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?
I really want to try The Astral Library. Enjoy!
Thank you!
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was excellent. May you enjoy it!
Good to know, I’m looking forward to it!
I haven’t read any of these, but I did read another Colleen McCullough book years ago, Tim. It was fascinating. But very long.
My TTT list for this week is here 🙂
Yeah, it looks like she’s got a good catalog, and that means I have a lot of books to read!
I really enjoy Borison’s writing in her newer books! Lovelight Farms is cute and I still want to finish the series, I think I’ve read the first two books. Her writing just gets better! I hope you enjoy these authors when you give them a try!
I love it when authors keep getting better as you follow them. It becomes such a treat every time they release something new!
Lisa See is great. I really liked The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane but haven’t read the one on your list. I really liked Lovelight Farms and also First Time Caller. I didn’t love All the Light We Cannot See, but I know most people did.
It looks like I have a lot of Lisa See books to catch up on, she’s got some really good ones!
I’ve read a few and would unhelpfully recommend them all.
Thanks for sharing your #TTT
Lol! Thank you so much for your unhelpfulness! I’m looking forward to reading all the books!
I know so many love All the Light We Cannot See, but I never did pick it up. It seems like a sad story. Hope you enjoy these all! Happiest reading and thanks for visiting my list today.
Yeah, it is what’s stopping me from reading the book sooner. I love sad books but they can sometimes be heavy I have to be in a specific mood!
I love B.K. Borison’s books! And Kate Quinn is an author I’ve been wanting to try for ages too. Hope you’ll love all of these!
I’m excited about reading Borison! Hopefully I can get to it sooner rather than later!
Lisa See and Anthony Doerr are two of my favorite authors. Can’t go wrong with either of them or any of their books.
I love to hear that! Thank you!
All the Light We Cannot See has been on my TBR for so long that I just decided to remove it altogether. If I would leave it there unread forever, there is a slight chance I would read it after all, isn’t there?
I liked Defy the Night, but it didn’t stand out to me. I therefore never picked up the rest of the series.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2026/07/14/top-ten-tuesday-books-by-new-to-me-authors-that-are-on-my-tbr/
That’s so interesting. I don’t know a single thing about Defy the Night, but I remember there was a lot of hype around it at one time. I’ll probably still try it if I can get to it soon.
LOL, I think the good news is you will never run out of books to read. I hope you enjoy these when you get a chance to read them.
That is so true! I need to look at it positively!
I enjoyed The Astral Library and like you I have seen that John Irving book highly rated and have thought about reading it.
Hopefully I can get to both soon!
I remember Tigana being lovely! One of my favourites of GGK’s, and stands well alone (though is connected to some of his others a little bit, it’s not in a way that matters).
Oh, that’s good to know! I wasn’t sure if this was the best book to start with but it seems so. Thank you!
I had Bell Hooks on my list today as well but mentioning a different book of hers, All About Love. I’m very excited to check out her works 🙂 I hope you enjoy all of these authors and books whenever you get to them!
I’m excited about bell hooks too! I hope you enjoy her books too!
The Astral Library and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan are both on my TBR, too! I hope we both enjoy them.