Tim and Jen Live Here

I’m afraid I give up on discussing each new author I read this year. I made it through number 35, and the rest I’ll cover briefly here before moving on to 2010’s challenges. On the plus side, I did meet my goal of reading fifty new-to-me authors last year.

Summary of authors numbered 36 through 50:

• Johanna Lindsey – I read Hearts Aflame. I’d never before read a book set in the time of Vikings, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
• Karen E. Olson – The Missing Ink – A Tattoo Shop Mystery was a fun mystery set in Las Vegas. There were a couple details about it that pulled me out of the story, but I still enjoyed it and I’ll look for Pretty in Ink when it’s released in March.
• Linda Howard – I read Mr. Perfect and found out after the fact that opinions are pretty divided on this book. I was in the camp that didn’t love it – I thought the main characters’ response to the main mystery was just unbelievable and couldn’t get into their world. But, I liked the writing enough to definitely try more of her books.
• Louisa Edwards – I loved Can’t Stand The Heat and am anxiously awaiting the sequel. Food and romance naturally go together in my mind, and this book delivered on both fronts.
• Vicki Pettersson – Scent of Shadows is the first book in the Sign of the Zodiac series. I’ve got the next two in my TBR pile. They’re dark urban fantasy, and this book totally sucked me in.
• Loretta Chase – Lord of Scoundrels has made so many “best of” lists that I finally had to read it, and I’m glad I did. I loved this book and will find everything else by Loretta Chase ASAP.
• Diana Gabaldon – I finally read Outlander and loved it. But these books are LONG. It’s probably going to take me a while to get through the series, but I’ll be reading book two soon.
• Barry Eisler – I read and loved Fault Line – a stand-alone novel and have just started reading Rain Fall, the first in his John Rain series. Great books!
• Marilyn Brant – Another author that I discovered because of the wonderful Pamela Cayne. Marilyn’s According to Jane is a wonderfully fun read, especially for anyone who loves Jane Austen’s books.
• Victoria Dahl – I can’t believe I didn’t read Talk Me Down sooner. It sat on my bookshelf for most of 2009, but I finally read it in November. This is one awesome book! I followed it up with her e-novella The Wicked West written by the main character of Talk Me Down. Now I’m reading and loving Start Me Up so I can hurry on to the copy of Lead Me On that I won recently. Then it’s on to Ms. Dahl’s historicals!
• Chuck Palahniuk – I read and didn’t care for Haunted, but a friend encouraged me to try something else by him, and I’m glad I did. Lullaby was creepy and weird, but also really, really good. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of Palahniuk’s backlist.
• Harry Dolan – He’s an Ann Arbor author who wrote a mystery set in Ann Arbor. Bad Things Happen is definitely a fun book, made extra fun because it stars my home town. It’s also set in the world of literary publishing, which isn’t something you get to read about often in fiction.
• Laurie Halse Anderson – I think I read Speak because Collen Lindsay mentioned her books on twitter. However I came to read it, I’m glad I did. It was an excellent YA book.
• Audrey Niffeneger – I finally read The Time Traveler’s Wife because I didn’t want to see the movie without having first read the book. This is an amazing book, and I’m really looking forward to the movie even though I’ve heard it doesn’t come close to doing the book justice.
• Roxanne St. Claire – I’ve also finally gotten around to reading the first book in the Bullet Catchers series, Kill Me Twice. I loved this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

My final list of authors read during my 2009 New Author Challenge:

1. Susan Isaacs
2. Barbara Kingsolver
3. Jonathan Kellerman
4. Tony Hillerman
5. Jayne Ann Krentz
6. Marie Phillips
7. Katherine Neville
8. Jill Shalvis
9. Gail Parent
10. Jess Riley
11. Terry Pratchett
12. Stephanie Rowe
13. Megan Hart
14. Gayle Forman
15. Michael Black
16. Ariana Franklin
17. Scott Smith
18. Lilli Feisty
19. Suzanne Enoch
20. David Baldacci
21. S.E. Hinton
22. Garth Stein
23. Thomas Perry
24. Erin McCarthy
25. Anne George
26. Heidi Betts
27. Lee Child
28. Deidre Knight
29. Barbara O’Neal
30. Jeffrey Siger
31. Lois Lowry
32. Libba Bray
33. Andrew Grant
34. China Mieville
35. David Guterson
36. Johanna Lindsey
37. Karen E. Olson
38. Linda Howard
39. Louisa Edwards
40. Vicki Pettersson
41. Loretta Chase
42. Diana Gabaldon
43. Barry Eisler
44. Marilyn Brant
45. Victoria Dahl
46. Chuck Palahniuk
47. Harry Dolan
48. Laurie Halse Anderson
49. Audrey Niffeneger
50. Roxanne St. Claire

I didn’t do such a hot job keeping up with my thoughts on each of these new authors as I read them this year, so I think it’s time to sum up. In this post I’ll cover authors numbered 32 through 35.

My mom recommended that I read The Giver by Lois Lowry and I fell madly in love with this book. I picked it up this morning to read the part about choices and read a few pages. Then I started sobbing. Yeah, I guess it pulls at my heart strings to consider the idea of giving up everything good so that we can also avoid mistakes.

That it would be considered dangerous to allow a baby to choose between differently colored toys because he might make the wrong choice – not so important there, but what if later he chose the wrong job or spouse???? – is just so awful. Anyway, writing this has made me realize that I really need to sit down and read the whole book again. And pick up the other two in the trilogy.

I read Jeffrey Siger’s Murder in Mykonos because my sister-in-law recommended it. It was definitely a great murder mystery with a gorgeous setting and interesting characters. I’m looking forward to book two from him – Assassins of Athens – coming out next month.

Barbara O’Neal is also Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind. I’ve got a Barbara Samuel book on my shelf to read, but I picked up O’Neal’s The Lost Recipe For Happiness this summer and wanted to read it right away. It’s the story of a professional chef who’s offered the opportunity to have her own kitchen at a new restaurant opening in Aspen. She and her dog make the move and she takes charge.

This book made me hungry, was a fascinating look inside of a professional kitchen, and made me want to go to Aspen. I loved everything about it, including the secondary characters. Especially the dog.