle.com/