Maybe Kurt Vonnegut would be good. Something like Slaughterhouse-Five. Something about a loafer trying not to get fired from his plush office job. I'd like to try out Way of the Tiger and the Grailquest series also. Joe Dever of Lone Wolf.
Plot is very important.
I think Bill Faucett of the Swordquest series did a great job of making realistic characters in the 1st two books. Too bad the plot twists were so predictable. Probably like everyone else, second hand shops. I've visited well over a hundred. Around 200 or so, not counting the many I've sold off in the past.