Some authors have become almost synonymous with their most lauded works, like JD Salinger and Catcher in the Rye or Herman Melville and Moby Dick. An acclaimed masterpiece may eclipse any other efforts produced before or since its publication. This may occur due to limited printings and marketing, or simply poor comparisons with the more famous work.
Now, with the widespread availability of deep catalogs and a variety of formats, readers can easily obtain a more comprehensive collection of an author’s entire oeuvre. Contemporary writers are especially prolific and diverse, often blurring lines between genres, styles, and even target audiences. Experimentation is made even more possible if a pseudonym is used—it allows a writer to obtain new followers without alienating an established fan base.
For the November blog, I wanted to highlight some lesser-known works of popular authors. You might want to try one of these, especially if you have already dog-eared your copies of your favorites. It may come as to surprise to find that the novelists you prefer have also produced great poetry, short stories, magazine pieces, memoirs, etc. that might renew and expand your admiration.
 | Chimawanda Ngozi Adiche - Americanah We Should All Be Feminists "Argued in the same observant, witty and clever prose that has made Adichie a bestselling novelist, here is one remarkable author’s exploration of what it means to be a woman today..." |
 | Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale The Blind Assassin "Told in a style that magnificently captures the colloquialisms and clichés of the 1930s and 1940s, The Blind Assassin is a richly layered and uniquely rewarding experience." |
 | Paulo Coehlo - The Alchemist Hippie "Takes us back in time to re-live the dream of a generation that longed for peace and dared to challenge the established social order..." |
 | Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games Series Underland Chronicles "The Underland Chronicles is a critically acclaimed series of five epic fantasy novels first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in a hidden land under New York City." |
 | Dave Eggers - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius The Monk of Mohka "The exhilarating true story of a young Yemeni American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana’a by civil war." |
 | Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl Dark Places "Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben." |
 | J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter Series Cormoran Strike Series by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) "Published under a pseudonym, J. K. Rowling's brilliant debut mystery series introduces Detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott." |
 | Kazuo Ishiguro - Remains of the Day Nocturnes "One of the most celebrated writers of our time gives us his first cycle of short fiction: five brilliantly etched, interconnected stories in which music is a vivid and essential character." |
 | David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas Slade House "Spanning five decades, from the last days of the 1970s to the present, leaping genres, and barreling toward an astonishing conclusion, this intricately woven novel will pull you into a reality-warping new vision of the haunted house story—as only David Mitchell could imagine it." |
 | Celeste Ng - Little Fires Everywhere Everything I Never Told You "Both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another." |
 | Celia Owens - Where the Crawdads Sing Cry of the Kalahari "This is the story of the Owens' travel and life in the Kalahari Desert. Here they met and studied unique animals and were confronted with danger from drought, fire, storms, and the animals they loved. This best-selling book is for both travelers and animal lovers." |
 | George Saunders - Lincoln in the Bardo CivilWarLand in Bad Decline "In six stories and the novella, Bounty, Saunders introduces readers to people struggling to survive in an increasingly haywire world." |
 | David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest Consider the Lobster "Essays that are also enthralling narrative adventures Wallace projects a quality of thought that is uniquely his and a voice as powerful and distinct as any in American letters." |
Summaries sourced from publishers' marketing materials
November's Featured Reviews
 | Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead |
 | Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson |
Hop on the Holds List
1. The Couple at the Table - Sophie Hannah
2. The Twist of a Knife - Anthony Horowitz
3. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man - Paul Newman
4. A World of Curiosities - Louise Penney
5. Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six - Lisa Unger
Recent Readings
I have recently finished reading Fairy Tale by Stephen King and The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan. I also just finished listening to Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby.
Right now, I am re-reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (in preparation for reading Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead), starting the unusual Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott, and listening to Independence Day by Richard Ford on Libby.
Have you discovered any underappreciated titles by famous authors? Would you follow a favorite writer into different genres? Please let me know your thoughts: jnmegan@gpl.org.
Until next time: Be safe, be well and be well-read!
Joelle
So, who am I, anyway? I am a resident of West Groton, with a husband, 3 children in college (and one at GDRHS) and a Samoyed that keeps my vacuum well-employed. I am currently working part time at the Groton Public Library and in a former life I was a Director or PR/Marketing at a high-tech consulting firm. My BA is in Psychology, but most of my time was spent in college earning a Concentration on the Novel. That is all to say that I make no claims at being an expert of any kind and my thoughts, opinions and mistakes are solely my own. I am just a person whose passion for books has continued to grow from the moment I was first able to grip and gnaw on them. I have been devouring them ever since.
Recent Posts
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- November 2023 — Foodie Fiction
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