TGIF w/ GReads: Author Love

Y'all. This is an exceptionally great Friday. I'm gonna get out of work at 3:00 today! And then I have friends coming in town tonight! AND THEN I get to go home to Arkansas for the first time since Christmas for a three day weekend!! So what could possibly make this Friday even better? Why talking about my new favorite authors, of course. This week, Ginger (GReads!) has asked: 

In 2011, which new/old authors have you discovered and loved?

WELL! After being in grad school for a year and not having a ton of time to just read whatever I wanted, late 2010/all of 2011 have been quite the re-introduction to reading for me. As such, I've discovered a good amount of authors that I'd never read before and with whom I am now OBSESSED. 

1) Myra McEntire. Myra McEntire. Myra McEntire.

Omg y'all. This woman can effing WRITE. I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of her debut novel Hourglass for a blog tour (my review will be up in June!) and it is just.....whoa. Like. WHOA. I was all kinds of swooning over this book. And still am, really. Bonus: she's really fun to follow on Twitter. Double bonus: She's Southern. xD

2) E. Lockhart


I'll be honest, I've only read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by her. But it is just so damn good. I read it, like, a couple months ago and I'm already wanting to read it AGAIN. I'm definitely going to pick up her other books, which I've heard super great things about, and I'm going to continue pimping The Disreputable History. Because it is THAT GOOD.

3) Gayle Forman

Oh Gayle. You break my heart. You make me cry. But I love it. It's so good. And so worth it.
For reals, y'all. If you've never read If I Stay and Where She Went, get thee to the nearest bookstore/library post-haste!! And don't read it in public. You will regret that decision. But you will not regret reading it.

4) Paul F. Tompkins


Alright, so I'm gonna mix it up a little bit. Mr. Tompkins is technically a comedian, but he wrote all of the American Idol recaps for Vulture, New York Magazine's culture blog. You guys. They are hilarious. He is seriously one of the funniest writers I have ever, ever, ever read. Every single recap he wrote had me crying I was laughing so hard. He's just the best. Love it. Love him. If you've never read his recaps, go! Go now!! 

So those are my fave thus far this year! I'd love to know all of the fantastic authors you've fallen in love with in comments, and have a FREAKING FABULOUS Memorial Day Weekend!!