Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2016

New-To-Me Authors I read in 2016
Today, I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) and A Month of Favorites (hosted by Traveling with T, Estella’s Revenge, and GirlXOXO). My list does NOT include debut authors… since I will honor them in an upcoming Best Debuts of 2016 list.

Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2016

Ramona Ausubel (Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty)
Her commentary on the habits of the wealthy made this summer read shine.

Jennifer Close (The Hopefuls)
She won me over with her hilarious skewering of douche-y DC politicos.

Delia Ephron (Siracusa)
Though I’ve loved her movies, I had never read any of her books…until Siracusa became my favorite book of summer 2016.

Kent Haruf (Our Souls at Night)
I’m sad that the first book of his that I read was also his last (he’s since passed away), but thankful that he left behind a solid backlist.

Janice Y.K. Lee (The Expatriates)
Lee hit my hot button of running thin threads of darkness through an otherwise light story.

Jim Lynch (Before the Wind)
Lynch brilliantly plopped a classic dysfunctional family novel into the world of sailing…which provides endless fodder for social commentary. Thankfully, he’s got a backlist waiting for me!

Anthony Marra (The Tsar of Love and Techno)
Marra’s writing and delightfully subversive tone made this short story collection sing.

Susan Perabo (Why They Run the Way They Do)
This underrated gem of a short story collection has that whole “darkness simmering just beneath the surface of mundane life” thing going on. And, Perabo has a novel (The Fall of Lisa Bellow) coming out in March 2017!

Anna Quindlen (Miller’s Valley)
Why did I wait so long?! Catherine, thank you for pushing me! Ms. Quindlen, thank you for having such an extensive backlist waiting for me!

Rufi Thorpe (Dear Fang, With Love)
What an endearing heroine in Vera! And, I’ve got my eye on Thorpe’s previous novel, The Girls from Corona del Mar.

What new-to-you authors have you read this year?

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24 Comments

  1. Amanda wrote:

    Lynch’s The Highest Tide is great, too! Try it next 🙂

    Amanda @ A Bookshelf Monstrosity

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      YAY! I’m so glad someone out there has read some of his other work…that’s the book of his I’ll try next…whenever that may be.

      Posted 12.7.16 Reply
  2. I just finished Before the Wind, so didn’t think to consider Lynch, but should have! I liked The Girls From Corona Del Mar a lot more than Dear Fang. I think you’d like it. I gave Siracusa just a sample size try in the summer and then went no further, but hearing you talk about it, I’m feeling like I need to give it another try. Maybe over my upcoming break. Nice list!

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      What did you think of Before the Wind? And glad to hear I might like Girls from Corona del Mar.

      Whenever you need a page turner, try Siracusa again! I really loved it.

      Posted 12.7.16 Reply
      • I really liked the family story in Before the Wind a lot! I’m not a sailor, so could have done with a little less of the technical aspects of sailing.

        Posted 12.7.16 Reply
  3. Michelle wrote:

    All books I have been wanting to read but just have not gotten around to them. Sad.

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Story of my life…ha!

      Posted 12.7.16 Reply
  4. Steven wrote:

    “The One Man” by Andrew Gross is a captivating WW II novel of historical fiction about one man’s attempt to secretly extricate a professor who has knowledge of making the atomic bomb, from a German prison camp. Not only does the American (immigrant) government/military agent for the U.S. have to get into the camp, he has to get both of them out undercover. Other characters take on major roles also. The novel is loosely based on the author’s father’s WW II experience. It was a page turner and one of the best and most detailed novels I have read regarding WW II.

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
  5. Oh, I didn’t know Kent Haruf died…
    My TTT: http://mwgerard.com/top-ten-new-to-me/

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Sad, right?

      Posted 12.7.16 Reply
  6. I’ve only read the last two.

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
  7. Karen Blue wrote:

    OH dear! I haven’t read any of these authors. My TBR thanks you for the recs.

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
  8. That was the first Thorpe book I read too and completely fell in love with it. I’m hoping her other book is just as entertaining!

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Wasn’t Vera just amazing?!

      Posted 12.7.16 Reply
  9. Catherine wrote:

    So many great ones in this list. I didn’t know you hadn’t read wharf before. You should read the Plainsong trilogy- such quiet, but stunning prose.

    Yes to Jim Lynch and Anna Quindlen! She has enough of a backlist to combat any reading slump your might have for the next two years.

    Posted 12.6.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      What’s wharf???

      And where should I start with Quindlen’s backlist??

      Posted 12.7.16 Reply
      • Catherine wrote:

        LOL! Curse you Apple auto-correct. Haruf.

        I don’t know why, but I feel as if Every Last One from Quindlen would work right now. Seriously compelling family life with a twist.

        Posted 12.7.16 Reply
  10. Susan wrote:

    Rufi Thorpe was a new author to me as well this year. I listened to the audiobook of her novel The Girls from Corona del Mar. Wow it sort of blew me away. I was also impressed by Ben Winter’s novel Underground Airlines. He was also a new author for me.

    Posted 12.8.16 Reply
  11. Naomi wrote:

    Kent Haruf was new to me this year, as well. I also have Plainsong, but haven’t read it yet.
    I haven’t read anything by Anna Quindlen in a long time – I can’t even remember what it was that I read! Thanks for reminding me of her!
    I was thinking of making my own list of new-to-me authors, but then I realized that probably more than half of the books I read are written by authors I’ve never read before. Is this just me?

    Posted 12.9.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’d agree that a ton of authors I’ve read the past couple years are new to me….these are just my favorite ones. But, it’d be interesting to get an actual percentage!

      Posted 12.12.16 Reply
  12. Toady wrote:

    I haven’t read the majority of these authors myself. I have to look for your review of Miller’s Valley. I started it, but tossed it aside. It’s possible that I didn’t give it enough of a chance.

    Posted 12.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I just loved Quindlen’s writing style, but I can see some people thinking it’s slow.

      Posted 12.12.16 Reply
  13. Great list…the only one I know, though, is Anna Quindlen.

    Beautiful post as always.

    ENJOY your day!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver’s Reviews
    My A Month of Faves</a

    Posted 12.15.16 Reply
  14. You really did find ton of new to you authors! Congrats!

    Posted 12.15.16 Reply

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