Henry Rifle Forums

I have a huge collection of western books; fiction, photography, old west history, ranching, cowboy gear old and new, cowboy movies, western art, etc.

One of my favorite authors to read is Will James. Most of his stuff was written in the 1920's and 30's. He was an artist as well and his drawings of bucking horses, ranch life, blizzards, etc jump right off the page. If you never read anything by him, check him out. His most famous book was "Smoky" about a cowhorse and the cowboy who finds him as a colt and takes him in. It was made into a movie as well.

I also was cleaning out some old stuff recently and came across the original Lone Ranger novels (reprints I bought) by Fran Striker, so I may just re-read them this year. First published in the 1930's as well.

Another I like is "The Life and Times of Tom Mix" written by one of his relatives. It has great old photos and tells his life story.

Here's some Will James drawings at his best:

My all time favorite novel is Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove." I have read that book several times over the years. He is not my favorite author- in fact, not even close- as I do not like any other books by him. "Lonesome Dove," however, is a masterpiece.

This one is easy for me. Michael Lewis is my favorite author.

I highly recommend reading some of his books: Boomerang, Flash Boys, The Big Short, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and maybe the best: Liar's Poker.

A few of those have been turned into movies already as you may notice.

I like just about anything by Larry McMurtry or Stephen Ambrose. McMurtry's westerns and the non-fiction of World War II by Ambrose.

Gene Hill – the greatest hunting, fishing and shooting storyteller who ever lived. I'm getting close to having read everything that he ever published, most of it more than once and some many times. When I've read it all, it'll be a sad day knowing there'll be no more of his stuff that's new to me.

I'm currently re-reading the Larry McMurtry series of Lonesome Dove, but I also recently enjoyed reading most of Ralph Compton's series of "Trail" novels. The western cowboy myths and legends are very compelling.

When I first got my Kindle several years ago, I read lots of the free classics and was totally blown away. If you've never read Shelly's Frankenstein, Stoker's Dracula, or any of Jules Verne's or H.G. Wells' novels, do yourself a big favor and read them.

The Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel is an engaging and wonderful story, too. I totally enjoyed them.

My favorite contemporary author is without a doubt, Stephen King. The man can tell a story and has never failed to keep me coming back for more. There are so, so many, but I highly recommend The Green Mile, The Stand, and The Dead Zone. All were made into movies or TV specials, but the books are so much better and I devoured them. I read The Stand twice, the second time it was an unabridged, unedited version which was a real treat.

Finally, my favorite novel of all time has to be Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. I first read it in the sixties and have re-read it several times over the decades and it still stands up even though it was written long before modern technology. Fantastic.

Shelley, Stoker, Wells and Jules Verne...all are great. Have read them all. Favorite King novel was Salem's Lot.

I just got this for Christmas, will start reading it soon,

Go back to Jack London. His portrayal of life in the outdoors is fascinating.

I read so many books by so many different authors that I don't really have a favourite. My favourite book is usually the one I'm reading at the time, which in this case is Beneath The Bleeding by Val McDermid.

I read a lot of Hammond Innes, Stephen King, Wilbur Smith, John Grisham, Mark Twain etc etc etc. I love reading, period!

Deadwood Dutch wrote:I just got this for Christmas, will start reading it soon,

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Yeah, that looks great! I'm going to pick it up when I see it.

One great sports book I read recently was "The Boys in the Boat," about the University of Washington crew team that won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics. My knowledge of (and interest in) crew was pretty much zero before I read it, but it's outstanding.

I actually knew Mario Puzo when I lived in NY. I spent some time at his place in Bay Shore and went out to California with them one summer.

My sister was dating, and eventually married one of his son's. They have since divorced.

But I never read any of his books. I was not into reading, had to do enough for school. I would like to at least read the Godfather and Fortunate Pilgram.

As far as my favorite authors, I have a sister that sends me books. Sometimes they're books she's read, other times books that she thinks I would like.

She has sent me three by Erick Larson. The first was "Isaac's Storm", about the hurricane that wrecked Galviston in 1900.

The second was "The Devil in the White City". It was two parallel stories about the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair and a mass murderer stalking the city.

Finally I read "Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania", which was his last.

He's got a couple more I want to read.

When I read books, the last series I enjoyed was a military series by, I think, Web R R Griffin?

The last book I read was The Road. It was a year or two before the movie came out. I liked it's style.

daytime dave wrote: The last book I read was The Road. It was a year or two before the movie came out. I liked it's style.

I read that novel, too. It's a haunting, intense, and provocative story about survival and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't see the movie, but I imagine it would have been difficult to equal the impact of the book.

Try to find some books by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. He was a rancher in New Mexico and married a woman from the village in rural N.Y. that i lived in as a small child.

The White City book is excellent. I read it a few years ago.

Travlin wrote:Try to find some books by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. He was a rancher in New Mexico and married a woman from the village in rural N.Y. that i lived in as a small child.

Where was that? Maybe I've been there.

Apalachin New York, Tioga County. ( pronounced apa lay kin. It's famous for the State Police raid on the organized crime meeting in about 1960. It was Joseph Barbara and his partners in crime. I left there in 1952 but went back for a couple of weeks every summer until about 1963. Which Way E.J.?