Robert Jordan's favorite reads

[Isahn]

Hey guys,

Wasn't very sure which forum to post this in..so.....I was just wondering if Robert Jordan ever talked about authors that he liked to read.

Surely at some point over the years, the man had to take a little vacation from Randland for a little R and R. And going a little off topic, what are a few of your favorite authors?

 

 

personal favorites...Kurt Vonnegut(spelling)

William S Burroughs

C.S. Lewis

Tolkien

Gene Wolfe

 

Thanks for any feedback

[Kadere]

Question

Who if any are Mr. Jordan's favorite authors?

 

 

 

RJordan2

 

Tad Williams, Robert Holdstock, Ray Feist, Janny Wurts, C. S. Friedman, Barry...Hughart, and we'll cut it off there before it gets too long.

 

Tom Knudsen

Much of your work reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien and David Eddings in scope and character development. My question is, who are YOUR favorite authors and why? go

 

 

 

Robert Jordan

 

Mark Twain, followed by Charles Dickens and Jane Austin, because they're _good_.

 

Sat

My question has 3 parts First off, the scope of your work outstrips many of todays other authors, and has

 

spoiled me!. 1. Do you recommend any other authors? and who Are you planning any tours in Canada When is LOC avail in Canada. GA

 

 

 

Robert Jordan

 

. Ray Feist, Janny Wurts, C. S. Friedman, Robert Holdstock, Tad Williams Barry Hughart the problem is that there are a lot of people I like, and these are just the first names that come to mind.Daniel Seldow-Ray Feist is cool

 

Question: Any suggestions for authors/books to keep us busy

 

while we wait for Book 8?

 

 

 

 

 

JordanRobt: Yes. Terry Pratchett, Ray Feist, C.S. Freidman,

 

Barry Hughart, Robert Holdstock, Guy Gabriel Kay, and of course

 

there's George R. R. Martin's new book. You ought to go back and

 

read anything by John M. Ford that you can get your hands on.

 

Jennifer from Barnes & Noble.com: On behalf of a promotion that Barnes & Noble.com is conducting, I'd like to ask: what are your favorite books, and why?

 

 

RJ: I can't give favorite books, but I can give my favorite authors: John D. McDonal, Jane Austen, Robert Heinlein, Louis L'Amour, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain.

 

2. This must be a clichéd and obligatory question by now, but: Do you keep up with what other authors in the genre are putting out, or do you tend to read material from outside of the genre on your own time? Are there any other authors that you are particularly fond of at the moment?

 

I read both inside the field and outside. Inside, I’ll snap up anything by John M. Ford, Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, John Varley, Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Jacqueline Carey, Lois Bujold…. Whew! The list is getting long, isn’t it? Suffice it to say that I read a lot of writers.

[Terez]

I see in preview that Kadere beat me to it. But I think I got more quotes.

Robert Jordan's blog 4 October 2005 - 'ONE MORE TIME'

 

For Deadsy, the last book I completed was Walter Mosley’s Cinnamon Kiss. I just started Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys.

Tor Questions of the Week, February 1st, 2005 - July 19th, 2005

 

Week 17 Question: You have said before that you write High Fantasy and not Sword and Sorcery Fantasy. What do you feel the future holds for those of us who are so in love with High Fantasy? Do you consider your next works to be High Fantasy? Who else do you consider as writing High Fantasy?

Robert Jordan Answers: If I knew what the future held, I would make a fortune on the stock market, but my next works - tentatively titled Infinity of Heaven - will definitely be High Fantasy. At least, I think so. Others may disagree. That is the slippery difficulty with sub-genres. Everybody has an opinion, and those sometimes differ. As a short - not at all attempting to be all-inclusive and in no particular order -- list of who writes High Fantasy in my opinion: Robin Hobb, Jacqueline Carey, Robert Holdstock, Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, George R.R. Martin, Tad Williams, J.V. Jones…. Wow, this list is getting long. But I'll add one more. When John M. Ford finishes Aspects - he's let me read some excerpts -- I think you'll call it High Fantasy. Then again, he may disagree. There's that difficulty again.

USA Today Interview 6 January 2004

 

Laurel, MS: What is your favorite book(s) outside of WOT?

RJ: It would be very hard to point at one. My all-time favorite authors are Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, John D. MacDonald, Louis L'Amour and Robert Heinlein. And as far as people writing at the moment, I will buy any book written by John M. Ford, Neal Stephenson, Robert Holstock ... there's a long list of people I will snatch up a book when I realize it's something of theirs I haven't read yet.

Crossroads of Twilight eBook "Glimmers" Interview 2002

Q: What other authors have most influenced your work?

RJ: Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Robert Heinlein, John D. McDonald and Louis L’Amour.

Amazon.com Interview 2002

 

Q: What kind of books do you like to read while working?

RJ: If something doesn't appeal to me, it goes away. If it doesn't turn out to be as good as I thought it was, it goes away. I don't have time to read books through when they no longer measure up. But everything... mysteries, Westerns, science fiction, nonfiction of all sorts. I've been recommending Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel to everyone, and I'm reading a James Patterson mystery right now, and getting ready to read Patrick O'Brian's The Hundred Days... Hornblower meets Jane Austen. Sometimes I'll just dig out one of the old Jane Austen or Charles Dickens books and read that, because I love those books. Or John D. MacDonald. My favorite authors are Robert Heinlein, John D. MacDonald, Louis L'Amour, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain. These are the people I can pick up and read any time. And you have to throw Montaigne in there as well, but essays are a different sort of thing.

Netherlands tour 5 April 2001, Amsterdam - Aan'allein reporting

 

He again mentioned the list of writers: Holdstock, Powers, Ford, Friedman, Jones.

 

He likes George R.R. Martin's books, gave him a quote for his first book.

Elf Fantasy Fair 8 April 2001 - Aan'allein reporting

 

Q: A question about influences in his writing...

RJ: When I started writing I did not think of anybody as being an influence or an inspiration, in any way. There were simply stories I wanted to tell. Long before the Wheel of Time. I now believe I can see writers among my favorite writers, having certain influences on me, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, John D. MacDonald, Lewis L'Amour. They certainly influenced me, but again not inspiration.

New Zealand Email Interview March 2000

 

Q: Have any writers influenced you?

RJ: Yes, I think so. I believe that the major influences on my writing are Jane Austen, John D. MacDonald, Mark Twain, Louis L’Amour and Charles Dickens.

Q: Do you read fantasy yourself: and are you aware of the other fantasy writers out there?

RJ: Yes, I do. If anyone is looking, I suggest, in no particular order, John M. Ford, Isabelle Allende, Guy Gavriel Kay, C.S.Freidman, Barry Hughart, A.S.Byatt, Robert Holdstock, Tim Powers, Terry Pratchett, and George R.R.Martin. There really are too many excellent writers to list them all, or even come close, but these names are a start.

MSN eFriends Interview 11 November 1998

 

jude74_ says: Who is your favorite author in any writing field?

 

RJ: Jude: I'll have to give 6. John D. MacDonald, Jane Austen, Louis L'Amour, Charles Dickens, Robert Heinlein, Mark Twain. And I also like the essays of Montaigne, a lot. Sorry they're all dead guys, but I don't read contemporary stuff! You asked for favs....

Amazon.com Interview 6 November 1998

 

Q: What kind of books do you like to read while working?

RJ: If something doesn't appeal to me, it goes away. If it doesn't turn out to be as good as I thought it was, it goes away. I don't have time to read books through when they no longer measure up. But everything mysteries, Westerns, science fiction, nonfiction of all sorts. I've been recommending Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel to everyone, and I'm reading a James Patterson mystery right now, and getting ready to read Patrick O'Brian's The Hundred Days Hornblower meets Jane Austen. Sometimes I'll just dig out one of the old Jane Austen or Charles Dickens books and read that, because I love those books. Or John D. MacDonald. My favorite authors are Robert Heinlein, John D. MacDonald, Louis L'Amour, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain. These are the people I can pick up and read any time. And you have to throw Montaigne in there as well, but essays are a different sort of thing.

Barnes and Noble Chat 11 November 1997

 

Sisay from Frostburg, MD: Rumor has it that you read 400+ books a year. Is this true? What kind of books do you read? Any recommendations (besides re-reading WoT!!) while we're waiting for Path of Daggers?

RJ: I don't manage to read over 400 books a year now. I'm not certain that I even managed to average a book a day. About half of what I read in nonfiction. Half fiction. And the fiction takes in everything. As for recommendations, I assume you mean in the field, so try John M. Ford, CS Friedman, Guy Gavriel Kay, Terry Pratchett, George R. Martin and a slew of others -- too many to name. You can find them.

AOL Chat October 1996

 

Q: About those historical novels, where do you get the information for those? Personal research?

RJ: Yes, and a personal interest in history.

Q: Any suggestions for authors/books to keep us busy while we wait for Book 8?

RJ: Yes. Terry Pratchett, Ray Feist, C.S. Freidman, Barry Hughart, Robert Holdstock, Guy Gabriel Kay, and of course there's George R. R. Martin's new book. You ought to go back and read anything by John M. Ford that you can get your hands on.

AOL Chat October 1994

 

Question: Who if any are Mr. Jordan's favorite authors?

RJ: Tad Williams, Robert Holdstock, Ray Feist, Janny Wurts, C. S. Friedman, Barry Hughart, and we'll cut it off there before it gets too long.

RJ: I assume the last question meant in the fantasy, because my favorite authors overall are Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen.

Starlog Interview - January 1991

 

When Robert Jordan's parents couldn't find a babysitter, they would utilize the services of his redoubtable older brother, who read to his four-year-old sibling from a rich varied repertoire of Mark Twain, Jules Verne, H.G. Welles and the like.

[Hael Me]

Interesting but not surprising: many great authors tend to read a lot. Always thought Mr Jordan was a big fan of Ernest Hemingway, since the hero of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is called Robert Jordan...

 

Some of my favourite authors:

 

Chuck Palahniuk

John Steinbeck

Cormac McCarthy

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Ian Banks

Tomas Tranströmer

[Feral]

So he has read Terry Pratchett. That's interesting.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

very nice, thank you.

 

i'd say my favorite authors (the ones that don't change, because lots of them lower down on the list change all the time) are austen, dickens, laura ingalls wilder, and terry pratchett. i like twain very much, but he comes in second to the above for me. love gaiman most of the time. and gregory maguire some of the time. and two of three brontes all of the time. and. . . ok, i see why RJ stopped listing. it really goes on forever.

 

 

i'd be surprised if hemingway was on the lists, though.

[Mr Ares]

Interesting but not surprising: many great authors tend to read a lot. Always thought Mr Jordan was a big fan of Ernest Hemingway, since the hero of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is called Robert Jordan...

Coincidence, apparently - RJ said his name was chosen at random.

[Hael Me]

Interesting but not surprising: many great authors tend to read a lot. Always thought Mr Jordan was a big fan of Ernest Hemingway, since the hero of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is called Robert Jordan...

Coincidence, apparently - RJ said his name was chosen at random.

 

Thanks for the info! I was wrong. I thought that the choice of name was deliberate - not that Hemingway and RJ have that much in common as authors, but you never know... You can admire an author without trying to duplicate his or her style of writing.

[Terez]

Interesting but not surprising: many great authors tend to read a lot. Always thought Mr Jordan was a big fan of Ernest Hemingway, since the hero of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is called Robert Jordan...

Coincidence, apparently - RJ said his name was chosen at random.

Not exactly at random - all his pen names involve his actual initials (JOR). Reagan O'Neill, Robert Jordan, and...there was another one. I forget. But he did specifically deny the Hemingway connection. He also said that he enjoyed most of Hemingway's books, but he doesn't consider him an influence.

[Hael Me]

Interesting but not surprising: many great authors tend to read a lot. Always thought Mr Jordan was a big fan of Ernest Hemingway, since the hero of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is called Robert Jordan...

Coincidence, apparently - RJ said his name was chosen at random.

Not exactly at random - all his pen names involve his actual initials (JOR). Reagan O'Neill, Robert Jordan, and...there was another one. I forget. But he did specifically deny the Hemingway connection. He also said that he enjoyed most of Hemingway's books, but he doesn't consider him an influence.

 

Ah, nice, Mr Rigney/Jordan/O'Neill sure did love these little riddles, clues and codes.

 

No, I would say that Hemingway isn't an influence at all. Of course, both authors were fond of the theme of the doomed hero and built stories around that core. But one can find that theme everywhere, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the ancient Greek Drama to Lost on modern day television.