It's rare for me to join in with Top Ten Tuesday over at the Broke and the Bookish, but something about this theme really struck me. I am terrible for reading author backlists - I keep on discovering amazing authors and adding all their titles to my wishlist, but I never get around to actually reading them. So without further ado, here are the ten authors I need to read more of:
- Geraldine Brooks - I absolutely adored People of the Book when I read it during my historical fiction kick a few years back. I even own copies of March and Year of Wonders, I just need to pick them up and read them!
- Angela Carter - There are no words for how much I loved her dark fairytale retellings in The Bloody Chamber. I'm very keen to try Nights at the Circus in particular.
- Daphne du Maurier - Rebecca became one of my favourite books as soon as I tried it. I loved the twists and turns, and how unreliable the narrator was. I think Jamaica Inn will be next.
- Jane Harris - Gillespie and I was another deliciously creepy book with an unreliable narrator. I've heard The Observations is just as good.
- Eva Ibbotson - Eva's books are fluffy and fun and like a warm bath in the middle of winter. There's so many of them I want to read!
- W. Somerset Maugham - I'm only just getting into modern classics, and I adored The Painted Veil. I have a whole set of his books, but think I will be trying The Magician next.
- Marisha Pessl - Night Film was just awesome! I know it's very different, but I really want to try Special Topics in Calamity Physics.
- Brandon Sanderson - Steelheart was good, but the Mistborn trilogy is the one I really want to try. I love some epic fantasy when I'm in the mood.
- John Steinbeck - He's my husband's favourite author, and I loved East of Eden. The ones I really want to try are Cannery Row and Grapes of Wrath.
- Lucy Knisley - And finally and graphic novelist. I loved Knisley's account of he time in France in French Milk, and fully intend to get my hands on Relish as soon as possible.
Have you read any of these authors? If so, what did you think?
If you're taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week, I'd love to visit your list.
Great list! I really liked both March and Nights at the Circus. I have yet to read any Steinbeck, and I will have to go and check out Gillespie and I.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll read March rather than Year of Wonders first then :)
DeleteI haven't read any of these! Maybe I should check some of them out! Great list :)
ReplyDeleteHere are my Top Ten!
Hope you enjoy them if you do :)
DeleteI totally agree with your comment 'Eva's books are fluffy and fun and like a warm bath in the middle of winter'. I would recommend A Company of Swans, A Song for Summer and The Morning Gift.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendations, they are all now on my wishlist :)
DeleteI'm taking part in Top Ten Tuesday for the first time this week (this particular theme struck me too). I definitely recommend reading more Daphne du Maurier - I've been working through her books over the last few years and have loved almost all of them!
ReplyDeleteOoh, which du Maurier's have you enjoyed the most? Once I get past Jamaica Inn, I'm stumped at where to go next.
DeleteApart from Rebecca my favourites are My Cousin Rachel, The Scapegoat and The House on the Strand. I would highly recommend any of those three!
DeleteThanks, will keep a look out for them :)
DeleteI am really enjoying comparing your list with Helen's and my own imaginary one. Many similarities. Year of Wonders I loved although the ending is a bit strange but I didn't think The Observationists was as good as G & I. Daphne du Maurier always worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteI want to read more Steinbeck too and I have Nights at the Circus waiting tbr sometime.
It would be hard for the Observations to be as good as Gillespie and I, that book was so unexpectedly good!
DeleteI really liked Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders, but I haven't gotten around to reading any of her others, even though several are already on my shelf. She should be on my list, too!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, it makes me more keen to try it for myself!
DeleteYear of Wonders is a good page-turner. Like Cat said above, the ending was out of left field and not in keeping tonally (I thought) with the rest of the book. The ending doesn't ruin the whole read, because up until then it is really very engrossing.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed Year of Wonders, I will bear the strange ending in mind when I pick it up!
DeleteI really liked March and Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, but, like Cat, didn't think that Jane Harris' Observations was as good as Gillespie & Me. I didn't like East of Eden but remember liking Steinbeck's The Red Pony in high school, and also Travels with Charley http://www.exurbanis.com/archives/7260#travels
ReplyDeleteTravels with Charley is one I would like to try, I enjoy both memoirs and travel writing so I think I'll like it.
DeleteWe've done the same thing - read their most famous/popular titles first. I just hope they aren't the best!
ReplyDeleteExcellent list! A bunch of those are on my list too. Eva Ibbotson is one of my all-time comfort food authors -- her books always cheer me up when I am feeling down.
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm going to be all over Geraldine Brooks because she is one of my favorites! I actually have the last of her novels that I haven't read yet sitting on my shelf. I'm waiting for the perfect time. :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Special Topics in Calamity Physics. It was so inventive and I thought it was really great storytelling.
Gillespie and I is one of my favorites books of all time, I should read her books.
ReplyDeleteGeraldine Brooks is wonderful and her books are very different. I recommend Year of Wonders and March. I have Caleb's Crossing on my shelf but haven't gotten to it.
ReplyDeleteI love Geraldine Brooks and have only read Caleb's Crossing and Year of Wonders. I loved both of them, but it's taking me forever to get around to reading her other stuff, because I have the same problem that you do!
ReplyDelete