I've been blogging for a long time, y'all. A looonnngggg time. In the last fifteen (FIFTEEN!) years, I feel like I've talked about every book under the sun—amazing reads, meh ones, new finds, old favorites, etc. That makes today's TTT topic, Top Ten Books I Enjoyed But Have Never Talked About On My Blog, kind of a toughie. True, I've lightened up over the years and gotten less anal about reviewing every book I read, but I still usually at least mention the ones I've read. So, I figured this prompt called for a bit of a twist. I decided to talk about authors whose work I have just eaten up in the past, but whose recent books I've pretty much ignored for one reason or another. It's likely that I've mentioned all of these authors at some time or another on the blog, but they're definitely not ones I chat about often. Does that sorta kinda fit today's theme?? 

Feeling listy? Be sure to join in the TTT fun by visiting That Artsy Reader Girl, then making your own list, and hopping around the book blogosphere to share the love. It's a good time, I promise!

Top Ten Authors I Used to Love, But Haven't Checked In With Recently

- in alphabetical order -  

1. Piers Anthony—I went through a brief sci-fi/fantasy phase in high school in a futile attempt to impress a boy. SFF has never been my favorite genre, but I did fall in love with Anthony's Incarnation of Immortality series. It's been years since I've read it and occasionally I get the hankering to revisit it just for nostalgia's sake. Now in his late 80s, Anthony is still publishing books. He's had a remarkable career, even if I haven't kept up with it.

2. Mary Higgins Clark—My dad introduced me to Clark's clean, compelling murder mysteries when I was in junior high school and I quickly became a rabid fan. In the ten or so years before Clark's death in 2020, my enthusiasm for her books started to wane. They just didn't hold my attention like they had in the past. Still, I'll always love Clark for those many nights her books kept me up way past my bedtime racing through the pages, desperate to see what was going to happen next. 

3. John Grisham—Like Clark, Grisham's books from the 1990s kept me absolutely spellbound. His newer titles just haven't had the same spark for me. I did tackle The Reckoning a couple years ago, but that one was such a disappointment that I haven't picked up a Grisham book since and don't plan to do so again.

4. Stephen King—When I was a teenager, horror was the only genre it was acceptable to be seen reading in public. Horror was cool, so I read a lot of it. King was my go-to guy for spooky stories long after high school. Apparently, I've gotten much wimpier with age because I can't handle his books now. They're just too gory and too disturbing for this old lady with her delicate constitution!

5. Dean Koontz—Like King, Koontz is an author whose books I devoured back in the day. I'm still a fan, even though I haven't read anything of his since Odd Thomas a number of years ago. I really should pick up the next book in the series one of these days. 

6. Jodi Picoult—Up until about House Rules in 2010, I inhaled everything Picoult wrote. Her stories sucked me in, kept me turning pages, and made me think. I tuned out about the time she started writing YA novels with her daughter since those didn't interest me. She's published a handful of novels since then that I probably should check out eventually. I'm not rushing, though, which is weird since I used to be such a devoted fan.

7. Christopher Pike—Pike is another author for whom I went absolutely crazy in the 1990s. He was my hands-down favorite, even though he never did answer any of the fan letters I sent him as a teenager! As of a few years ago, he was still writing scary books for teens. I wonder what I would think of his creepy tales now?

8. Ann Rule—I used to read a lot of true crime back in the day. Rule's books are well-researched and interesting, so I flew through a number of them in the late 1990s and early 2000s. These days, I just can't stomach the genre, which is ironic since it's gotten so crazy-popular!

9. John Saul—This is another author I adored during my horror-reading phase. His last novel was published in 2009, but I haven't read him since high school (which was a looonnnggg time ago).

10. Adriana Trigiani—I've long loved Trigiani's warm, Italian-themed women's novels. For some reason, though, I haven't picked up anything by her in about a decade. I really need to check out her newer books as I'm sure I've missed out on some good ones.  

There you have it, ten authors I've loved in the past but haven't really kept up with in the present. Have you read any of them? Which authors fit this category for you? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. Please note that I will be out of town from tomorrow until Saturday, so you won't see comments from me until I return. Thanks for your patience.

Happy TTT!  

All of us have favorite auto-buy (or at least auto-read) authors.  Some of them publish dozens of books, all of which we clamor to consume.  This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic—Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most Books By—made me think about the writers I've loved over my 44 years of life and how many of their books I've read.  Using Goodreads, Fantastic Fiction, and my not-very-reliable memory, I managed to come up with a list that's fairly accurate (I think). 

Before we get to that, though, I want to encourage you to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our host, Jana, a little love.  If you want to join in the TTT fun, her blog has all the deets.

It's Tuesday again, time for my favorite bookish meme.  I always look forward to this weekly event, especially now when there are so few ways to distinguish one day from all the rest!  How's everyone doing this week?  Are you surviving the quarantine in good spirits or starting to go stark raving mad?  Are you whipping through a book a day or finding it difficult to concentrate on reading when the outside world is still in chaos?  We're doing okay over here.  All of us have cabin fever, but we're being as cautious as we can by staying home, social distancing, washing our hands, etc.  We've had excessive heat warnings here in the Phoenix area—it's supposed to be in the upper 90s and low 100s all week.  Oh, joy!  I'm not a fan of hot weather, but at least I have air conditioning and a backyard swimming pool.  I really can't complain (I mean, I can, but I shouldn't).  For now, I'll just continue reading, cross-stitching, blogging, and attempting to keep my house from becoming a complete shambles.  I hope you all are doing well and keeping you and yours safe and healthy.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is a nostalgic one—Top Ten Books I Wish I Had Read As a Child.  I don't know about you, but I have been a voracious reader for my entire life.  As a kid, there was nothing I loved more than visiting our town's teensy tiny library.  When I couldn't convince my mom to drive me into town, I made the two-mile round trip on my own two feet.  The walk down wasn't so bad since it was all downhill, but the hike back up was a killer, especially in the summer heat with my arms full of all the books I could carry!  Needless to say, I was thrilled when I got my driver's license.  Not only could I drive myself to town whenever I wanted, but I could also cross the bridge into Oregon and check out books from a nearby town that had a much larger library.  I inhaled so many books in those days that, besides the Harry Potter series (which didn't come out until I was in my late 20's), I couldn't think of any that I wished I had read as a child.  I could, however, think of many that I loved back then, so I'm going to twist the topic du jour and list the Top Ten Authors/Books/Series I Loved As a Child.

Before we get to that, though, I have to give a shout out to Jana, our Top Ten Tuesday host.  If you want to join in the TTT fun, head on over to her blog, That Artsy Reader Girl.  You can find all the info you need on her lovely site.