Alas, it was a romance writer whose books I've read and bought in the past. I immediately unfollowed the author on twitter, went to facebook and unliked her fan page. Mostly though, I was feeling kind of disgusted for having spent money on her books. Sad about the time I'd spent reading her books.
That same day, not too long after I noticed this, I saw quite a few other people commenting on it. Clearly, I wasn't the only person upset - for me, this is the benefit of twitter, knowing others feel the same. Turns out she wasn't the only author expressing some rather icky opinions. I wasn't familiar with the other authors, but suffice it to say, I won't be reading any of their work. I very much appreciate the book bloggers who put together a list of authors to avoid.
Maybe a writer's political opinion doesn't bother some readers. That's fine. No judgement. But for me, I feel like the way a person thinks will reflect in their work. Also, time and money are limited and I don't want to be wasting either on people who hold beliefs I find abhorrent. There are so very many books out there to read. Right now, I've got 871 books on my "to-read" list, and that isn't even counting the hundreds of free kindle books I've gotten from amazon. It only makes sense that I would choose to focus my reading time and money on people I don't mind supporting.
I don't think it's a random coincidence that most of the authors I love tend to hold similar beliefs to mine. Their work resonates with me for a reason.
Now to the point of this blog post. I felt like a I directed a lot of energy toward "authors to avoid" last week. But now, I want to direct some attention to authors I love. These days, a lot of us need an escape into fiction, and these are a few of the books and authors I recommend for that. The following are books I consider to be comfort/empowering reads.
One of the books I keep thinking about lately is Jennifer Bernard's Set the Night on Fire. The story is very relevant to one of the big stories that has been dominating the news lately - except on more of a small town political level - not the Supreme Court. The first time I read this was in July of 2017 - and I feel almost certain there was a similar news story happening at the time, but I don't remember the details, only that after I read the book I thought, "It's so nice to read a story in which the corrupt, bad politician gets what he deserves." I recommended the book to all of my friends at the time. Now, it seems appropriate to do so again. I thought Bernard did a great job at showing what a woman goes through in keeping a secret like that, believing she needs to protect her family, and knowing the risks associated with coming forward. Also, Jennifer Bernard writes the best contemporary romances. I don't read a lot of that genre, but I try to read everything she writes. Her books are so good, really sexy, with great story lines and interesting characters.
Paranormal romance tends to be more my thing. My favorite author in that genre is Michele Hauf. Her books, set in her Beautiful Creatures world are often my escape when the real world is too much to handle. The one I'm going to recommend now though is called An American Witch in Paris. I liked the way Hauf directly addressed issues such as feminism and consent. It felt very relevant. Besides all of that, the story is exciting - they're saving the world from falling angels - and very sexy.
Another great romance that I have read recently is Pas de Deux by Wynter S.K. I hadn't heard much about the book, but the description intrigued me. I don't know much about the author, this is the only book of hers I've read - but I thought she did a great job of showing people realistically dealing with trauma and its effects - both mental and physical. And it is one of the most beautiful love stories I've read in a while. Really wonderful book about a couple who have to endure a lot before they can get to a point where they are truly honest with each other.
My next recommendation is a favorite of mine. I read it every October. Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is the perfect fall read - witches and vampires, libraries filled with magic, history and science - it's all there. It's a story about discovering that love looks beyond differences and long-held prejudices, and families are built on much more than blood connections. Once you read that book, you'll want to read the whole trilogy.
My last recommendation, because I felt like I should have five books, is City of Darkness, City of Light by Marge Piercy. This one, unlike my other recommendations, isn't a romance. It's a story about the French Revolution that focuses on the women involved. These days, we're kind of bombarded by stories of horrible things happening to women, and it might help to read about women trying to claim a bit of power in shaping the direction of their country.Those are what I could think of right off the top of my head. I'm sure I'll think of others as soon as I post this.
I've attempted to hyperlink the book titles to amazon because that's where I tend to buy books, but I have no affiliation with them.
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