top five i-will-read-anything-they-write authors

lauren winner:
i'm a little surprised even myself that i put lauren winner as # 1 on this list. can you really make a list where a new author, any new author, trumps c.s.lewis?? but i've read every book she's written so far ('girl meets God,' 'mudhouse sabbath,' & of course 'real sex'), articles by her, her blog... plus actually, i want to BE lauren winner.

c. s. lewis:
a shoe-in. this one will keep me busy for awhile. besides all the obvious reasons for putting him on a list like this (reasons like: he's brilliant; one of the top thinkers of our time; narnia), i'm also happy to read anyone who sat in his house in england reading, writing & drinking tea, & managed to impact the world. it's my dream job.

jane austen:
i just read sense & sensibility for the first time ever & i can't believe i'd never read it before. i grew up on the movie, my sister has read the book more times then she can count, so i finally started it & i couldn't put it down. i want to read it all over again already. i was already a solid austen fan from pride & predjudice, of course, so i'll slowly make my way through the rest.

sharon creech:
this is a childrens author who i'd never read until a few years ago, but something about the way she looks at life just does it for me. my favourites so far are bloomability, walk two moons, & the wanderer. she almost alway has some kind of travel in her books & connects the physical trip with the general journey of life. i love that.

nick hornby:
my sister was quick to point out that i suddenly started saying i would read anything nick hornby wrote when, in fact, i have yet to finish any book by him. hmm. so maybe this shouldn't count? but i'm half-way through 'how to be good' & i fully intend to follow that up with songbook, high fidelity, about a boy & the rest, so i'll risk making him #5. come back in a few months & we'll see if i'm right on this one or if he's just an author i happen to be excited about at the moment.


by the way, seeing as i'm such a big fan of books, (and lists. and the british.) i decided, with my sister, to read through bbc's top 100 novels. a few years ago, bbc searched for "the nation's #1 novel" & in the process came up with lists of the top 21, top 100, & top 200, including everything from '1984' to 'david copperfield' to 'harry potter.' check it out