My Favourite Authors

And why you should read them

I have a degree in English Literature from Trinity College, but you would never know it from my bookshelf. I applied for that course (along with Film Studies) because I absolutely adored English in school, and was always good at it. I’d had an amazing teacher throughout secondary school, the wonderful Ms Aitken, and she’d taught us about literature and language in a way that made it come alive, and feel totally accessible. I’ll always be very grateful to her for teaching us not just the curriculum, but also about the existence of private schools and their social strata, thus preparing me for the people and lifestyles I’d encounter at college - the hockey, rugby and old money world of the posher suburbs would have been entirely alien to me if it weren’t for her.

But being good at English in school didn’t really prepare me for studying the subject at university. I hated the huge, impersonal lectures and felt totally out of place in the more intimate seminars. Everyone there was smarter, more polished, more well-read than me. They knew what subjugation was, and about the male gaze. I felt like I was doing double time just trying to catch up. Trinity is a humbling place, and everyone seemed more advanced, more erudite than little ol’ me.

There were parts that I liked; post-colonial literature was interesting, and I did a module on Jane Austen that was fun. I wrote my dissertation on the work of Truman Capote, and that was pretty cool. But I draw a blank when it comes to the rest of it - I don’t remember reading any Joyce, although surely I must have. Ditto Tolstoy, Orwell, Melville. Maybe I read the Cliff Notes?! I graduated with a 2.1, anyway. They can’t take that back!

My taste in reading has always been firmly rooted in the commercial. I tend to zone in on a particular author, and devour their entire back catalogue rather than reading what’s hot, or what’s deemed important at any particular time. And a lot of people might find what I like totally naff. But that’s fine, different strokes and all that. My husband loves books about wizards and alien wars, and I try not to judge.

I read for comfort, to relate to other people. I don’t want to be overstimulated before I go to bed, but I do want to feel something. And in writing my own debut novel (!), I’ve subconsciously learned that trade from all of the people on the following list. They’re writers I return to time and time again, and will likely continue to read until I’m old(er) and grey(er). So if you’re looking for a new favourite author, why not try one of these?

MARIAN KEYES

My beloved, my absolute favourite, the Queen of Ireland (along with beloved Maeve Binchy, RIP). I’m always surprised by how many people haven’t read all of her novels though, so if this is you - start immediately! If you told teenage me that I’d have Marian’s number in my phone, I would have keeled over. As well as being a magnificently talented writer, she is as kind and wonderful as you might expect.

I think I read Rachel’s Holiday when I was 12 or 13, borrowing it from my mother on holiday. From that opening line - “They said I was a drug addict. I found that hard to come to terms with -- I was a middle-class, convent-educated girl whose drug use was strictly recreational. And surely drug addicts were thinner?” - I was utterly hooked.

Marian’s novels have been like a comfort blanket since then. Even with the serious subject matters of addiction, domestic violence, depression and grief, they’re always funny, always warm, always so clever and so very Irish. I love her, and I always will.

ELIN HILDERBRAND

I got in to Elin’s books during the early days of pandemic when I was looking for something soothing and escapist, and I’ve read many of them twice since. They do something that not many writers manage - they’re both extremely clever, and very easy to read. Most of her novels are set on Nantucket Island, a place I’ve never been but feel like I know from her evocative descriptions. She mostly writes romances, but there are a few thrillers in her canon and a delightful festive mini-series I’ve read the last three Christmases. Her books are sophisticated yet light, and if I were you, I’d start with 28 Summers.

JUDY BLUME

My grandmother bought me a Judy Blume book in Easons on O’Connell Street when I was about nine years old. It was called Starring Sally J Freedman As Herself, and was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with Judy’s writing. That particular book was about post-war Miami, where the titular Sally is living with her mother and brother as he recovers from pneumonia. It taught me about racial politics, Nazis and using my imagination, and I learned so many Yiddish words without realising!

I’ve read everything she’s ever written countless times, including a book of advice for teenagers that was far too advanced for me at the time. I’ll never forget reading her YA novel Forever and finding out that the Ralph she was describing was, in fact, a penis. Years later I’d read and adore her adult novels; Summer Sisters has become a staple read for me, and not just because the heroine is named Vix.

JODI PICOULT

My first novel of Jodi’s was Nineteen Minutes, which is about a school shooting. I actually read that before Lionel Shriver’s We Need To Talk About Kevin, and I’m glad because it somewhat prepared me for the horror of that book.

Jodi’s novels always have a moral dilemma at their centre, and they are meticulously researched. Not only are they very compelling, they’re ultimately about the human condition, and why we think, feel and act the way we do. They’re brilliant, and her latest, Mad Honey, is one of my favourites. See also: The Pact, and My Sister’s Keeper (which is MUCH better than the movie, and has a totally different ending.)

JACKIE COLLINS

Oh, how I love her. Look at this cover, for one thing?! From her glam look (she always wore leopard print, diamonds and shoulder pads, and had huge hair) to her fabulous heroines (of which Lucky Santangelo is my fave), Jackie never fails to lure me in with lurid stories of Hollywood and Broadway, crime and sex, love and money. Many dismiss her books as filthy fluff, but they are simply missing out.

I find Thrill! a great starting point for new Jackie readers, and then Chances, the start of Lucky’s soaring saga. I love a dirty book, and I’m more partial to Jackie and Judith Krantz than Jilly Cooper’s brand of horsey hijinks.

EMILY HENRY

My latest new love, the author of my favourite new book of the past few years, Book Lovers. I have her latest packed for my holidays, and I’m so excited to get stuck in. Her stories are the age-old ‘friends to lovers’ kind, but they’re so intelligently written and well plotted, it doesn’t matter that you can guess the ending from a mile off.

There are many other authors I love and admire - Philip Pullman made me like the fantasy genre, and Stephen King horror. Liz Nugent and Louise O’Neill’s books always draw me in and creep me out, while Beth O’Leary, Mhairi MacFarlane and Jennifer Weiner’s are like warm hugs. I’m partial to a John Grisham, and I’ll always snap up the latest Ross O’Carroll Kelly. I love reading, and I can’t believe I’m going to have my own book on my shelf next year. Pinch me!!

I hope this list has inspired you, and perhaps given you a new author or two to try out. Let me know! <3