I wanted to participate in last Tuesday’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Brooke and the Bookish) with the topic of “Top Ten Books People Have Been Telling Me That I MUST Read” but unfortunately, I missed it. I fell asleep earlier than usual that night instead of working on a blog post. But I really like the topic so I wanted to do a spin off. Instead of books, I wanted to talk about authors that have been broadly and specifically recommended for me.
Mary Renault – This particular author was brought to my attention when Elizabeth Wein recommended it for Megan Whalen Turner (MWT) fans in her guest post for Queen’s Thief Week. I have copies of both The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea in my TBR pile.
Dorothy Sayers – Here’s another author who has been recommended several times for MWT fans, especially the books about Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. I’ve read Strong Poison but it didn’t have that much of an impact with him. I do have copies of Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night and Busman’s Honeymoon and I just need to find time to read them.
Connie Willis – I can’t even remember how many people have recommended this author’s time travel books. I’ve had a copy of To Say Nothing of the Dog for a while not but I heard that it would be better to start with the duology Blackout and All Clear.
Simmone Howell – I haven’t read any of this author’s books but I’ve heard that Girl Defective is an amazing Aussie YA novel so I got a copy of it late last year when a friend passed by Singapore from Australia.
Guy Gavriel Kay – So many fantasy fans have recommended this author’s work and I still haven’t read any of his books. I have copies of Tigana and the first two Fionavar books but just haven’t been in the mood for them. Especially Tigana, which is such a doorstopper.
Susanna Kearsley – I’ve seen other bloggers give positive reviews for this author’s books and that has made me curious. My friedn Heidi of Bunbury in the Stacks very kindly sent me a signed copy of The Winter Sea so I can start with that.
Genevieve Valentine – I’ve seen several bloggers (such as Ana of The Book Smugglers and Maureen of By Singing Light) rave about The Girls at the Kingfisher Club on Twitter so I’m very curious about it.
Virginia Kantra – I know my good friend Brandy of Random Musings of a Bibliophile loves Virginia Kantra’s books (which has been recommended by our favorite author Laura Florand). I grabbed a copy of Carolina Man back when it was on sale and it’s just waiting in my Kindle.
Kelly Hunter – Another Laura Florand recommendation! She mentioned that Kelly Hunter is a romance author who has written books with great dialogue, set in Singapore and Hong Kong. She recommended that I start with Wife for a Week, which is the first in a series about the Bennett family. Li of Me and My Books seconded the recommendation when I mentioned it on Twitter.
Joann Sfar – This is actually a bit funny since I found out about this graphic novel author through Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (which I still need to review). The two MCs are fans of his work and that made me curious. I’ve checked in a bookstore here and his books aren’t available in Singapore.
I hope I’ll be able to put a dent on this list before the year ends. I’ll keep the rest of you posted. Care to share authors who would be included in your must read/highly recommended list?
