TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS BY FAVE AUTHORS I HAVEN’T READ + 5-STAR PREDICTIONS

This week’s prompt is books by favourite authors you still haven’t read. So I’m dividing this post into sections and, as usual, putting my own spin on it. The first half is true to the prompt, but the second half is tying in with a booktube trend of predicting books on your TBR you expect to give 5 stars to when you read them. Here goes!

1. Isabel Allende

   

I have read a fair amount of Isabel Allende’s work, but there is even more I haven’t yet read. The two pictured above are her most recent releases, but there are many more on my TBR. I think part of it is that she writes with a certain style that feels epic and sweeping and vivid. It’s amazing and why I love her so much, but it’s also a style I haven’t been gravitating towards in my recent reading. But I know that at some point I will go back to her, and when I do I will devour everything. Once I get started, I won’t want to stop. My favourite books by her so far have been Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna and Paula.

2. John Irving

         

I first encountered John Irving as a teenager when I read A Prayer for Owen Meany. I then went on to read four more of his novels over the next couple of years, and started a few more. But it has now been over a decade since I last picked up one of his books. These three sound amazing in their own ways, and I’ve heard wonderful things about them. I think I’m hesitating because while I’ve found him to be very readable, he also challenges his readers. He explores disturbing events and topics, and though he does so beautifully, it nonetheless leaves you with a lingering and somewhat tiring sense of having gone through something vaguely traumatizing. But I’ve got them on my shelf for whenever I feel equal to the task.

3. Tom Robbins

My first Tom Robbins was, again, in high school. Jitterbug Perfume. That was quickly followed by Still Life with Woodpecker, Skinny Legs and All, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Another Roadside Attraction, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas and Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates (which I still count among my all-time favourite books. And yes, I did only include the list for the pure joy of typing out those titles). And yet I haven’t read his memoir, Tibetan Peach Pie. I think this is largely due to a fear that Tom Robbins the person will not live up to Tom Robbins the author. If you are a fellow fan and have read his fiction and memoir, I’d love to hear whether it was enjoyable or disillusioning.

4. Barbara Kingsolver

    

I’ve only read three or four of Kingsolver’s books (two of them twice), but they left such a deep impression on me that I do consider her to be a favourite. And yet, there are more of her books I haven’t read than books I have. I think this is due to a few things – their length, not knowing where to go first, and mostly that a few of her best-known and most praised books just really don’t have premises that appeal to me. I know that if I do give them a real try I’ll end up loving them in spite of being about topics I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards, but it’s hard to take that leap. She has a new book coming out in October, Unsheltered, so I’m hoping to get to that one. Of the others, I think Flight Behaviour probably appeals to me the most, so that’s also on my list.

5. Bill Bryson

        

I adore Bill Bryson. He has this unparalleled ability to write about factual information in such a way that it is more entertaining then the most inventive fiction. I think he could write about the inner workings of a kitchen sink and have me intrigued and giggling (which he may well have done in At Home, one of his books I have yet to read). I’ve read a fair number of his books – mostly the travel memoirs – but have enough I’ve yet to dive into that I feel I should work on catching up. The three above (two as author and one as editor) are the ones I’m most excited to get to.

6. Amanda Craig

             

I adore Amanda Craig. I’ve read two of her books so far, and part of me wants to just devour the rest, while the other part of me wants to save them so I never run out. These are the four I haven’t gotten to yet, but if they live up to Hearts and Minds and The Lie of the Land, they will be awesome. If you haven’t read any Amanda Craig yet, I highly recommend doing so!

5-Star Predictions:

         

I’m intrigued to try Out Standing In the Field. It’s a memoir about not only what it’s like to be female in Canada’s military, but what it’s like to be top of your training class and still subject to routine harassment by your male peers. Every once in a while I think it’s important to read a book that reminds me how far we still have to go when it comes to gender equality. I think this book will do that, but also share the story of a woman who persevered and who served her country in warzones with pride.

I’ve read the beginning of This Is Going to Hurt, and I can tell that the writing style is going to be right up my street. I’m also very interested in the medical system, having been a patient a LOT, and I’m interested to see if the NHS in the UK has similar issues to the medical system in Canada.

I’ve been meaning to finish The Inconvenient Indian for ages. It’s one I’m a bit ashamed not to have finished yet, and one that I absolutely consider to be required reading.

              

I don’t have a ton of individual things to say about the fiction selections – all of them have been reviewed in glowing terms again and again, and are on subjects I find intriguing.

So that’s it for this week! I’d love to hear about your favourite authors, if you’ve read any of these books, and which books on your TBR you think are most likely to get full marks from you!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.