Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature originally created by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday is New-To-Me Authors I Read For The First Time In 2016. Whew! That's a long title. When I was drafting this post, I found out that I didn't read that many new authors because I was trying to cut down my TBR by reading books that are already on my shelves. I tend to buy books from authors that I know I would love. I guess that's why. I put this list in chronological order from the latest author I read to the oldest. I also linked each name to his/her Goodreads page if you want to find out more about these authors and their works.
1. Jandy Nelson
I read both books from Jandy Nelson. I'm glad that I read I'll Give You the Sun first before The Sky is Everywhere, because I don't like The Sky is Everywhere as much as I'll Give You the Sun. If you're new to Jandy Nelson, I highly recommend to start with I'll Give You the Sun.
2. Frank Miller
Frank Miller is known to be a writer for comic books. He's written for many popular comic series such as Batman, Daredevil, Sin City, and 300. I read his reboot of Daredevil's origin story, titled Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. I was impressed. It's dark, gritty, and a fascinating origin story for a superhero. Instead of focusing on how Daredevil got his superpower, this comic focuses more on the psychology of Daredevil. What's going on in his head and what shaped him to be the Daredevil (and it's not only his super power btw).
3. Jess Walter
I read his book titled Beautiful Ruins. It's beautifully written and I love the setting very much. I haven't read that many books which set in Italy. Although the writing could feel convoluted at times. I'm not sure if that's because of this book's particular type of story or it's his writing style. In my opinion, you have to be in a certain mood to read Beautiful Ruins because the pacing can be so slow. That's actually the reason why I'm hesitant to pick his other books. But I do like Beautiful Ruins.4. Alan Moore
I believe his comic, Batman: The Killing Joke, is the first superhero comic that I've read. I started with a bang because it was so so so good. This comic is so popular because it depicts one of Joker's 'origin story'. Yes, the Joker, Batman's nemesis. It's about how 'one bad day' could turn someone insane. It only takes one bad day and Joker was trying to prove it to Batman by kidnapping Comissioner James Gordon and crippling Barbara Gordon. It's brutal, dark, and again, fascinating because this comic shows Joker's (again) psychology. I like it when superhero comics are not only about fighting-the-villains or superheroes-save-the -day-once-again type of stories. I highly recommend Batman: The Killing Joke.
Sapardi Djoko Damono (SDD) is one of Indonesia's famous poets. Some of his works have been translated into other languages. I should have read his works many years ago, but I'm not really a poet reader. Poetries often confuse me, with all those flowery languages, symbolism, and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, I like reading literatures that have such depth. Still, poetry often doesn't give enough clue for me to understand it. I don't like reading something if I'll end up not knowing what it's about. You get the gist. Thankfully, SDD's poems are easier to understand. He uses simple words (Bahasa Indonesia's metaphors can be too much sometimes, even for a native like me), yet it still sounds beautiful. His poems are personal and haunting. I read his two poetry collections, which are Melipat Jarak and his infamous work Hujan Bulan Juni (A June Rain).
6. Markus Zusak
I finally read The Book Thief! I'm sure there's no need for another explanation about this author. I want to read I Am the Messenger too. I hope it's as good (if not more) as The Book Thief.
7. Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman is a popular author in the book community. I finally read her If I Stay duology this year. I enjoyed it. I like If I Stay more than Where She Went. I'm intrigued to read her Just One Day duology.
Her work that I read this year is The Thirteen Tale. It was surprisingly good. I didn't have any expectations starting this book, because I knew nothing about it. I end up enjoying the story. The Thirteen Tale is a story within a story. It has many layers and there's much to discover in this book. I like her writing style, even though at times, it can be too slow to my taste. I'm intrigued with her another book called Bellman & Black.
I read Don't Breathe a Word early this year. It's a psychological thriller or paranormal book, whichever you want it to be. It's atmospheric and made me question which narrative to be trusted. It's surprisingly dark and twisted, considering the synopsis given on the back cover sounds whimsical. I'm interested to read her other books. Based on my 'research' on her works, it seems like her other books have the same type. I'm always up to read eerie books!10. Brian K. Vaughan
Most people love his Saga graphic novel series. I haven't read that yet. But I read his Y: The Last Man series. It's so good. The premise of this series is so intriguing. I devoured the series. It's making me excited to read Saga.
There you have it. Have you read books by any of these authors? Do you have any recommendation from these authors? or authors that I probably haven't read before. Feel free to leave your answer in the comment section. Have a good one!
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