Monthly Authors?

[Kirsty]

In the first book group which I ran, we had a monthly group read, alongside a monthly author. This gave everyone who wanted to join in the opportunity to read anything of their choice by a particular author, and then discuss it with others. We could choose one author for every two-month period, to give more people the opportunity to join in.

Would this be something which anyone would be interested in here? If so, which female authors would you like to see on the list?

[Laura]

Yes, yes this sounds good - although for me everything is new, so I don't really know the details of how it plays out. But yes, yes! I'm open to all women writers - and I do want to explore European, even it means accepting a translation - There is a Guardian recommendation. One minute.

[Laura]

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, listed as a best-selling in Guardian Fiction - recommends. Polish writer - I think.

[Kirsty]

Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and recommendations - there are so many great authors there which I haven’t tried yet!

Laura, there would be absolutely no pressure with this challenge of sorts. The idea is to read at your own pace, and choose a book - or even a short story - by the selected author that takes your fancy. It’s just designed to give a little more freedom to participants.

I’ll wait for a few new responses, and then we’ll see if we can finalise a list!

[My Book Strings]

I have to admit that I have little desire to read Herta Muller, but I'd love to read Clarice Lispecter and Merce Rodoreda. I wish Dubravka Ugresic were more widely known (at least in the U.S.), so I'm happy to see her on Mimi's list.

[Kirsty]

Thanks so much for all of the great suggestions! I too am very happy to skip Ayn Rand...

I’ve worked on my own list, which I shall post below.

[Kirsty]

- Anita Desai
- Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
- Meg Wolitzer
- Margaret Laurence
- Nina Bawden
- Teffi
- Amelie Nothomb
- Tatyana Tolstaya
- Marguerite Duras
- Angela du Maurier
- Anais Nin
- Tove Jansson
- Claire Messud
- Penelope Fitzgerald
- Vita Sackville-West
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Iris Murdoch
- Jon Godden
- Jamaica Kincaid
- May Sinclair
- Janet McNeill
- Emma Donoghue
- Richmal Crompton
- Jess Kidd
- Dorothy Edwards
- Margaret Forster
- Alice Munro

[Kirsty]

What I think the best thing to do is to wait until Monday next week (the 10th) to see if anyone has any authors to add. I will then make a numbered list of all of the authors mentioned in this thread, and then use a random number generator to come up with our list of authors.

I’ve also decided to choose one author per month, rather than every two months, to run alongside our group reads. I feel that a lot of members here read quite a lot, and therefore should be able to join in. For those who wish to discuss one of our previous monthly authors, all of the discussion threads will remain open indefinitely.

[Kirsty]

Thanks Mimi! Same here.

[Laura]

Hi - Never even heard of: Teffi, Jon Godden, Jess Kidd, Meg Wolitzer, Amelie Nolthomb - So yes please - any of those.

[Andrea]

a few I can think of...love the suggestions above too!

Helen Garner
Joyce Carole Oates
Shirley Jackson
Dymphna Cusack
Deborah Levy
Sybille Bedford
Penelope Mortimer
May Sarton
Joan London
Jane Urquhart

[Kirsty]

Goodness, it’s going to take me quite a while to compile the list, I think! Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone.

I’m of the mind that because there are so many wonderful writers mentioned here - many of which I’ve not read before - we could keep it as a kind of master list. We could then make sure that each author mentioned is included in future, either as a monthly author, or one of their books chosen as a group read. Does that sound like a good idea?

[Kirsty]

Thanks so much to everyone who has posted suggestions in this thread! I'm going to be generating the list of monthly authors this morning, and will announce it in another thread.

[Kirsty]

That’s so kind of you to say! It’s a pleasure, and I’m looking forward to discussing all of the group books.

[[deleted user]]

I'm a little late with catching up on these threads but wow, there are so many authors mentioned here that I haven't heard of! Excited to explore these!

[Kirsty]

I hope you find some that you love, Yasmine!