# 5: J. K. Rowling. No, wait,
don’t stop reading!! She has to make the list if for no other reason than her
books are a modern marvel of literature. The writing is fantastic, to be sure.
She creates characters who are engaging and entertaining. That is no easy task.
Add to that a complete fantasy world with twists and turns that you can feel
yourself taking and you have a good writer. Convincing and creative. But the
real clincher is that she weaves a compelling story throughout the prose.
# 4: Max Shulman. OK, this
mid century writer might belong at number five, but I had to reel in the Potter
fans somehow. Max is best known for his character Dobie Gillis. Dobie found his
way to the living rooms of American homes in the sixties with a short-lived
sitcom by the same name. Be that as it may, Max lands on my list due to his
witty banter and excellent dialog. I love the fact that he can describe a
character he introduces with humor and sarcasm while still getting across the
elements of the story. If nothing else, he is a fave because his stories are
fun to read.
# 3: Shakespeare. I know, I
know… I used to not like Shakespeare. At all. EVERYBODY thought he was so
fantastic. If I heard another person mention Romeo and Juliet I would have
barfed. But then I read some of his other works, some sonnets, lesser known
plays. And then I looked at the amount of words that he, alone, is responsible
for integrating into our modern language. And THEN I saw the amount of work he
did and how it was all succinct and well structured. That’s when Bill landed on
my list. Any author who can do the turn over wordplay of Hamlet or the deep
soliloquies of Touchstone and Jaques amidst the playful banter of other
characters deserves to be on the list.
# 2: C.S. Lewis. 2 reasons
that Clive makes my list so high; 1. The intricate nature of his writing. It’s
like High Prose for the common reader. Lewis makes me feel smarter. 2. Lewis
created a new Genre that not too many authors have explored. It is a kind of
fictional allegory. The stories of Narnia as well as his space trilogy can
stand on their own as good stories. Dive a little deeper and you see the
allegory of our struggle with darkness. His theology is not glaring or loud,
fighting against the prose. Instead, Lewis softens his message with the medium
of fiction. Very powerful.
# 1: Milton. You’ve got to be
good to be on a single name basis for over four centuries. John Milton wrote
Paradise Lost. To read Milton with no mentoring of the sing-song way he writes
will undoubtedly make you hate this writer. However, I studied this gem of an
author while working on my English degree. My professor presented the author’s
works in a way that made me to fall in love with Milton. Milton’s works drip with
the classics and mythology. His writing (once you get the hang of it) is
powerful and well crafted.
That’s it for my five favorite
authors. As for my Favorite piece of work, that would have to be the Harry
Potter series. I know that Rowling barely squeaked into the penta-preferred,
but since the novels range a whole 7 years at Hogwarts, possibly the coolest
school ever. I can’t help but be rapt with every word.
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