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Recommend one book by each of these authors

timthedeac

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I’ve read books by a few on this list but some of them I know only through movie versions. If you had to recommend just one book by each of these, what would you pick?

Stephen King
James Patterson
Robert Ludlum
John Grisham
Dan Brown
Michael Crichton
Clive Cussler
Ken Follett
 
I noticed that I'm asking for a reading list of only old white dudes. That wasn't the aim - was just trying to see what gaps among commercial bestsellers I might want to fill in. Original question still stands, but I'd welcome recommendations from a diverse set of authors too.
 
I’ll just give a few thoughts - won’t touch all because I haven’t read all authors

Ludlum - I read the Bourne series way back when those movies started coming out but the only one I thought was great was The Bourne Identity - each in the series gets worse

Brown - read four or five of his when he was blowing up in the early 2000s. They are reasonably well put together thrillers but I read them all in a row and you see he plots out his stories almost identically so by the last one I read you could predict how it was going to go. Read The Da Vinci Code and that was the last I’ve read of his (read most of the others published before that one)

Grisham - I’ve read several random of his during various travels and they are all fine but nothing I would say are must reads. None were the ones that were made into movies - The Partner, The King of Torts, The Litigators, The Brethren, The Street Lawyer

Follett - Pillars of the Earth is a terrific vacation novel if you’re the type who likes to sit around and relax on vacation (which I am). Each of the other two were fine but not as good - the second hit the same beats with basically the same characters set in a different time period. The latest one was more into trying to tie into historical events. But I am certainly interested in the prequel coming out soon

Crichton - Haven’t read it in a few years but I love revisiting Jurassic Park. One that never got made into a movie that seemed like an obvious candidate was Prey
 
I noticed that I'm asking for a reading list of only old white dudes. That wasn't the aim - was just trying to see what gaps among commercial bestsellers I might want to fill in. Original question still stands, but I'd welcome recommendations from a diverse set of authors too.

Shame on you for reading books you enjoy.
 
I’ve read books by a few on this list but some of them I know only through movie versions. If you had to recommend just one book by each of these, what would you pick?

Stephen King
James Patterson
Robert Ludlum
John Grisham
Dan Brown
Michael Crichton
Clive Cussler
Ken Follett

Just spend the time you'd waste reading those other crap writers on reading anything you can by King and to a lesser extent Crichton(save Disclosure).
 
Stephen King - The Shining
Michael Crichton - Sphere (do not judge by the horrible movie)

Someone similar to those is Dean Koontz, for whom I'd recommend Phantoms.
 
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Just spend the time you'd waste reading those other crap writers on reading anything you can by King and to a lesser extent Crichton(save Disclosure).

p much this

surprised Tom Clancy wasn't on the list
 
another vote for Pillars of the Earth; also Eye of the Needle and Dangerous Fortune by Follett. All are entertaining.

If you like all of those authors, I recommend Jeffrey Archer - his older books for sure. First Among Equals was a really good read. A lot of his newer books are kind of throwaways though - notably the Clifton series.

Finally, while I think Stuart Woods is the WORST for churning out crap books just to pay bills, his older books are good. Chiefs in particular was great.
 
Still can't go wrong with "The Firm" by Grisham and "IT" by King. I have read both about 10-20 times. Both authors have watered down there offerings as time has gone on but I still read them. About every 5th book is really good.

John Sandford is another guy I will read as I love the character(s) of Lucas Davenport & Virgil Flowers.
 
I mostly stopped reading Grisham and Patterson after discovering David Baldacci, another recovering attorney but his books are not just legal thrillers. If you want a good read set in the early days of the opiod crisis, try his "Divine Justice."
Any of the Follett century trilogy are good.
 
I mostly stopped reading Grisham and Patterson after discovering David Baldacci, another recovering attorney but his books are not just legal thrillers. If you want a good read set in the early days of the opiod crisis, try his "Divine Justice."
Any of the Follett century trilogy are good.

John Lescroart wrote some good legal.criminal thrillers that took place in SF also. I enjoyed many of his books too.
 
Pretty much have only read King and Follett on this list.

King - I enjoyed the Shining. Green Mile was good, though the serialized novel format was a little weird. I liked the Dark Tower series, but that's a big commitment.
Follett - I'll add another vote for Pillars of the Earth series. The sequels are formulaic, but I enjoyed them all. I also like his Century trilogy -- big historical fiction novels like Pillars, but covering the 20th century. First is roughly around WWI and the Depression. Second is WWII. Third is Cold War. Follows the same families across all three based in US, UK, Germany, and Russia/USSR.

Some others that are vaguely in the same genre -- John le Carre if you like spy stories. Edward Rutherfurd if you like the historical fiction (i.e. Follett). Jack Higgins if you like Ludlum/Patterson action / thrillers. Also, any reason you left off Clancy? Red Storm Rising and Clear and Present Danger are very entertaining.

If you're looking for something outside the OWG genre - The Power by Naomi Alderman or American War by Omar el Akkad.
 
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I’ve read books by a few on this list but some of them I know only through movie versions. If you had to recommend just one book by each of these, what would you pick?
I don't get the hate on some of these authors. I like all of these although I haven't read much lately, save for Grisham. My Favs:

Stephen King - The Stand, Cujo, Pet Semetary (Too many more)
James Patterson - Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls
Robert Ludlum - Bourne Identity
John Grisham - A Time to Kill, The Firm, Painted House
Dan Brown - never got into him
Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park, Congo
Clive Cussler - Sahara - great movie as well! : ) Raise the Titanic
Ken Follett
- Like others, Pillars of the Earth, Eye of the Needle

I'll definitely second Chiefs by Stuart Woods - also just saw that this was made into a mini-series on Netflix....1983 Starring Charlton Heston and John Goodman
 
Lonesome Dove is a fantastic call. Best of the....four book series, I think?
 
Salem's Lot is my favorite by King. Read that one on a plane with absolutely no knowledge going in of the nature of the villain.

I bailed on the Dark Tower series during the 4th book's flashback scene, but if it's true that Father Callahan reappears, I may have to give it another shot.
 
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Salem's Lot is my favorite by King. Read that one on a plane with absolutely no knowledge going in of the nature of the villain.

I bailed on the Dark Tower series during the 4th book's flashback scene, but if it's true that Father Callahan reappears, I may have to give it another shot.

He does, but it’s not until the 5th Book, “Wolves of the Calla”.
 
Lonesome Dove is a fantastic call. Best of the....four book series, I think?

I'm struggling with Lonesome Dove right now....it's a slow starter. I understand character development but....c'mon let's go...going to keep pushing as it's a universally acclaimed novel. Just a slow start.
 
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