So I was curious as to what writers we like and admire, whether it be for their works of some other attribute. I was going to name the topic "Favorite IRL Writers," except I realized that despite not being published and whatnot, all of you are IRL writers and it's only me who is creating a virtual reality inside of my head. In the famous words of Mya, "...like wo!"

Anyway, back to the point- who are some of your favorite authors, what works of theirs do you like, and, if you'd like, share what you like about them.

Joan Didion
-i must admit, I don't like everything by Joan Didion that I read or see. I say "see" because she (co?)wrote the screenplay to "Up Close and Personal." (Am I showing my age by referring to that movie?) Nor am I particularly fond of her novels. But her journalism and personal essays are so captivating and real. It's true that her writing somewhat portrays 'la vie en rose' and that there are unnecessary words here and there, but it's all about style. And her writing is writing that isn't just for the sake of the story, but it's writing that concretely matters. And that's the kind of writing I aspire to do, at least for a bit, before I retreat to my book store (privately owned non-chain, of course), and begin to write my own novel. I really really really love her book of essays entitled "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" and my favorite essay of hers would be "Goodbye to All That," which, if you'd like, you can google and read online (much thanks to Mt. Holyoke).

Roald Dahl
-Along the lines of J.M. Barrie, Lewis Carroll (sp?), C.S. Lewis, and possibly some other non-Tolkien British fantasy writers, I particularly love how Roald Dahl manages to portray absurd or fantastic things with a sense of wonder, yet with a simple enough language that it all becomes credible. There's a lot of charm to his writing and though simple, the words are often deep. Or at least I make them deep because I want to. I particularly liked "Danny: Champion of the World," "the BFG," and "Matilda."

Neil Gaiman
-Everybody's favorite author nowadays, it seems. I do like his writing for the amount of imagination that goes into it, but his writing doesn't strike me as particularly strong writing. I just think he's a really really really cool guy with some very neat ideas. I rather like "Smoke and Mirrors" for the innovativeness and "Neverwhere" for being serious without seeming to take itself too seriously.

Charles Dickens
-The man is, contrary to popular belief, quite funny. But only if you read him in short spurts and pay close attention to the wording. Then again, I think most of his works were published bit by bit in magazines before they were published in a complete bound edition. I might be totally wrong, however. Some parts of his stories are rather insipid, the reality of his character portrayal leaves much to be desired, and yet... the stories move me and I find myself sad when it's all over. So that must mean it's good. ^^;

Bill Watterson
-"Calvin and Hobbes" is pure genius. Enough said here.

Albert Camus
-I adore this man's writing. It is sparse and does create an empty feeling, but it paradoxically feels full in itself. I feel like Camus and Hemingway have a similar aesthetic, but I find that as much as I like Hemingway, I like Camus more. Maybe it's just because I have a foreign fetish. xP My favorite work of his is "The Stranger." One work of his that I really did not like, however, is "La Chute," which is, I believe, "The Fall" in English.

Shel Silverstein
-It's cute. It rhymes. It's poetry that I can appreciate. And it's also more than slightly kooky.

Robert Frost
-Oh I know, EVERYBODY loves Robert Frost. But there's a reason for that! I'm not great at poetry, but I appreciate a simple poem much more than a fancy one, and simplistic beauty, or seemingly simplistic beauty, is Robert Frost's forte.

Some other books I liked, many whose authors I have forgotten:

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry
"The Phantom Tollbooth" by I-Forget-Who
'J'accuse!" by Emile Zola
"No Longer Human" by some Japanese dude
"Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert
"Falling Leaves" by Adeline Yen Mah
"Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
"On the Road" by Jack Kerouac

Of course there are others, but I'm tired. xP