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Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
Sarah MacLean
So I think the word is already out on how much I fell in love (hee!) with Sarah MacLean's Regency romances this year. I've gushed about it a lot on the blog and rightfully so because I got so much joy from them. I have a few more of hers to read and I'm kind of dragging my feet because I don't want to be out of MacLean books to read.
Nnedi Okorafor
I only read one book by her this year but all of her books sound like prime must read now material. Akata Witch was a lovely YA book with similar themes as Harry Potter but set in a completely different culture with a completely different mythology about magic.
Maryrose Wood
This year, I got totally hooked on Wood's insanely charming middle-grade series The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. It is about a young governess in Victorian era England who takes on the care of three children who happen to have been raised by wolves - and that's not the most mysterious thing going on in the books! They are hilarious and so much fun especially the audio books read by the marvelous and amazing Katherine Kellgren. Wood has a few other YA novels that look like they've gotten somewhat mixed reviews but I will definitely be checking them out, mixed reviews be damned!
Craig Johnson
He writes mysteries set in modern day rural Wyoming which feature Absaroka County sheriff Walt Longmire. My love for the TV show drove me to the books which I discovered are even better than the show. Johnson is a fantastic writer and I will be devouring the rest of this series toot sweet!
Larry McMurtry
Spoiler Alert - Lonesome Dove was the absolute best book I read this year. Definitely want to explore whatever else McMurtry has to offer. Perhaps he has written a particularly engrossing edition of the phone book? I'm there.
I was a huge superfan of his debut novel Jackaby and really liked the follow up Beastly Bones that was just released. I'll definitely be gobbling up anything he writes in this series and would also be interested in what else he could do.
Holly Black
I was extremely pleasantly surprised by how much I loved The Darkest Part of the Forest. Pretty excited that Black has a nice sized back catalog to dig into! Lots of good reading ahead *rubs hands together in maniacal glee*.
Max Gladstone
The first book in his Craft Sequence series was original and funny and complicated but mostly in a good way. Looking forward to continue diving into his work!
Susan Ee
I would have told you before reading Susan Ee's Penryn and the End of Days series that I don't like reading horror but these books got pretty graphic and horrific at times and I loved it. She did such a good job of keeping things balanced using well-placed humor and keeping the story personal. To be honest I didn't think I'd ever be caught dead reading a book about angels but she made it work. I will definitely be interested in what else she writes!
Cathrynne M. Valente
It took me a little bit to get into The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making but somewhere in the story it just started to click and I was in love. She's a creative and imaginative writer that deserves more exploration! Tally Ho!
Because discovering new authors to love and stalk (just their books) is one of my favorite things, looking back and making a list of all the best ones I got acquainted with over the past year is also a favorite task. It's satisfying and kind of exciting to look back and see all the new authors for which I have only scratched the surface of their work and therefore have much good reading in front of me. Basically it's a reflective Top Ten that also has many awesome implications for the future! So it outstrips the top ten books of the year list as my favorite top ten.
Making my list was not as easy or hard (depending upon how you look at it) as last year. There were about 7 authors that I immediately picked out as authors I enjoyed immensely and whose books I will be seeking out in the future. Then there were about 5 more whom I very much liked but, for one reason or another, I am a little shy about declaring my undying love for them. I'm going to be reckless with my heart and be a rebel by listing all twelve.
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This young adult author has published quite a lot and while I have only read two of her books, I can just tell, by her writing style, her characters, her humor, her themes, that she's a keeper. I've read the first two books in her Raven Cycle series and can't wait to read everything in that series and then devour everything else she has written.
Louise Penny is a very new discovery - I just finished the first book in her Armand Gamache mystery series a week or so ago. I knew within the first three chapters of Still Life that I'd found a new favorite mystery writer. Her characters, particularly her principle, are people I truly wish I knew. Her writing is beautiful and balances both humor and the truth of things. The mystery wasn't bad either.
So I think the word is already out on how much I fell in love (hee!) with Sarah MacLean's Regency romances this year. I've gushed about it a lot on the blog and rightfully so because I got so much joy from them. I have a few more of hers to read and I'm kind of dragging my feet because I don't want to be out of MacLean books to read.
I only read one book by her this year but all of her books sound like prime must read now material. Akata Witch was a lovely YA book with similar themes as Harry Potter but set in a completely different culture with a completely different mythology about magic.
This year, I got totally hooked on Wood's insanely charming middle-grade series The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. It is about a young governess in Victorian era England who takes on the care of three children who happen to have been raised by wolves - and that's not the most mysterious thing going on in the books! They are hilarious and so much fun especially the audio books read by the marvelous and amazing Katherine Kellgren. Wood has a few other YA novels that look like they've gotten somewhat mixed reviews but I will definitely be checking them out, mixed reviews be damned!
He writes mysteries set in modern day rural Wyoming which feature Absaroka County sheriff Walt Longmire. My love for the TV show drove me to the books which I discovered are even better than the show. Johnson is a fantastic writer and I will be devouring the rest of this series toot sweet!
Spoiler Alert - Lonesome Dove was the absolute best book I read this year. Definitely want to explore whatever else McMurtry has to offer. Perhaps he has written a particularly engrossing edition of the phone book? I'm there.
I was a huge superfan of his debut novel Jackaby and really liked the follow up Beastly Bones that was just released. I'll definitely be gobbling up anything he writes in this series and would also be interested in what else he could do.
I was extremely pleasantly surprised by how much I loved The Darkest Part of the Forest. Pretty excited that Black has a nice sized back catalog to dig into! Lots of good reading ahead *rubs hands together in maniacal glee*.
The first book in his Craft Sequence series was original and funny and complicated but mostly in a good way. Looking forward to continue diving into his work!
I would have told you before reading Susan Ee's Penryn and the End of Days series that I don't like reading horror but these books got pretty graphic and horrific at times and I loved it. She did such a good job of keeping things balanced using well-placed humor and keeping the story personal. To be honest I didn't think I'd ever be caught dead reading a book about angels but she made it work. I will definitely be interested in what else she writes!
It took me a little bit to get into The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making but somewhere in the story it just started to click and I was in love. She's a creative and imaginative writer that deserves more exploration! Tally Ho!
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As per my usual, the lady authors dominate, so much so that I shake my head in sorrow for and bafflement at folks who don't read a lot of women writers. What fun they are missing!
So what are some of the authors you were most excited about getting acquainted with this year? I will definitely be trolling the lists over at the Broke and the Bookish so I can see what authors I need become attached to next year!
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