Top Ten Authors

The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Authors

(The first three are in order, the others are authors I like but not in order)

1. Barbara Kingsolver...I love everything she writes, fiction and non-fiction; she speaks for me on many issues or gives voice to my thoughts.  Poisonwood Bible; Bean Trees; Small Miracles, etc.

2. Jane Austen...I remember once being judgmental of a friend who was on a Jane Austen jag...that was before I went on my first Jane Austen jag!  I even read the Jane Austen knock-offs! Pride and Prejudice; Persuasion; Sense and Sensibility, etc.

3.  John Green (YA)...I met John a few years a go at a conference and he was just like I thought he'd be, whatever that means.  I devour his books the minute they are published.  He's a little too edgy for some of my students. Looking for Alaska; Paper Towns; Will Grayson-Will Grayson, etc.

4.  Libba Bray (YA)...With the award winning book Going Bovine Ms Bray showed her versatile talents as an author.  Love both styles I've read. A Great and Terrible Beauty series.

5.  Alexander McCall Smith...I am a huge, huge fan.  I've read books in all his series and adored them all.  I went to hear him speak and he is captivating and hilarious, and he was dressed like his picture.  A true gem. 44 Scotland Street series; #1 Ladies Detective Agency series, etc.

6.  Jon Krakauer (Non fiction)...Jon grew up in Corvallis, Oregon, as did I.  His writing is so mesmerizing that one forgets they are reading about a subject they care nothing about. Into Thin Air; Into the Wild; Under the Banner of Heaven, etc.

7.  David McCullough (Non fiction)...Reading anything by David McCullough is the most painless way to learn about history that I know of.  Better yet, listen to him read his own audiobooks.  (Check out the typewriter he is using!) He is a masterful narrator and a first rate historian. 1776; Johnstown Flood, etc.

8.  Chris Crutcher (YA)...A champion against censorship and book banning, Chris also understands the plight of the underdogs in school.  His stories are very real and very easy to relate to. Deadline; Staying Fat for Sarah Brynes; etc.

9.  Marcus Zusak (YA)...I love his books The Book Thief and I am the Messenger so much that I had to put him on my list.

10. Francisco X. Stork (YA)...The two books that I have read by Stork included issues that are difficult for all of us to deal with---death and learning disabilities.  I feel that his writing is done with the utmost of integrity. Marcelo in the Real World and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors.

11. and, of course, Bill Bryson (Non fiction)*... Bill Bryson is phenomenal.  He can take any subject and make it fascinating and hilarious at the same time. Take for example his book A Short History of Nearly Everything which is essentially the history of science.  Sounds boring.  Not in the hands of the master, Bill Bryson.  I was completely captivated while I  learned all kinds of new bits of information. In a Sunburned Country; A Walk In the Woods; etc. 
*late addition to the list.

I just looked over the list and think I was leaning toward older, white guys.  Sorry.  If I made the list tomorrow it would probably have a very different look to it.