7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you

[Tara]

My maiden name is Updike, but I've never read anything by John Updike (shameful, I know). So this will be my opportunity to FINALLY read Rabbit, Run.

[Lexi ✨]

Lexi seems to be a very popular erotica author name...but thankfully it's just a nickname so I can look for authors named Alexandria as well. :)

[Samantha]

I'm getting married in 2018, and there just so happens to be an author that has my first name, and my soon-to-be new last name so that's what I'm going with (even though the book sounds quite ugh).

[Nicole]

I think I'm going to read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

[Kellene]

Sara wrote: "This is another hard one for some of you. If you really can't find a book that works with your name start branching out to your children, parents, siblings, etc. A little flexibility is perfectly ok!"

This is another time that I have the impossible to find first name. No author's named Kellene that I've ever heard of, and the married name is equally hard. So I'm going with my maiden name.

[Laura • lauralovestoread]

Close enough to Laura and my initials L G
Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between
Or

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

[Jennifer]

Kellene wrote: "Sara wrote: "This is another hard one for some of you. If you really can't find a book that works with your name start branching out to your children, parents, siblings, etc. A little flexibility i..."

Maybe go with an author who shares your initials??

[Wendy]

My maiden name is Falconer, so if I get stuck at the last minute, I can always read some Olivia picture books!

[Teresa]

I Am Watching You Teresa Driscoll

[Casey]

Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers seems really interesting plus the author happens to have the same name as my aunt!

[Megan]

I've done some digging on my last name and was not impressed by any of the books that came up. I am thinking Megan or Meg may be my best option, but there are a lot of us out there. Anyone have a book they loved by a Meg or Megan?

[Amber]

I googled authors with my name and didn't come up with much so I am going to read a book by Diane ChAMBERlain. My name is Amber :)

[Laura]

I was literally named after Laura Ingalls Wilder and have yet to read one of her books. So time to pick up Little House on the Prairie finally. haha.

[Maile]

I do not have a common name but was pleasantly surprised to have actually found an author with the same name....
Maile Meloy

[Leanne]

I'm going with something by Liane Moriarty - same first name, just a different spelling

[Leanne]

Megan wrote: "I've done some digging on my last name and was not impressed by any of the books that came up. I am thinking Megan or Meg may be my best option, but there are a lot of us out there. Anyone have a b..."

Meg Cabot wrote The Princess Diaries series and a lot of other books

[Jill]

This prompt made me happy. I happened upon this challenge in a friend's Facebook comment and was reading through the prompts when I saw this one. It just so happened that the book I just started was by Jill Sanders, which started off this challenge perfectly. :)Jill Sanders

[WVrambler]

I’ll currently reading The Spymistress by Jennifer Chiaverini. She also wrote the Elm Creek Quilt series.

[Samara]

My name is Samara and my last name is even more uncommon. Does anyone know any authors with this name???

[Liza]

I searched my first name on Amazon and there are some lovely M/M MPREG books that come up...

[Mike]

Samara wrote: "My name is Samara and my last name is even more uncommon. Does anyone know any authors with this name???"

Searching "Samara" under author got me:

Samara O'Shea
Samara Halperin
Samara King

and literally dozens of others. I am not familiar with any of them but with that many choices surely you will find something. Good luck!

[Devon]

My last name was King until I got married and hyphenated it. Since King is half my last name and I still go by King at work, is it okay to use a Stephen King book for this prompt?

[Monica]

Of course it is! I assume you don't want to read anything by Devon Monk or Devon Hartford.

[Ira]

I have two choices here and none really excites me. I was named after Hera the Greek godess, but for some reasons my parents decided to spell it Ira in English. So I can read a book by Ira Levin, definatelly not the same name, but it is spelled the same. Plus we have the same initials. Or I can read the travel memoir my grandmother published that I doubt is on Goodreads because it was a very local release.

[Mrs. Hahn]

Thankfully my married last name is a common last name! I say whatever you can get that's close is fine -- illustrator, initials, maiden name, middle name, different spelling, nickname. If you can't fit the letter of the law, go for the spirit behind it. :)

I bent the rules on last year's "book bought on a trip" because the only trips I ever take are to Target... so I bought a book for my daughter there, read it, and handed it over to her.

[SadieReadsAgain]

I like this one, it means I can read The Essex Serpent!

[Harker]

I'm trying to find an author with the name Harker since I don't care for the ones written by DeFilippis name bearers. Do you think A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness <-- would be close enough?

[Johanne]

Harker wrote: "I'm trying to find an author with the name Harker since I don't care for the ones written by DeFilippis name bearers. Do you think A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness <-- would be close enough?"
I just did a quick search of books in english by authors with the name of Harker in Worldcat, and there are more than 4000. I´m not saying they are all relevant, but you should be able to find some. I searched here on Goodreads afterwards and the Harkers are jumbled together with Harkness (really irrititating), but there are quite a few with the name Harker.

[Johanne]

Johanne wrote: "Harker wrote: "I'm trying to find an author with the name Harker since I don't care for the ones written by DeFilippis name bearers. Do you think A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
I just ..."
That is 4000 entries, not authors... And some of them are: Harker Moore
Harker Lesley
Harker Andrew
Harker L Allen (Lizzie Allen)
Harker, Brian Harker, Brian
Harker Roland
etc.
I have no idea if they are any good though...

[Chinook]

I think Harkness is close enough if you aren’t finding anything interesting under Harker. The point is to help you read more options but without making it a chore, after all!

[Luthie]

Ruthla8 wrote: "I use my maiden name, and my mother has a few published picture books. It would be totally cheating to use one of those for this prompt, wouldn't it? I mean, there HAVE to be some authors named Rut..."

There ist a English author of thrillers: Ruth Rendell
or a famous sex-therapist: Ruth Westheimer ;)

[Johanne]

Luthie wrote: "Ruthla8 wrote: "I use my maiden name, and my mother has a few published picture books. It would be totally cheating to use one of those for this prompt, wouldn't it? I mean, there HAVE to be some a..."
A couple more Ruths who write fiction:
Ruth Ware
Ruth Reichl
Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Downie

[Boipoka]

Gah, I hate this prompt :(

I hated the 'same initials as you' prompt as well, but this is kinda worse.

My name limits me to writers from the Indian subcontinent, and even then it's not a really popular name. My last name restricts me specifically to one state in India. That leaves precious little choice, even though I'm okay with alternate English spellings.

I couldn't find a single author with my first name whose books look remotely interesting (or available, for that matter).

There's a famous children's writer who shares my surname but his son (whose work I like better) shortened his surname to Ray, which I definitely don't identify with.

May be I'll bite the bullet and read a children's book for this one. Or get creative with the prompt - read a book titled Aparajita; or stretching it further read a book with 'Invincible' in the title (that's what my name means).

Yes, I really hate this prompt.

[Jenn]

A search of my last name pulled up a whole slew of weird erotica with gargoyles books and no thanks. lol

Think I'll go with something by Jenn Bennett or Jen Campbell

[tif]

Aparajita wrote: "Gah, I hate this prompt :(

I hated the 'same initials as you' prompt as well, but this is kinda worse.

My name limits me to writers from the Indian subcontinent, and even then it's not a really ..."

It must be hard when you have a regional specific or unusual name. I hadn't even considered that as an issue. Maybe you could look up other names with the same meaning as yours and see if there's any books by authors with those names that interest you. Or if you have a nickname maybe try to find a book with that in the title. This would be good feedback for the makers of the challenge who don't even consider issues like these because they don't face these sort of issues.
Good luck!!

[tif]

Ira wrote: "I have two choices here and none really excites me. I was named after Hera the Greek godess, but for some reasons my parents decided to spell it Ira in English. So I can read a book by Ira Levin, d..."

Are there not any authors that share your surname? Also, since your parents named you after Hera could you see if there's any authors called Hera?

[Sarah]

I'm pretty lucky that both my names are common (annoyingly so growing up being one of five Sarahs in my class!) but there are so many Sarahs out there that it is hard to pick. Any recommendations?

[Ira]

tif wrote: "Ira wrote: "I have two choices here and none really excites me. I was named after Hera the Greek godess, but for some reasons my parents decided to spell it Ira in English. So I can read a book by ..."

No unfortunatelly there are not any authors with my last name. As for authors named Hera there are
Hera Lindsay Bird that writes poetry, Hera Lind that writes in German that I do not read and some others that writes weird romance stuff. Maybe I will go for the poetry even though I don't read much poetry. This prompt is really pushing me out of my comfort zone. Hera is not really a common name

[Johanne]

@Ira, I find quite a few Iras writing different genres. should I make a list or have you looked extensively yourself?

[Ira]

Johanne wrote: "@Ira, I find quite a few Iras writing different genres. should I make a list or have you looked extensively yourself?"
I have found some but most of them are male, so it is not really the same...
I will find something eventually. It is just irritating that the choices are so limited. I had the same problem with the initials prompt. I am not very excited for this one.

[Jess]

Sarah wrote: "I'm pretty lucky that both my names are common (annoyingly so growing up being one of five Sarahs in my class!) but there are so many Sarahs out there that it is hard to pick. Any recommendations?"

I would highly recommend Sarah Waters especially Fingersmith

[Kearston]

Aparajita wrote: "Gah, I hate this prompt :(

I hated the 'same initials as you' prompt as well, but this is kinda worse.

I wholeheartedly agree.

[Ellie]

I'm probably going to use my surname as have a book already by Cat Warren What the Dog Knows: Scent, Science, and the Amazing Ways Dogs Perceive the World or I could pick up a Warren Ellis comic (his name is practically mine the wrong way round with a typo :D).

[SheridaK]

Can’t find a writer with same first and/or last name (Sherida Ketwaru) maybe I can stretch it a bit to Sheridan? Any suggestions?

[Monica]

Sherida, type Sherida in the box above where it says "Search books" and you'll see a number of authors named Sherida.

[Jacklyn]

My name is Jacklyn DeMar and I can't find any books by any authors with any variation of my name that I am interested in reading. I'd take Jackie, Jacqueline, Jaclyn, or Jaklyn - but I can't find anything good. I'm stumped. Nothing by anyone with the last name DeMar either, but that's not too surprising. Any ideas?

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Jacklyn wrote: "My name is Jacklyn DeMar and I can't find any books by any authors with any variation of my name that I am interested in reading. I'd take Jackie, Jacqueline, Jaclyn, or Jaklyn - but I can't find a..."

I had no idea that it was so hard to find a writer named Jacklyn or Jackie! I went through all my read books and TBR and still didn't find one...

You could always fall back on Gary DeMar but he's kind of a niche author, and so likely not what you're looking for. :-D

I did discover in my searching that Palacio R. J.'s first name is Raquel! Since all the other Raquel's I found looked like cheesy romance authors, I fell back on an obscure YA novel using my last name. I'd be very tempted to switch if I hadn't already read Wonder and all the sequel novellas. (I haven't read her picture books yet though, so I guess it's always an option I can fall back on...)

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Megan wrote: "I've done some digging on my last name and was not impressed by any of the books that came up. I am thinking Megan or Meg may be my best option, but there are a lot of us out there. Anyone have a b..."

I'm way late responding to this, but I love Megan Spooner's books that I've read. These Broken Stars is very good if you don't mind getting your heart ripped out and stomped, and also counts for the two authors challenge if you double dip (or end up needing to read the rest of the series and need to slot t hem in somewhere).

Hunted is another good one, and that's a stand alone she wrote without a co-author.

[Jacqueline]

Jacqueline Simpson was a co-author of The Folklore of Discworld with Terry Prachett

Jacqueline Susann wrote The Valley of the Dolls (I’m probably going to use this one)

Jacqueline Woodson wrote Brown Girl Dreaming and Another Brooklyn

Jacqueline Winspear wrote the Maisie Dobbs series

Jacqueline Kelly wrote The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Jacqueline Carey wrote some interesting looking ones on Magic and that.

Jacqueline Wilson wrote the Tracey Beaker books.

They’re just the Jacqueline’s. Do a Goodreads search. There are heaps of Jacqueline’s, Jacki’s, Jackie’s. And even a couple of Jacqlyns and Jaclyn’s. And even a Jacklyn.

[Nikky]

Jackie Collins! Brilliant author!