Must Read Authors

[Regina Lindsey]

I've always had a loose list in my head about authors I think I should read at least one work. It is nothing pressing, just a kind of mental acknowledgment. I recently read two works from this list.

James Joyce
Leo Tolstoy

Curious if you guys have a personal "must read" of authors you have or intend to read.

[Tracy]

I agree with both of your choices, and I'd add:
Jane Austen
Toni Morrison

[Nicole D.]

Tolstoy for me as well - just not interested in Joyce. Morrison as well for me.
I've crossed a lot of those authors off my list in recent years.
Kafka seems like it should be on any list, (I've read him)

[Jennifer]

John Grisham
Stephen King

[Regina Lindsey]

I've read Morrison, and I agree. That's a good inclusion.

[Regina Lindsey]

Jennifer P. wrote: "John Grisham
Stephen King"

I've read 11.22.63 by Kings, but I feel like that doesn't really count. I kind of feel I need to read another work by him.

[Nicole R]

Regina wrote: "I've read 11.22.63 by Kings, but I feel like that doesn't really count. I kind of feel I need to read another work by him. "

Why doesn't 11.22.63 count?

[Nicole R]

Jennifer P. wrote: "John Grisham
Stephen King"

Old John Grisham.

[Regina Lindsey]

Nicole R wrote: "Regina wrote: "I've read 11.22.63 by Kings, but I feel like that doesn't really count. I kind of feel I need to read another work by him. "

Why doesn't 11.22.63 count?"

It is just kind of a personal thing. I loved the book, but even though I've not read his other work it seems like this is not "typical" King. I kind of feel like one of his scary books is what needs to be added.

I' ve never read Grisham either.

[Nicole R]

Regina wrote: "I' ve never read Grisham either. ."

Gotcha about King.

Add some old school Grisham to your TBR stat! They are quick reads.

[Denizen]

I've read all of the mentioned authors and would say skip Joyce and (unpopular moment) any Grisham or additional King.

I've started making an annual list of authors I want to try. I read something by 4 out of 6 of them last year (Kate Atkinson, Paolo Bacigalupi, Sarah Waters, and David Mitchell) with Orhan Pamuk and Edwidge Danticat still to go. Two others I want to add for next year are Miriam Toews and James Marlin. I'll have to peruse my TBR to fill the next 2 slots but do have a tag with a few more under consideration.

[LibraryCin]

Regina wrote: "It is just kind of a personal thing. I loved the book, but even though I've not read his other work it seems like this is not "typical" King. I kind of feel like one of his scary books is what needs to be added. ..."

Well, King has written other stuff, as well. Some fantasy comes to my mind.

[LibraryCin]

I'm not sure if I have any authors I've not yet read that I feel a pressing "need" to try (at least no one who is coming to mind).

There are some authors I've discovered who I want to keep reading more by (of course, they are no necessarily "literary" authors/fiction, as I don't lean as much that way as many of our other members.

Some of those authors who I just want to keep reading are (this is off the top of my head):
- Jodi Picoult
- Harlan Coben
- Linwood Barclay
- Shannon Hale (though I've not read her for a while now; I think I was mostly caught up, but she's had others since)

[LibraryCin]

I mostly focus more on specific books than particular authors, I suppose.

[JoLene]

I also keep a running list of more literary authors to read....sometimes I just try to work into challenges. In the last couple of years, it was Haruki Murakami, David Mitchell and Joan Didion

Some of the folks still on the list:
Isabel Allende
Alice Hoffman
John Fowles
William Faulkner (who I skimmed for high school English, but want to really try to read this time).

[Jennifer]

BTW, I wasn't picking favorite authors, because I think that's a different question. The authors before mine were 'classics' so I was trying to think of a modern must-read. I've never read King though, either. I was trying to think of authors that kind of defined their genre.

[Jen]

Is the question which authors we love to read (e.g. Have to buy their books as soon as they come out?) or authors we should read but haven't gotten around to it?

If question 1 then:
David Mitchell
Haruki Murakami
Chimamanda Adichie
Jeanette Winterson

If question 2 then:
George Eliot
Italo Svevo
Thomas Mann (only read one)
Virginia Woolf (only read one)
Faulkner

[JoLene]

I took the question to mean people that you feel you "should" read. Not necessarily classic authors always, but often, for classics I think of the work vs the author.

However, for currently writing authors, I think that there are some author who genre defining or are doing interesting things --- like Margaret Atwoodor China Miéville who consciously try to write different types of books.

[Regina Lindsey]

I was referring to authors people should read, not necessarily favorites. But I find favorite authors fascinating as well.

[Booknblues]

Regina wrote: "I was referring to authors people should read, not necessarily favorites. But I find favorite authors fascinating as well."

I think there are many must read authors and I really couldn't begin to name them all. I think there are the classic authors and then I think there are more recent authors and then I have a private list of authors who I would like to read everything they read.

Classic authors:
Twain, Dickens, Bronte, Austin, Hardy, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Joyce, Woolf, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Orwell, Huxley...the list is lengthy.

[Sushicat]

There's so many I really want to get around to. Some have already been mentionned:
China Miéville
Toni Morrison

Others not:
N.K. Jemisin
Dave Eggers
Truman Capote
Joyce Carol Oates

and a lot of the English classics like the Brönte sisters, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens...

[Marina]

Sushicat, if you want to read something by Dave Eggers I would recommend The Circle, which is a wonderful book in my opinion. I gave it 5 solid stars. On the other hand, I didn't like A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius at all.

[Marina]

Some authors I would heartily recommend:

Franz Kafka
Italo Calvino
José Saramago - even though he can be quite a difficult author to read
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

My favorite author is Elias Canetti, but I don't know if I would recommend him, as he writes love/hate books, which are quite difficult to get into.

Authors I would like to try:

Shirley Jackson
M.R. James

[LibraryCin]

Regina wrote: "I was referring to authors people should read, not necessarily favorites. But I find favorite authors fascinating as well."

I don't feel like there are any I "should" read. I read what I want to. But 20ish years ago, when I was in library school, I thought I should try reading more "literary" stuff. Still not usually crazy about the literary stuff. That was when I tried Cold Mountain (booooorrrriinnng!). It's also when I first read Margaret Atwood, though, and mostly I've liked her (thought not always).

[Red52]

I find that the authors I should read are the ones that enhance or widen my world view. Or the prose and the story are just dang good. This has become a very personal list as I find what speaks to me is different than most individuals for the most part. But Authors who speak to a wide range of people are then the ones that find themselves on a list of should read.

Latin authors. Find one. Try a book. I first read Marquez a long time ago now which started a love affair with Latin authors which continues to this day. Cormac McCarthy is devastatingly good but he seems to be a love or hate author. Ali Smith experimental fiction David Mitchell's meta novel. Claire North is very inventive.

[Sara]

Authors I feel that I should and haven't yet read:

Faulkner
Dumas
Hardy
Murikami
Marquez

[annapi]

Sara wrote: "Authors I feel that I should and haven't yet read:

Faulkner
Dumas
Hardy
Murikami
Marquez"

I can't speak to the rest, but Murakami is a definite must!

[Ladyslott]

Sara wrote: "Authors I feel that I should and haven't yet read:

Faulkner
Dumas
Hardy
Murikami
Marquez"

I read two Hardy's in the last two years - Tess of the D'Urbervilles which I rated 2 stars, the most depressing book ever.

This year I read Far from the Madding Crowd which I loved, rating it 5 stars.

I guess you know which one I'm recommending.

I did read Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Murakami, which I liked but didn't love.

Dumas - I tried The Count of Monte Cristo but couldn't get into it. To be fair it was an audio, and I think this is a book that needs to be read.

[Denizen]

Sara wrote: "Authors I feel that I should and haven't yet read:

Faulkner
Dumas
Hardy
Murikami
Marquez"

I can do without Falkner but liked/loved the other four (except for Hardy's Jude the Obscure which made Tess look uplifting).

[annapi]

Ladyslott wrote: "I did read Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Murakami, which I liked but didn't love."

I felt the same way about it, but Norwegian Wood was much better! So far those are the only 2 novels I've read and I also read the short story collection The Elephant Vanishes, which was just ok.

[Ladyslott]

I can do without Falkner but liked/loved the other four (except for Hardy's s Jude the Obscure which made Tess look uplifting)."

Well I won't read that anytime soon.