8 very popular authors, I have NEVER READ! 😲 Sally Rooney, Donna Tartt, Zadie Smith

Time to confess and share the popular authors I have never read. Not once 😲 Maybe you'll change my mind!

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
2:10 Current Reads
9:05 8 popular authors I haven't read

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✌️ ABOUT ME: I am Angela, a 40-something, empty nester living with my husband in Perth, Western Australia with a more than mild obsession with books.

😊 DISCLAIMER: This video is not sponsored and all opinions are my own

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[thelefthandedreader]

I was the same way with Toni Morrison and intimidated. I would recommend song of Solomon. I read it this year and found it super approachable very readable so so good.

[bookishbgg]

I've only read Toni Morrison and I started with The Bluest Eye because people often say it's the best one to start with. I remember it was hard to read due to the subject matter and this maybe shows I'm not sophisticated reader or whatever but I thought it was just alright. I've also read her novella Recitatif with introduction by Zadie Smith and I'd really recommend that book, I read it a couple of times in the same day. The rest I haven't read and a couple I haven't even heard of but I'll check them out. Out of your selection I want to read Zadie Smith and Sally Rooney.

[readandre-read]

I'd start with The Underground Railroad for Colson Whitehead. The television adaptation is pretty good, too. I think the first Toni Morrison book I read was Beloved and it was a stunner!

[jillellert]

Thank you for being honest about what you haven't read. I have a longer list of "never read" than you do and I am much older! The truth is there are always more than we can possibly fit in. Be proud of all you HAVE read! I enjoy your videos very much.

[evamarie]

I read The Goldfinch by D Tartt and loved it. I read Normal People and Conversations With Friends by S Rooney. I especially liked Normal People (and I’m older than you). I like her honest depictions of a person.

[thelefthandedreader]

It’s so funny you’re talking about a slumpy like period. I’m talking about that too in an upcoming video. I go to authors I know will be easy breezy and satisfying. That for me is Anita Brookner or someone in that vein. I’m so glad you’re reading Frankenstein. It’s one of my favorite books. Mary Shelley is amazing.

[amyb]

I've read Donna Tartt and love her, also read Rooney and like her (Intermezzo is on the top of my TBR and based on reviews I've seen i think it may turn out to be my favourite)

As for Toni Morrison i have only read The Bluest Eye and it is one of the saddest, most beautiful, and profound things I've ever read. (It was recommended as a good place to start and i have to agree). I am wholly committed to reading eveything else she has written at some point. She is genius, imho.
Lovely video 😊

[Uncommon_Reader]

Hi Angela, I read one novel by Sally Rooney but didn't enjoy it at all, I know, I am one of the few people that didn't click with her characters, and perhaps that's due to the generational gap. I've heard great things about Tartt and she's definitely on my list of authors to discover, like Toni Morrison.. guilty as well!

[Ali-AvidReader]

Sounds like I need to read the Adrian Bell books given that I live in Suffolk. My thinking is the same as yours with Sally Rooney, I’ve always viewed her books as for a younger audience, I may give Intermezzo a go though. I think you need to be reading what brings you joy and not feel pressured to read what’s popular, especially as it sounds as though you’ve been having a tough time.

[joyceredman]

I used to think I needed to do was to read what is popular and how I should read certain authors or certain books. It was a mistake for me as a lot of popular authors are not for me. If there is a book that has a topic you're interested in, try that one.

[Nerak]

The only person on your list I've read is Toni Morrison! LOL, I've read at least 1, 000 books but none by the rest of those authors. I've not actually heard of several of them.

[kimhaas]

I’ve read Donna Tartt. The Goldfinch was fantastic. Never read Sally Rooney. Have read Colson Whitehead’s, The Intuitionist, which was an extended metaphor that I confess went right over my head. I’ve read Toni Morrison’s Beloved. It had sublime parts but it wasn’t uniformly sublime. I might have a Kuang in my audible library but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
Hillary Mantel is the one author on this list that is worth stopping what you’re doing and reading now. Right now. This minute. Go get Wolf Hall and read it. Then read the rest of the trilogy. Take your time. Worth every page.
Forgot Sarah J. Maas’ first Court series. Not for me.

[allisonryder]

Morning! What an interesting topic! I have not read anything by any of the authors either! I am not interested in any of those authors works at all. I don’t feel like I’m missing out or I am not smart enough to read them. The older I am the more I just read what I am drawn to which is quite an eclectic taste but not fantasy or sci/fi. I explore new authors but after working in a bookshop for 7 years and reading mostly top sellers I want to explore backlists and authors I have never heard of that aren’t Contemporary. I’m doing that now with some inter-war year works and re reading some authors from youth and childhood. I honestly don’t feel I’ve missed out by not going with the trending authors. My advice on all of those authors would be to borrow the books from your library and then you aren’t wasting money if they aren’t up your alley! SJM writes poorly in my opinion and sally rooney is very like or hate. I think people watch movies or tv adaptations and then read the books and are disappointed they are not what they watched for the most part. Good luck and let us know how this goes. PS: I don’t think any of those authors will help with your slump. I think you might enjoy the motorcycle club one and that will pull you through! That or just a week of doing something other than reading. All the best to you. ❤🇨🇦

[MargaretPinard]

I have not read Sally Rooney or Donna Tartt or Hilary Mantel. I have read SJM, Toni Morrison, R.F. Kuang, Colson Whitehead, and Zadie Smith. RF Kuang would be my favorite (2 books), followed by Zadie Smith (whom I hear differs greatly from book to book). 🚀

[emmastinylibrary]

I can't get on with Sally Rooney's writing style at all, no speech marks is my pet peeve in books. I tried The Secret History, while it was easy to read I had to DNF. I think I wasn't in the right headspace for it and I'll give it another go sometime.

Wolf Hall on the other hand is fantastic, it truly sucked me in and I can't wait to read the other books 😁

[Justine_S]

Normal People is the only Sally Rooney I liked. I find a lot of her characters insufferable. Toni Morrison’s writing is so lyrical that it may be more approachable to listen to it or at least start by listening to it before reading it in print. I think The Bluest Eye and Beloved are my favourites.

[novelideea]

I love Frankenstein, but my first time reading it took a lot of picking up and putting down to get through the first couple chapters. 
My most liked Morrison is Song of Solomon.
The only Rooney I've attempted I ended up DNFing, so I can't help you there.
Same SJM.
I didn't enjoy RFK's Poppy Wars but I did like Babel (it still isn't a favorite). Poppy wars was too much (of everything) for me.
I did like The Wolfe Hall trilogy. It was many years ago, but I liked it at the time.