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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors
I have heard so much praise for these authors but just somehow never got around to reading their books. I want to read them, I really do, it’s just so hard to keep up with all the books that somehow keep accidentally falling into my TBR. I’m pretty sure my personal Mount TBR is taller than Everest at this point, and I’m also sure I’ll probably never summit the peak of my ever-growing Mount TBR. Oh well.
Top Ten Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe – This is the first book in The Book of the New Sun series, which is apparently a big deal with scifi readers, so of course I’m curious!
The Astral Library by Kate Quinn – Technically, I’ve read Kate Quinn, but it was a 57-page novella (Signal Moon) and I havent read a single full-length book yet even though she’s so widely praised, so she counts!
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer – My bookish friends have been urging me to read this since it came out years ago. I still mean to! One day! Soon!
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – I watched the miniseries and absolutely loved it and will eventually read the book, I promise!
Feminist Theory by bell hooks – I hear people quoting and referencing bell hooks all the time but I have never read her myself. I must remedy this.
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison – I know, I know! It’s been on my TBR forever and I’ll get to it eventually!
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See – I actually have a couple of books by the author on my shelves over the years. I lost and re-acquired them through several moves and never realized that I haven’t read a single book by her because seeing her books on my shelves seemed so familiar to me.
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay – People have been mentioning his name with admiration but I have no idea what kind of books he writes. FOMO means I have to find out.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving – Another book that have been praised a lot and that I plan to read eventually even though I know nothing about it.
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough – I am familiar with her name but have never read her. I’m actually more excited to read her Masters of Rome series, but this book is more popular and I figure a standalone is easier to commit to than a series of seven books!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025
I will be focusing on new-to-me authors for today’s topic. There were a lot more than ten new-to-me authors in 2025, but I didn’t like all of them, and some only had the one book written. For my list today, I listed the authors whose books I enjoyed, who have written more than one book, and whose works I intend to read more of. Have you read any of these books/authors?
Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2025
David Grann – I really enjoyed Killers of the Flower Moon, and I was stoked to find out that he also wrote The Lost City of Z and The Wager, books I definitely want to read!
Ariel Lawhon – I was surprised by how much I loved The Frozen River and I see that she has several other historical fiction books published as well, many of which look interesting to me.
Dan Simmons – I’d heard a lot about the Hyperion Cantos series, and had no idea when I was reading The Terror that they were written by the same author. I hope to read the Hyperion series soon!
Victor Hugo – Les Misérables was an excruciatingly long read, but I enjoyed it and I still intend to read The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
M.L. Wang – The Sword of Kaigen has been on my tbr for a while, but I ended up reading Blood Over Bright Haven first. I loved it and it’s made me even more curious to read the former!
Fredrik Backman – A Man Called Ove was one of my favorite reads in 2025, and there are so many books by Backman I want to read!
Haruki Murakami – I read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running without realizing who the author was, and I loved it. I’ve never really been curious about Murakami’s books before but I feel like I should read a couple now.
Jenny Lawson – Let’s Pretend This Never Happened was a book club BOTM. I fell in love with her weird humor and really want to read her other books now!
Kate Racculia – Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts was another book that really surprised me by how much I enjoyed it, and I love the sound of her two other books as well. I hope she writes more!
John Scalzi – I’ve heard so much about John Scalzi and his books but only read them because a couple were on Audible Plus. I loved how fun and creative they are and I intend to read many more!
Have you read any of these authors? What did you think of them? Would you read any of their books?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023
I wasn’t sure if I had ten new authors I read in 2023, but apparently I did! Some of them I liked better than others, but I’m happy to say all of them are authors whose works I’d read again.
Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023
M.R. Carey – I read the Rampart Trilogy and I loved it. He is also the author of The Girl With All The Gifts series, which was turned into a movie I remember enjoying. I didn’t know at the time it was based on books, but I’m curious to read the series.
Tomi Adeyemi – I read Children of Blood and Bone, the first book in the Legacy of Orisha series, and I’m intending to finish the series this year, hopefully.
Bonnie Garmus – I read Lessons in Chemistry. It looks like she’s only got a single book released, but if/when she writes more, I’ll be reading them.
Sarah Hogle – I read You Deserve Each Other. It was so well-written and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. It looks like she’s got plenty of books in the same vein and I’m going to make my way through them.
Allison Ashley – I read The Roommate Pact. Fun, light-hearted, heartwarming contemporary romance. I’ll be reading her other books as well.
Emma Straub – I read This Time Tomorrow, a time-travel story with a lovely father-daughter relationship I fell in love with. Apparently she’s the daughter of famed author Peter Straub. I’ve never read him, but I’ve seen many of his books around. I’m interested in reading more of her books as well as trying some of Peter Straub’s books.
Rebecca Yarros – I read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, and I’m obviously going to read the next books in this series!
Louis Erdrich – I read The Sentence. It was not what I expected at all. It was simultaneously so mundane and yet magical. I love the glimpse into the Native American world, and I want to read more from her.
Ashley Elston – I read 10 Blind Dates and it was such a joy to read that now I want to read more. There’s a sequel, and there are several other books I’m looking forward to.
Have you read any of these authors? Did you read any of these books? What did you think of them?