'New Starts' Theme - 2015

[Shirley]

Jenny wrote: "LOL Jean, I think genre still beats me!! (but I am realizing that I read much more new authors to me than known authors to me. Which I wouldn't have known without this thread. But then again, one m..."

I blame Goodreads! I can honestly say I have read more new (to me) authors since joining Goodreads than for a long time!

[Leslie]

What Shirley said goes for me too!

[Bionic Jean]

I feel like that too. I love being introduced to all these new authors and books - but I have to draw the line somewhere or I won't read the books on my shelves!

[Amber]

Will wheaton is a new author to me and his short storyHunteris pretty good and you can read it here on goodreads.

[LauraT]

1 Thomas Love Peacock, Nightmare Abbey Read
2 Herrny Bernstein, The Invisible Wall Read
3 Albert Camus, La Peste Read
4 Dorothy Dunnett, The Game of Kings Read
5 Johannes Hosle, Prima di tutti i secoli Read
6 Grace Paley, Più tardi nel pomeriggio Read

[Pink]

January ended with 7 new authors for me -

Thomas Love Peacock Nightmare Abbey
Solomon Northup Twelve Years a Slave
Jen Campbell Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
Rupert Colley World War One: History In An Hour
Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe
Liane Moriarty The Husband's Secret
Joe Sacco Palestine

[Leslie]

A few more new-to-me authors:

These 2 were excellent:
4. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (audiobook)
5. Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin (also the start of a new-to-me series)

These were OK to middling:
6. Hot Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland
7. Dog River Blues by Mike Jastrzebski
8. Booktaker by Bill Pronzini (this was a pretty good short story)

[[deleted user]]

1.The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett - new author, read Jan 2014

I have also started and failed to finish Robinson Crusoe, a new author for me. Jan 2014

[Jenny]

12. The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
13.The Fish Can Sing - Halldor Laxness

[Leslie]

9. White Egrets by Derek Walcott - new-to-me author

[Maggie]

I've just finished Stay Alive by Simon Kernick, this was a freebie from 'Dead Good Books' on Goodreads and a new author to me. I really enjoyed it and read it in two days. It was fast paced and enjoyable - but at one point I think 'now that it is taking it too far'.

[LauraT]

7 Tony Danza, I'd like to apologize to every teacher I had Read
8 Kevin Wilson, La famiglia Fang
9 Mathew Green, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend Read
10 Rosa Ventrella, Il giardino degli oleandri Read
11 Lauren Beukes The Shining Gilrs Read
12 Stefan Zweig, La novella degli scacchi Read

[Amber]

Redwall was a new author for me of Brain Jacques. It was pretty good.

[Leslie]

10. The Immoralist by André Gide - another Nobel Prize winner who is new-to-me! (Walcott being the other)

[dely]

1) Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (it's her first fiction)

[LauraT]

13 Weatherly Anna, La rivincita delle mogli Reading now

[Shirley]

3. Foe by JM Coetzee
4. Snowdrops by AD Miller
5. The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
6. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

all the above are new authors to me...in fact 6 out of the 8 books I have read this year have been new authors to me...

[LauraT]

How did you like Coetzee? Another Nobel who has nevere really "grabbed" me

[Shirley]

LauraT wrote: "How did you like Coetzee? Another Nobel who has nevere really "grabbed" me"

Well, I've only read Foe, but I liked it, even if the ending was a bit strange!

[[deleted user]]

Two new authors for me
2. Doris Lessing- The Grass is Singing
3.Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Devdas

[dely]

2) Embers by Sándor Márai (it's the first book I read by him)
3) Dove nessuno ti troverà by Alicia Giménez Bartlett (it's the first book I read by her)

[Jenny]

14. The Orphan Master's Son – Adam Johnson
15.The Discovery of Slowness – Sten Nadolny

(new to me authors)

[Alannah]

I guess the book I'm reading now would work, Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.

[LauraT]

14 Ugo Riccarelli, L'amore graffia il mondo Read ****

[dely]

4) Felidae by Akif Pirinçci (new author for me and first book of a series)

[Tweedledum]

Saddest Summer Of Samuel S by J.P. Donleavy new author new book. A chance discovery. You can check out my review.

[Shirley]

7. The Book of Lies by Mary Horlock
8. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Both new authors to me. Will definitely read more by George Eliot, not sure about the other!

[Jenny]

16. 'He Lover of Death' - Boris Akunin
17. 'The Man with the Golden Arm' – Nelson Algren
18. 'The Weight of Blood' – Laura McHugh
19. 'Drysalter' – Michael Symmons Roberts

all new to me authors

[Jenny]

and:

22. Tom Stoppard: A Faber Critical Guide: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Jumpers, Travesties, Arcadia – Jim Hunter
23. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
24. The Third Man – Graham Greene

again: new to me authors

[Leslie]

I have a bunch to add to this challenge:

New-to-me authors
11. L. Ron Hubbard - Spy Killers
12. Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth
13. Barbara Demick - Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea
14. Theodore Dreiser - An American Tragedy
15. Mike Billington - Corpus Delectable
16. Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
17. Saki (aka H.H. Munro) - Reginald
18. Elly Griffiths - The Crossing Places (also start of a new-to-me series)
19. George Eliot - Middlemarch
20. Maggie Stiefvater - The Raven Boys
21. Pablo Neruda - Fully Empowered

[dely]

5) The Wildings by Nilanjana Roy (first book of this author and first book of a series)

[B the BookAddict]

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
An Echo in the Bone
Written in My Own Heart's Blood

[Debs]

Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
1. Divergent
2. Insurgent
3. Allegiant

New Author and series.

[Shirley]

I've just read Divergent, Debbie, what did you think of the other two?

[Debs]

I have read a lot of young adult stuff since the hunger games series. I was hopeful that the Divergent series would compare. I enjoyed them but not in I cannot wait or put it down kinda way. I think I am more excited to see what they do with the film. The writing style for this series is not as developed as I like. So to sum it up not bad, not great, somewhere in the middle. Sorry I cannot be more helpful. Did you feel like you want to continue after the first novel?

[B the BookAddict]

My new start has been with Diana Gabaldon; I'm heavily invested in the Outlander.

Up to #3 Voyager which I've been impatiently waiting for from the library. I want to track and hunt down whoever has it now and wrest it from their hands! :)

[Debs]

Bette Book Babble wrote: "My new start has been with Diana Gabaldon; I'm heavily invested in the Outlander.

Up to #3 Voyager which I've been impatiently waiing for from the library...."

Funny I just added Book 1 to my want to read list this morning. Now I am excited nothing better then a series to be addicted to for awhile. :) Happy hunting!

[Shirley]

Debbie wrote: "I have read a lot of young adult stuff since the hunger games series. I was hopeful that the Divergent series would compare. I enjoyed them but not in I cannot wait or put it down kinda way. I t..."

Hi Debbie, I'm not in a rush, actually, whereas when I read The Hunger Games I read the second book straightaway (although I already had the book, so I'm not sure if that counts!) I didn't think Divergent was as well written as The Hunger Games. I didn't think the world made sense. But I also know that Divergent is very popular among young people so wouldn't want to put any one off reading it.

[Debs]

Shirley wrote: "Debbie wrote: "I have read a lot of young adult stuff since the hunger games series. I was hopeful that the Divergent series would compare. I enjoyed them but not in I cannot wait or put it down ..."
Shirley, I will say that if you make through book 3 it all comes together, I actually enjoyed the third book the most. I agree Hunger Games...better writing. :). Let me know what you think when you are done.

[Leslie]

A bunch more new-to-me authors:
22. R.D. Blackmore - Lorna Doone
23. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
24. Gustave Flaubert - Bouvard and Pécuchet
25. Aeschylus - Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, Eumenides
26. Arnold Bennett - How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
27. Oliver Pötzsch - The Hangman's Daughter

[Shirley]

Debbie wrote: "Shirley wrote: "Debbie wrote: "I have read a lot of young adult stuff since the hunger games series. I was hopeful that the Divergent series would compare. I enjoyed them but not in I cannot wait..."

I will do, Debbie, thanks!

[LauraT]

I've let this discussion drop!!
5 Johannes Hosle, Prima di tutti i secoli Read
6 Grace Paley, Più tardi nel pomeriggio Read
7 Tony Danza, I'd like to apologize to every teacher I had Read
8 Kevin Wilson, La famiglia Fang Read
9 Mathew Green, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend Read
10 Rosa Ventrella, Il giardino degli oleandri Read
11 Lauren Beukes The Shining Gilrs Read
12 Stefan Zweig, La novella degli scacchi Read
13 Weatherly Anna, La rivincita delle mogli Read
14 Ugo Riccarelli, L'amore graffia il mondo Read
15 Susane Collins, Hunger Games Read

[Leslie]

LauraT wrote: "I've let this discussion drop!!..."

Easy to do - I have gotten into the habit of checking in once a month when I do my "stats" for the month...

[LauraT]

Same here, but clearly I had it dropped last month or two!

[dely]

6) The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (it's the first book I read by this author)

[LauraT]

16 Halldor Laxness, Independent People Read
17 Sarah Jio, Neve a primavera Read

[[deleted user]]

4.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

[dely]

7) Sea of Poppies (first book of a trilogy)

[Leslie]

More new-to-me authors:
28. Mario Vargas Llosa - The Feast of the Goat
29. Robyn Davidson - Tracks
30. Alethea Kontis - Enchanted
31. David Lodge - Changing Places
32. Gladys Mitchell - Speedy Death
33. John Cheever - The Stories of John Cheever
34. Maryrose Wood - The Mysterious Howling
35. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart
36. Jennifer A. Nielsen - The False Prince
37. Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex

[LauraT]

18 V.V. Ganeshananthan Love Marriage Read
19 W G Sebald, Vertigo Read
20 Karen Blixen,  Il giovanotto col garofano e altri racconti Read
21 Filippo Losito,  Daddy Cool Read
22 Lisa Lee, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Reading now
23 Jennifer Ee, Angelfall Reading now