Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
PREVIOUS TOP TEN TUESDAY TOPICS:
- December 29: Favourite Books of 2020
- January 5: Most Anticipated Releases of 2021
- January 12: Resolutions / Hopes for 2021
- January 19: Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To
Isn’t it great when you find a new author and they are fantastic! It is like talking to someone for the first time and realising that you have just so much in common and you make a new friends.
So what follows is a list of all the authors who were new to me in 2020. Some were debut writers in their own right and therefore just new, others are established authors who are new only to me. And I think we shall try to focus on the authors this week.
Leigh Bardugo
What did I read?
What did I think?
Loved it! Great fun with magic and ghosts and college campuses.
What else has she written?
The Grishaverse novels – which I might leave to one side for now; but I am looking forward to the sequel to Ninth House, apparently due this year
Abbi Waxman
What did I read?
What did I think?
I liked the premise and the characters – and who wouldn’t want to work in an independent bookshop? It was a warm and heart lifting read which felt right for keeping my spirits up during a fatal global pandemic.
What else has she written?
I Was Told It would get Easier and Other People’s Houses – neither of which I am rushing to get. Sorry. I think this novel was right at the time, but that time is moving on…
Casey McQuiston
What did I read?
What did I think?
Lovely escapist fun – gay romance between the First Son of America and the Prince of Wales, it was nowhere near as raunchy as the media suggested and actually rather coy.
What else has she written?
This is really not my usual genre but there is something appealing about her forthcoming One Last Stop which I will look out for.
Becky Chambers
What did I read?
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
What did I think?
A book title that says it all! A ragtag crew on a spaceship with enough time to bicker, bond, discover themselves and fall in love with each other. Great fun and full of warmth.
What else has she written?
There are two more books in the Wayfarers series with a fourth coming out this year, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. This is likely to be a series I come back to.
Candice Carty-Williams
What did I read?
What did I think?
Loved the frankness and honesty and humour of Queenie’s journey and the appalling racist micro-aggressions and fetishisation.
What else has she written?
Various contributions to magazines and journalism, and a second novel People Person is coming out this year, I believe. I will be looking out for that.
Bernardine Evaristo
What did I read?
What did I think?
Totally blown away. This was a wonderful beautiful book.
What else has she written?
Oh, there is a whole back catalogue of novels and drama! How did I not know of her before she was nominated for the Booker? Much joy to be mined from this discovery.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
What did I read?
What did I think?
I liked the mock-documentary style and the recreation of the music scene. And the character of Daisy was wonderful: mercurial, frustrating, mesmerising. Was it a little too tidy at the end?
What else has she written?
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the big other book, but there were a few more prior to that; and Malibu Rising is being published this year.
Maria Kuzniar
What did I read?
What did I think?
It was… alright. It was very Middle School and felt a tad light to me. As a reader of much YA, I was not blown away.
What else has she written?
Nothing yet but The Ship of Shadows has scope for a sequel / series. There were many threads left dangling.
Deepa Anappara
What did I read?
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
What did I think?
An important novel exploring India’s missing children, and a great depiction of slum life… but it felt weighted down by its agenda a little.
What else has she written?
Much journalism, I think this was her first novel.
Tamsyn Muir
What did I read?
What did I think?
Loved the madness of it – the relationship with Harrow, the necromancy, the bizarrely contemporary and familiar language… One of the few novels where I enjoyed reading fight scenes!
What else has she written?
The sequel Harrow the Ninth is waiting for the right time to be read!
Kiley Reid
What did I read?
What did I think?
Interesting concept, very relevant to 2020’s Black Lives Matters, hugely let down by the conclusion.
What else has she written?
Nothing that I am aware of: Such a Fun Age was her debut novel.
Holly Jackson
What did I read?
The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
What did I think?
Great! A surprisingly dark YA detective novel uncovering the secrets in a small British town.
What else has she written?
The sequel Good Girl, Bad Blood which was also great!
TJ Klune
What did I read?
What did I think?
Lovely! Fantasy, middle aged gay romance. And phoenixes. Quality warm escapism and I loved the bureaucracy of DICOMY!
What else has he written?
A range of queer romances. Check them out here
Stacey Halls
What did I read?
What did I think?
I found it a little flat. Seventeenth century witch hunts and witch trials should have been a more compelling read. It was… ok. I didn’t hate it – but it might have been more fun if I had.
What else has she written?
The Foundling which I do actually have, but there are a lot of other books I want to read first. Perhaps if I run out of other books…
Francine Toon
What did I read?
What did I think?
Fantastically creepy gothic novel set in Scottish Highlands. Genuinely disturbing in places, I loved the sense of community she created – albeit a community with its own fractures.
What else has she written?
Nothing else: Pine was her debut.
It is interesting: I had not planned to focus on new-to-me authors last year but fifteen of them feels like quite a high percentage; and I had not consciously been away of how many of them would end up being female on this list! And with the pandemic, there are a lot of books here that I might not have picked up any other year, and which I am glad I did!
I cannot wait to read your new-to-you authors from last year and please do drop me a comment if you pop by!
FORTHCOMING TOP TEN TUESDAY TOPICS:
- February 2: Books Written Before I Was Born (These can be books you’ve read or want to read!) (submitted by Davida Chazan @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog)
- February 9: Valentine’s Day/Love Freebie
- February 16: Purple, Yellow, and/or Green Book Covers (in honor of Mardis Gras, which is today!)
- February 23: Books That Made Me Laugh Out Loud (Claire @ Book Lovers Pizza)
The Book Lovers' Sanctuary 
So many of these are on my TBR! I’m so excited for The Ship of Shadows–I’ve been getting very into Middle Grade recently–and I really want to give Queenie a try. I just finished the final book in the Wayfarers series and the whole series is brilliant!
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I did like Ship of Shadows and can see my daughter loving it in a few years!
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Ninth House does sound good!
My post.
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Becky Chambers is a recent find for me, too.
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Ohhh you discovered so many great authors! A lot of them have become my favourites! =) Great list! I hope you’ll discover even more amazing new authors in 2021!
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Holly Jackson was on my list this week too, I haven’t read Good Girl, Bad Blood yet, but I’m hoping to this year. I love Leigh Bardugo, I’m so excited for the next Grisha book, Rule of Wolves. I liked Ninth House but it was a bit slow for me.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/01/26/top-ten-tuesday-300/
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You’ve got such a great list here. Yea to Leigh Bardugo – Always!! Taylor Jenkins Reid almost made it to my list, but I don’t know if I’ll read more books by her. Even though I did enjoy Daisy Jones. I am definitely having a look at Holly Jackson. Now that’s my kind of read!
Happy TTT!
Elza Reads
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I’ve read Chambers and Klune and they both write so good! Happy reading! https://readwithstefani.com/popular-books-i-did-not-finish/
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I couldn’t ever make up my mind about reading The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder or not, but it’s been on so many TTT lists lately I might have to try it out after all.
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TJR is AMAZING! I’m so glad you met her writing this year. I hope you keep reading her stuff.
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I really enjoyed Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology. I haven’t read any of her other works though! Here is my Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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I still need to read Ninth House. I loved Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels so I bet I’ll love it. 🙂
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I retired as a high school librarian in 2017 and I am ashamed to say I only recognize your first author. Oh dear. Thanks for visiting my blog.
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I love Leigh Bardugo’s books so much, although I haven’t actually gotten to Ninth House yet. I’d definitely recommend reading her Six of Crows duology at some point. I’ve been meaning to read Red, White, and Royal Blue, Daisy Jones and the Six, and Gideon the Ninth for absolute ages, but maybe I’ll get to them this year?
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I’ve been wanting to read The Bookish Life of Nina Hill for a while now. It sounds brilliant!
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I haven’t read any of these, but Such a Fun Age is one I’d like to check out for sure
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Oh, I love that we did a similar layout! 😉 Nina Hill, Queenie, and Daisy Jones are all on my TBR. Happy to see you enjoyed them. ❤
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This is so many new authors! I’ve only read Leigh Bardugo out of this list, of which I also need to check out Ninth House eventually. I’ve heard of several of these, but I particular want to read Holly Jackson’s books.
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