BOOK GROUPIE: Authors share their favorites
Whenever I meet local chefs, I ask them to recommend their favorite eating establishments. These chefs recognize great food when they taste it.
Similarly, whenever I interview authors, I ask them to recommend their favorite books and authors. The published authors I interview are "in the know" about their peers' products.
I can't share the restaurant information I've garnered because, well, this isn't the Food section. I will, however, share the information my author interviewees have given me.
Enjoy!
Margaret Coel, author of the Father John and Vickie Holden mystery series and other books, recommends "The Little Drummer Girl" by John le Carré.
Angie Fox, author of "The Accidental Demon Slayer," enjoys the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris, the Dresden series by Jim Butcher, and the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters.
David Baldacci, author of numerous best-selling thrillers, recommends the following authors: John Irving, John Updike, Anne Tyler, Jasper Fforde, Truman Capote, William Styron, Eudora Welty and Patricia Highsmith.
Harlan Coben, another best-selling thriller author, recommends "Portnoy's Complaint" by Philip Roth, "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott, "Marathon Man" by William Goldman, "Gone Baby Gone" by Dennis Lehane, "The Wishbones" by Tom Perrotta and "Dance at the Slaughterhouse" by Lawrence Block.
John Green, author of such young-adult fare as "Paper Towns" and "Looking for Alaska," counts these among his favorites: "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston and "The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon" by Richard Zimler.
Lisa Lutz, author of the Spellman mystery series, recommends "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot, "The Killer Inside Me" by Jim Thompson, and "Clockers" by Richard Price.
Tess Uriza Holthe, author of "When the Elephants Dance" and "The Five-Forty-Five to Cannes," recommends everything written by Cormac McCarthy, as well as John Updike's Rabbit series and "Leaving Las Vegas" by John O'Brien.
Tess Gerritsen, author of the Jane Rizzouli and Maura Isles series, recommends "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry, "The Shell Seekers" by Rosamunde Pilcher, "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver and "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt.
Janet Evanovich, author of the Stephanie Plum and Alex Barnaby series, recommends the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. Note: Junie B. books are intended for elementary-age children. That Evanovich is a piece of work.
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CONTACT THE WRITER: Anita Miller welcomes your book suggestions. Read her blog at anitalaydonmiller.blogspot.com or e-mail anita.l.miller@worldnet.att.net.
