Friday, November 13, 2009

Best books: Ian Rankin

Ian Rankin's Rebus novels are now translated into twenty-two languages and are bestsellers on several continents. He has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards including the prestigious Diamond Dagger in 2005. In 2004, Rankin won America's celebrated Edgar Award for Resurrection Men. He has also been shortlisted for the Edgar and Anthony Awards in the USA, and won Denmark's Palle Rosenkrantz Prize, the French Grand Prix du Roman Noir and the Deutscher Krimipreis. His first art-world thriller, Doors Open, is due out in January.

Rankin named his six best books for The Week magazine. One title on the list:
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

I first read this during high school, because I wasn’t old enough to see the 1971 film at the cinema. I loved the language, story, and structure. I started scribbling stories about my own experiences, so really this is the book that got me writing.
Read about the other books on Rankin's list.

Learn about the best selling book Rankin wishes he'd written.

Two books on Rankin's list also number among Laura Hird's three favorite book-to-film adaptations.

--Marshal Zeringue