Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

The rules are simple:

• Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
• Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
• Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
• Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment on her weekly post.

This week – January 26, 2021 – the topic is: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2020.

Well, I actually have a list of 12 authors who received top ratings from me (a minimum of 4.5/5 stars) this past year, where these books were the first ones for me from each of them (and yes, I would very much like to read more of their books). So, without any further ado…

12 – Mandy Robotham – book read: “The Berlin Girl“. Historical, literary, women’s, adult fiction. It isn’t easy to find a new way to write about Germany during the WWII era, but the angle of a foreign press reporter was one I hadn’t read before.

11 – Aaron Jackson – book read: “The Astonishing Life of August March“. Contemporary, literary, humor, adult fiction. This fun book follows the life of August March, a boy born in a theater and immediately abandoned. How he survives and what he achieves makes a fascinating story.

10 – David Foenkinos – book read: “The Mystery of Henri Pick“. Contemporary, literary, mystery, adult fiction. When is a rejected manuscript not a rejected manuscript? To answer that question, you’ll have to read this fun mystery story translated from the French.

9 – Barbara Linn Probst – book read: “Queen of the Owls“. Contemporary, literary, women’s, adult fiction. This story revolves around a woman who is trying to complete her Art History PhD on Georgia O’Keeffe, while trying to come to terms with her own wants and desires.

8 – Dan Greenberger – book read: “The Boys Next Door“. Historical, literary, adult fiction. The Beatles – who wouldn’t want to read a historical fiction novel about them, right? Especially one about the time they were in Germany and no one knew who they were! That’s what Dan’s book brings us, and it is truly wonderful.

7 – Isla Morley – book read: “The Last Blue“. Historical, literary, women’s, adult fiction. There are no more Blues around, people with the rare blood disorder that turned their skin literally blue. Isla Morley tells the tale of one of the last of them, in this heartbreaking and beautiful novel.

6 – Stella Gibbons – book read: “A Pink Front Door“. Contemporary, vintage, literary, women’s, adult fiction. This adorable story about a woman who is always trying to help strangers, but somehow forgets she has her own family to worry about, was just a delight to read.

5 – Margery Sharp – book read: “Rhododendron Pie“. Contemporary, vintage, literary, women’s, adult fiction. I know, I should have read Sharp years ago, but that’s the drawback of a myopic American education – you don’t hear about British authors.

4 – Ruth Adam – book read: “A House in the Country“. Contemporary, vintage, literary, women’s, adult fiction. I must say that the type of lifestyle that the people in this book were searching for sounds absolutely idyllic, in theory. In practice, it ends up being something else altogether, and made for a truly lovely read.

3 – Kim Michele Richardson – book read: “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek“. Historical, literary, women’s, adult fiction. Another novel about the Blue people, but with a bookish angle that also includes information about the Pack Horse Library Project, which came about after the Great Depression to encourage literacy. A truly touching read.

2 – Gretchen Berg – book read: “The Operator“. Historical, literary, women’s, adult fiction. This truly fun, but also heartwarming tale about a woman who hears the wrong thing while listening in on a phone call. Building on the idea that no one can resist overhearing a bit of gossip, and what can happen when the gossip you hear is actually about you!

1 – Tara Moss – book read: “The War Widow“. Historical, women’s, mystery, crime thriller, fiction. The reason why this isn’t among the others above is because it was originally published in Australia in 2019. This is the first in Moss’ new Billie Walker series and I intend to read more!

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What authors were new to you in 2020?