Top Five I-Will-Read-Anything-They-Write Authors

The very first blog post I ever wrote, way back in 2005, was

Top Five I-Will-Read-Anything-They-Write Authors.

I had a blog called "There's Beauty in the Breakdown."

Jenny had a blog too: it was a Xanga, remember Xanga?

So here, for your enjoyment, is my first ever blog post, in it's entirety.

Top Five I-Will-Read-Anything-They-Write Authors

Lauren Winner:

I'm a little surprised even myself that I put Lauren Winner as #1 on this list. Can you really make a list where a new author, any new author, trumps C.S. Lewis?? But I've read every book she's written so far (Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, & of course, Real Sex), articles by her, her blog... plus actually, I want to BE Lauren Winner.

C. S. Lewis:

A shoe-in. This one will keep me busy for awhile. Besides all the obvious reasons for putting him on a list like this, (reasons like: he's brilliant; one of the top thinkers of our time; Narnia), I'm also happy to read anyone who sat in his house in England reading, writing, & drinking tea, & managed to impact the world. It's my dream job.

Jane Austen:

I just read Sense & Sensibility for the first time ever & I can't believe I'd never read it before. I grew up on the movie, my sister has read the book more times then she can count, so I finally started it & I couldn't put it down. I want to read it all over again already. I was already a solid Austen fan from Pride & Prejudice, of course, so I'll slowly make my way through the rest.

Sharon Creech:

This is a children's author who I'd never read until a few years ago, but something about the way she looks at life just does it for me. My favourites so far are Bloomability, Walk Two Moons, & The Wanderer. She almost always has some kind of travel in her books & connects the physical trip with the general journey of life. I love that.

Nick Hornby:

My sister was quick to point out that I suddenly started saying I would read anything Nick Hornby wrote when, in fact, I have yet to finish any book by him. Hmm. So maybe this shouldn't count? But I'm half-way through How to Be Good & I fully intend to follow that up with Songbook, High Fidelity, About a Boy, & the rest, so I'll risk making him #5. Come back in a few months & we'll see if I'm right on this one or if he's just another author I happen to be excited about at the moment.

By the way, seeing as I'm such a fan of books, (& lists. & the British.) I decided, with my sister, to read through BBC's Top 100 Novels. A few years ago, BBC searched for "the nation's #1 novel" & in the process came up with lists of the top 21, top 100, & top 200, including everything from 1984 to David Copperfield to Harry Potter.

Check it out.

Top 5 Author pictures: Lauren Winner, CS Lewis, Jane Austen, Sharon Creech, & Nick Hornby.