Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I "Discovered" in 2021

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Hi, yes, hello. It's good to see you, too! Where have I been? Umm... 

Okay, yes, I have barely posted anything at all on this platform this month And I do know that I promised - well, I promised myself - that this would be a better blogging year than the last one, and I fully intend to keep that agreement. I swear it's not for lack of trying!

To further be very fair to myself, I spent the first two weeks of the year trying to wrap up the last one. Seriously, it took me until the 3rd to set up this year's planner, the 7th to wrap up rereading last year's journal, and the 14th to even bother setting up my book journal for the new year! And goodness knows that if all of my notebooks aren't organized, then my brain certainly isn't either. 

Enough with excuses, though. What we're looking for is action! So how about a brand spankin' new "Top Ten Tuesday" post to close out snowy, grey January?

This week, the name of the game is "New Authors I'd Never Read Before Within the Ranks of My 2021 Reading List," and let me tell you, the game is a difficult one... mainly because, as someone who regularly enjoys rereads of perennial favorites, as well as catching up with the backlists of already-beloved authors, digging out the new ones you really loved is far more limited than you might expect. Especially when you consider that, in 2021, I was able to enjoy reading and rereading work from some of my favorite authors of all time, including Romance author Sarah McLean, Food writer Kathleen Flinn, as well as regular Fantasy heavy-hitters, like Leigh Bardugo, Tamora Pierce, and Seanan McGuire. 

So once we clear those big names out of the lineup, things start to get a little more interesting.

1. Martha Wells

It is absolutely bonkers to consider the fact that this exact time last year, I was entering into the Murderbot series for the first time, without any expectations whatsoever. The books had been a gentle recommendation from a friend, and I'd been excited to dip my toes back into a true-blue Science Fiction series at some point, so picking up a simple novella from a trusted publisher felt like no biggie. Little did I know that Wells' series would become one of the defining points of my reading year, and that in short order, I'd be able to hook both my brother and my Dad onto the series as well. 

2. Colin Jost

Anyone who knows me - or, for that matter, my family - knows that Saturday nights are meant for posting up on my couch, watching NBC with whoever else is home. Coming together to watch new episodes as an adult still carries the same magic that got me hooked on SNL during my middle school years, with the Andy Samberg, Tina Fey and Bill Hader reign of the mid-to-late '00s. Naturally, as soon as I knew co-head-writer and Weekend Update dreamboat Colin was writing a memoir, I made sure an ebook hold was placed in my name at my local library. But while I knew Colin was great at short-form, TV-ready comedy, I was honestly surprised by exactly HOW much I enjoyed this book. It turned into, hands down, the book I recommended to the highest amount of people in 2021. Even more than Murderbot!

3. Aiden Thomas

2021 - and 2020, for that matter - was really defined by significant periods of reading slumps, and then short-and-fast breakthroughs, thanks to books that really captured my attention and managed to get me to look forward to something new. Thomas' book, Cemetery Boys, had been garnering praise from numerous friends online, so I kind of figured I was going to enjoy it; what I wasn't prepared for was the fact that it would be so new, exciting, and fun, nor that it could become such a joyous, comforting, wholesome read. Truly, this book was a gift, and I'm excited to see what comes next from such a talented author. 

4. Rachel Bloom

Much like how I'd already experienced Colin Jost's work via a fanatical devotion to television, so, too, was I already acquainted with Rachel Bloom, by way of her critically-celebrated cult-favorite show, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which aired for four seasons on the CW. And like with Aiden Thomas' novel, Bloom's irreverent memoir, I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are, pulled me out of a significant reading downturn. Her outrageous, hilarious writing style was only made the more personable by way of an audiobook told in her own voice, and the whole thing felt like spending an afternoon with your crazy hilarious theater friend. While I'm stoked that her professional career has seemed to hit a real sweet spot with voice acting, I hope we also see her return to the written word again soon. 

5. Christine Feehan

Out of everything that has yielded itself from the Big Box of Paranormal Romance - a final wrap-up of which is still coming at some point in February, I promise - the thing that probably surprised me the most wasn't just that I enjoyed it, but that I enjoyed it enough to think to myself, "I'm going to look out for this author in the future." Because this crazy ride of a Romance packed such an entertaining punch, I'm actually going to start looking for other installments in the series when I hit up my regular thrift shop rotation. 

6. Alice Wong (and the writers of Disability Visibility)

Out of all of the books I read in the (futile) hopes of desperately achieving even one bingo on the Seattle Public Library Book Bingo list last summer, this is the one that I am most thankful to have stepped out of my comfort zone to read. The square was "Social Activism," the Goodreads reviews said things like "empowering" and "uplifting," but the thing I found most difficult to do was lift my jaw up off the floor: this book sheds a spotlight on inequities in the daily lives of disability advocates everywhere, especially those who fall into cross-sections with other forms of vulnerable minority groups. I still have tabs open in the browser of my iPhone, stuck on the Wikipedia pages of some of the authors therein I want to go back and read more into later, and I read this book back in early July. 

7. Grady Hendrix

Now, listen. Seriously! I know that I absolutely hated Final Girls Support Group. As in, REALLY hated. Horror and violence and gore are really just not my bag, and the whole thing made me viscerally upset... but not upset enough to stop reading. Sure, I skimmed, but the truth of the matter is, despite my revulsion at the majority of the plot, I could still recognize that Hendrix really knows how to do suspense and narration in a compelling way! And while I'm probably not going to seek out My Best Friend's Exorcism or Horrorstor from his backlist any time soon, I can still look forward to the title he's supposed to be releasing this year, How to Sell a Haunted House. 

8. Laura Esquivel

Out of my four years as an active English major and a fairly adventurous habitual page-turner, I honestly have no idea how I managed to make it to 28 years of age before I finally picked up Laura Esquivel's writing. Like Water for Chocolate is actually on my list to re-read this year already, despite having only finished it in the last few days of December. 

9. Daniel Kehlmann

Out of everything that could have tempted me back into actually enjoying a Horror novel in 2021, who would have called an English translation of a German bestseller to come out on top, right? Especially in novella form. But I found this brief work evocative, gripping, and perfectly-paced so that the tension made your whole back feel like a too-tight guitar string and I was left jumping at shadows all night. I will absolutely be looking for his name again in the future.

10. Gary Janetti

Its always a little bit exciting when you listen to an audiobook, in a voice that sounds nothing like yours, about a life that looks nothing like yours, written by a guy that has lived a thousand experiences that sounds like nothing you've ever even attempted... and you think to yourself, "Hey, he's kind of like me." Janetti's wandering, Walter Mitty-ish daydreams, intercut with crystal-clear insights into the daily victories and tragedies of life, as well as some of the funniest observations you've ever heard, makes for an audiobook narrated by a friend you've never met telling a long, circuitous, introspective view of the most pinpointed dramatic moments of their life. I liked it so much I've already put this year's follow up, Start Without Me (I'll Be There in a Minute) on my Goodreads TBR. 

So, what's in your Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!