TOP TEN TUESDAY: Ten authors I discovered in 2016

(Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish!)

This year, I've read more books than ever before. I've read over 200, and I have no intention of stopping before 2017 begins! There have been a lot of authors that I've read for the first time in 2016 and should have read before, and there are some debut authors that I've checked out that I'd like to recommend to everyone else.

10) Alice Oseman

I've never managed to make the time to read 'Solitaire', Alice's debut novel, but when 'Radio Silence' was released I wanted to jump on board - everyone seemed so excited about it. I loved the lack of romance and the focus on friendships and fitting in, and it definitely convinced me that uni wasn't for me: you need to follow your own dreams for you, not other people's ideals!

9) Leila Sales

I only finished 'Tonight the Streets Are Ours' last week, but I'm already counting it as one of the best books I read in 2016. I don't know why it took me so long to read a Leila Sales novel - her debut is about a DJ and half of this blog is about music, for Christ's sake! - but I'm so glad I finally picked this up.

8) Patrick Ness

Because the Chaos Walking trilogy and 'More Than This' just don't sound interesting to me I waited until 2016 to finally discover Patrick Ness. (I'm lying. They look AMAZING, I'm just lazy). I loved 'The Rest of Us Just Live Here' and I'm looking forward to reading more of Patrick's writing in the future - in fact, I bought 'More Than This' on Kindle just a couple of days ago!

7) Lisa Heathfield

I read a sample of the first couple of chapters of Lisa Heathfield's 'Seed', but it made me feel so uncomfortable that I felted unmotivated to read the whole story. When 'Paper Butterflies' was chosen as the #SundayYA book club pick for the month I felt daunted, but I ended up reading it in a couple of hours - I was transfixed, and I felt the undeniable need to know how the story ended.

I'm going to give 'Seed' another go in the New Year. 

6) Frances Hardinge

After all of the fuss surrounding 'The Lie Tree' following its Costa book prize win, I decided to give it a try this year. I didn't think I'd like it, but I ended up feeling completely shifted to another place and time, and it was jarring when I finished it and had to come back to living in the here and now. If Frances Hardinge's other novels manage to transport you so utterly and completely, I'm going to fall deeply in love with each and every single one of them. 

5) Douglas Adams

Somehow I managed to make it to my twentieth year of life without picking up any of Douglas Adams' novels, so I'm proud to say that I've (almost) read two this year (okay, I'm halfway through 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe' and I am STUCK, but that's one and a half further than I was in 2015!).

4) Terry Pratchett

I had this book recommended to me constantly last year, but I waited until this year to read it. As soon as I'd finished it I just wanted to read it again, and I hate myself for waiting so long to actually pick this book up. I haven't read any other books by Terry Pratchett, but if they're as good as this one I'm going to LOVE them. 

3) Holly Bourne

Holly is currently writing her eight novel, so why did I wait until now to read one of her books?! I have most of them on my Kindle, and it's going to be my priority next year to finish reading the Spinster Club series. 

2) Louise O'Neill

'Asking For It' broke my heart. I still haven't read 'Only Ever Yours', but I will, as soon as I get over the difficult and harrowing experience that I went through while reading this book. 

1) Sara Barnard

'Beautiful Broken Things' is the best book I read in 2016. It's Sara's debut novel - her second book, 'A Quiet Kind of Thunder', is coming out in a matter of weeks - and I'm so glad that I gave it a chance, because it's wonderful. Dealing with depression, abuse and female friendships, there's not a love story in sight within these pages.

Which authors did you read for the first time in 2016, and why did it take you so long to get to them?