Top Ten Tuesday: A Few (Seriously, Only Ten?) of My Faves

Sometimes the weekly questions posed by our fearless hostesses over at The Broke and the Bookish really stump me.  Not this week's!  The topic du jour is Top Ten All-Time Favorite Authors.  Easy cheesy.  Except, how am I supposed to limit myself to less than a dozen answers?  Seriously, I could go on and on and on on this subject.    

Since today's prompt is such a simple one, it's the perfect time to join in the fun.  I'd love to hear who your favorite authors are.  Leave me a comment and I'll be sure to check out your Top Ten Tuesday list as well.

Here we go with my Top Ten All-Time Favorite Authors (in no particular order):

1.  Jodi Picoult—With the exception of three (Between the Lines; The Storyteller; and Sing Me Home), I've read all of Picoult's novels.  Although, naturally, some are better than others, on the whole I love her books.  She's known for taking current issues and examining them from several points of view, creating well-rounded stories that always make me think.

2.  Mary Higgins Clark—I've always been a voracious reader on the lookout for new authors to love.  When I was in junior high, my dad handed me a murder mystery from off his bookshelf.  A *slight* Clark obsession ensued.  I spent many a school night reading until the wee hours of the morning, heart racing as I finished one of her novels.  These days, I'm not as impressed with Clark's writing, but I still appreciate the fact that she writes clean, quick-paced mysteries that I could hand to my 13-year-old daughter or my 99-year-old grandmother with equal confidence.  Speaking of the latter, my dad spends lots of time at the bedside of his elderly mother, reading Clark's books aloud to her.  They're both big fans :)

3.  Maeve Binchy—The news of Binchy's 2012 death saddened me, as I've long enjoyed her books.  I love the depth of her novels, which generally focus on family, community, and friendship.  The thought of her never writing another of her tender, warm-hearted stories makes me want to cry :(

4.  Kate Morton—There are few authors of whom I can say that I've read—and loved—every one of their books.  Morton is one (it helps that she's only published four novels so far).  I adore her thick, atmospheric family sagas.  I'm counting down the days until October 13, when her newest, The Lake House, finally comes out.      

5.  Kathy Reichs—Reichs' Temperance Brennan series is one of my very favorite.  Not only do I love the title character, but I enjoy learning about the fascinating science she uses to solve her cases.  As a forensic anthropologist, Reichs knows what she's talking about.  She also has a way of explaining it all to her readers in a way that's intelligent, but understandable.

6.  Neal Shusterman—Although there are a bunch of his books I haven't read yet, I've loved every Shusterman novel I've ever read.  Not only does he tell gripping stories, but they're done in a way that really makes me think.  He's brilliant, IMHO.

7.  J.K. Rowling—Who doesn't love Harry Potter?  Like many of you, I devoured every book in the series.  I read them as they came out, so I'm definitely do for a re-read of the whole story.  I haven't read anything else Rowling has written, but that's okay, I still count her among my favorite authors.

8.  L.A. Meyer—Like Binchy, Meyer recently passed away (July 2014).  The news made me teary because I was hoping he'd start a great, new series now that he'd finished the Bloody Jack books.  Unfortunately, this will never happen.  Luckily for me, I'm only halfway through his novels about the charming pirate Jacky Faber, so I can continue to savor Meyer's wonderful characters and storytelling skills for a little while longer.  

9.  Kimberley Griffiths Little—I adore Little, both as a person and as a writer.  Her warm prose, vivid settings, and compelling characters never fail to speak to me.  Her books set on the Louisiana bayous are wonderful middle grade reads, while Forbidden, her newest, is the first installment in an intriguing historical series for teens.

10.  Liane Moriarty—I've only read 1 1/2 of her books (I'm in the middle of What Alice Forgot as we speak), but Moriarty is definitely a new favorite of mine.  Big Little Lies was one of my best 2014 reads.  I'm loving What Alice Forgot and am anxiously looking forward to reading The Husband's Secret sometime soon.

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list.  I could have mentioned Laura Ingalls Wilder, Joanne Harris, Robyn Carr, Adriana Trigiani, ... so many.  Still, the ten I listed are some of my most trusted go-to authors, those writers who always enchant me with their magical writer-ninja skills.  Do we share any favorites?  Who's on your list?  I'll definitely be clicking around to find out.

Happy Top Ten Tuesday to ya!

* Photos are from author's websites or Google Images.