Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’d Put On My Auto-Buy List

February 26, 2013 Top Ten Tuesday 15

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week’s topic is
Top Ten Authors That I’d Put On My Auto-Buy List.  (Basically an auto-buy list is no questions asked..you love this author so much that no matter what they wrote next you’d buy regardless of genre or subject matter.)   

This took some thought, because I don’t have that many autobuy authors based on the criteria above.  For instance, I love the Harry Potter series, but I didn’t buy Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy because it doesn’t sound like my kind of book; I plan to borrow it from the library instead.  I have lots of favorite authors who write multiple series; one series is an autobuy for me, while another I don’t care for, or I like it but not enough that I need to own it.  (I’m on a budget, and I don’t have much bookshelf space left, so I generally only buy new books if I’m certain I want to keep them.*  If I will read it once and that’s enough, the library is a better choice.)

So here are the authors I’ll buy without hesitation (in no particular order):

  • Patrick Rothfuss — wow, that man can write! I’ll buy anything he comes out with.
  • Robin McKinley — autobuy all the way. 
  • Tamora Pierce — even though she has written a few books I haven’t loved, I still buy all her books. (OK, there are one or two I’ve waited and later purchased second-hand.  Does that count?)
  • Jessica Day George — I love her MG and YA fantasy.
  • Julia Quinn — Love her blend of witty humor and romance.
  • Robyn Carr — I’ve bought everything since Virgin River.
  • Mary Balogh — in paperback, but not hardcover.

And here are some of the authors whom I love and I buy in one genre or series, but not necessarily in others:

  • Deborah Harkness —  the All Souls trilogy is amazing, so I will buy any of her fiction, but I’m not running out to buy her nonfiction yet. 
  • Laurie R. King — I adore her Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes series and will pre-order the hardbacks, but find her contemporaries a bit too dark for my taste. 
  • Mercedes Lackey — Lackey used to be an autobuy, but now the only autobuy series are the Valdemar books, the Elemental Masters series, and the 500 Kingdoms series. I might buy some of her other stuff, but usually I’ll read it or skim it first. 
  • Katherine Kurtz — If it’s Deryni or Adept, I’ll buy it.  Her other books, not so much.
  • Mary Jo Putney — Her historical romances are autobuys, but not her books in other genres.

(OK, that was twelve all together, but the last five don’t really meet the “buy anything” criterion, so I’m not sure they count.)  

And finally, here are ten authors I’ve recently discovered, who are now on my “autobuy if I can squeeze them into the budget” list!  (I might have to wait for the paperback, but I will buy them eventually!)

  • Jim C. Hines  
  • Rachel Hartman  
  • Deborah Crombie
  •  Jennifer Nielsen
  • Marissa Meyer
  •  Kristen Britain
  • G. M. Malliet 
  • Susan Elia MacNeal
  • Shannon Hale
  • Jaclyn Dolamore

* The only exception is books from the library’s used book sale, which are so inexpensive that I have no qualms about buying a bunch, reading them, and donating them back for the next sale if they don’t grab me enough to give them a place on my shelves.

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15 Responses to “Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’d Put On My Auto-Buy List”

    • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

      Welcome, Jessica! I agree with you on Quinn, but because she’s been “hit” more often than “miss” I still buy them. My favorite Balogh novels are… A Summer to Remember, Slightly Married, and Slightly Scandalous, if I had to pick only three. Happy reading!

    • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

      Hi, Loni! I understand completely. Some of the authors above I will buy immediately, some I look for a good sale, and some I wait for the paperback or even look for a used copy. Then there are a lot of authors whose books I request at the library months before they come out, because I just can’t afford to buy all the books I want to read. (Well, not if I want to feed my family, anyway!)

    • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

      Hi there, Kim! Glad you stopped by, and I’m sorry it took me so long to respond. I’ve been swamped with non-blog stuff all week. Anyway, I hope you’ll give some of these authors a try. Judging from some of the authors you love, I think you might like the fantasy authors here. That’s one of the things I like best about Top Tuesday — being introduced to new authors to try!

    • Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard

      Krentz — how did I forget to add Krentz? Though I admit, I don’t buy the hardcovers; I read them from the library. I’ve only read one MacLean so far, but it was charming, so I’m on the lookout for more. Thanks, Kimba!