This week’s Top Ten Tuesday with the Broke and Bookish is “the top ten new-to-me authors I read in 2014.” I’m way behind on my reading goals for the year (I blame residency and the parasite, but I still have a few weeks to catch up… haha), but I have had the chance to read a number of new-to-me authors.
- Rainbow Rowell. I read Eleanor & Park and was thoroughly impressed with how she wrote about teen angst and made me really enjoy and care about the characters. As a result, I want to read everything else she has written.
- Gillian Flynn. I am one of the many, many people who read Gone Girl after hearing all the hype even though it was outside of my normal reading realm and loved it. It creeped the heck out of me. And yet, I want to read her other books even though they will likely have a similar effect.
- Graeme Simsion. The Rosie Project was priceless and I have the second book on my ereader awaiting. His writing is funny and just bizarre enough it is believable.
- Pierce Brown. I hadn’t heard of him before a friend lent me Red Rising and although it started kind of slow, it was really good and I look forward to the rest of the series.
- James Dashner. I started The Maze Runner series and although I don’t have an overwhelming urge to read the other books, I probably will at some point pick them up.
- Eleanor Henderson. I was surprised with how good Ten Thousand Saints was. In fact, I would never have picked it up (unless I was hard up for a book) until Patrick picked it up and raved about it. The book is a journey in which you really grow to care about the characters. I would read more of her stuff.
- Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg. I read The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules and it made me laugh and laugh. Unfortunately, many of her books don’t appear to have been translated into English, but I would check out another should one appear.
- Jay Asher. I read 13 Reasons Why and it was shocking and sad, but overall well done. Although it wasn’t one of my favourite books of 2014, he does make the better new author list.
- Adena Halpern. 29 Again was a bargain book find at Chapters and it was well worth the bargain price (in retrospect, it would have been worth full price). It was a sweet, funny story and looking at some of her other titles, it sounds like a lot of her books have potential to be cute/funny.
- Timothy Keller. I know some people will find it strange, but this year was the first time I read a Tim Keller book. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot, so I will probably do it again sometime.
Who were some of your favourite new-to-you authors this year?
At least we made it this far... 
Great list! I haven’t heard of some of these authors, so I’ll definitely go check them out. This year I haven’t read as much as I’d like (sigh, I blame my kids, ha) but I did read Evie Wyld’s new book, “All the Birds Singing” which is dark, creepy and masterfully told. Also, I just read Sarah Ruhl’s “100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write” which is from her perspective as a playwright and a mother, and is spot on. Hoping for a much bigger list in 2015 🙂
-Dana
If only we could all read as much as we like. I hope we both have bigger lists in 2015, but if not, I hope it is for good reasons. 🙂
“100 Essays I Don’t Have Time To Write” sounds really good.
Nice list! I enjoyed Rowell’s ATTACHMENTS and FANGIRL. She does write really good sympathetic (but not pathetic) characters, doesn’t she? I also loved GONE GIRL and plan to read more Flynn. She creeps me out, too!
Rowell is extremely good at making characters that you sympathize and empathize with. I am excited to check out her other books. Everyone keeps telling me they are better or at least just as good.
I haven’t read a Tim Keller book yet, but I am really terrible about sitting down to read Christian non-fiction (other than the Bible) for whatever reason. I guess because I used to read more than I do and I felt a lot of it said things that were really obvious or contrite, but from what I’ve heard about Keller he’s probably a step ahead most.
Just make up your own ending for The Maze Runner series. I promise it’s better than the actual ending. 😦
I agree that a lot of books are often restating the obvious, they are a struggle for me to find (I have a couple friends who are super academic and either pastors or uber into improving their walk, so I often go by their recommendations and still prescreen by skimming a passage or two before reading). I have picked up many Christian non-fiction books and promptly put them down after just reading the dust jacket for that reason. I do find that Keller gets beyond the obvious better than some.
I have heard that about the Maze Runner. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending of this book, so I can only imagine, yet my curiosity will likely still drive me to read the rest.
I adored The Rosie Project! Maybe I should check out his other book as well.