Quote Originally Posted by in.music.u.trust
1. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald - best writer in my opinion. if you really read it and pay attention to his choice of words and how well he describes everything its amazing.
I also love Fitzgerald for that exact reason. While Gatsby is by far the better novel, This Side of Paradise has that beautiful writing style, I think even better, although the story is not as well-turned.

As an aside, have you ever read anything by A.S. Byatt? I tend to think of them as writers with something in common- but I can't quite put my finger on it- whether it is writing style or what- I though Posession was a LOT of fun, and one of the short stories in Angels and Insects (Morpho Eugenia) was particularly beautifully done, haunting and very disturbing.