love notes 19: a list of my favourite authors
my favourite authors and their books, what i read this week and other recommendations
This week I’ve been obsessed with: party preparations, taylor swift, sweets and desserts, drinking coffee while reading, booktube, list writing, family time, early mornings, tidying, toddler cuddles and quiet nights.
I’m always keeping lists for pretty much everything in my life — which I’ve done since I was probably a teenager. It’s something my chaotic mind often craves to restore a little order in my life and so my Notion is filled with them.
Of course, as somebody who loves stories and books, I have a list of my favourite authors and which of their books I’ve loved the most. With every book I read, I’m either adding to or changing this list. Even going as far as reordering it. But I thought it would be fun to share this list in its current form with you today!
my current list of favourite authors (and my favourite book of theirs):
Mona Awad — Bunny
Coco Mellors — Blue Sisters
V. E. Schwab — The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Ottessa Moshfegh — Eileen
Donna Tartt — The Secret History
M. L. Rio — If We Were Villains
Micah Nemerever — These Violent Delights
Taylor Jenkins Reid — The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Fredrik Backman — Beartown
Emily Henry — Funny Story
Sally Rooney — Normal People
Gillian Flynn — Sharp Objects
Kate Elizabeth Russell — My Dark Vanessa
Shirley Jackson — The Haunting of Hill House
Olivie Blake — One For My Enemy
Cassandra Clare — Lord of Shadows
Stephanie Garber — Legendary
Leigh Bardugo — Six of Crows
Marissa Meyer — Renegades
Sarah J. Maas — Queen of Shadows
Do we have any of the same favourite authors? And if so, do we have any of the same favourite books of theirs too? Tell me in the comments!
part i: what i read this week
This week I finished reading Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, and let me tell you this book was honestly so worth the wait. I’ve been so excited to read this book all year and I absolutely adored it from beginning to end. It’s a very slow, quiet read with not a lot of action, but what this means is we get an intimate examination of the three remaining Blue sisters after the death of their fourth sister. I loved each of the Blue sisters equally, but all for different reasons. They each felt so real to me — I understood their desires, their weaknesses, their strengths, their vulnerabilities, their undeniable love of one another. I feel like I could talk about this book and these characters forever, so I’m going to leave this here and hopefully have a love letter dedicated to the book up for you next week.
I struggled to pick out my next read, but settled on What I’d Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma. And I’m so glad I chose to read this book. It was incredible and I finished it in two sittings because I was so absorbed with the story and the characters. It was quite a sombre book, with many heartbreaking observations and commentaries that left me in a puddle of tears, and it handles quite heavy content with a lot of compassion and respect. I also loved how deeply and intimately we got to know these unnamed twins — the one who wishes to die, and the other one who wishes to understand why the other no longer wants to live. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this book.
I then started reading Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty, which is my first time diving into her work. I’m only a couple of chapters in, but so far I’m very intrigued by the story and excited to find out what’s happening.
And finally I have a list of article recommendations that I found particularly interesting and inspiring this week:
part ii: what i wrote this week
Party preparations for my soon-to-be two year old were in full swing this week. I was cleaning, cooking and finishing decorations up until Sunday morning when the party began — the only breaks I was taking was for some much needed reading time and finalising Substack pieces. So, unfortunately, book writing was pretty non-existent.
But things are slowing down now. Apart from life’s usual busyness, I should have plenty of time to work on my new book. I’m really excited but also nervous to start.
helped me to see that I was procrastinating starting my book because I was nervous to write in a genre I’d never tried before. She’s inspired me to take what notes, brainstorming and plotting I have and just start and see what happens. So, next week is about finally getting some words down. Wish me luck!part iii: what i watched this week
I finally watched “Almost Famous” this week. I’ve never seen this movie before, despite so many people saying that I should watch it. I’m not sure if it’s a movie that I would ever watch again unfortunately, but it was pretty fun for a Friday night after everyone else went to bed and I thought the casting was really good. Otherwise I’ve barely watched anything else this week.
My video recommendations for this week include: this July reading wrap up with so many good literary fiction recommendations that you should definitely checkout, Dakota Warren’s literature and film report for July, and this booktuber’s ‘bibles’ aka the books she reads religiously over and over again.
And that was this week!
I’m so happy that my daughter’s party went well — it was Taylor Swift themed for those wondering, with lots of yummy food, balloons and music. She’s inherited her love for the 1989 album from me and dances very cutely to every single song. So adorable!
I’m very excited for next week and to start working on my book. I’ll definitely be keeping you updated with progress.
And for paid subscribers, my next Love List is going to be posted tomorrow. If you want to have access to the entire piece, you can upgrade your subscription here.
Until next time,
- Madeline