Top Ten Tuesday – New to Me Authors I Read in 2018

Jesmyn Ward

I read Sing, Unburied, Sing last year and became captivated with the beautiful writing and unsettling truths that Ward shared. I haven’t yet had the opportunity to read anything else by her, but have several on my list to be read!

Natasha Pulley

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street pulled me out of a reading slump last year… And those books always have a soft spot in my heart! Filigree Street had so many wonderful bookish things that made my heart go pitter-patter, including some steam punk elements that I had no idea I’d enjoy.

Susan Elia MacNeal

I became aware of MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series through Twitter after Bill Clinton mentioned it in a NY Times interview. Set during WWII with a spunky heroine who inherited a crumbling Victorian mansion from an unknown grandmother and becomes a British spy — it’s fantastic! I always wish that I would have become a historian after reading these books.

Katherine Arden

I started the Winternight Trilogy last year – another book that pulled me out of a reading slump! I adored The Bear and the Nightingale, which was a Russian fairy tale with a feminist twist. I haven’t gotten to the second book in the series yet, but I’m looking forward to it!

VE Schwab

Schwab is a fun one to follow on Twitter and Instagram, especially for folks who are interested in writing. She’s open about how difficult it is to show up to do the work. I listened to A Darker Shade of Magic on audio last year and was pulled into the world that she created – dark, twisted, and intriguing.

Tayari Jones

After reading An American Marriage, I was delighted to find that Jones has quite a back list to catch up on! I thought that An American Marriage was thoughtful, sincere, and honest about some of the challenges people of color face in the US. It was one of my favorite reads of the year.