SFF: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner

Sunday Fun Five #66:

#60: The 5 Literary Characters Who Should Run For President

#61: The 5 Authors You Wouldn't Mind Having as Your Teacher

#62: The 5 Comfort Reads You Depend on For Difficult Days

#63: The 5 Reasons You Need More Than One Patronus

#64: The 5 Supernatural Creatures/Beings You Prefer Reading About

#65: The 5 Books You Read in 2016 That Were More Addictive Than Pumpkin Pie Spice-d Things

#66: The 5 Times You Found the Right Book at the Right Time (Or Did It Find You?)
#67: The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner
For the 4th of December: #68: The 5 Characters You Won't Soon Forget That You Read About in 2016

A Countdown of

The 5 New-To-You Authors of 2016 You Wish You'd Read Sooner

I'm kind of glad I read these authors in 2016 because I've had a bit of a tough year. Between losing my ability to walk normally 20 days after my 24th birthday, the hot mess that was the elections in the States, and more recently having Keisha (the Dorkie) diagnosed with congestive heart failure, I've been disappointed with 2016 to say the least. But, I have read some really, really good books to balance it out somewhat, even if good books cannot bring health back into our household.

5. Zora Neale Hurston
I haven't reviewed Their Eyes Were Watching God, but it isn't for lack of trying- I have trouble coming up with accurate words to describe how much I loved it, despite it having some problematic relationships (which usually make me lower my ratings). Although I've only read one of her books, it has stuck with me through this entire year, which is more than I can say for the many other books I've read.

4. Tanya Huff
An author who can make fantasy fun with quirky, unconventional characters who make the pages fly by? If only I'd known about her sooner! I'm not the easiest person to please, but all of Tanya Huff's books I've read this year have been fantastic.

3. Intisar Khanani
I'd seen the standalone fairytale retelling Thorn recommended far and wide in the blogosphere, but it took me some time (and a sale) to finally pick it up. For whatever reason, I never finished the review, but I did review Sunbolt, which is the first in a series. Young Adult books usually just aren't for me, Intisar Khanani's books have unique elements that keep me reading.

2. Octavia E. Butler
Octavia E. Butler wrote the perfect sort of books for me- they make you think, but they aren't pretentiously difficult to read, unlike other books written by authors who attempt to impress you with their "intellect" tend to write. She wrote in a deceptively simple style about science fiction concepts I haven't seen fully explored by anyone else.

1. Robin Hobb
Robin Hobb made me believe in fantasy again. Last year, I hit a dry spell that made me feel like I would never find a new fantasy series I would enjoy again, but clearly the problem was with which books I was reading. To top it off, the ending of Assassin's Quest was just what I needed to read this year. Sometimes, you need books that don't exactly end with the perfect happily ever after.

Which new-to-you authors impressed you this year?