7 Popular Authors We Read for the First Time

Molly says: A member of my book club requested we read a thriller this month, and I was quick to suggest Megan Miranda. It was the perfect opportunity to read an author whose work I’ve long heard great things about. We selected her most recent novel, SUCH A QUIET PLACE, about a tight-knit community rocked by the murder of two of their neighbors a year prior. The convicted murderer? One of their own, Ruby Fletcher. But now Ruby’s conviction has been overturned and she’s returned to the neighborhood for reasons unknown. Suspicion spreads and the perceived safety of their neighborhood is threatened once again. SUCH A QUIET PLACE was a slow burn at first, but I ripped through the back half of the book like wildfire. In addition to its surprising twists and turns, I also thought it provided an interesting commentary on the popularity of true crime and people’s misplaced confidence as amateur detectives. I look forward to reading Megan Miranda’s other books!

Sabrina says: Like many others, I was introduced to Alice Hoffman through the cult classic screen adaptation of PRACTICAL MAGIC and fell in love with the romantically tortured Owens women, though I’m not a romance fan at all. Even with a gorgeous Victorian mansion, thriving apothecary garden, mischievous sense of wonder, and generational magic at their fingertips, the quirky Owens family members are still endearingly relatable and beautifully flawed. After becoming enamored with the movie, I decided to read the book, which opens potential dissonance to the movie imagery laid out for us. However, I found Practical Magic to be one of the closest book-to-screen adaptations ever, and the novel was no less magical than the movie. Reliving the story in print was just as enjoyable as watching it, and it encouraged me to get my hands on as many Hoffman novels as I could possibly find. I’ve found Hoffman’s characters consistently lay bare the insecurities that plague us all, and through the literary conquering of these internal obstacles, the reader also gains a sense of confidence, mastery, and belonging. Alice Hoffman continues to keep this reader spellbound by her novels.

Heather says: YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY is the first book I read by Akwaeke Emezi, but it won’t be the last. I knew going in that there was a lot of buzz around Emezi, who’s known for a lyrical writing style and who, with this novel, would be dipping their toe into a new genre: romantic fiction. Well, turns out the buzz was justified! I was immediately drawn into the story of Feyi, an artist and young widow who is still struggling to embrace a new life for herself after the tragic death of her husband five years ago. Meeting the handsome and charming Nasir makes Feyi start to believe it’d be possible for her to fall in love again, but he’s not the one who gives her butterflies. No, unfortunately, she finds herself drawn to someone totally off-limits . . . Nasir’s father, Alim. YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH is a complicated love story with a complicated heroine, and I enjoyed it for those reasons as much as for Emezi’s prose, which is just gorgeous. My e-reader tells me I highlighted 34 passages!

Sharon says: Since it was published last year, KLARA AND THE SUN has been on my radar, and after braving the library on-hold list of 36 people, I finally had the opportunity to pick it up. KLARA AND THE SUN initially caught my attention for its dystopian setting and exploration of artificial intelligence, and while I loved Ishiguro’s examination of these themes, I was drawn to how reflective his writing is. Klara’s observations of human nature are spot-on, and quotes such as “what was becoming clear to me was the extent to which humans, in their wish to escape loneliness, made maneuvers that were very complex and hard to fathom” cemented my love for Ishiguro’s writing. Upon finishing KLARA AND THE SUN, I am more than eager to pick up his other major dystopian novel, NEVER LET ME GO. If you're looking for an excellent discussion about this book, check out this podcast episode from Book Squad Goals!

Nicole Says: It is nearly impossible to talk about books trending on TikTok without talking about the incomparable Colleen Hoover. Her catalog has seen an incredible boost thanks to people discovering her through the social media platform. Imagine my shock when I realized I hadn’t yet read anything by her. Rather than start with a romance, I decided to begin my Colleen Hoover journey with VERITY. This is without a doubt, one of the darkest and most unsettling books I’ve ever read, and I would absolutely read it again. The book follows Lowen, a struggling author, who agrees to accept a new project involving taking over a successful book series because its author, Verity Crawford, is injured and unable to finish it. Lowen heads to the Crawford estate and begins poring over years of Verity’s notes in hopes of familiarizing herself with the material. What she finds, though, is an unfinished autobiography that one can only imagine Verity hoped stayed buried. The pages feature confession after confession, including what really happened surrounding the deaths of Jeremy and Verity’s children. Lowen develops feelings for Jeremy during her time at the home, so she decides not to tell him about the manuscript. What ensues is nothing short of chilling, and I still don’t know who or what to believe. That’s all I can say without spoiling the plot, so if you’ve read Colleen’s other work and haven’t gotten to VERITY yet, please do. While I know her romances differ wildly from this title, I will absolutely be continuing my Colleen Hoover content binge.

Kerry says: When you grow up with a mom interested in true crime, you get used to seeing Ann Rule’s name on paperbacks sitting on her nightstand. It wasn’t until I was in high school, however, that I finally took the plunge into true crime obsession and read her masterful and terrifying classic THE STRANGER BESIDE ME. It was a story I already knew: the motherly police officer meeting and becoming friends with a pleasant young man who turned out to be one of the country’s most infamous serial killers. But in Rule’s expert hands, this is so much more than a grim example of truth being stranger than fiction. It’s an in-depth analysis of whether serial killers are born or made, a warning to all (but especially women) to listen to their instincts, and a call to action for victims’ rights. As a teenager who naively thought she was savvy about the dark corners of the world, I found THE STRANGER BESIDE ME to be a crucial read, one that both scared me and taught me a great deal. I’ve since read several of Rule’s book and still appreciate her lack of sensationalism and her focus on the victims and survivors. Frankly speaking, without Ann Rule, true crime as we know it today would look very different. 

Emily says: I added HEAVY by Kiese Laymon to my to-be-read list so many years ago that I forget who recommended it to me. And then I read this old Off the Shelf review and it got me even more excited to read. And then I saw Lady Gaga’s praise of Laymon’s other book LONG DIVISION. Basically, I’ve never been more ready to read an author for the first time. In this memoir, Kiese is coming of age in Mississippi and, as friends and family love, challenge, or abuse him, he grows in his understanding of weight, racism, lies, love, language, revision. It’s about learning what it means to be a writer, an activist, a protector, and a Black man in America. I underlined so many sentences in this book and one of my favorites is: “I learned you haven’t read anything if you’ve only read something once or twice. Reading things more than twice was the reader version of revision.” So now I’m off to reread this gem!