It is very easy for me to add books to my TBR list based on recommendations or summaries or even book covers (never discredit a book by its cover, but definitely try one because of it). However, I’ve had a small list growing of authors whose names I either keep hearing or who I’ve seen/followed on social media whose works I want to eventually read. So instead of making a TBR list of books I want to read, I’ve made a list of authors who I want to read.

I’ll be honest, some of these authors I have no real idea what they are best known to have written or even what they even write about. I’ve come to know their name and I’m interested in their work because of either them as a person intrigues me or the discourse regarding their work does. Let’s begin.

Octavia Butler

Apparently today would have been Octavia Butler’s 73rd birthday. I’ve seen her name pop up here and there likely because she wrote science fiction which is one of my main areas of interest. Her name is all over social media today and prompted this post because she has been on my list of authors to read for a few years.

N.K. Jemisin

N.K. Jemisin has been on my list for the past year or two. I first saw her book The Fifth Season and was intrigued but never got around to reading it. It has been on my TBR for some time, but Jemison herself has become someone I’m interested in and I hope I will like her work. I hear her new book, The City We Became, is really good.

Adrian Tchaikovsky

I’m not sure where I first heard of Adrian Tchaikovsky. I think it was in relation to another author I was following, but I remember hearing about one or two of his books (which I can’t remember) and was intrigued.

Myke Cole

Myke Cole’s book The Armored Saint caught my interest a while back mainly because it had a cool cover. Later on, without realizing, I started following him on Twitter because he has entertaining little feuds with his friend Sam Sykes who is also an author. Of the two, Myke seems the most stable.

Samuel R. Delaney

This one may be a bit surprising since I am a big science fiction fan. Samuel R. Delaney is considered a pretty big name in the field. His name has popped up when authors I like discuss who had inspired them. I have yet to read any of his work but I will eventually.

R.F. Kuang

Another fairly new writer (or should I say younger?) who recently completed her first trilogy. Rebecca’s book The Poppy War has been well received and admittedly is how her name came to be on this list. I actually own The Poppy War but have yet to get around to it.

Jeff Vandermeer

Jeff Vandermeer popped on my radar after a friend took me to see the movie Annihilation which is based on Jeff’s book of the same title. The movie was weird as hell but also interesting enough to make me wonder if the book was different or better (which does happen). I have since heard people rave about his book called Wonderbook which I plan to pick up soon.

Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearne has an interesting place on this list. I believe I first discovered him on Twitter around the time his book Kill the Farm Boy was releasing. He tweets a lot about cool drinks he makes which is fun. He is also friends with Chuck Wendig who dedicated his book Wanderers to Kevin. Kevin seems like an awesome guy so of course I’ll need to check out his work even though I have a feeling it isn’t particularly what I would normally ready.

Haruki Mirakami

Another bigger name in the literary world that I haven’t yet checked out. Though I just realized that he is an exception to this list as I technically have read something by him. I listened to the audiobook of his memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I haven’t read any of his fiction, so I still count him as an author I still want to read.

Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is another name that I think is larger than I realize when it comes to writing. I’ve heard her name here and there and recently heard about her book The Getaway Car which is a memoir about life and writing. This will likely be the first book of hers I read since I like reading what writers have to say about writing.

Jose Saramago

I just discovered Saramago a few days ago while reading a collection of essays by Ursula K. Le Guin. I had never heard of him before but he has been added to my list. She spoke about several of his books but Blindness seemed to be the most prevalent in the essay and caught my interest. However, The Stone Raft may usurp it as the first Saramago book I read.

It’s always interesting to me how we find new authors to read. Perhaps you have not heard of some of these authors and may now go look into one of their books. Some of these names I’m sure you have read and may be surprised I have not yet read them. There is so much out there that it is, unfortunately, impossible to read it all, but it’s always great to discover new books and authors. I say read widely and often.

Do you have a specific author you have always planned to read? If so, how did you hear about them? Was it a specific book or some other avenue? Let me know because you may very well be introducing me to someone new and I am always up for discovering new books and authors.