07. A book by an author that uses 3 names

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Louisa May Alcott.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Taylor Jenkins Reid.

What do these authors have in common? They all chose to use three names as their author names for their books.

This week, you are going on a scavenger hunt through your TBR for authors who use three names. You can make this a bit easier by including intials (think F. Scott Fitzgerald), or you can make it harder by looking for an author who has written under three different psudonyms (Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes as Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle).

Some Goodreads shelves to help you along:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt?

[dalex]

Right now I have Mary Robinette Kowal pencilled in for this prompt but I have several other options.

[Joanna G]

Emily wrote: "You can make this a bit easier by including intials (think F. Scott Fitzgerald), or you can make it harder by looking for an author who has written under three different psudonyms (Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes as Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle)."

For the latter, Joyce Carol Oates also wrote as Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.

I think I will do an Oates or Krentz book because that just amuses me.

[dalex]

Another author who writes under three different names is Seanan McGuire aka Mira Grant aka A. Deborah Baker.

[NancyJ]

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
✅Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by. Patrick Radden Keefe

✅Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger

Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us by Jennifer Finney Boylan
The picture on the cover really makes me laugh.

[LeahS]

I'm planning A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis . He has the 'Clive Staples' initials, but also this book was originally published under the name N.W. Clerk. There is a third name as Lewis wrote early poetry under the name of Clive Hamilton.

I'm also reading One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

[Denise]

I am working my way through the Anne of Green Gables books and it will continue into next year. *Lucy Maud Montgomery

[Karin]

Another I can think of off the top of my head is Alexander McCall Smith, plus I just finished a book by Jenna Evans Welch, but there are many more.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Claire North/Catherine Webb/Kate Griffin is another author of three names. This is definitely the direction I'm going with this prompt. I was already trying to decide between North and McGuire, but I didn't realize Oates had two pen names. This is a delight. Maybe I'll manage one of each.

[Donna]

Sharon Kay Penman for historical fiction fans.

[Dixie]

For this I'm reading Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones and Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

[Kathy]

Mary Elizabeth Braddon - The Doctor's Wife
Sara Nisha Adams - The Twilight Garden
Louisa May Alcott - Little Men

[Dubhease]

I'm probably reading Edgar Allan Poe

[Charlsa]

I have no idea with I chose this book or even from where I heard or read about it.

Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz.

[Ellie]

I have to go down the three pen names route otherwise I'm going to totally overthink it. Fortunately I have plenty of Seanan McGuire and Claire North on my TBR.

[Yesica]

I might go with something by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The Plot was 5 stars for me so I've been meaning to read more from her.

[Marie]

I've got Kimi Cunningham Grant's The Nature of Disappearing lined up for this one.

[Pam]

I have quite a few authors to choose from. I'd like to go with a new-to-me author. Some choices include:

David Foster Wallace - Consider the Lobster
Kiran Millwood Hargrave - The Mercies
Sally Cabot Gunning - Painting the Light
Neil deGrasse Tyson - Merlin's Tour of the Universe: A Traveler's Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far
Patrick Radden Keefe - Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

[John]

I have The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry on my bookshelf. I will probably read this one.

[Tania]

I have one more book to finish for Louisa May Alcott's Little Women series:

Jo's Boys

[Anne]

I will be reading Clarissa's England by Clarissa Dickson Wright.

[Severina]

I read Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by Luis Carlos Montalvan for this prompt

[Bea]

I will be reading a cozy mystery by Susan Wittig Albert

[Mel]

I'm trying to go for something I already own (since my TBR backlog is huge), but that still leaves me with a fair amount of options!

My top contenders for this prompt are:
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Unpunished by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

[Marie (UK)]

Nephthys this book was an ARC. It was an absolutely amazing five star read and a debut book to boot

[Misty]

I love the idea of reading a book by someone who has written under three different names. If I go that way, I will choose a Barbara Michaels, Elizabeth Peters, or Barbara Mertz book. :)

If I go with a writer than uses three names all together, it will likely be one of the following:
Every Tongue Got to Confess by Zora Neale Hurston
The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán
It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo
The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye
72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell
Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

I totally didn't think about an author who wrote under 3 different names (Anne Rice did)

Since it took me a month to read, I'm using the new Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Dream Count. A book well worth spending a month on. Now I need to catch up!

[Robin H-R]

I read:
The Newspaper Widow: Novel by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

REJECT: A book involving an island

Finished: 01/29/2025
Rating: 4 stars

Set in the Philippines in early 1900. Based on the author's grandmother's life. Good insight to the Philippine culture of the period, with a bonus mystery.

[Hellie]

Ta-Nehisi Coates
Between the world and me

[Joy D]

For this prompt, I read:
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari - 4.5* - My Review

[Kathy]

I read a classic American mystery, The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor.

[Anna]

For this prompt I read One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

[Michelle E]

I'm going to read Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul.

[Phil]

I read Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke for this topic (Read Feb 13th; 4*)

[Rora]

I read Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

[Misty]

After my whole list of possibilities, I chose something totally different: Ohitika Woman by Mary Brave Bird. It is an autobiography, and it's pretty interesting. I'm a little over halfway through right now.

[Anastasia]

Friday Black
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
3⭐
I enjoyed his other book more.

[Wendy]

I read We Begin Our Ascent by Joe Mungo Reed for this category -- it also fits the common name and character is an athlete categories, so there's a possibility I'll move it later depending on how my other reads shake out.

I'm on a sports kick (the Tour de France can't come soon enough) so I picked up this literary fiction told from the perspective of a professional cyclist during the Tour. My review can be found here.

[Hannah]

[Kristin]

For this prompt I read

Finally finished a popular book that I have seen on a lot of people's TBR or READ lists.

[NancyJ]

So far I read these. They might fit other prompts
✴️Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by. Patrick Radden Keefe
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel
Mozart's Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt

[Sherri]

I read Junie

[LeahS]

I read The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

I very much enjoyed the first book. The second, which I picked up from a giveaway box because of its beautiful cover was a pleasant young adult fantasy. Nicely done, if slightly confusing towards the end.

[Tracy]

I read Woodworking by Emily St. James. This is an insightful story (fiction) about a high school teacher who finally realizes that they are a trans woman. She works toward allowing others to accept her, with help from a student who is also a trans woman. The author is a trans woman, so her perspective is realistic (although, of course, each person's experience is different). I thought this book was very well done and would recommend it to anyone having any interest reading about one trans experience (well, more than one actually, since there were 3 main trans characters).


If you are interested enough to read a non-fiction book on the topic, I can suggest this book that I read earlier this year: He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailar

[NancyJ]

I need to shuffle some books, so I might read Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs by Jennifer Finney Boylan. We just got a new dog, so I’m in the mood.

Has anyone read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid yet? There is a very long wait list at the library.

[Samantha]

I read Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass. It kind of felt like nothing happened for a good part of the book. That said it wasn't bad, mostly because some of the characters when enjoyable.

[Denise]

I read Atmosphere Taylor Jenkins Reid

[Pearl]

I read The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley.
A retelling of Beowulf. I liked it.