Top 5 Wednesday: Authors I Want to Read More From

Looking over the list of my favorite books and reading plans for this year, I have come up with the following five authors that I've only read one or two books from, and desperately need to read more.

1. Mindy McGinnis

Earlier this year, I read and absolutely loved Mindy’s The Female of the Species, a young adult contemporary novel that tackles the issue of rape culture. Based on my experience with this book, I definitely want to read more of her work. She writes in various genres, which is another thing that intrigues me about her as an author. I own two of her books: Not a Drop to Drink and A Madness so Discreet. Both, I believe, are dystopian YA novels and I cannot wait to give them a go.

2. Neil Gaiman

I am truly ashamed that so far I have only read one book by Neil Gaiman – Coraline. I keep hearing people rave about his books all the time and I just want to know what it’s all about.  The books that I am most likely to pick up by him are American Gods and Norse Mythology.

3. Fyodor Dostoyevky

For all of my love of Russian classics, so far I’ve only read one novel by Dostoyevksy (Crime and Punishment) and one short story. I recall at one point picking up another of his novels and setting it aside. I think I am now ready to read more of his work. I have both The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov on my shelf. One of these will be read this year.

4. Vladimir Nabokov

I read Nabokov’s scandalous Lolita over 15 years ago, and then finally picked up another of his novels in December of last year. Reading his Mary made me fall in love with his prose, and I cannot wait to read more of his work, perhaps Camera Obscura or The Gift.

5. Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak stole my heart after I read The Bastard of Istanbul. Her characters are interesting and complex. Her prose is engaging and colorful. And she is not afraid to tackle difficult issues. I own two more of her books: The Forty Rules of Love and The Architect’s Apprentice. I definitely want to read one of them soon.

"The Shadow Land" by Elizabeth Kostova

The Shadow Land is Elizabeth Kostova's newest novel. It is set in modern-day Bulgaria but does focus quite a bit on historic events during and right after the World War II. The premise is quite interesting. A young American English teacher arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she has accepted a teaching position, and on her first day there, ends up inadvertently keeping someone else’s bag. When she looks inside, she discovers an ornate wooden box containing someone’s ashes. What follows is a whirlwind of events as she travels to different parts of the country trying to find the deceased man’s relatives, and in the process learns much about his life and Bulgaria’s troubled history.

Elizabeth Kostova’s writing is very suspenseful. It follows almost a wave-like pattern. An attention-grabbing event is followed by a stretch of beautiful descriptions and the main character’s introspective musings. But just as the reader is about to get bored, he/she is jerked awake by some dramatic turn of events in the narrative. Kostova is thus able to hold the reader’s attention and make them want to continue with the story.

I really loved Kostova’s descriptions of Bulgaria. When I read her prose, I see pictures rather than words – she is that good at writing. Since I was reading the novel in an e-book format, I did not realize at first how long it actually is. I think it is 496 pages in print, so please prepare yourself for a long albeit very enjoyable ride. 5 out of 5 stars. 

Note: I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The book officially comes out today.

"Disruptor" by Arwen Elys Dayton

Disruptor is the third and final book in Dayton's young adult fantasy series called Seeker. I read the first book as an e-ARC and was not overly impressed with it. I did end up really liking one of the secondary characters in the story - the dread called Maud. Because I was so fascinated with her character, I picked up the second book Traveler pretty much as soon as it came out in 2015. I was glad to see that Maud played a much more prominent role in the second installment, and overall, the second book resolved a lot of issues I had with book 1 (such as presence of an annoying love triangle), and I really enjoyed it. It did end on a cliffhanger and I knew I would be reading book 3 as soon as it became available.

Disruptor was an excellent conclusion. It wrapped up all the loose ends and answered all the questions I had about the Seeker universe. In the very beginning, a new character is introduced who fills in a lot of blanks about the Seekers' history and ends up playing a critical role in the overall resolution of the story arc. I also liked the way Dayton treated the romantic interests. There were no huge surprises in this area and I was glad to see Shinobu and Quin's relationship further mature and develop. My favorite character Maud was again prominently present and I was glad where her story ended up going.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. If you read book 1 and are unsure about continuing with this trilogy, I definitely recommend picking up the rest of the books (including a short e-novella about Maud). I personally was pleased to observe the way Dayton grew as an author as the series progressed and the way she shaped the plot and characters. Another nice feature about these books is that she gives you enough reminders of what happened in previous books that you do not feel like you have to re-read all the books before starting with the next one. I basically read these books as they came out and had no trouble remembering the plot. Happy reading!