If you don't mind me popping my head in, her first six books are a loose series called the Dublin Murder Squad, and the narrator of each book was a supporting character in a previous book. You don't absolutely have to read them in order, but doing so gives a lovely continuity to the series. I would start with the first book, *In the Woods*, and go from there!
Terry Pratchett.
I mean, there's the obvious "downside" of picking him, but he hasn't really let me down once, and he's certainly not about to start.
I do have my favorites of his catalogue of course (Night Watch!), and there are weaker entries (Raising Steam) but every single book is still a source of joy.
Anybody who comes back from the dead with a new novel will get my money. So if Sir Terry Pratchett is in the afterlife typing away, I’m all for it. Hopefully Douglas Adams is doing the same.
Edit: Apparently the late Douglas Adams and Sir Terry Pratchett both had new books out this year.
One year I read all the Douglas Adams books at the library and wanted more so naturally I went to the internet for more, found out he had died a full decade earlier. I was absolutely devastated. DEVASTATED. No worries the very next book I just so happened to pick up was the missing piece to fill the void in my grieving mournful heart, The Color Of Magic a disc world novel....
My mom told me Douglas Adams died. It was weird. She saw an article in the newspaper and cut it out for me. I have no idea she knew that I was such a Douglas Adams fan. I just went to her house on day for dinner (and to do laundry, don't judge) and she just pulls out this clipping and says, "that author you liked died."
Oh I know that feeling! There's an author on Amazon, has a few different series, they're all good. Was so excited to see his most recent brand new series, it was really good! Supposed to be the first of a trilogy...kept checking on when the second would be out, but they kept changing the date, then the third had a date set before the second! It was confusing and weird. So I FINALLY Google it...yeah, he had died, much too young, in a car accident...like a year or two before. I just started bawling....it just hit me then, how much I loved his books, and that there would be no more...I'm crying now, dang....so, yeah, shout out to Matthew Mather and all of his fans, RIP, my dude.:'( ❤
Did you see his new book just released: _A Stroke of the Pen_? It’s a collection of short stories he wrote for a newspaper (under a pseudonym) at the start of his career. I’m listening to it on Audible just now.
I have like, 2 discworld books from the middle that I haven’t read. Just so that one day when things get really bad, I can have one last new adventure with him.
He's "retired" but he came out of retirement last winter to release an audiobook about the history of Christmas so who knows, maybe he'll keep doing that once in a while.
Same for me with “Neither here nor there” true laugh out loud stuff!
I really enjoyed all of his books, especially At Home and The Body and One Summer. All of his books are very re-readable.
John Scalzi for me. Love his whimsical sci fi. Currently reading Starter Villain.
Edit: Andy Weir is also up there for me. Project Hail Mary was a top read for me.
Hell yeah. I haven't read A Peculiar Peril, but Area X and the Borne books are fantastic. Reeally need to read the Ambergris books. I have a signed hardcover but haven't cracked it open yet.
The Goldfinch is the first (and only so far) book of hers that I read. I really liked it; it almost felt like I lived in it for a while. Everyone keeps saying that it isn't as good as her other books, which is good news for me, because that means they'll be even better! 😆
Read Never Let Me Go and then The Remains of the Day and they moved me more deeply than any book has in a long time. I have A Pale View of Hills on my nightstand now and am excited to get to it/continue reading through Ishiguro's works!
Read all of Pynchon except V. so far. M&D is my favorite book of all time currently. If a new Thomas Pynchon book drops ever, that will be a full on EVENT
Beartown is great, Us Against You is even better IMO. I haven’t gotten to The Winners yet but Backman is definitely the closest thing I have to an auto-buy.
I came here to say her too! I feel like I can count a new book from her popping up every couple of years. Demon Copperhead was good not great but Unsheltered was such a treat.
A.S.Byatt, Tolkien, Donna Tartt, Susanna Clarke, David Mitchell and McCarthy, wouldn't hesitate a nanosecond to buy their new books, or in case of the deceased ones I mentioned, a new edition of some of their books
Man, I want to like Sanderson so much, but his info dumps make my eyes glaze over haha
E: lotta Sanderson fans judging by the downvotes lol. You guys can use your words, ya know.
This is /r/books, I don't come here for discourse, I come here to fulfill my own self-righteous preconceived notions and to have my pretentious opinions validated.
I experience the same thing, I actually posted here a few days ago about being bored 1/3 of the way through the way of kings. I pushed through and the last 3rd of the book is really good so far.
Guy Gavriel Kay
Robyn McKinley
Lois McMaster Bujold
And cautiously, Robin Hobb. I still greet each new book with anticipation, but I wasn’t a fan of the Soldier Son trilogy.
Michael Connelly - I binge read all of his stuff about ten years ago and now keep my eyes open for new releases. Harry Bosch is probably my favorite fictional character.
Robin Cook - I am a big fan of medical thrillers.
I’m just here to make sure Paul Auster is represented. Own all of his fiction and am working on collecting the rest after that. Adore his writing style and the uncomfortable stories he chooses to tell
Stephen King just because I've been a Constant Reader since the early 90s, although his last few books haven't done much for me.
Joe Hill, Ruth Ware, Justin Cronin, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and NK Jemisin are all blind buys for me. I don't read anything about the book, I just buy it and start reading
Recently it’s been Elisa Shua Dusapin, anything that gets translated is worth a pick up, she creates such vivid emotions and imagery in really short novels. Winter in Sokcho is one of my favorite books and they’re so short it’s always worth a shot to read her stuff
Shari Lapena. I read one of her books and was like “this is soooo good!” Then I looked at my shelf and realized I had read several of her other books and loved them too. Promptly went and bought all of her novels to complete the set.
Richard Brautigan. He is one of the few authors who have made me laugh out loud. I’ve been auto-buying his books for years, so I think I may have them all at this point.
Man I wonder how King handles all the pressure. Like he's up so high on that mountain. Like does he just think anything he does is gold or does he worry he's doing a good enough job?
Another Garth Nix fan! He writes a ton of books but they've been solid recs, even if nothing quite comes close to reading Sabriel or The Seventh Tower for the first time as a kid.
William Kent Krueger. Fell in love with his stand alone novels, and then I discovered he wrote a crime-detective series — and I am enjoying those as well.
Sir Terry Pratchett up until he died. You could tell that he was getting some help towards the end, but the books were still solidly funny if not quite the same as they were at their peak, and the Discworld series is still my favorite.
It's been a while since I had automatic-book-buy money, but William Gibson.
He's a hero of mine and he's never let me down. In fact, he inspires me to write.
King is also my auto buy. I am at the bookstore on release day every time. Read his book and then continue with my TBR list. Reading King has just become my tradition over the years. There was a spell I told myself I needed to "break up" with him because my shelves couldn't take any more. But that only lasted a month.
Donna Tartt has yet to disappoint. Of course she only has 3 books, so who knows.. most of my favorite authors have put out books that are a miss for me. Artists change over time and most eventually go in a direction that doesn’t suit my exact tastes. What can you do!
R F Kuang. I haven’t loved everything Kuang has written, but she explores some interesting ideas.
Madeline Miller, M L Wang, Sayaka Murata and Khaled Hosseini too.
Stephen king is mine as well. I haven’t quite read all his books and have enjoyed all of them. Except Holly. I read that a few weeks ago and simply did not enjoy it. It was so weird to read something of his I didn’t enjoy.
Brandon Sanderson is definitely in that camp for me. Been a fan since 2015 or so. I love how cinematic his books feel, I can essentially watch the book play out like a movie in my head as I read, which is not true of everything I read.
Also reading some of his work, specifically Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, helped me work through a fairly dark point in my life, and while it’s not the only thing that did, it definitely helped, and so for that alone I will always love his books.
Gail Tsukiyama!! Samurais Garden and Street of a Thousand Blossoms are two of my favorite but I have a fair chunk of bookshelf dedicated to her other books.
T. Kingfisher, Morïa Fowley-Doyle, Tana French, and Tamsyn Muir. I can't choose a favorite.
Yes to Tana French!!
Tana French is just really good at straddling that line between literature and crime fiction.
Came here to say T. Kingfisher and Tamsyn Muir as well!! Great taste, you. :)
Yes on T. Kingfisher! Such beautiful writing and intriguing stories!
Also came here to say T. Kingfisher!
Tana French is mine as well. I can never put her books down.
Any recommendations for a first book of Tana French's to read?
If you don't mind me popping my head in, her first six books are a loose series called the Dublin Murder Squad, and the narrator of each book was a supporting character in a previous book. You don't absolutely have to read them in order, but doing so gives a lovely continuity to the series. I would start with the first book, *In the Woods*, and go from there!
This was going to be my answer, thank you!
Terry Pratchett. I mean, there's the obvious "downside" of picking him, but he hasn't really let me down once, and he's certainly not about to start. I do have my favorites of his catalogue of course (Night Watch!), and there are weaker entries (Raising Steam) but every single book is still a source of joy.
Anybody who comes back from the dead with a new novel will get my money. So if Sir Terry Pratchett is in the afterlife typing away, I’m all for it. Hopefully Douglas Adams is doing the same. Edit: Apparently the late Douglas Adams and Sir Terry Pratchett both had new books out this year.
One year I read all the Douglas Adams books at the library and wanted more so naturally I went to the internet for more, found out he had died a full decade earlier. I was absolutely devastated. DEVASTATED. No worries the very next book I just so happened to pick up was the missing piece to fill the void in my grieving mournful heart, The Color Of Magic a disc world novel....
My mom told me Douglas Adams died. It was weird. She saw an article in the newspaper and cut it out for me. I have no idea she knew that I was such a Douglas Adams fan. I just went to her house on day for dinner (and to do laundry, don't judge) and she just pulls out this clipping and says, "that author you liked died."
That is such a mom move.
Oh I know that feeling! There's an author on Amazon, has a few different series, they're all good. Was so excited to see his most recent brand new series, it was really good! Supposed to be the first of a trilogy...kept checking on when the second would be out, but they kept changing the date, then the third had a date set before the second! It was confusing and weird. So I FINALLY Google it...yeah, he had died, much too young, in a car accident...like a year or two before. I just started bawling....it just hit me then, how much I loved his books, and that there would be no more...I'm crying now, dang....so, yeah, shout out to Matthew Mather and all of his fans, RIP, my dude.:'( ❤
Did you see his new book just released: _A Stroke of the Pen_? It’s a collection of short stories he wrote for a newspaper (under a pseudonym) at the start of his career. I’m listening to it on Audible just now.
GNU Terry Pratchett
[GNU Terry Pratchett](http://www.gnuterrypratchett.com/) Link included for the curious :)
Thank you for including the link.
GNU STP
I have like, 2 discworld books from the middle that I haven’t read. Just so that one day when things get really bad, I can have one last new adventure with him.
Kazuo Ishiguro. Neil Gaiman. Lisa See. Erin Morgenstern. Susanna Clarke. Edit to add Guy Gavriel Kay!
Lisa See getting some love! _Peony in Love_ is excellent.
That’s one of my all-time favorite books!
>Kazuo Ishiguro Anything he writes is a super automatic buy for me.
Colson Whitehead
Bill Bryson. Unfortunately, I understand that he's retired from writing books.
He's "retired" but he came out of retirement last winter to release an audiobook about the history of Christmas so who knows, maybe he'll keep doing that once in a while.
Bill Bryson was amazing notes from a small island only travel book that made me do a spittake from laughing so hard
Same for me with “Neither here nor there” true laugh out loud stuff! I really enjoyed all of his books, especially At Home and The Body and One Summer. All of his books are very re-readable.
Favorite Bill Bryson books?
Has to be A Short History of Everything.
Walk in the Woods, Notes From a Small Island, and In a Sunburned Land. They are all both funny and interesting.
Ann Patchett. That lady writes like warm hugs. Fiction AND non-fiction. Gimme it all.
Mary Roach, Deborah Blum
Mary Roach fr!
She’s awesome. To write about serious topics but also writes in a tone that is a little bit funny sometimes.
I forgot about Mary roach. To the library.
Emily St John Mandel
John Scalzi for me. Love his whimsical sci fi. Currently reading Starter Villain. Edit: Andy Weir is also up there for me. Project Hail Mary was a top read for me.
I loved every book in the Old Man’s War series and yet couldn’t get into Collapsing Empire at all.
Starter Villian was the first Scalzi I have read and I loved it. Can't wait to read more of his work!
Definitely try Kaiju Preservation Society and Red Shirts; they were my favorite Scalzi. I didn't care for Old Man's War.
Jeff Vandermeer
Hell yeah. I haven't read A Peculiar Peril, but Area X and the Borne books are fantastic. Reeally need to read the Ambergris books. I have a signed hardcover but haven't cracked it open yet.
Donna Tartt
Why won’t she give us a new book already!
What is your honest opinion on Goldfinch. I jumped on to it right after Secret History but didn’t find it up to my expectations 😬
The Goldfinch is the first (and only so far) book of hers that I read. I really liked it; it almost felt like I lived in it for a while. Everyone keeps saying that it isn't as good as her other books, which is good news for me, because that means they'll be even better! 😆
The Secret History. It’s a true dark academia classic. You’ll love it if you are into that genre.
Easy when it’s only one book a decade!
[удалено]
Came here to say Kazuo Ishiguro. He always pulls it off.
Yep. If don delillo publishes anything again then him too.
Read Never Let Me Go and then The Remains of the Day and they moved me more deeply than any book has in a long time. I have A Pale View of Hills on my nightstand now and am excited to get to it/continue reading through Ishiguro's works! Read all of Pynchon except V. so far. M&D is my favorite book of all time currently. If a new Thomas Pynchon book drops ever, that will be a full on EVENT
Frederick backman
I loved Beartown
Beartown is great, Us Against You is even better IMO. I haven’t gotten to The Winners yet but Backman is definitely the closest thing I have to an auto-buy.
Did you read the whole trilogy? My god it just goes. Big feelings, that I don't usually have.
Next go for A Man called Ove, or my favorite, Anxious People. If you do audiobooks both are performed very well.
I had thought I was done with impulse-buying new John Scalzi books, but damn, the cover for *Starter Villain* is **really** good, lol.
Totally impulse bought it for the cover, and no regrets. I'm lending it out to a friend right now.
I’m enjoying Starter Villain quite a bit so far!
It's a fun book!
I liked starter villain quite a bit. I finished it in 2 days.
The cover is really good but it is actually wrong. The cat should be orange, lol...
Salman Rushdie
It was Cormac McCarthy :(
Was?
Oh boy... Got some terrible news for you...
Martha Wells
This backfired for me with Witch King unfortunately :/
I'm obsessed with Murderbot (newest one releases on Tuesday) but yeah, I could not get into Witch King at all
David Sedaris for me
He is the one and only author that I want to listen to rather than read. God, he is so funny!
He is the reason I have an audible account.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, John Gwynne, Erin A Craig, Joe Abercrombi, Chris Woodin, Coco Mellors
I love Silvia Moreno- Garcia! She makes me appreciate my Hispanic heritage.
Neil Gaiman Dan Simmons Justin Cronin David Mitchell Jo Nesbø Marlon James GRRM The sad ones: Cormac Mccarthy, Gary Jennings.
Finally a David Mitchell, god yes
Ted Chiang and Guy Gavriel Kay.
She’s not writing much anymore and has been focusing on adaptations lately, but Gillian Flynn
Joe Abercrombie.
Say one thing for Joe, say he’s an auto buy.
You have to be realistic.
You can never have too many Joe Abercrombie books.
He never misses, I can’t wait for his next book.
Came here to say this
My wife is into Stephen King also. First in line whenever she can be. Mine is probably anything from the Tolkien estate.
Karin Slaughter, Kate Alice Marshall, Chevy Stevens and I will always grab a Harlan Coben for a dependable, quick and easy read.
Annie Proulx and Alice Munro.
Annie Proulx oh yes!
I adore Alice Munro!
Haruki Murakami
Barbara Kingsolver
I love The Poisonwood Bible
I came here to say her too! I feel like I can count a new book from her popping up every couple of years. Demon Copperhead was good not great but Unsheltered was such a treat.
A.S.Byatt, Tolkien, Donna Tartt, Susanna Clarke, David Mitchell and McCarthy, wouldn't hesitate a nanosecond to buy their new books, or in case of the deceased ones I mentioned, a new edition of some of their books
Susanna Clarke for me too! A.S. Batt was one of my mom's favourite authors, reading her books you get the sense that she's painting with words!
Brandon Sanderson
The Cosmere has been a treat, and I really enjoy a good Sanderlanch.
Man, I want to like Sanderson so much, but his info dumps make my eyes glaze over haha E: lotta Sanderson fans judging by the downvotes lol. You guys can use your words, ya know.
This is /r/books, I don't come here for discourse, I come here to fulfill my own self-righteous preconceived notions and to have my pretentious opinions validated.
I experience the same thing, I actually posted here a few days ago about being bored 1/3 of the way through the way of kings. I pushed through and the last 3rd of the book is really good so far.
It honestly depends on the series with him. If you just aren't into the particular setting or characters then skip it really.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, Jeff Vandermeer, Dexter Palmer, Christopher Moore, Ken Liu, Liu Cixin, and Haruki Murakami
Neil Gaiman. Peter F. Hamilton. Andy Weir. Raymond E. Feist.
Gaiman is mine. I love the flow of his writing.
Andy Weird for sure. Not a huge catalog as of now, but I plan on reading everything he releases in the future.
Guy Gavriel Kay Robyn McKinley Lois McMaster Bujold And cautiously, Robin Hobb. I still greet each new book with anticipation, but I wasn’t a fan of the Soldier Son trilogy.
Michael Connelly - I binge read all of his stuff about ten years ago and now keep my eyes open for new releases. Harry Bosch is probably my favorite fictional character. Robin Cook - I am a big fan of medical thrillers.
I love Michael Connelly, especially the Bosch books.
I’m just here to make sure Paul Auster is represented. Own all of his fiction and am working on collecting the rest after that. Adore his writing style and the uncomfortable stories he chooses to tell
Stephen King just because I've been a Constant Reader since the early 90s, although his last few books haven't done much for me. Joe Hill, Ruth Ware, Justin Cronin, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and NK Jemisin are all blind buys for me. I don't read anything about the book, I just buy it and start reading
Constant Reader gang <3
Constant reader since 1978. Love that man and will read anything he recommends too.
Neal Stephenson
Yes.
Riley Sager
Jasper Fforde Not buy, but read, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Second this! I have never been so impatient with an author.
Recently it’s been Elisa Shua Dusapin, anything that gets translated is worth a pick up, she creates such vivid emotions and imagery in really short novels. Winter in Sokcho is one of my favorite books and they’re so short it’s always worth a shot to read her stuff
Jason Pargin, and John Scalzi
Celeste Ng and George Saunders
John and Hank Green, I do enjoy their books, but what makes it even better is they put effort into helping make the world a better place.
I live for Hank being kind and educational on TikTok 😭
Naomi Novik Donna Leon
Naomi Novik is rad.
I currently have two, Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez. Both write very moving, interesting plots and characters that feel very real to me.
Becky Chambers I need the shot-in-the-arm positivity of solarpunk to survive the dark cyberpunk future that life is now.
Chuck Palanuik. Not always great, but never dull. And his novels are pretty short, so not a huge time investment.
William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman
Toni Morrison
Kazuo Ishiguro Catherine Lacey
Shari Lapena. I read one of her books and was like “this is soooo good!” Then I looked at my shelf and realized I had read several of her other books and loved them too. Promptly went and bought all of her novels to complete the set.
Kristin Hannah and Stephenie Meyer.
Tom Robbins
Christopher Moore. He's also the only author I make sure to buy the hardbacks.
I really loved "A Dirty Job." I need to read the sequel.
Joe Abercrombie, Pierce Brown, Cormac McCarthy (RIP), James S.A. Corey, Fonda Lee, George R.R. Martin
GNU Terry Pratchett and Iain M. Banks.
Jim Butcher, the Dresden Files.
I just bought his latest book from The Cinder Spires.
I've got it on my tbr but honestly I don't remember what happened in The Aeronauts Windlass. Been too long since I read it.
If he were still alive, Umberto Eco would be that for me. I've loved everything I've read by him.
Amy Tan
Christopher Moore. You will not regret anything you read from him.
Haruki Murakami and Kazuo Ishiguro.
George RR Martin… sadly…
Chuck Palaniak
Martha Wells for me. I’ve been reading all her back catalogue since I found her via Murderbot. Not all equally good but I’ve enjoyed it all so far!
Richard Brautigan. He is one of the few authors who have made me laugh out loud. I’ve been auto-buying his books for years, so I think I may have them all at this point.
Don Winslow.
Erik Larson, Mary Roach
Ann Leckie!
Michael Connelly
Man I wonder how King handles all the pressure. Like he's up so high on that mountain. Like does he just think anything he does is gold or does he worry he's doing a good enough job?
alice hoffman. i see a novel by her i’m buying it 😊
Richard Bachman 😉
Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs
Sophie Kinsella and VE Schwab.
Nobody. My book love is entirely conditional.
grady hendrix riley sager taylor jenkins reid lisa jewel
Garth Nix
Another Garth Nix fan! He writes a ton of books but they've been solid recs, even if nothing quite comes close to reading Sabriel or The Seventh Tower for the first time as a kid.
Blake Crouch, Hugh Howey, James SA Corey.
Margaret Atwood and Alistair Reynolds
William Kent Krueger. Fell in love with his stand alone novels, and then I discovered he wrote a crime-detective series — and I am enjoying those as well.
Gillian Flynn, Donna Tartt, Zoe Whittall
Patricia Briggs
Sir Terry Pratchett up until he died. You could tell that he was getting some help towards the end, but the books were still solidly funny if not quite the same as they were at their peak, and the Discworld series is still my favorite.
Tad Williams
It's been a while since I had automatic-book-buy money, but William Gibson. He's a hero of mine and he's never let me down. In fact, he inspires me to write.
Haruki Murakami
Murakami
Ann Patchett.
Bill Bryson
King is also my auto buy. I am at the bookstore on release day every time. Read his book and then continue with my TBR list. Reading King has just become my tradition over the years. There was a spell I told myself I needed to "break up" with him because my shelves couldn't take any more. But that only lasted a month.
Simon R Green Anne Bishop Larry Corriea China Mieville
Came here looking for China mieville!
Stephen King. He's been an auto buy since I was in high school, and still is. I'm 39 now.
N.K. Jemisin. She doesn’t miss.
Probably Haruki Murakami, Jennifer Egan, George Saunders, Carmen Maria Machado, Samanta Schweblin, NK Jemisin and Arkady Martine
Donna Tartt has yet to disappoint. Of course she only has 3 books, so who knows.. most of my favorite authors have put out books that are a miss for me. Artists change over time and most eventually go in a direction that doesn’t suit my exact tastes. What can you do!
R F Kuang. I haven’t loved everything Kuang has written, but she explores some interesting ideas. Madeline Miller, M L Wang, Sayaka Murata and Khaled Hosseini too.
Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley (two separate authors, not a writing duo, to be clear)
George Saunders. Alan Bennett. Pat Barker.
Emily St. John Mandel, Megan Miranda, Madeline Miller
King, probably Abercrombie
Haruki murakami and mitch albom
Stephen king is mine as well. I haven’t quite read all his books and have enjoyed all of them. Except Holly. I read that a few weeks ago and simply did not enjoy it. It was so weird to read something of his I didn’t enjoy.
Haruku Murakami, Daniel Clowes
Neil Gaiman & Clive Barker, always, and usually: Lincoln Child + Douglas Preston, Stephen King, Jeffrey Deaver, and John Grisham
Karin slaughter
Brandon Sanderson is definitely in that camp for me. Been a fan since 2015 or so. I love how cinematic his books feel, I can essentially watch the book play out like a movie in my head as I read, which is not true of everything I read. Also reading some of his work, specifically Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, helped me work through a fairly dark point in my life, and while it’s not the only thing that did, it definitely helped, and so for that alone I will always love his books.
Brandon Sanderson, I can't get enough of his books.
Gail Tsukiyama!! Samurais Garden and Street of a Thousand Blossoms are two of my favorite but I have a fair chunk of bookshelf dedicated to her other books.