If you have never read a book by Clive Cussler I would highly suggest you do so. All of his books are packed with adventure and suspense and real page turners.

The fist fictitious character that Cussler created back in 1965 was marine engineer,  government agent, and adventurer Dirk Pitt. He has produced twenty books from this character and each is as intriguing as the last. I read my first Dirk Pitt novel in high school when I went to the library one day to find a good read for the summer. I had never been much of a reader before, but I thought it would pass the summer days before I started to college. So I walked around a while and then I picked up this old torn and ragged book titled “Raise the Titanic”. I read the entire book that day. After reading the book I immediately wanted to read more from this author whose writing style and story development left me on the edge of my seat and totally engaged. I was hooked. I went on the internet (dial-up) and researched other titles from Cussler on this character Dirk Pitt. To my excitement there were numerous other book in the series that I would be able to read. So that summer I read the majority of the Dirk Pitt series and by the end of the year I had read them all. Then I was left to wait for other Dirk Pitt titles to come out.

Over the years though the character Dirk has aged as has writer Clive Cussler. Now Clives’s son Dirk Cussler is aiding him in writing the Dirk Pitt adventures, who are now about his son and daughter Dirk Jr. ad Summer. They are no less fascinating though. All of the titles are just as good as the first title I read.

Here are the reading titles and reading order of the Dirk Pitt Series: The Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic!, Vixen 03, Night Probe!, Pacific Vortex!, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey, Black Wind, Treasure of Khan, Arctic Drift, and Crescent Dawn (November 16, 2010).

Here are a list of the other great series that Clive Cussler is a part of:

NUMA Files Series, co-authored with Paul Kemprecos. This series revolves around Kurt Austin, NUMA’s team leader of special assignments. They have the same feel as the Dirk Pitt series and characters from the Dirk Pitt series can occasionally appear. There are eight books in this series so far and I was able to read all of these titles on road trips will playing baseball in college, and awaiting the new titles in the Dirk Pitt series.

Reading List Order: Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death, Lost City, Polar Shift, The Navigator, and Medusa.

Oregon Files Series co-authored with Jack DuBrul. This series is about a ship named the Oregon and it’s special forces like crew headed by Juan Cabrillo. The ship the Oregon was introduced for the first time in the book title Flood Tide, which is the 14th book in the Dirk Pitt Series. There are currently seven titles in this series started in 2003.

Reading List Order: Golden Buddha, Sacred Stone, Dark Watch, Dark Watch, Plague Ship, Corsair, The Silent Sea, and The Jungle (March 8, 2011).

Isaac Bell Series co-authored by Justin Scott. This series revolves around character Isaac Bell, set in the early 20th century. Isaac Bell is a detective for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, and is constantly finding himself in the middle of the big case. There are currently three books on this series that was started in 2007.

Reading Order List: The Chase, The Wrecker, and The Spy

Fargo Adventures co-authored with Grant Blackwood. This series is about lives of of married couple Sam and Remi Fargo who are professional treasure hunters. The first book in this series was released last year and it was great, and everything that you would expect in a Clive Cussler book. The second book in the series Lost Empire was released today. I have already got my copy that I am planning on reading on the iPad via the kindle app.

Reading Order List: Spartan Gold and Lost Empire.

Clive Cussler gave me the push I needed to get into reading and realizing that it could be enjoyable. I have been on many adventures through the books of Cussler, and it is amazing what a great storyteller can do. They can paint a vivid picture in your imagination as if you are right there in the scene with them. They keep you engaged and wanting more. Clive Cussler is my favorite fiction author and would recommend his books to anyone. They have never let me down.

Now though I read whatever I can get me hands on, and have even joined a blogging for books program called Booksneeze from Thomas Nelson Publishers. However,my favorite is still Cussler and have come to enjoy Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series as well. When it comes to non-fiction I have realy enjoyed the writings of Donald Miller, who is also a great story teller and writer himself. That is what all of the writers that I really enjoy have in common…they can tell a great story and all leave you wanting more and more…

I wish I would have got into reading at a younger age, and as I look at kids these days there are so many of them that reading a book doesn’t even get a chance. With all of the video games, movies, and television. Many go the easy way in school to by watching the movie of the books they are supposed to read. The book and the movie are never the same and usually the book is far better. The movie is one person’s skewed view of what the author is illustrating and depicting. You could have painted the situation and surroundings completely different.  Books allow you to use your imagination and require you to think.

Many a thanks to Clive Cussler for opening the door to reading to me!

Do you enjoy reading? Are there any titles that stimulated your passion for books? Any favorite authors out there that you would suggest?