Staying at home is wearing thin. Thankfully I have amateur radio that can extend my reach to others and provide interesting technical challenges.
I also have great authors and their books that can entertain, educate, and expand my horizons. That’s what I’ve been doing during this stay-at-home time. Of course, that’s what I’ve been doing over my entire life.
I grew up in a home with book-filled shelves and stacks of books piled around chairs and couches. I also came of age during the era of book clubs. One of my early Christmas presents was a subscription to a monthly book club. Those books introduced me to so many aspects of traveling the world, technology, and human endeavors.
Of course, I didn’t think that any of this was out of the ordinary. Until my brother remarked that when he visited his friends’ homes around the neighborhood he always asked them where they kept their books as they seemed to be hidden.
Today isn’t much different. Instead of stacks of books, although we have plenty on shelves and stored in boxes, I have a subscription to Scribd, where I can read any of a million books on my tablet, phone, or computer. Amazon’s Kindle offers a similar subscription service.
With this post I thought I’d share some of my favorite authors. Those I’ve been reading during this time as well as many that I’ve been reading for decades.
Historical Fiction
This is easily my favorite genre. I love to read about history but it is hard for any author to really bring it to life. Historical fiction adds the conversations and personalities that often go missing in historical narratives. Although I also greatly appreciate creative nonfiction that does bring things to life — see my list of authors in that genre below.
- Lew Wallace — can anyone top Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ or The Prince of India: Why Constantinople Fell as great works of literature?
- Mark Helprin — his writing is absolutely marvelous. A Soldier of the Great War as well as Refiner’s Fire plus his short stories are fabulous. I just finished In Sunlight and In Shadow and was haunted by the story for days afterward. Plus, his writing and phrasing is sublime.
- Neville Shute — Perhaps his most famous book is On The Beach, made into a 1959 movie. But I really enjoy all that I’ve read so far including: Pied Piper, Most Secret, A Town Like Alice, Requiem for a Wren, and Trustee from the Toolroom.
- Taylor Caldwell — I recently discovered her and the broad range of literature she produced over her career. I started out with The Great Lion of God, about St. Paul, and went on to I, Judas. These Biblical stories are very rich with detail on life at that time as well as all the people from the Bible. I’ve gone on to enjoy many of her other novels.
- Patrick O’Brian — I’ve read his twenty Aubrey-Maturin sea novels about the Napoleonic Wars several times. They are absolutely fascinating and so entertaining. I highly recommend them, but don’t blame me if you become addicted.
Science Fiction
I claim that Lewis & Clarke brought me into this genre and they remain among my favorite authors. But Poul Anderson and his son-in-law Greg Bear also provide some superb stories.
- Arthur C. Clarke — Childhood’s End and Rendezvous with Rama are some favorites. I also like his novel Glide Path about his experiences in WW II working on radar. I’ve also read all his other stories. Highlights are his 2001: Space Odyssey and others in that series.
- Poul Anderson — He has a huge body of work from science fiction to fantasy. I enjoy both and I particularly like his libertarian slant. My favorites include the Harvest of Stars series, Tau Zero, There Will Be Time, The Boat of a Million Years, and the King of Ys series.
- Greg Bear — He’s called a hard science fiction author due to the technical detail in his stories. This certainly appeals to me. A few that I’ve read include The Forge of God, Anvil of Stars, Infinity Concerto, and Serpent Mage.
- C.S. Lewis — I greatly value C.S. Lewis’s writing from the Narnia Chronicles to Christian apologetics. But don’t overlook his Space Trilogy which is very entertaining.
History
My reading of history relies on first person stories along with a few superb creative nonfiction writers — all of whom bring the stories to life.
- U.S. Grant — The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant is an absolutely crowning achievement from one of our nation’s greatest public servants and heroes. That he completed it on his deathbed in order to provide an income to his family after his death sums up this great man.
- Winston Churchill — I can’t count the number of books of his that I’ve read over the years. The Second World War and A History of the English-Speaking Peoples are wonderful reads.
- Eric Metaxas — He is a paragon of the creative nonfiction genre, bringing to life the characters and the historical times in which they lived. My favorites include Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World.
- Tilar Mazzeo — I’ve read Irena’s Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto. I hope to read more of her books. I’ve also taken her online course Writing Creative Nonfiction from the Great Courses.
Many, Many Others
There are so many other authors who I really enjoy. They range from the famous to the obscure and include: Zane Grey, Larry McMurtry, John Buchan, P.G. Wodehouse, Noelene Jenkinson, Thornton Wilder, along with a wide range of merchant seaman personal stories about tramp steamers and the U-Boat wars.
I hope this post has prompted a few readers to look at some new authors or revisit those they’ve encountered in the past.
Stay well. Stay at home. Enjoy your time there with a good book and perhaps a tumbler of spirits or coffee ready at your hand.
