Asking a true book lover, or someone involved in the publishing world their favourite author can be a daunting question. I fall under both these categories, so I find it especially challenging. It all depends on my mood, trends, genre, and what books have been the most memorable to me. Since I read a lot—I often surpass the 100 books in a year challenge on Goodreads—I will share a few of my favourite authors because one is just too hard.
As the typical TikTok-watching, avocado-toast-loving millennial I am, I fell in love with Sally Rooney’s Normal People. Last year when I heard the book was being adapted into a tv show, I decided to read it before watching the cult-hit show. I devoured it in a day. It follows a young couple, Connell and Marianne, that grew up in a small town in Ireland, from secondary school to their time at Trinity College as they are constantly drawn to one another. Her writing style is direct and intriguing about characters with relatively mundane lives. She allows readers to experience what is not being said while maintaining tension-building dialogue between her characters. Critics have called her the “Salinger for the Snapchat generation” because she tells coming-of-age stories in the millennial era with depth and exploration of sex, relationship, friendship, and being young in this time. I have consumed everything Sally Rooney has written since last year, even her pieces in The New Yorker. She is one of my most recommended authors.
A book that I think should be on every “read before you die” list is Educated by Tara Westover. It was published in 2018 and was featured on Barack Obama’s list of favourite reads that year. In this memoir, Westover tells the story of her early life with a matter-of-fact tone while she describes the abuse and difficult situations her family were responsible for. Her father and mother didn’t believe in modern medicine or other conventional institutions like banks or public school. Westover and her siblings were “home-schooled” by her father which was not a typical education, she taught herself math using her brother’s textbooks from community college to pass her GED. She went on to attend Bringham Young, Harvard and Cambridge. Her story is inspiring and eye-opening, reminding readers how fortunate having an education is.
When I’m in a mood for a light-hearted read to escape with, during the pandemic lockdowns this was often, I turn to romance authors. My favourites include Julia Quinn, Christina Lauren and Helen Hoang. Julia Quinn is the writer of the popular historical romance Briderton series recently turned into a very successful Netflix series by Shonda Rhimes. Christina Lauren is my go-to for a contemporary romance, this duo has many books and series so there is something for any reader. With representation in books being so important, Helen Hoang is excellent at telling a fresh romantic story while including authentic characters featuring diversity, autism, classism and familial relationship.
I hope I introduced you to some new authors and convinced you to pick up their amazing books!