Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Mainstream Popular Authors that I Still Have Not Read (Submitted by Rissa)
Hello Readers! We are almost halfway through Nanowrimo and while I am on target, it has been a struggle to write every day. I’m determined to keep going, though! 💪 If you’re participating, let me know how it’s going for you!
When I started working on this week’s TTT, it felt familiar since I was focusing on popular authors I haven’t read, but want to. I did a quick search and discovered yep, I’d done the same prompt last year. So I tried to focus on popular authors I haven’t read and do NOT want to, but it seemed like so much more work. 😅 I went back to my original plan and discovered I had plenty more popular authors on my tbr that I still need to read. I did notice, I’ve since read 4 out of the 10 authors I listed in last year’s post, so not great, but not terrible. Maybe this list will help me cross off a few more!
Let’s see what authors I hope to read for the first time soon!
(Link to Goodreads synopsis through book title.)
- R.F. Kuang – I own Babel. I’ve just been a little intimated by the size of the book.
- B.K. Borison – I recently picked up a copy of Lovelight Farms at my local indie bookstore. It’s at the top of my tbr for December.
- Mhairi McFarlane – I’ve had Just Last Night on my kindle for a few years, but I also own a physical copy of Don’t You Forget About Me. I really need to move this author up the tbr.
- Ken Follett – Talk about being intimidated by a book’s size, I have The Pillars of the Earth, as well as the second book, World Without End sitting on my shelf, but I can’t bring myself to pick up these doorstops.
- Elena Ferrante – I picked up the entire series—that starts with My Brilliant Friend—when it was on sale. I’m hoping to make it a priority in 2024.
- Penny Reid – I have slowly picked up several of Reid’s books when they’ve been available for free, but it’s Truth or Beard that seems to be her most popular.
- William Kent Krueger – I have the two most popular books by this author that I picked up used. I’ve only heard great things about This Tender Land, as well as Ordinary Grace.
- Grady Hendrix – I own two of this author’s books, including The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and My Best Friend’s Exorcism.
- Colson Whitehead – This author has written several popular novel’s, but it’s The Nickel Boys that seems to be the most highly rated.
- Emma Mills – I have several of this author’s novels on my tbr, but I own a copy of This Adventure Ends.
Have you read any of these yet? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I own a couple of Emma’s books! They do sound interesting and I like that most of her covers have such fun colors. 🙂
Yes! Her covers are always eye-catching!
I’ve only read The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix but I have The Southern Book Club, My Best Friend’s Exorcism and How to Sell a Haunted House on my shelves 🙂
Hopefully we can both pick them up soon!
Good job with NaNoWriMo so far! I’ve never completed it. 😄
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
Keep at it! Any writing is good writing. Most days I’m struggling and writing nonsense, but then there are those days where things click, making it all worthwhile. 😉
I really want to read Babel, too! It sounds like so much my thing… but yes, I’m also daunted by it.
Here’s my TTT.
It’s a beast!! Hopefully we can both brave it soon. 😉
Borison, Reid, and Mills are great authors. I hope you love them.
Love to hear that! I’m especially excited to pick up Borison soon.
I read The Pillars of the Earth 3 times. If I did it, everyone can do it! Apart from the jokes, I find this Kingbridge series by Ken Follett extremely amazing: dark atmosphere, detailed descriptions, deep psychological profiles of all characters. It is my kind of book. If you love these peculiar things in a book you’ll love it.
3 times??!! Okay, that gives me inspiration. He sounds like an author I’ll enjoy!
Ahaha yes! When I go fall in love with a book I can’t stand but re-read it once in a while. This title gives me comfy vibes, maybe because the gloomy atmosphere and the seemingly neverendig story with many plot-twists.
Wow, I haven’t read any of these authors! Grady Hendrix is an author whose work I want to want to read… but it sounds too horror for me so I’m giving it a pass. I hope you enjoy these authors when you read their work!
Here’s my Top Ten Tuesday post for this week.
Yeah, I don’t mind horror, but I also feel like there will be a lot of humor with Hendrix’s books. Now I just need to pick one up!
A good looking list. Ive not read anything from these authors either. My mum likes Ken Follett…
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2023/11/14/top-ten-tuesday-mainstream-popular-authors-that-i-still-have-not-read/
Someday I’ll get brave enough to try Follett! Happy reading!
Same 🤣 you too 😊
I have been wanting to read Lovelight Farms too. Good luck with NaNoWriMo!
Thank you! Very excited about Lovelight Farms. It’s at the top of my tbr for next month. 🙂
Interesting choices!! This Tender Land was great but I haven’t read any of his others. I liked Nickel Boys and Underground Railroad but couldn’t get into any of Colson Whitehead’s others. Follett? Snooze. Ferrante–haven’t tried but probably will at some point.
Thanks for all the tips! You’re the first one to say Follett is a snooze. 😃 I guess I should try the first chapter and if it’s not for me, get rid of those doorstops. Ha!
Move on–no one will know lol
Elena Ferrante is phenomenal, there’s no-one quite like her. Here’s my list: https://corastillwrites.wordpress.com/
That’s what I hear! My daughter loved the whole series.
She certainly lives up to the hype.
Lovelight Farms is so good, hope you enjoy it, december is the perfect season to read it
Yay!! It’s at the top of my tbr for December.
McFarlane is an author I’ve been wanting to try as well!
Hopefully we can both pick her up soon!
I love Penny Reid and Grady Hendrixx, but I haven’t read any of the other authors on your list. Though I do have several of B.K. Borison’s books on my TBR list. 😀
Borison is at the top of my tbr, and I’m hoping to read Reid and Hendrix next year. Fingers crossed!
I saw Emma Mills and my heart stopped. I adored her books. This Adventure Ends was a great one too. I was a little sad that her last book was not a contemporary (I didn’t read it). I have enjoyed the Lovelight books, and books by McFarlane and Reid. Reid is the best at smart-funny. Hope NaNo is going well
Oh yay!! Happy to hear you enjoyed Mills. Lovelight is at the top of my tbr. I really need to pick up Reid and McFarlane soon, too. I’m trudging along with Nano. 😃
I read RF Kuang’s The Poppy War and swiftly decided her work wasn’t for me, but I hope you enjoy Babel better than I did that one!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/11/14/top-ten-tuesday-446/
Oh really?! My (adult) daughter just binged The Poppy War series. She loved it. But we don’t always agree on books. 😃
Yeah just a personal me thing, I found the violence a bit much to take. You may have more mileage for it than I did.
I’ve read THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES, but that’s it from these books/authors. I am intrigued by BABEL, even though it’s outside of my typical reading comfort zone.
Good luck with NaNoWriMo and with crossing more authors off your TBR list.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Thank you! Hopefully I can get to one of these books next year! 🤞
Babel and The Pillars of the Earth are great reads but intense and dense!! I do hope you get to them one day. 🙂
Intense and dense! Sounds like the right description. I need to work up my courage. 😃
It’s nice to see some new names on this list! Can’t wait to check them out and add them to my own TBR!
Here’s my TTT: https://funknfiction.com/2023/11/14/top-ten-tuesday-mainstream-popular-authors-that-i-still-have-not-read-yet/
Yay!! I hope you find something you like. 🙂
I went blank with this prompt as I have read so many different authors. I like your list, Dedra. I got hung up on ‘Mainstream”. Of all the posts I have read this morning, I have come up with 4 names so far, 3 are on yours. Emma Mills, Grady Hendrix and R.F. Kuang are ones I haven’t and probably won’t read.
Yeah… I had to change Mainstream to Popular. It’s a little more broad of a term since different readers have different ideas about who’s popular. 😃
I’ve got a copy of Babel gathering dust on my shelf, too! I did read Kuang’s newest book, Yellowface, though, and I found it excellent. Witty, twisted, and kind of wicked (in a good way). Would highly recommend!
Oh yay! Thank you for the recommendation. I am eager to give Kuang a try soon!