She's great. Her books are generally made into good movies as well. I've read Pride & Prejudice, and seen the movies of the rest. Good plots. Ang Lee did a great movie with Pride and Prejudice. Keira is a knife to the heart.

Kurt Vonnegut - He wrote many great satirical novels that read quickly, but have much depth in their meanings and stories.

Tom Robbins - Well, his more recent works are disappointing to say the least, but everything before and including Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates is outstanding. His plots are bizarre, and many of his characters are rather odd, but in the end, he writes some of the most poetic literature out there. Too bad his poetry plain stinks.

Chuck Palahniuk - Survivor, Fight Club, and some of his earlier works are excellent, but his later works leave much to be desired.

George Orwell was the first author to actually get me interested in reading. I remember reading Animal Farm when I was very young and was just amazed at how he used such symbolism to covey his point. Needless to say 1984 was next on my reading list.

Today my favorite author is Christopher Hitchens, and while some may claim he is a philosopher I consider him more of a writer. I dont only read his god-bashing books but also his articles in Vanity Fair. He is well spoken and very articulate in my opinion.

Cormac McCarthy is another author I have been getting into lately. I really enjoyed both The Road and No Country for Old Men (I have not seen either movie). I really like the style that he uses in both of the books--short, choppy sentences that leave a lot of the interpretation at the hands of the readers rather than the narrator.

He's one of the best!! Blood Meridian is the wickedest novel ever. Child of God is great too. I read the Road but didn't like it as much as the others. The Crossing is good. But Blood Meridian is unforgettable. There's a character in that book like the darkest side of Nietzsche's superman. (the Judge...)

I will have to read some of McCarthy's other works when I get a chance. I was interested in reading Blood Meridian but I had to knock off Old Country so I can finally watch the Coen Brothers' film adaptation.

Orwell is great. 1984 is like nothing else. Hitchens is quite a character. I looked up many of his interviews on youtube once. He's a bulldog. I don't agree with him on many things, but I give him credit for his style.

I would like to add D.H. Lawrence to the list. His novels are great and also his Apocalypse is great.

You beat me to it. That is pretty much exactly word for word what I would have said.

Personally I prefer Lawrence over Henry Miller. Maybe that's a strange comparison but I've always thought of it as a "Do you prefer the Beatles or The Rolling Stones?" type of question.