I went through a Michael Crichton phase a while back. Loved his stuff. I read Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Congo, A Case of Need, The Great Train Robbery, The Terminal Man, Eaters of the Dead and I’m pretty sure I read Disclosure as well.
Of those, I’d say that A Case of Need was my favorite, followed by Sphere, Rising Sun and Jurassic Park. Eaters of the Dead was also really good, especially if you like Beowulf, as I believe it’s directly inspired by it, if I’m not mistaken.
But yeah, A Case of Need was top notch and Sphere was amazing. He was an awesome writer, for sure.
I’ve also read the Song of Ice and Fire books up through A Dance with Dragons recently. George R.R. Martin’s writing style, to me, is phenomenal. Some of the best writing I’ve ever read and one of the most thoroughly realized worlds I’ve ever had the pleasure to dive in to through five books. If you love the Game of Thrones TV show, I can’t recommend the books enough!
Other stuff:
Snow Wolf - By Glen Meade: Probably my all time favorite book. Just a great suspense novel.
The Branch Will Not Break - By James Wright. My favorite poetry collection. It’s postmodern with an almost naturalistic or even ethereal mixture of Emerson.
The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes - By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I LOVE a good mystery. These are some of the best.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - By Neil Gaiman. A shorter read, but enjoyable. A nice sort of otherworldly story, kinda like a modern-ish fairy tale that might get me in to reading more by him. Good stuff.
I’ve also listened to some good books on tape recently. Love to do that in the car. Keeps me calm while driving to and from work.
Ready Player One - By Ernest Cline. A lot of what the story references tend to be a little before my time, but it’s still a great story that I’d recommend to any gamer, any fan of 80’s pop culture or just anyone looking for a fun read.
“Cuckoo’s Calling” and “The Silkworm” by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling. Again, love a good mystery, and Rowling does a great job with her two main characters and the mysteries in each book. Definitely psyched for the third book, which comes out October 20th and the upcoming BBC series for the Cormoran Strike (the main character) mysteries.