Fantasy

John Levitt - Dog Days; Urban fantasy/mystery. Mason, the hero, has a dog as a familiar and this caper is just a lot of fun!  The second one is even better than the first–I loved them both!  Highly recommended.

Jim C. Hines Goblin Quest series A Goblin that doesn’t want to go on a quest, the true underdog that just might have a bit of hero in him. Very suitable for YA also.

Lisa Shearin Magic Lost, Trouble Found This is her debut novel.

Katherine Kurtz

Elizabeth H. Boyer

Mercedes Lackey - Diana Tregarde series–Urban Fantasy before anyone called it that–female investigator with paranormal elements; just an excellent series.

Ellen Guon - Fabulous urban elves series

Patricia Briggs (especially When Demons Walk, and Steal the Dragon)

Holly Lisle - just about every kind of fantasy from romantic to adventure to touches of urban fantasy.

Charlaine Harris (mysteries too!– Her Lilly Bard books are probably her most exceptional work.) The early books in the Sookie Stackhouse (vampire, urban fantasy type are very good.)

Laura Underwood - The Hounds of Ardagh

Stephen R. Donaldson (The Wounded Land, Lord Foul’s Bane, White Gold Wielder)
J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings; The Hobbit)

Science Fiction

For a long time I didn’t even include this catagory because I don’t read a lot of science fiction. Mostly I don’t like the intricate details, the overly analytical suppositions about other life forms and just the too-obvious “what ifs.” I have finally found an author or two who write wonderful characters and tell wonderful stories.

Mark Van Name - One Jump Ahead - A great sci/fi with a talking space ship with strong character development. Mark’s blog is often an interesting read.

John Scalzi - Old Man’s War –A very good space story. There are, of course, discussions of jumping through space, but it is, after all, science fiction.

A. Lee Martinez - The Automatic Detective It’s pulp-fiction. It’s hard core, tough detective. But he’s a robot. In a futuristic, strangely morphed earth. Fantastic!

Mystery

Funny
Janet Evonavich– Hysterically funny
J.A. Konrath– Humor; police procedural (with the exception of “Rusty Nail” which was too…well, it had too many torture scenes for me.) He also, at last check, had a couple of e-books on his site–for FREE! I read “The List” and it was dynamite!

Police Procedural
Carol O’Connell — New York police procedural. Main character was a street orphan and there’s some fascinating pieces of her past that get explored in a number of the novels. Most excellent! Her stand alone, Judas Child, is a MUST READ.

Linda Fairstein — New York prosecutor police procedural

Kay Mitchell — UK setting; police procedural; great characterization

Detective/Sleuth

Elisabeth Cosin –Zen and the City of Angels –What a writer! I loved this book.  I think she only wrote two books, but they are both very good and worth getting your hands on.

Jan Burke– I like that her character solves mysteries–along the thriller line–no cozies here! and does so without constantly re-introducing conflict between the main character and her husband. In the books I’ve read the characters seem to have a realistic flow to their relationship without forced conflict.

Evelyn Coleman– Jouralistic sleuth, but no amateur stuff; thriller; suspense

Off the Beaten Path
Virginia Lanier — Bloodhound tracking; Excellent, better than 10 stars!
Elizabeth Cosin– I loved, loved, loved this character.
Elizabeth Peters — Egyptian historical setting and other works, all excellent. I LOVE the contemporary setting, Vicky Bliss mysteries. She also writes darker, noir suspense as Barbara Michaels.

Historical Mysteries
Elizabeth Peters — Egyptian historical setting and other works, all excellent. I LOVE her Vicky Bliss series and she’ll finally finish this series in August 2008. I know it will be worth the long wait! Well worth getting the early books and reading through.

Indian and Gypsy Lore
Sandra West Prowell– Montana setting; light Indian lore; Absolutely superb stories.

Kirk Mitchell– Excellent American Indian lore without being overdone or stuck on a reservation/reservation concepts. Both a male and female protagonist that play important parts and through the series develop individually and as partners.

Meredith Blevins– amateur sleuth; touches of gypsy lore.

Romance

I don’t read a lot of romance, so I’m sure there are a lot more good authors out there.

Hollly Lisle– Midnight Rain -excellent romantic suspense with a paranormal element. She avoids the tendency to have characters with long misunderstandings. Focuses more on the plot of solving whatever mystery/paranormal element exists.

J.D. Robb — futuristic romantic mysteries

Amanda Quick (aka Jane Ann Krentz) –I haven’t read Quick/Krentz in years, so the recommendation actually applies to her early works.

Tough Guy Authors

Steve Hamilton
Richard Crais especially The Watchman–a Joe Pike Novel and Two-Minute Rule.

Frederick Forsyth

Young Adult

Yes, I still read young adult, and not just Harry Potter! Everything listed, while YA, is very adult-readable. I left out wonderful JF (things like Nancy Drew, Trixie Beldon, etc) and YA that I read when I was younger–things like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis) and countless others simply because I don’t know if I would enjoy them as an adult. I truly enjoyed them when I was younger and wouldn’t hesistate to recommend them, it’s just a different list!

Fantasy
Rachel Caine - The Morganville Vampires - Glass Houses (A total page-turner–spooky!)
Lion Boy: Zizou Corder
Andre Norton’s Witch World Series
Vivian Vande Velde -fantasy–I do not read her horror stuff. Or anyone else’s, at least not on purpose.
Megan Whalen Turner (”The Thief” is a little slow first half, but it’s well worth reading!)

Sci/Fi

Scott Westerfeld - Uglies is the first of a series–make sure you have at least the first two because Uglies ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and you’ll be mad if you can’t get started on the next adventure Right Away.

Favorite Books on CD

Who’s Your Caddy?: Rick Reilly (Grover Gardner narrator). Warning: Some adult content.
Put a Lid on It: Donald Westlake (William Dufris–excellent narrator.)
Christopher Graybill is another excellent narrator–I’d try an audio book just based on this narrator’s talent with voice and pacing. He did a great job with Two-Minute Rule by Robert Crais.

Non-Fiction

Kirsch’s Guide to the Book Contract by Jonathan Kirsch. This should be required reading for any author. Even if you have an agent, this book will really help you understand how contracts work, how much you can expect to be paid and how “rights” work. A must read.

Chocolate A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light: Mort Rosenblum
The Man Who Listens to Horses: Monty Roberts
Adventure Capitalist: Jim Rogers

Note: See the BMB website for more recommended reading of non-fiction investment books.

Albert Einstein: Arthur Beckhard
All Creatures Great and Small: James Herriot
Easy Money: Donald Goddard

Cookbooks

Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate: Alice Medrich, Deborah Jones (Photographer)
Ciao Y’All by Damian Mandola and Johnny Carrabba
Traveling Jamaica with Knife, Fork and Spoon by Robb Walsh and Jay McCarthy