Your Advice wanted

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chief4db

When it doubt, run!
Feb 11, 2015
733
2,676
whatsamatteru. usa
I've noticed something recently about myself when it comes to reading and I think I might be missing a lot.

When it comes to reading I have my favorite authors and that's what I buy. Every new king book that hits the stand I'm getting. Same thing with David Baldacci (next month one is hitting the rack and can't wait). We all know the feeling. Same goes for Michael Connelly, Ian Lankin, Tana French, Lee Child,James Patterson and John Grisham. And that's pretty much it. Occasionally I will buy a book that is getting a lot of publicity if I like the content like j.k. Rowling trilogy starting with cuckoos calling. Detective trilogy. Or Deborah Harkness trilogy just bc I like reading different takes on vampire books.

So I think I'm limiting myself and probably missing some great reads out there bc I pretty much got the blinders on and at age 43 know what I like and B line to those books.

I went to the book store the other day and I was purposely going there to buy a book from an author I've never read and some different content. I walked away empty handed. I just couldn't tell if the book was any good.

So the advice I'm asking for is some good reads out there that also will widen my horizons. Something different from thriller/suspense catorgory. I typically read fiction but that's just bc that's typically what the authors I like write for the most part.

Ty
 

mal

content
Jun 23, 2007
4,714
27,243
61
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Howdy Chief4db,

If you go back in time and ignore the contemporaries there is a vast wealth of interesting reads. Off the top of my head I'd recommend...
Graham Greene
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Italo Calvino
Homer
Geoffrey Chaucer

If you like religious-political crimes and mysteries then I could suggest a wealth of non-fiction history books as well. I know what you mean about getting in a reading rut. I altered my rules to alternate between fiction and non-fiction with every book. Sometimes I plow through stuff I don't really like but, once done, I usually walk away with something good out of it.

All the best, mal.
 

RichardX

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2006
1,737
4,434
I would suggest anything by Robert McCammon. Reading his stuff is like suddenly discovering there is another Stephen King who you never heard of. Dozens of great books dating back decades and the entire Corbett series. What people like is subjective though. So recommendations are hit and miss. For example, I like anything by Haruki Murakami but I can image folks who like to read just for entertainment/best sellers might find it tough going and hate it.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
recently...this year, discovered c.j. box, who has a number of stories about wyoming game warden joe pickett, a kind of family man travis mcgee, who is/was a protagonist of john d mcdonald's series, 21 stories, that i'd also recommend, john d mcdonald and c.j. box. mcdonald also wrote 50+ other stories, all or them home-runs, save one maybe. ditton on the greene, dostoyevky, calvino. you could add kurt vonnegut and a host of others to the list. some of my favorites include charles willeford, elmore leonard is a must-read, harry crews, john steinbeck. check out george eliot who i believe is on a level with dostoyevsky when it comes to the human animal and psychology. let us know what you come up with. best regards, walt
 

Blake

Deleted User
Feb 18, 2013
4,191
17,479
I don't have Twitter because I don't follow stuff that much. I have never had a facebook account either. I like John D MacDonald. I read Dead Low Tide recently. No one does a weirdo better than MacDonald. Roy just sat that without mannerisms. And the ending where McClintock casts his surf fishing rig and snares the baddy in the neck and hauls him into the mangroves.
 

mjs9153

Peripherally known member..
Nov 21, 2014
3,494
22,165
I've noticed something recently about myself when it comes to reading and I think I might be missing a lot.

When it comes to reading I have my favorite authors and that's what I buy. Every new king book that hits the stand I'm getting. Same thing with David Baldacci (next month one is hitting the rack and can't wait). We all know the feeling. Same goes for Michael Connelly, Ian Lankin, Tana French, Lee Child,James Patterson and John Grisham. And that's pretty much it. Occasionally I will buy a book that is getting a lot of publicity if I like the content like j.k. Rowling trilogy starting with cuckoos calling. Detective trilogy. Or Deborah Harkness trilogy just bc I like reading different takes on vampire books.

So I think I'm limiting myself and probably missing some great reads out there bc I pretty much got the blinders on and at age 43 know what I like and B line to those books.

I went to the book store the other day and I was purposely going there to buy a book from an author I've never read and some different content. I walked away empty handed. I just couldn't tell if the book was any good.

So the advice I'm asking for is some good reads out there that also will widen my horizons. Something different from thriller/suspense catorgory. I typically read fiction but that's just bc that's typically what the authors I like write for the most part.

Ty
I kind of feel bad,because you are apparently looking to expand into other horizons,but if you really like suspense and crime fiction,you must read John Sandford's Prey series of books..set in Minneapolis/St Paul,but expands pretty all over the Midwest area as the protagonist chases his Prey..or is he the Prey? or are all the victims Prey? Excellent series of books,SK likes them too..Sandford's police jargon and banter amongst cops is spot on,as is much of the procedural stuff..hope you give it a try! ;)
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Don Robertson- one of the three authors that King has been quoted as being a huge influence on his own writing. Once you read a Robertson book you can see the similarities. I recommend his 'Morris Bird III' trilogy The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread, The Sum And Total Of Now and The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened.
Anything by Joe R. Lansdale- this guy writes in pretty much any genre. Short, sharp sentences and snappy dialogue- he doesn't waste time getting the story told. His 'Hap & Leonard' books are among my favorites.
 

chief4db

When it doubt, run!
Feb 11, 2015
733
2,676
whatsamatteru. usa
I kind of feel bad,because you are apparently looking to expand into other horizons,but if you really like suspense and crime fiction,you must read John Sandford's Prey series of books..set in Minneapolis/St Paul,but expands pretty all over the Midwest area as the protagonist chases his Prey..or is he the Prey? or are all the victims Prey? Excellent series of books,SK likes them too..Sandford's police jargon and banter amongst cops is spot on,as is much of the procedural stuff..hope you give it a try! ;)
I think I will start with this bc i actually have a book of his. Not sure which one. Have to go to the book storage and see. Do I have to read them in order?
 

mjs9153

Peripherally known member..
Nov 21, 2014
3,494
22,165
I think I will start with this bc i actually have a book of his. Not sure which one. Have to go to the book storage and see. Do I have to read them in order?
Well,that is up to you..if you really like crime and suspense stories,you will probably read them over again,I know I have read them all at least twice,and there are several that are so good,I have read them multiple times..the first book in the series is Rules of Prey,and introduces you to the protagonist,Lucas Davenport..not my favorite in the series,as he went along Sandford got better and better..it really is interesting though that his ideas are quite a bit like law enforcement,that some things are overlooked,some are crucial and provide great information,and the pacing is so similar to real investigations..