Who is your favorite "comfort read" author?
dcher - Springfield, Illinois
That's easy, Janet Evanovich. Good, enjoyable, mindless reading. I reread her books all the time.
GAPCH3301@aol.com
Danielle Steel
theblackmores@comcast.net
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Falcray@aol.com
Clive Cusler
cdonovan@peoplepc.com
Maeve Binchy
hgdavis@rcn.com
Ruth Rendell
MoonChildOrange@aol.com
Richard Wright
WHITSN@aol.com
Jan Karon
StabyBaby@aol.com
Andrew Greeley or Diane Mott Davidson --- they can take me away from anything!
BDORM@aol.com
Laurell K. Hamilton
sonia.chopra@worldnet.att.net
Anita Shreve
heidicarter@cox.net
Ian Rankin
sarah@centeredpath.com
My favorite comfort read is any book from the classic "cozy" British mystery novels of the 1930s and 40s --- especially those by Ngaio Marsh and Agatha Christie. I've read them all at least 10 times while drinking copious cups of "strong, hot, sweet tea" of course, which I always seem to crave while reading these particular books.
Butterfly4Shelly@aol.com
Jan Karon
Rickimc@aol.com
V. C. Andrews
stoneyred@comcast.net
I have two favorite "comfort" authors: Janet Evanovich and Lillian Jackson Braun. Their books just make you feel nice and they are nice escapes from our everyday lives. For a romantic "comfort," I love Rosemary Rogers or Kathleen Woodiwiss.
ponpli13@cox.net
Dan Brown
Bookcollector2@aol.com
Sara Donati, author Into the Wilderness.
charris@pctelecom.us
J. A. Jance
johnsmit@tiscali.nl
John le Carré
cmlanphere@JoiMail.com
Philip Gulley
stone01@cox.net
I don't have a favorite comfort read author. For me a comfort read would involve a series that I would be reading at the time. I am always finding new authors to read and am always catching up by reading the books that came before their latest release.
mtsantoro@enter.net
In the past year I have fallen prey to the charms of Janet Evanovich. Her writing/books are not just easy to read; they are fun, witty, smart and sassy. She pulls you in with a great storyline and keeps you coming back with more great Stephanie adventures, Grandma Mazur, Joe Morelli and all the other great characters and mishaps. One of the best authors I always feared reading. Now I'm hooked and looking for more.
FtLicky@aol.com
I think that my favorite comfort read author would have to be Rita Mae Brown, as I love heading down to the quaint town of Crozet, Virginia with Mrs. Murphy whenever I'm feeling under the weather.
GandmaRI@aol.com
Jack Higgins, Clive Cussler, Kay Hooper, Nevada Barr, Robert Ludlum
TerraComs@aol.com
James Lee Burke and/or Elizabeth George
markat1996@msn.com
John Grisham
Vikkivand@aol.com
Nicholas Sparks
sharon.mostyn@brennanresponse.com
My comfort genre is Romance, and my favorite "comfort read" authors are
Diana Palmer and Nora Roberts.
Lmcm2108@aol.com
For me, this would be Danielle Steel. Her books, IMO, don't require much concentration or flipping back to see who's who, etc. In fact, I like to listen to her books on CD while commuting to/from work.
Runners-up would be John Grisham, Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, Brad Meltzer, Jackie Collins, James Patterson, Harlan Coben and Patricia Cornwell.
REWren@aol.com
My favorite "comfort" read author is Nancy Atherton, followed closely by M.C. Beaton and Lilian Jackson Braun.
chico1204@aol.com
I love to read James Patterson as his books are always quick page-turners and exciting. I also love Ruth Rendell's mysteries as she is so deft with her psychological mysteries and especially in fleshing out her characters! She has a way with words and also loves to keep you guessing the outcome of her stories.
KLOZIER40@aol.com
Tracy Chevalier
jennjett@juno.com
Mary Higgins Clark
ckkitsy@adelphia.net
I have several comfort authors but my favorites are Anne Tyler, Maeve Binchy and Sue Grafton. Any of these makes me feel better.
Pigletstl@aol.com
My favorite comfort read authors are Lorna Landvik, Elizabeth Berg and Chris Bohjalian. The first two ladies write funny and heartwarming stories to which I find it easy to relate. They write simply and directly. Mr. Bohjalian writes heartwarming stories that are a little more thought-provoking than the first two, but touching and often times funny as well.
joyceaurba@mac.com
Robert B. Parker and Janet Evanovich. They are easy and entertaining reads.
WHampton@aol.com
Janet Evanovich
jscady@efieldguide.com
Nora Roberts
AMYASL100@aol.com
Mary Higgins Clark. I have read her since I was about 17 years old and have read all her books.
JBookperson@aol.com
My favorite comfort read is Dorothy Cannell's work. Funny, homey books with love.
SBradf9494@aol.com
Victoria Holt. When all the news on TV is bad and I am tired of my usual too-much-reality nonfiction, I sink back into a lovely, romantic/mystery by Victoria.
kwmallet@sympatico.ca
Colleen McCullough --- her stories are big and juicy and cuddle-under-the-covers reads.
Ackurtenbach@aol.com
When I am feeling under the weather, anything by Jan Karon cheers me right up! I also like to read Anne Tyler. I just finishedAn Amateur Marriage while fighting off a nasty cold!
djspoon@comcast.net
Michael Connelly, Lee Gruenfeld, D.W. Buffa, John Grisham, Michael Hawley, John Martel, David Rosenfelt, William Tapply, Gallatin Warfield.
Connelly is #1, the rest can be in any order. They're all excellent.
debbie1959@worldnet.att.net
Marianna, who wrote Sicilian Sisters: Women in La Famiglia. The book was better than watching The Sopranos on TV. I couldn't put the book down, it was full of suspense.
madcowgotme@yahoo.com
My favorite "comfort author" is Danielle Steel! She is so awesome ... I love how her characters sort of leap out of the book and into the real world!
PKeith9214@aol.com
Brenda Jackson
CfromSD@aol.com
Rosamunde Pilcher
LABASSIST@aol.com
Danielle Steel and Sandra Brown are my favorite comfort read authors. I also enjoy their books. I can curl up in my favorite chair with my cat in my lap, something nearby to munch on and settle in for hours of reading. Each lady has a wonderful style of writing and the words just flow over each other and the pages turn on, inviting me into the world of the characters and the story. I am lost in a romance or a mystery and enjoy those hours.
baxtergr@msn.com
My favorite comfort read author is Joan Medlicott. I've read all of her books published to date, so I hope she comes out with another before I need "comforting" again.
steve@a-parsons.freeserve.co.uk
Richard Laymon is definitely the author for me. He has a style unsurpassed by anybody else. I highly recommend him.
Broadwaybabe62@aol.com
Wow, for me it's a list of great psychological thriller authors. I can read a book by James Patterson in a couple of days or sooner, Jonathan Kellerman and his wife Faye Kellerman are also up there for me, as is John Sandford. And if I am in the mood for a legal drama then I love Steve Martini --- I'd take him over John Grisham any day. These are my comfort zone authors. In the Romance department it is and has been for a long, long time, Bertrice Small and in the Other department. E. Lynn Harris has always made me laugh and cry, and I always look forward to his books. In the horror genre I only read Anne Rice.
CLAIRE120@aol.com
Linda Howard (her older ones like Mackenzie's)
Julie Garwood (her older ones)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
I think all of these authors went downhill when they got hardcover deals or went outside the genre that made them.
Smartboo@aol.com
I would have to say that this is a toss up between Janet Evanovich, Nicholas Sparks and Diane Mott Davidson.
fezabel@comcast.net
My favorite comfort read author is Janet Evanovich, followed closely by Jennifer Crusie. These ladies both deliver a great getaway that is hilarious and brings me out of whatever is happening. I love them!
justme@xmission.com
Elizabeth Berg --- she writes about REAL LIFE STUFF and it's very comforting to read about things that do really happen to most of us.
JBrancke@aol.com
My favorite "comfort read" author is Joe LaRocca (Alaska Agonistes). He has a great vocabulary, a great way with words and knows the English Language. This is his first book, but it is a really well-written book and tells about the Alaska Oil Industry and Pipeline. Very informative. Not an easy read but you will learn much from this book.
Moosewj@aol.com
J. California Cooper
lslott@optonline.net
Mary Higgins Clark
Autummmn@wmconnect.com
Western romance by Diana Palmer.
Wendybrooks10@aol.com
My favorite author to curl up with is Carola Dunn.
sheilaag1935@earthlink.net
Janet Evanovich. Her Stephanie Plum books are so funny. I can hear the voices and picture the characters. I like other mysteries but they are usually too intense when I feel stressed.
VonRanke@aol.com
St. Francis de Sales
Josephine Anna Kaszuba Locke
Without doubt, the indomitable Maya Angelou, author and "pioneer" to equality, from the heart, spirit and soul, with gentleness and warmth.
EZREADER1265@aol.com
I have a collection of Agatha Christie that I keep for those days when you just need a good read...
barleykw@appstate.edu
Anne Rivers Siddons
mnr@atlantic.net
My favorite "comfort read" author is James Lee Burke. I feel so comfortable among his characters, especially his characters in the Dave Robicheaux series. Dave's wife and daughter add depth to the story by showing the domestic side to his life.
Any time I pick up one of Burke's novels I know I'm in for a good read with interesting, three-dimensional characters. I've never been disappointed.
kmvr@mikrotec.com
My favorite comfort read author is Elizabeth Berg. I love that woman!
SUETRAVEL@aol.com
My favorite comfort author is Barbara Taylor Bradford. I love her multigenerational novels that span lifetimes. Her writing is always written in the genre of the times; her characters are multifaceted. I've been reading her for years knowing that each time I pick up one of her books I will enjoy it totally!
blosskl@lisd.net
Mary Higgins Clark, Dorthea Benton Frank, and Ken Gire in inspirational genre.
ns@neale-sourna.com
Diana Gabaldon
BHusse@LSUHSC.EDU
Nancy Atherton
alyce@erdtsieck.com
Ken Follett
prwamsley@adelphia.net
I like Lillian Jackson Braun, who writes The Cat Who series. These are quick reads and very entertaining books, but they don't require a lot of brain power. They are stories about a man who has two Siamese cats and one of them helps him solve mysteries.
MDwyer207@aol.com
Any book by Elizabeth Berg is a favorite "comfort food" read: True to Form, Ordinary Life, Never Change, What We Keep, Say When. I could go on. They are all magnificent!
Ginnylazar@aol.com
Interesting question. I never thought of an author being a "comfort" read and I'm not sure what that really means. Janet Evanovich makes me laugh, and Maeve Binchy shows me real people who I can recognize.
Webgaw@aol.com
My favorite comfort read author is the same as my all-around favorite author: Debbie Macomber.
merlene_blacha@sympatico.ca
Janet Evanovich
CATARMBRUS@aol.com
Without a doubt, it is Robert Parker's Spenser series. I love the characters' interaction and the carryover from book to book. I was so excited to read Bad Business but so sad to finish it.
RaeCrocker@aol.com
Patricia Cornwell
cassndlibrary@casselton.net
My favorite "comfort author" is Lillian Jackson Braun. Good Stories, good believable characters, good plots without a lot of twists. If the plot is good you don't need a lot of twists and red herrings. Good description of the area and various buildings, etc. In my minds eye, I can see the barn/house, and the cats are super. Especially Koko. We've always had cats, and though none have been as talented as these two, they've been pretty darn smart. Ms. Braun captures the personalities of the people as well as the cats very well, and keeps the characters the same from book to book.
Skidmom2@aol.com
Janet Evanovich
Susmu@aol.com
Without question, it's John Grisham.
firsterie@adelphia.net
I thoroughly enjoy the Marcus Didius Falco mysteries of Lindsey Davis. If I am in a romance frame of mind, no one writes better than Mary Jo Putney!
ALSOSALLY@aol.com
Anita Shreve, Alice Hoffman and Barbara Kingsolver
roxannemoore@wyoming.com
Julie Garwood
MabelJane14@aol.com
My comfort read author would have to be Meg Cabot. I think she is awesome! In one book you get mystery, romance, thriller and a lot more! I also like reading Stephen King! He takes things that normally would not be scary and makes them so monstrous, I can't put the book down! Another one of my faves is Jennifer Crusie. She is my all-time Chick Lit author.
alyce.poalillo@jpmorgan.com
Lillian Jackson Braun and "The Cat Who" series --- they are quick reads with a story that holds your attention but does not require a lot of brain power. And of course it helps that I love cats!
alacombe@belfastlibrary.org
Nicholas Sparks
CluLess220@aol.com
It's so hard to choose just one! I really like Lisa Gardner, Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham, and the list goes on and on. If I could only read books by one author I would have to pick Janet Evanovich. I can't wait to see what Stephanie, Luua and the gang are up to next.
KMishkin@aol.com
Keith Ablow. His characters are so twisted and disturbed they actually help me feel better about myself, because I'm not that badly off.
wmf38@rconnect.com
Kristin Hannah
drwriterguy@netscape.net
Garrison Flint, author of the Raymond Masters Mysteries (Family of Man Press)
AElsworth@aol.com
Anne McCaffrey. I am a lover of fantasy --- and that is my comfort. I also like it when alllll else fails!!!!
heavylenny@adelphia.net
James Lee Burke and Jack Higgins
lfaus@wi.rr.com
My favorite "comfort" read is Kris Radish, author of An Elegant Gathering of White Snows.
catfish@millardmanor.com
I like Joan Chittister, OSB and Kathleen Norris for books on spirituality. Billy Collins for poetry. Patricia Cornwell for escapist blood and gore.
Markandel@aol.com
Norman Mailer
FalseMillennium@aol.com
My favorite comfort read author is Nancy Mitford --- Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Happiness.
msimon@nj.rr.com
Jane Isenberg
CharBook@aol.com
Walter Dean Myers or Jacqueline Woodson.
Sandn2shoes@aol.com
This is hard...just one "comfort read" author? Those who come to mind are Barbara Delinsky, James Patterson and John Grisham. Of course, I am always open to a new author or genre during the time that I need comfort!
PtrHvrfld@aol.com
Robert B. Parker
JBrown2511@aol.com
Elizabeth Berg
couponqueen@earthlink.net
My favorite "comfort read" author is Fern Michaels. Since discovering her in 1998 I have devoured every book I've read by her, with the latest being Crown Jewel. Each and every book by this woman has truly believable characters.
rmadson@peoplepc.com
Loren Estleman
thenson@mit.midco.net
Surprisingly my favorite "comfort read" author writes children's books: John R. Erickson, the author of the Hank the Cowdog books. They are humorous and entertaining for all ages, and takes my mind away from my troubles.
charris@pctelecom.us
J. A. Jance
DStegmanCrawford@aol.com
My favorite "comfort author" is J.D. Robb and the Eve Dallas series. If I can't have that, then give me a medical thriller by Cook, Palmer, Hunter, Goldberg...
Josephine Anna Kaszuba Locke
Sara Paretsky
Jewelry224@aol.com
J.A. Jance and Patricia Cornwell are the authors I read when in need of comfort.
FRANCES732@aol.com
Stuart Kaminsky's Toby Peters Mysteries. Toby will always keep you laughing while leaving you in suspense. Kaminsky captures the humor that made film characters of the 30s and 40s unforgettable. When reading Kaminsky you think of Nick and Nora Charles, Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe all wrapped up in one character.
julie5@bellsouth.net
Phyllis Whitney
cherry67@ptdprolog.net
One of my favorite "comfort" read authors is Robin Hobb. This author is able to create new worlds and characters that are just riveting. Her series "Liveship Traders" was one of the most original works that I have read in a number of years. Now on toFool's Fate...
ELsong@aol.com
Pat Conroy (with Anne Rivers Siddons, Terry Kay and Clyde Edgerton close behind)
lindaharriet@hotmail.com
Elizabeth Berg --- she has such an easygoing style and I relate to the characters.
Angelface3668@aol.com
Nicholas Sparks
PTOHawk@aol.com
Jayne Ann Krentz
urfamily@comcast.net
My favorite "comfort read" author is Maggie Shayne. I love her writings, and especially enjoyed The Gingerbread Man.
Pooki93226@aol.com
My favorite comfort read author is Maive Binchy. She makes it easy to snuggle into a couch or comfortable chair and not want to get up until the last page is turned.
Eluizzi@aol.com
Definitely J.K. Rowling, because she's the writer who takes you the farthest away from your own circumstances, including troubles and misfortune.
INKPENBEN@aol.com
While I love a good political thriller and tomes by Michener, etc., Maeve Binchy writes great stories about people with whom it's easy to identify. She can't be beat as a "comfort" story author!
BillfrmStL@aol.com
James Herriot, All Creatures Great and Small
smleonetti@yahoo.com
Jude Deveraux
VickyRD@aol.com
I would say I have two female authors and one male: Jodi Picoult, Faye Kellerman and John Grisham.
Kahoho@aol.com
Jan Karon, author of the Mitford series of books. I have read all that have been published and am reading them for a second time --- currently on the third in the series.
MountainKalmia@aol.com
My favorite authors are Patricia Cornwell and Elizabeth George.
LindaKLankford@aol.com
Janet Evanovich
pnichols@woodruffelectric.com
Fannie Flagg, Amy Tan, Anne Tyler, Ann B.Ross, Dorothea Benton Franks.
nct49@cox.net
Jan Karon, for the Mitford series of books is by far my most comforting read.
Melonyfawn@aol.com
Sharyn McCrumb to seriously lose myself --- otherwise, M.C. Beaton for a lighthearted mood enhancer.
Whitmandream@aol.com
Pete Hamill
NRNMG@aol.com
Earlene Fowler
cbaxter@charter.net
Miss Read, an oldie.
gkev@intergate.com
Janet Evanovich
Sheila5199@aol.com
Robert Parker. There's something so comforting about the predictability in his books: the triumph of good over evil, the chivalry of the hero, the enduring love between Spenser and Susan, the enduring friendship between Spenser and Hawk, etc., etc. My favorite read.
