Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition

Today's topic over at The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition.  It took me a while to make my list - a lot of books I have read recently have been by well-known authors - so I had to go back a little.  Here's my list of lesser-known authors who deserve some attention:

  • Alice Kuipers, author of Life on the Refrigerator Door - I never would have guessed a novel written in short notes could make me sob!
  • Ken Grimwood, author of Replay, perhaps my favorite book of all time, sometimes ignored simply because it's classified as science fiction (it's about a guy who keeps reliving part of his life).
  • Jennifer Haigh, author of Baker Towers and Mrs. Kimble and The Condition (I loved the first two and have the third on my waiting-to-be-read shelf).
  • Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author of Encyclopedia of an Extraordinary Life, a very fun and funny memoir and also author of numerous wonderful essays.
  • Thrity Umrigar, author of The Space Between Us, a novel my book group loved.
  • Mark Childress, author of One Mississippi, one of my favorite novels - I'm not sure if he's written anything else.
  • Catherine Glidner, author of Too Close to the Falls, a wonderful memoir.
  • Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us, a complex and thought-provoking WW II novel.
  • Roland Merullo, author of Breakfast with Buddha, a thought-provoking novel I was just recently thinking I'd like to read again.
  • Kristin Hannah, author of Firefly Lane, again I'm not sure if she's written anything else, but I loved this novel.



How about you?  Which authors do you think deserve more recognition?


(If you're interested in my Top Ten list for kid/teen books, check out Great Books for Kids and Teens).

5 comments:

  1. Oh! Delightful list. I think I'll bookmark it so I can journey back for a gander when I am looking for good books to read. Thanks for dropping by my blog. Yes, you must read Book Thief..but don't be put off...the narrator is death, which is odd to say the least.

    -Anne

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anne -

    Yes, Book Thief is one of my favorites, too!

    It's the John Green books I need to get to, finally...

    I think I'll be referring back to your list, too!

    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mark Childress2:10 PM

    Thanks for the plug! Yes I have written six novels: A World Made of Fire, V for Victor, Tender, Crazy in Alabama, Gone for Good, One Mississippi, and my latest, Georgia Bottoms.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mark -

    How exciting that you stopped by my blog!

    I absolutely loved One Mississippi, then lent it to me husband, mother, best friend, etc. and they all loved it, too! It made me both laugh out loud and cry.

    And how could I have forgotten that you also wrote Crazy In Alabama? I enjoyed that one, too.

    Thanks for taking the time to comment!

    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thrity Umrigar definitely deserves more recognition. I LOVED the Space Between Us, too! I recommend it all the time to library patrons looking for a "good book". Great list. I love this meme and keep meaning to participate. Maybe next week...

    ReplyDelete