Books about authors

I recently read The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke and thoroughly enjoyed it. Much of the appeal was because the story's main characters were authors, and I realized how much I enjoy reading books that feature authors as protagonists.

I went through my Goodreads history to find my favorite books from the last ten years where a main character was a writer. Here are my top five, sorted by author's last name:

• Book Lovers - Emily Henry
• The Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
• The Plot - Jean Hanff Korelitz
• Yellowface - R.F. Kuang
• The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware

Having finished reading The Ending Writes Itself, I would now include it among my top five. 

Noticeably absent from the list is perhaps the most famous book featuring an author as a protagonist, Stephen King's Misery. It's not excluded because it was published more than ten years ago but because I haven't read Misery yet. Now that I'm aware of how much I like books where a main characters is an author, I'm going to add Misery to my TBR list.

Are there any books with author protagonists that you recommend?

Update on 2026 reading goal

Last year, I made it a point to make more progress in reading book series. It went so well that I repeated the goal this year. 

The series books I've read so far this year (in the order I read them) were:

• Three Shattered Souls - Mai Corland
• A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
• Carl's Doomsday Scenario - Matt Dinnaman
• Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
• A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin
• Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness
• Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb
• Jade City - Fonda Lee
• Lord of Chaos - Robert Jordan
• The Book of Life - Deborah Harkness
• Jade War - Fonda Lee

I did a good job following the plan I laid out in February. :-) 

Of the eleven books, I rated six of them 5 stars, two were 4 stars, and I gave 3 stars to the remaining three. The 4.27 average is far above my overall average rating for the books I read, so this reading goal is another success so far in 2026. I'm excited to continue with this plan and look forward to the other series books I'll read the rest of the year.

Recent books that were surprisingly good (or not so good)

As someone who reads about 100 books on average in a year, it's natural that I'll come across ones that were better than I thought they would be and ones that were worse.

Here are three books I recently read that I enjoyed more than I expected to:

• Jade City by Fonda Lee - The Green Bone Sage has been on my TBR for years, but I've avoided reading it because I'm not a fan of stories about mob families. In the case of Jade City, I was wrong. Although there are violent elements in the book, it was much more engaging than I expected. It's one of the best books, if not the best one, that I've read this year!
• Play Nice by Rachel Harrison - I read the occasional horror story, and they are hit or miss. I didn't expect much going into Play Nice, but it ended up being one of my favorite haunted house books.
• Camino Island by John Grisham - I'm a fan of John Grisham's legal thrillers but not so much his books in other genres, so I didn't have high expectations for Camino Island. This book turned out to be more interesting than I thought it would be, and it helped that the plot involved a book. :-)

On the other hand, these books didn't live up to my expectations:

• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros - I bought into the hype when Fourth Wing came out, and I liked the first book in the Empyrean series. However, my opinion of each successive book has declined, and I'm not sure if I will continue with this series.
• Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb - The fact that I didn't like Ship of Magic was a big surprise. I liked the Farseer Trilogy well enough, and fans of Robin Hobb have mentioned that the Liveship Traders series is her best. I just couldn't get into the story and didn't feel invested in the characters. I will likely read the second book to see if the series improves though.

Finding a book that is surprisingly good makes me happy, and it happens more often than reading a book that is not as good as I expected. (Or maybe I remember the good ones more than the not-so-good?) Have you read any books lately that are better or worse than you expected?

Where to start with my books

When I discover an author who already has an extensive bibliography, I often search for suggestions about which of their books to start with. With that in mind, I thought it'd be fun to share where I think a new reader should start with my books. 

The good news is that most of my books are standalone, so you can pick them up without having read my other books. However, there are four books I normally recommend to my first-time readers, depending on what you're looking for.

1. If you want something short in order to sample my writing style: "Drive". "Drive" is a short story set in a post-apocalyptic world, a theme that runs through several of my books. Although it's the first book in a series of short stories, "Drive" can be read on its own.  
2. If you want a longer story that's representative of the YA books I've written: Transmissions. I recommend this book especially if you aren't in the mood for a dystopian/post-apocalyptic story. It's YA, it's a novella, and it's a great story IMHO.
3. If you like reading a series: Hopeless. The only adult novel series I've written is the After Z-Day series, and Hopeless is the first book. Read it to find out my take on the zombie apocalypse.
4. If you're looking for a book for a younger audience: George and the Galactic Games. This is the first book I published, so it holds a special place in my heart. Although it's targeted to a pre-teen audience, readers of all ages can enjoy this book.

I hope this helps if you've been considering which of my books to start with!

     

AI-generated books

In my last post, I mentioned AI-generated books as a trend I don't support. Then came the controversy surrounding Shy Girl, a novel that Hachette pulled due to allegations that the author used AI when writing the book. 

There's no doubt that AI is creating more of the content that we consume, whether they are books, images, or videos. I heard stories of self-published AI-written books entering the market two years ago. It's also getting harder to distinguish what was created by a machine rather than a person. 

What's troubling to me isn't just that AI is taking over our lives. (And in case they're monitoring me, I, for one, welcome our AI overlords!) It's the deception on the part of authors who use AI. To me, stories reflect the way a writer views the world and how they have experienced it. Like art, books are an expression of us as human beings. People read books not just to ingest facts or prose, but to feel a connection to the story and characters on the page. Learning that a story I read was written by AI would feel like finding out that a person I've met recently and have been connecting with is actually a machine. I would be devastated if one of my favorite authors ever used AI to write their books, even if AI could imitate their writing style perfectly.

I'm afraid that we'll see more controversies like Shy Girl, especially as AI improves on a seemingly daily basis. I can only hope that authors choose not to use it to write their stories, or, if they do, they disclose the role that machines have in their works so that readers aren't misled.

Book trends I've embraced and ones I haven't

The types of books we read and the way we learn about books and consume them have changed in the past decade. I've jumped on board some book trends, while others haven't been for me. 

Here is how I've responded to various recent book trends.

• Deluxe/Collector editions - I've fully embraced deluxe and collector's editions. Most physical books that I buy nowadays are deluxe editions with sprayed/stenciled edges or collector editions that feature special features such as author signatures or leather binding. The only "regular" editions I buy now are used books or surplus/wholesale books that are discounted. 
• Audiobooks - Sadly, I haven't been able to get into audiobooks. Listening to someone read a book just feels different to me than reading it myself. The narrator makes a difference, but even the best narrators I've listened to don't provide the same feeling as when I read the book on my own.
• BookTok/Bookstagram - I love the rise in bookish social media. This has become my predominant method of discovering books. I also find it soothing to scroll through pictures of books and bookshelves. Some people can stare at art for hours. I can stare at books.
• Romantasy - I've discovered that romantasy isn't for me. Even the most praised romantasy books haven't made much of an impression on me. I haven't quite figured out yet if it's the predictable romantasy tropes and plots or something else.
• Cozy fantasy - On the other hand, cozy fantasy has worked for me. I'm a fan of fantasy already, and cozy fantasy is like the comfort food subset of fantasy. I haven't read as much cozy fantasy as I'd like, but I'm open to trying more.
• AI-generated content - It's scary how well AI can write, and I've probably read AI-generated content without knowing it. However, as a general principle, I'm against books written by AI. Books are like art IMHO, and I feel that both art and stories should be created by humans as they are an expression of us, not just products to be churned out by a machine. I'll get off my soapbox now.
• Book bans - A hard NO on book bans. No one should control what someone else is able to read. I'll get off my soapbox for the second time.

What are some recent book trends that you've embraced or not embraced?

2026 reading goal

Last year, I made it a point to do better in finishing or making progress on reading a series. As my end of year post showed, my average rating for the series books that I read in 2025 was 4.125, higher than the 4.05 average for all books I read last year. Due to the success of last year's goal, I'm going to continue following up on various series on my TBR. 

So far, the series I've identified for 2026 are:

• The Broken Blades by Mai Corland - I read the first two books in this series last year and gave them both 5 stars. I look forward to wrapping up the series this year.
• All Souls by Deborah Harkness - I watched the Discovery of Witches TV series last year and liked it a lot. My goal is to read the first 3 books in this series, which covers the scope of the TV show.
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I started watching the TV series in late 2025. I'm still on season 1, and now I want to read the books it's based on. Given the number of books, I won't be finishing the series this year. Reading at least the first 2 in 2026 is my goal.
• The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee - The Green Bone Saga has been on my TBR list for ages.  I considered adding it to my series-reading goal last year but ran out of time. This will be the year I finally read this series.
• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnaman - The first book in this series was a lot of fun. This is also a long series with new books still coming out. My plan is to read at least 2 more books this year.
• The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan - I will continue to make progress in this 14-book series. Reading 2 more this year is my goal.

I may add more series books to my 2026 goal as the year progresses, but the above list is a good start that will keep me occupied for a few months. I'm curious if I will enjoy this year's series as much as I enjoyed the ones I read last year. Stay tuned.