Favorite Authors of 2019

It's that time of year again, when I look back over my reading log to see what I read most, which authors I read a lot of, which new authors I've discovered, and so on. I like doing this so I can get ready for a new year of reading! I like to think about what books I want to read and to challenge myself to read authors and genres I have read very little or not at all. So, I'm going to tally up this year's results, list my favorite authors of the year, and make comments as I go.

To start off, which authors did I read the most this year?

Agatha Christie wins! I read 21 Agatha Christie murder mysteries this year. This is, I think, very unusual for me, considering my normal reading habits. I'm an enormous fan of historical romance, and here I am gorging myself with murder mysteries of all things! I first read Christie when I found one of her books left in a house my parents bought--I was a young teen at the time. Years later, I went through stages of checking Christie's books out of the library where we lived in England. This year, I have become addicted. Agatha Christie paperbacks, and I like vintage ones the best, are very easy to find at used bookstores and thrift stores, and they are very cheap to buy. I have started collecting them...because that's the sort of thing I do...collect books. I can't say I've enjoyed all her books. A few I've found very depressing, but generally, I like them very much...almost like a guilty pleasure. And, to be honest, they're not so far off my normal genres. They're historical in the sense that she wrote them during a period which is now historical--the early 1920s-early 1970s (I personally prefer the earlier books). Many of them even have a little romance, so they fit quite well with what I like.

Second place in the "author I read the most" contest is a tie between Sarah E. Ladd and Elizabeth Camden, two of my favorite authors. I have now read every book those two authors have written, with the exception of a novella Elizabeth Camden JUST published (and Sarah has a new one coming out in about a week). I read 4 of each author's books this year.

Third place goes to Jen Turano, an author I discovered last year. I intend to read all of her books as I am able to acquire them. Set during the Gilded Age, they are laugh-out-loud historical romances. Seriously, they are so hilarious...I really do laugh out loud. I must have more! I read 3 of Jen's books this year.

Have my favorite authors changed? No, but I have added some. A few favorite authors only got 0-2 books read by me this year, but that's simply because I'd already read all but one or two of their books, or I have some saved for next year because I simply didn't get to them this year.

I did discover a few new favorites. One is Rachel Fordham. Rachel is a fairly new author, with 2 books published and a third in the works. After hearing about her first book repeatedly on my favorite Christian fiction facebook page (Avid Readers of Christian Fiction), I finally decided to try it. The Hope of Azure Springs has earned top spot on my favorite reads of the year...I loved it THAT much! Not long afterward, I read her second book Yours Truly, Thomas. Rachel is from my state (my new home state), which is really cool. Her books are mostly set in Iowa in the 1800s.

The second new-to-me author is Becky Wade. Becky writes contemporary Christian romance. I am not normally a fan of contemporary. I will read one and find it either disappointing or just okay, nothing that makes me want to read more. I read one Becky Wade book this year, after having her recommended to me on the same facebook page I mentioned previously. True to You was enjoyable enough that I want to read all of her books...maybe next year! I will now put Becky Wade as my favorite author of contemporary romance.

I mentioned that Rachel Fordham's book The Hope of Azure Springs is #1 on my favorite books read this year. Second place goes to She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell. I highly recommend both books!

I impressed myself this year by reading 3 nonfiction books and 3 classics. The nonfiction were all Christian books, and I really enjoyed them (I'm not normally a nonfiction reader). These were Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge, Jesus Revolution by Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn, and The Blessed Life by Robert Morris. The classics were Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens), and Ben Hur (Lew Wallace). I'm surprised how much I enjoyed Frankenstein. I had never read it before. It's a very tragic story, but well-written and interesting...in a very tragic sort of way.

So, here are my top 10 favorite books that I read this year:
1. The Hope of Azure Springs (Rachel Fordham)
2. She Walks in Beauty (Siri Mitchell)
3. A Daring Venture (Elizabeth Camden)
4. Flights of Fancy (Jen Turano)
5. The Spice King (Elizabeth Camden)
6. The Noble Guardian (Michelle Griep)
7. The Weaver's Daughter (Sarah E. Ladd)
8. The Piper's Pursuit (Melanie Dickerson)
9. Yours Truly, Thomas (Rachel Fordham)
10. The Princess (Lori Wick)

Current favorite Christian authors:
1. Melanie Dickerson
2. Elizabeth Camden
3. Karen Witemeyer
4. Jen Turano
5. Julie Klassen
6. Sarah Ladd
7. Michelle Griep
8. Rachel Fordham
9. Tamara Leigh
10. Tamera Alexander

I also still love Grace Livingston Hill, so she has to fit in that list somewhere. The only differences between her and the others is that she's not current, and her books are shorter.

Favorite...how do I put this...no-long-living authors of clean fiction that is not specifically Christian:
1. Georgette Heyer
2. Emilie Loring
3. Jane Austen
4. Agatha Christie
5. Clare Darcy
6. JRR Tolkien


What do I have ahead for 2020? Well, I have a to-be-read pile and also a to-be-bought list. My to-be-read pile has several books by Tamara Leigh, one by Tamera Alexander, another one by Siri Mitchell, and several new-to-me authors, including Carolyn Miller and Kristi Ann Hunter. My to-be-bought list includes new books by almost all of my favorite authors, either recently released or to-be-released in 2020, as well as some books I've been wanting for years...and I'm sure some more Agatha Christie!