I thought a thread about the author or book we Thingamabrarians discovered and fell madly in love with this year would be fun. It's a little different in idea from the "Top Five" lists, since it's intended to be about ONE author or ONE book, but I expect folks'll ignore that sooner or later.

Make that sooner: my most delightful discovery of 2006, author category, was Charles Stross. I'd been aware of his novels of universe-hopping traders of, errr, high-value low-bulk goods, but hadn't bought one before this month.

His multi-verse of genetically gifted cousin-marrying world walkers, all engaged in intrigues and battles and conspiracies within and among the families descended from a single mutant ancestor, has proven to be a huge pleasure for me to read because he never over-writes, as so many with such rich material would be tempted to do. He creates characters whose actions spring from grounded, believable motivations; their talents don't strain credulity with their coincidental convenience; their interrelationship is beautifully thought out.

Stross is one hell of a writer. Non-genre fans should take a look at The Family Trade. See if he can hook you. I'm betting he can.

As to most delightful discovery, book category, for 2006...the nominees are varied and numberous, but I have to go with A Far Better Rest by Susanne Alleyn. I loathe Dickens, and I had convulsions of revulsion while reading A Tale of Two Cities back in 1974, with its overblown, smarmy writing and typical Dickensian character cutouts with cutesy-poopsie names, but this book told from Sydney Carton's POV was just wonderful and almost made me willing to go back and read ol' Chuckles's doorstop.

That's good writing. Miss Alleyn, thank you for helping me maintain the fiction that I still have an open mind.

Now, who's next?

I'll be next. Great post and topic, richardderus. I will add The Family Trade to my wish list.

This year, I discovered Doris Lessing: a prolific writer with an amazing history. She's written fiction, essays, poetry, non-fiction, and even plays.

Doris Lessing has "written about the clash of cultures, the gross injustices of racial inequality, the struggle among opposing elements within an individuals own personality, and the conflict between the individual conscience and the collective good." Doris Lessing Biography Great author, lovely prose and astounding ability to write about the human condition.

Since November I've read three of her novels, Mara and Dann, The Summer Before the Dark, and The Diaries of Jane Somers. I hope to one day have an extensive -- and read -- collection.

Anyway, I'll stick with just the ONE author, as the post originally suggested, ;-) but I look forward to reading what others have found.

My big find of the year was SF author John Scalzi. I'm not sure I found him this year...I've been reading his blog for some time now, possibly over a year. Or maybe not. Anyway, I didn't look at his books until this year, and I got Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades, and The Android's Dream, all of which I really liked. The first two are related, and the third book in the trilogy (The Last Colony) is coming out next year (with a related novella or something coming out in February called The Sagan Diary).

I need to find his other books, I'm sure they'll be as entertaining.

Message edited by its author, Dec 31, 2006, 8:46pm.

A friend suggested both Muriel Spark - I had read "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" years ago, but nothing else of hers - as well as Dawn Powell, who skewered the New York nouveaux riches in the manner of a kindler, gentler Dorothy Parker.

I'm very glad I found Wendy and Richard Pini and their Elfquest series in 2006. I'd heard about them for years and years, but my library only just got the very beginning of the series this past year. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the others from earlier on in the series, so I had to go out and buy them. Oh well; it was completely worth it.

This is easy. If it hadn't been for LibraryThingers I may never have discovered Terry Pratchett. I consider him a big find because of his humor and the quantity of books I have to catch up on!

As for book, without looking at my journal, possibly Gesundheit! by Patch Adams. Ignited the possibility of hope for change.

My greatest author find this year is Mavis Gallant and I was fortunate to find two collections of her stories. The first one, Varieties of Exile, I found while browsing in a bookstore and, although that isn't the topic of this thread, that's one of the reasons I mourn the increasing demise of nonvirtual bookstores -- I certainly don't find it easy to discover and sample books of interest on the internet (aside from, thankfully, LT!). Most of her work is out-of-print in the US, although I did order a big book of collected stories from Amazon.uk.

My favorite book finds are a tie between Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie, a somewhat grim but beautifully told story with interesting characters facing their own personal issues and the Nigeria/Biafra war and its aftermath, and Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time of Gifts and its sequel Between the Woods and the Water, the story of his journey, by foot, from the coast of Holland part of the way to Constantinople, at age 18, in 1933, and his musings on history, nature, current events, art, people, and a world that was about to disappear.

I apologise if I am not posting this in the correct place.

I found some wonderful writing in 2006, notably the outstanding David Mitchell but at the moment the title I am most excited about was the one I read about in this weekend's Guardian.

It's been a two year wait but...the new Ian McKewan title, On Chesil Beach is due to be published on 4th April 2007. You all knew that didn't you?

I've pre-ordered already. It's only Day 1, but can this year get any better?

(The touchstone is all wrong, by the way...)

Message edited by its author, Jan 1, 2007, 2:14pm.

Madame Royale by Elena Maria Vidal
Wonderful novel about the eldest daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette--loved every page of it!

Biggest discovery in 2006 was probably Markus Zusak. The Read YA Lit group read I Am the Messenger as a group read, and then I'd heard a lot of people talking about The Book Thief, and both were well worth every positive thing people had said about them. Never would have found him if it weren't for LT, either.

Discovered; Gail Jones, Peter Ackroyd, Trezza Azzopardi, Kate Atkinson and Amitav Ghosh. A good year.

Anita Shreve was my big discovery of the year - I read through everything she's written in the space of about 6 weeks, apart from one title which got mislaid and thus took a few weeks longer to finish. It was also the first year I read any Geraldine Brooks, also a big hit. Pretty much everyone else I read was either an author already known to me or a one-off, but I'll be looking for more from Mark Acito and Dorothy Koomson.

>7, rebeccanyc...your point is well-taken. Human interactions need a "third place" other than home or work to be truly fulfilling, and bookstores have long been that kind of "third place." Not only does one lose the browseyness of book shopping via Internet, there's the loss of social interaction with people who love, or at least are likely to love, books and reading. Bless LT for being a virtual substitute, but....

So many people to add to my list! Mavis Gallant and Mark Acito and John Scalzi, as well as Madame Royale and...well, just about everything on this thread! Thanks, all, for sharing...and keep 'em coming!

Message 4: Once she found her voice, Dawn Powell became an excellent, excellent writer.

My big discovery for '06 was a little less literary ... it was just "the world of graphic novels" in general ... I was a hard-core Marvel fan in elementary school but really didn't get into the form as an adult until this year ... I read and really enjoyed Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan:the smartest kid on earth, the Walking Dead series, 100 bullets, We3, Torso ... adding a graphic dimension to the stories made for a great experience.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer made the largest impact on me this year (outside of my own).

Message edited by its author, Jan 2, 2007, 2:11pm.

In 2006, my most notable discovereies were Mark Z. Danielewski and Vladimir Nabokov. I mean, I always knew that Nabokov existed, but I had never read any of his works until this past summer.

Ok, can someone tell me something about Twilight by Stephenie Meyer? I've been hearing quite a bit about it, but right now I'm a bit resistent because the most recent "you have to read this!" came from an obnoxious kid online whose only endorsement was "it's awesome". Which, I have to say, is hardly convincing. And he couldn't come up with a basic summary when asked. So...throw me a bone, would you? I don't want to miss out on a good book because the kid irritated me.

Twilight is about a high school student named Bella who moves in with her father in Forks, WA because her mother has married a minor league baseball player. Bella attracts a lot of attention at her new school because it is a small community and her father is the sheriff. In science class she meets a boy who appears to take an instant, intense dislike of her. In fact, right after she starts school the boy leaves for parts unknown to any of his classmates and Bella knows it's because of her.

I don't want to get any further into spoilers, but that is pretty much how the story starts off. Twilight is, if you haven't heard, a story about vampires but, Stephenie Meyer's vampires are unlike any others I've read about. They are very un-traditional in a lot of ways. The story has a lot of exciting parts and romantic parts without being at all squishy about it. The author has a way of writing that kind of sucks you in. I started reading the book thinking that I didn't really like it. About halfway through suddenly I couldn't put the darn book down, kept sneaking peeks at work and eventually went home sick and finished the book. I can honestly say that hasn't ever happened with any other book I've ever read.

I also really recommend the book and can echo the sentiment that "it's awsome" although I hope this description gives you a bit better idea of the story.

Haha ok...maybe I'll put it on my to-read list. Thanks :)

My joyful discoveries this year were David Mitchell and Brady Udall.

demonlover, my 11-year-old got Twilight for Christmas. Is it appropriate for that age?

I'll echo fyrefly's (Message #10) choice of Markus Zusak. I've been recommending The Book Thief til I'm blue in the face to everyone I come across in the hopes that at least a small percentage take my invaluable advice! Definitely a wonderful discovery.

richardderus: This is a good topic. Quite a different way of looking at the books I've read this year.

Each year is always filled with such literary discovery, so hard to choose...but...

I discovered some remarkable new women's voices through their excellent debut novels. Towelhead by Alicia Erian and Harbor by Lorraine Adams, both American authors; and Astrid and Veronika by Swedish author Linda Olsson, and Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living by Australian author Carrie Tiffany were great finds.

Another great find was Australian fantasy author Margo Lanagan, whose thoughtful and thought-provoking short fiction deserves an audience beyond the labels of "fantasy" and "young adult." She has two collections out here in the states, Black Juice and White Time which, I fear (no, actually I know), get completely lost among the overcrowded YA shelves and overlooked by adults who don't stray into that part of the library or bookstore.

Message edited by its author, Jan 3, 2007, 10:51am.

For myself, I discovered Jane Austen. Sure, I knew she existed before, but I hadn't read any classics since college 10 years ago and I never read them if I didn't have to. This summer I read my mom's Pride and Prejudice, fell in love with it and went out and bought all of Austen's books, plus some Bronte and other classics. So, in the end, I didn't discover just one book, but I (re-)discovered the classics.

The other author I discovered through my sister is David Mitchell. I simply loved Ghostwritten.

And I discovered many books that others here on LT knew from their childhoods, like Ender's Game, A Wrinkle in Time or the Lemony Snickets books. All books I had never even heard of before LT. Snow Crash is also one of those. And so many more...

>22 amandameale, gld you're liking it as much as I am! I love the discovery process and wanted to see how others discover stuff. Not to mention vampire (chortle chortle) off their intrepid reading.

Okay, bad pun given the conversation above. I'll go now.

#20

I'm not demonlover, but I'd say it's probably appropriate read for that age. There's no swearing or sex in it, though there is some violence near the end. It probably boils down to your eleven-year-old and what they like/relate to, though. I know I would've enjoyed it when I was that age, and I don't remember anything particularly shocking or obscene in it.

New Authors in 2006...

Albert Noyer who writes meaty historical mysteries set in the dark ages in the Western Roman empire.

Stewart David Ikeda who wrote a wonderful book called What the Scarecrow Said about being Japanese in the US during WWII, and making a family with those who are there.

Matt Bondurant who wrote The Third Translation the anti-Da Vinci Code. A book about the search for an ancient artifact that managed to be intelligent, and interesting.

Brad Geagley who writes meaty historical mysteries in the ancient world. The Year of the Hyenas and The Day of the False King The first is in Egypt and the second in Babylon.

Mo Hayder who wrote The Devil of Nanking a modern mystery that brings in the supernatural, manages to create a Japanese Gothic story, as well as adding glitzy modern nightlife, and the historical atrocity of the Rape of Nanking.

Simon Levack who writes meaty historical mysteries set in the Aztec empire just before the Spanish arrive. Demon of the Air and the other one which escapes me at the moment.

As you can tell I really have a thing for meaty historical mysteries. :)

Way too many are paper thin, as though there is a rule somewhere, that the author shouldn't tax the brain of the reader with more than the mystery. I really don't care about the mystery all that much, but prefer the setting, the story and the characters. They are just another way for me to get an extra helping of historical fiction. :)

All these authors I will keep an eye on and check out their other books, since some are not new in 2006, just new to me.

I second FicusFan's recommendation of Brad Geagley. Another historical mystery writer I began reading this year is John Roberts Maddox who writes the SPQR mystery series, which I quickly gobbled up (having read all the Saylor and Davis Roman mysteries available) and am anxiously awaiting the next one. I also discovered another writer of Roman mysteries during the late Republic ~ David Wishart, whose "detective" is Marcus Corvinus. Not quite as meaty as Saylor, but I enjoyed the ones I read (Germanicus and The King's Gambit).

This year I read Sky Knife by Marella Sands, an Aztec mystery. I don't think she's written anything else, so I'm glad to learn about Simon Levack's mysteries set in the Aztec empire.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't seem to get into Albert Noyer's mysteries for some reason ~ and I tried twice, with two different novels, just in case it was something about the first one. Perhaps it was just me and where I was at the time.

>27, FicusFan: It's Shadow of the Lords, which is the first one I read while I was at my brother's house. I liked it, but stopped reading once I realized there was a frist volume.

Does anyone else have this problem...must read a series from book one forward? It ruins my pleasure in a series to know something from the fourth book in it that changes something in the first book. Maybe I'm just weird.

>28 Storeetllr: Marella Sands also wrote Serpent and Storm in the same setting as Sky Knife. After that, she seems to have lost steam, interest, or a market, I don't know which or whether it's all three.

Come back, Marella, all is forgiven!

Am reading Ben Elton's latest - 'CHART THROB' - a satire about reality shows like 'Pop Idol' and 'X Factor' - excellent start - witty and acerbic as are his previous novels.

There are always new avenues to go down and I was recommended to try Swedish crime writers in 2006. Henning Mankell has been a real find for me: I like his detective Kurt Wallender. Just one example One Step Behind - a real page turner. I then tried Maj Sjowall from an earlier decade. Also a success. There's nothing like some good crime fiction in between my literary novels and non-fiction.

Marella Sands: Tor canceled her series, and did not put out the last book. I read the first 2 and was very unhappy with them. They insist on putting everything out in HC, and then they don't really support/advertise and of course sales are not great. I sent an email to her after I found this out, and asked about other options and she said she was looking for a publisher. This was several years ago. Since her last book hasn't appeared I think she has never been able to find one.

Her 2 books are set in the Mayan culture, not the Aztec.

Brad Geagley: He is in a similar boat, in that his editor was one of Korda's (at Schusters) and when Korda fell, his editor 'retired' and he doesn't have a contract at the moment (as near as I can tell from reading between the lines, about the contract, not the other stuff which he volunteered). He did get a better agent as a result of his books, and he is now at work on a non-mystery historical fiction about Cleopatra.

Seems his agent thinks he will be pigeon-holed if he does another mystery. He did say he had up to book 7 of the mystery series mapped out. Once he gets published again, hopefully he will be able to do the mysteries in between other books.

I just got the second Simon Levack book in the mail today from Amazon :). I too need to read books in order, and will try to make sure I have number 1 before I start. Once I start however, I don't stop unless I am giving up on the book permanently. As a complete-ist, I almost never give up on a book.

I have the SPQR books and they seem ok, but not what I would call meaty. I have Saylor's and Davis' and hers are the only ones I really think of as meaty. I am not done with any of the series, so perhaps Roberts and Saylor get better as they go along.

I read Albert Noyer's 2nd book first by mistake, and I liked it very much. I had more trouble with the first one (mostly due to the characterization of Getorius) , and still have the stand alone to go. His prose is a bit dense, but I like it.

My big discovery because of librarything was the websites www.43things.com and www.dailylit.com. I also discovered the list "1001 books to read before you die" and because of this list have read the most excellent books. I discovered "The life of Pi" - my new fave book because of that list

Lois McMaster Bujold is an author I'd always skipped over in bookstores, and started reading due to LT reviews. It's great to find a new author then realise there's a whole series to be read.
Another fantastic work was To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.

There's a tag "LT-inspired" that a few people use (me included) for books or authors we discover purely because of LibraryThing. Looking at it, I'm very very happy at the books I discovered last year, and ones I've just lined up for this year.

I am reading "Queen of Swords"

Thanks for the correction, Ficus ~ it's been awhile since I read Sky Knife and only remembered it was set in the Americas in a primitive culture.

On your recommendation, I'll try Noyer's second novel (I don't remember offhand which ones I tried before) and see if it appeals to me.

hazelk #32, if you like Mankell you might like Arnaldur Indridason, an Icelandic author who has two mysteries out here in the states; three, I believe, in the UK. The first one is called Jar City a.k.a. Tainted Blood, the second is Silence in the Grave. They are rather dark police procedurals and the detective has been referred to by some as a loser, but I just think he has a really crappy personal life (he's obviously a good detective...). And the urban Icelandic setting is interesting...

On your recommendation, I'll try Noyer's second novel (I don't remember offhand which ones I tried before) and see if it appeals to me.


#37 Storeetllr, I hope you enjoy it, but I don't want to set you up to read something you won't like. Oh the pressure of it all.

The book I read first was The Cybelene Conspiracy. It was the 2nd in the series, and is his 3rd book over all. I find new authors (who are good) usually have it together by the 3rd book. The first book he wrote is the stand alone: The Saint's Day Deaths then the first book of the mystery series: The Secundus Papyrus.

Reading the 2nd book in the series first was not too much of a jolt. They did refer to the previous events, and I felt left out, but it didn't stop me from understanding or enjoying the book.

I like the setting of the dark ages and the crumbling Western Roman Empire, with different versions of the barbarians. I also like the inclusion of the early christian church and watching it try to sort out what it meant to be christian. Not that I am religious, but I am interested in how the religion grew and changed.

I also like the struggles Getorius has with the state of medical science. He knows that there are explanations and reasons for how the body acts, and why it goes wrong, but he doesn't know the answers. The addition of Arcadia as the little woman who wants to be more is also a positive for me. Finally in this book I was interested in the pagan cult of Cybele and how they tried to survive with christian persecution.

Noyer manages to weave it all together and still create good characters, and interesting settings, along with a good mystery/story. So for me it was a very good read, but others mileage may vary, and thats fine. We don't all have to like the same things.

# 32 and#38
I absolutely endorse what avaland says about Arnuldur Indrisson. I read them all recently, back to back, and thought they had plenty to say about Iceland in the 21st century as well as being absorbing crime novels.

I need a better-paying job. Just the stuff in this one small thread has added over $300 to my reading bill.

>35, ryn_books thanks for the tip re: "LT-inspired" tagging. I expect 2007 will see a lot of those tags added to my library.

#35 and #41

Ryn ~ I second Richardderus and thank you for your tip. I've started starring the threads that contain titles or authors that I want to try until I can transfer them to a list. At this point, most of the threads on most of the groups to which I belong are starred. *sigh* Thank God for libraries.

The Woman in the Washington Zoo was the "find" of 2006 for me - I am grateful to megami (on LT) for recommending it! Her political profiles were riveting but her personal story (post-cancer diagnosis) just as much - moving but never maudlin.

Charles Stross does impress me also, though I think Accelerando is something of a botch. Richard K. Morgan and Naomi Novik impress me more as novelists per se. I also had great fun with John Zakour's future detective farces, not to mention John Scalzi and Neal Asher. 2006 was an excellant year for genre novelists new to me.

>44 Shrike58, I haven't read Accelerando, and now won't for fear of diminishing my pleasure in Stross's work. I did pick up and devour Singularity Sky with pleasure.

John Zakour is a completely new name to me. Drat you! Another author to investigate! The Amazon.com folks must drool every time someone new becomes a Thingamabrarian.