Favorite Novelist?

[Robert E Lee]

Who is your favorite novelist? I can't pick one myself since the most I've ever read of any one writer is four novels, and there are only two writers of whose body of work I've read four (i.e. Graham Greene, William Faulkner).

By the way, we need to start advertising for this great board. Tell your friends, go to other message boards and advertise, etc. I've done some advertising myself.

[Robert E Lee]

I can't believe no one has responded. We need to get more people on this board.

[Admin]

For me also there are few writers whom I have read more than 4 books.

The only exception are modern writers who write pulp fiction. I've read plenty of Robert Jordan, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, Dave Duncan, Michael Crichton.

For older authors there isn't many. JRR Tolkein, CS Lewis, and Shakespeare (if you count plays as novels).

Authors I would read more of though are people like F. Scott Fitzgerald, and John Knowles.

[Robert E Lee]

Me too. I've read at least 10 Stephen King novels, but that doesn't count because it just isn't literature. I don't read that trash anymore though.

Ah! I detest John Knowles. A Separate Peace was the only book I read last year to which I gave 1 out of 5 stars.

We need to start advertising for this board.

[Admin]

I loved A Separate Peace, I didn't thought I would but I did.

[Robert E Lee]

I just never got to care for the characters. Their preocupations were quite shallow, especially when you take into account the Chinese getting slaughtered and the Jews being thrown into ovens during that time period.

They just seemed like a bunch of prep-school wiseasses.

Don't you think we should advertise for this board? At least give me some advertising tips. This is probably the best laid-out forum I've ever seen for books. It has a wonderful color scheme too.

[Admin]

Well this site gets as much as 60,000 page views a day and yet the forums remain relatively dull. I figure that this is because the average student doesn't care much about discussing literature, they just want to get their assignment done, and this site caters more towards students than to literature enthusiasts.

Thanks for your comments about the forum layout, I appreciate them. You're welcome to mention this forum to any like minded individuals. Its just hard to get a forum going, especially one on such an academic subject.

[crisaor]

Its just hard to get a forum going, especially one on such an academic subject.

It looks like you're doing a good job to me. It's a neat page, I like it.

[Zooey]

Authors I would read more of though... John Knowles.

Did Knowles write anything else of note? I remember reading in his obituary that his one and only major novel was A Seperate Peace.

I liked A Seperate Peace as well, though it's been a while since I read it.

[Zooey]

I just never got to care for the characters. Their preocupations were quite shallow, especially when you take into account the Chinese getting slaughtered and the Jews being thrown into ovens during that time period.

But isn't this the way it works? The majority of teenagers are much more preoccupied with themselves, their feelings and their own well-being, even if it means choosing to ignore something as important as WWII.

As I remember, what I liked most about this book was the fact that it presented teenagers as complex people, and didn't just spoon-feed us stereotypes. I appreciate that, even if I don't necessarily agree with their feelings and opinions.