National Authors Day

Today is National Authors Day – a time for us to show some appreciation and love for the wonderful writers, thinkers and academics whose works keep our bookshelves stacked and library catalogue full. It is also a chance for us all to celebrate and honour the contributions of authors to culture and literature in society. This includes authors of all kinds of works: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting, song writing, columnists, bloggers, and so much more! Their impact on individuals and society as a whole is so profound in terms of how they can vividly bring stories, experiences, ideas and perspectives to life, often in a way that can invoke strong emotions and feeling within various audiences. As part of National Authors Day, we have decided to ask ourselves within the library who our favourite authors are and say a few words about why they are our favourites specifically as well.

Some of our favourite authors…

J R. R. Tolkien – Alannah

  • “If I had to pick a favourite, I’d go with J.R.R. Tolkien. He’s considered the father of modern fantasy, and his Lord of the Rings series has had a massive global impact. He was also incredibly cool! He could speak around 35 languages (at varying levels of fluency), eloped with his wife as soon as he came of age (to the displeasure of his family), was a Professor of English Language at Oxford, fought in the First World War, and was best friends with fellow author C.S. Lewis! My favourite Tolkien anecdote is that he once dressed up as a polar bear for a fancy-dress party and started chasing people down the street! It’s nice to know that such influential individuals in literature also had their silly moments!”
  • J R. R. Tolkien has written a wide range of fantasy novels with his most popular and well-known works being The Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit.

Agatha Christie

  • Recognised as the ‘Queen of Crime,’ Agatha Christie is a bestselling author of many murder mystery and detective novels. Her most popular and well-known works are ‘And then there were none’ (1939), her bestselling novel, and ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (1934), which has been adapted into iconic films and screenplays. The Mousetrap – another classic written by Agatha Christie – was adapted into the world’s longest-running play with a total of 30,000 running performances.
  • Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and wrote her first short story at the age of 18 years old. She eventually went on to write hundreds of murder mystery, crime and detective novels and sell billions of copies in English and billions translated from English as well. She is considered one of the most translated individual authors of all time. Upon a recent visit to Blackwell’s bookstore, I even discovered that they had a whole section dedicated to Agatha Christie’s books as well!

Morgan Housel – Rachel

  • I have decided to give a special shout out to Morgan Housel, writer of the infamous Psychology of Money, The Art of Spending Money, and Same as Ever. He has sold over 13 million copies of his books which have also been translated into more than 60 languages. He is also a partner at the Collaborative Fund, a leading venture capital firm with a primary objective of unleashing and investing in new generations of entrepreneurs through the expansion of opportunity to access capital for business ventures. His work in this field likely gave him a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding financial matters, thus influencing and likely being incorporated into much of his writing.
  • His book on the Psychology of Money explores the link between our psychology and spending habits and behaviours and how both can be interlinked. It touches upon the power of compounding and ultimately how effective money management and control of your spending habits can also help you achieve more control over your time as well as your finances.

Amélie Nothomb and Elena Ferrante – Adeline

  • “Amélie Nothomb is a Belgian writer who has been releasing a new book every year on average since the publication of her debut novel Hygiene and the Assassin in 1992. I find her writing style very unique and refreshing – no two of her stories are the same, and yet you can always recognise the flavour of her writing. The titles of her books can be puzzling and will only start making sense once you are deeply immersed into the story. Her books are dark and funny, even shocking at times, and when you start one, there is always the thrill of not being sure where the story will take you. The dialogues between her characters and her protagonists’ internal monologues are particularly witty. So far, my favourite books by Amélie Nothomb have been Antichrista and Journal d’Hirondelle. One of her probably best-known works translated into English is Fear and Trembling and it is a great read as well.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky and Others – Juliet

  • “Give me Dostoyevsky any day! The first time you read him, it’s a challenge, but once you get into the swing of how he writes his work is amazing. It’s timeless. My favourite is Crime and Punishment. For some of the most incredible writing I have ever read Nabokov is undeniable if challenging. Lolita is a masterpiece. Underrated is the work of Anais Nin. Raunchy subject matter for sure, but the way she writes is breathtaking. If you want something fantastical, Leonora Carrington and Jorge Luis Borges can’t be beat. For fantasy Sarah J Mass is the Queen. Her stories with powerful female lead characters are stunning as is her world-building. Sci fi/Dystopian I love pretty much all the greats Orwell, Bradbury and early Margaret Atwood to name a few.”
  • Fyodor Dostoevsky is a widely-recognised Russian author who has not only written the infamous Crime and Punishment, but has also written short stories, essays and philosophical papers as well which have majorly influenced modern psychology, global literature, and philosophical theories and perspectives regarding concepts such as existentialism.

By Rachel Downie

You can find many of these books in our library catalogue: Librarysearch.napier.ac.uk or why not join your local library and borrow them there