Books I Have Enjoyed

I remember in middle school when we had to do a book report on a book of our choice. Everyone in my class either did "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton (due to the fact we had read it a couple weeks prior) or something absolutely elementary just because they wanted to get the report done. I chose "State of Fear."
"State of Fear" is a brilliant book that caught my attention the second I read the first page. One part that I remember in particular involved cannibalism. Crichton had the ability to add horrendous situations but put it into a scientific view, making it believable. It wasn't my favorite Crichton, but it was better than a lot of garbage people read today.

It is actually a tie between this one or "Next" on which one is my favorite book of all time. To be honest, I am pretty sure Michael Crichton was a genius. All of his books are brilliant (save for "Congo"). The world lost an important man when he died.

Michael Crichton at the top of his game! "Next" was a phenomenal book that kept me reading until the last page and had me begging for more. It was fast paced and well written. The world of writing lost a great man when Crichton passed away. All his novels are gold!

Note: To any who are interested in this book, it isn't one storyline, but a series of stories that connect in a way.

As far as I am aware, there are two different adaptions of this book: a television miniseries and a book. How epic does a book have to be to get that?! Of course, they've made everything in a movie now, but still. Great concept, great writing, great everything. 4/5

Definitely liked the book more than the movie. I am pretty sure my note on this book is going to be the same as the other Crichton's, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. Great book. 4/5

This was the second book I read by Crichton, yet I think it was this book that REALLY got me into his writing. Crichton was so smart. His talent is just overwhelming. I love him.

My dad recommended this book a while back. Boy was he right! It was interesting to see demons in a more personal way.

I must admit that I bought the book mainly because it seemed so dark and supernatural. So, being a fan of that, I got it. It was not a disappointment! It was a great read from the gore to the science. Though it seemed to drag on at one part, it made up for it in the end. Definitely one of the most creative books I've read in a long time.

Everyone I know pretty much hated this book, but I LOVE it! It goes along with my theory that anyone can revert to an animalistic behavior when in certain situations. While I hate overly symbolic stories, I didn't mind it in this one.

Yet another one that I enjoyed that others hated. To this day, I feel sympathetic for Miss Havisham.

While I didn't like it as much as the movie (I mean with the whole amputation scene?! C'MON!), I did like the book. I actually read it while on a camping trip in Colorado and the whole isolation really helped with the atmosphere of the book. Smith writes in a simple way, which makes it hard to read because it feels like it is being told by a child, but he makes up for it in the originality of the situation. I'll give it a 3.5/5.

This was another book suggested by my dad. I have been hooked on Barker every since! Just creepy, creepy writing. Barker, in my opinion, is the king of gore.

I thought this book was going to be stupid, but I ended up really liking it. I have read more of the series, and each book deepens my admiration of the unique story line and writing.

I can say, without any hesitation on my part, that Kim Harrison is my favorite female author. She has the ability to add steamy romance, awe-inspiring fantasy, and graphic gore far better than most I have read. Rachel Morgan is a fun character with as many flaws as any one in real life, making her a believable and likeable character.
It isn't just this one that I enjoy, but the whole Hollows series.

Clive Barker delivers another series of creepy short stories!

I thought that is was going to be boring, but I really enjoyed it. I am curious to see how this gets turned into a movie.

Note: Brad Pitt is in it. Yech.

Every zombie fan has a copy of this and every zombie fan mentions it at least ones a day. George Romero may the King of Zombies, but I think that Max Brooks should be the royal advisor.

It may be a children's book series, but I liked it. There were a couple parts that made me laugh out loud (for instance, the "undragoned" comment). Really good. Again, it may be a children's book, but Lewis' writing in this book is better than a certain American series that has teenagers all up in a knot.

Stephen King is one of the few people in the world who could take the simplest thing and make it horrifying. I respect him immensely as an author.

Read above.

I believe this was one of my first novels that I read by King and I have read it multiple times since. It was interesting to see the main character as a child when this was such a mature story, but King pulled it off. Love it.

My, oh my.
Very seldom do you come across an author so brilliant that their words leave goosebumps your arm, and Mr. Richard Matheson is one of those authors! He writes so flawlessly, he almost makes it look like the easiest thing! Every single short story had me totally and utterly hypnotized and I couldn't turn the page faster.
One certain short story is 'I am Legend'. I had, once again, seen the movie before reading it and if someone were to ask me which I would prefer, I honestly couldn't tell you. Matheson's version was so unique and dark that Hollywood couldn't exactly duplicate it. They had to change it. Hollywood's involved more action; Matheson's was just plain genius!
Usually, I like most things that Stephen King suggests, but this interest for Richard Matheson goes well beyond 'liking'. Matheson is the type of author that deserves admiration and respect. No author has ever made me fear the shadows in my room. Until Matheson

Yes, yes. Another teen book, but I love the idea. It is one of the few teen books that I would own and read again.

Geez, did I love this book! I even went out and bought the movie too! It is such a sad tale, and the reader really feels for Gatsby.

I confess, I haven't read "Return of the King" yet, but I will get there. Tolkien was a creative genius. Don't deny that. He has so much originality in his story that it makes me wonder why he doesn't get even more acknowledgment.

Definitely a creepy one. Peretti is one of the few Christian authors who goes into the darker writing, and this book isn't any different (I am especially reminded of the scene where the main character sneaks into the villain's home and sees atrocious things). He is an inspiration.

Wow. The last sentence in this story made me get goosebumps. Richard Bachman, AKA Stephen King, is just brilliant. Read it. Now.

This was the first thing I read by Stephen King. I remember. I finished "The Mist" on a night when there was a heavy sheet of fog around my street and my cousin was trying to scare it. I wasn't scared, but I was a little paranoid. If an author can make you do that, then the author has power over you.

My sister thought it was boring; I thought it was brilliant! A bit of a big book, it made up for it. It didn't even feel like a long read because it had so much action and intensity. Loved it.

I had to read this in my Western Civilization last semester and thought it was going to be a boring read. But it wasn't. A lot of it seemed sort of funny to me, but it was all packed with crazy situations. I am now trying to force my 17 year old sister to read it.

I LOVED this story! Another story I read in college (a Western Civilization class and a mythology class), I now keep a copy because I know I will want to read it again. It has an interesting lesson that is a bit dark, but kind of true. It is sad, though, that last year was the first time I had ever even heard of it.

I didn't read this story when everyone was in the "Left Behind" craze and, after reading the first book, I almost regret it. Now, no one quite remembers it enough for me to have a discussion about it. However, I enjoyed i and am looking forward to finishing the series.

My older sister suggested this one. And I loved it. One doesn't have to be a gamer to understand it because the author clearly describes and explains everything.

Leave it to Mr. Stephen King to take a popular topic and twist it into something new entirely. 'Cell' was an absolutely delight, from the perfectly described gore to the teary-eyed heartbreak. Sadly enough, I can honestly confess that I really did not want to use my phone after I finished this novel!
King has always had the ability to describe believable chaos and show the truth about human mentality when in tragic conditions. The characters were easy to bond to and their desires and tears made the reader feel for them. Of course, he also ends it with even more questions than when he starts off, but is that not the charm of Mr. King? (Granted they are not DIRE questions. Just questions on what happened next, much like his story 'The Mist'.)
In the end, this book was just more proof that King is a one in a million writer! Well done!