authors whose works I want to complete

I want to read every book these 5 authors have written

Every now and then, I discover an author who for some reason, just captures me and I know I need to read everything they’ve ever written. I have quite a few of these, some feeling more pressing or intimidating than others.

Usually, the urge to read all of an authors backlog has something to do with me finding their writing and themes inherently captivating. While some authors I may want to read certain books, these are ones where it doesn’t matter the plot and story, I just want more of their writing/thoughts/themes.

So today I wanted to talk about the top five authors I have who fit into this category, and how I see myself completing their backlogs in the future.

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James Baldwin

I can confidently say James Baldwin is one of my favourite authors, and of all the authors on the list is the one I am most sure I want to read everything he has ever written. I’ve read both his fiction and non-fiction and have adored both. I’ve also seen a few of his interviews and loved those too.

His writing is absolutely captivating to me - I find it endlessly interesting, beautiful and memorable. I also find him very thought provoking, particularly his non-fiction which I think about and have found myself referencing quite a lot.

Having now read his most popular works, including currently reading If Beale Street Could Talk, I think I would like to pick up Another Country next. This also seems pretty beloved, but maybe a tad lesser known then his other fiction.

I also really want to sit down and watch I Am Not Your Negro - even though it’s not a book, I think that may be the next thing I pick up before going back to some non-fiction, probably The Fire Next Time.

I’ve read: Giovanni’s Room, Notes of a Native Son, Go Tell it on the Mountain, If Beale Street Could Talk (currently reading)

Up next: Another Country, The Fire Next Time, I Am Not Your Negro (even though it’s a film)

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Yiyun Li

I read my first Yiyun Li book in university, and decided then this was an author who I really wanted to explore more. Even though we only had to read a handful of her short stories for class, I ended up reading the entire A Thousand Years of Good Prayer’s collection and loved it so much. This is despite not being much of a short story reader.

With her short stories, I found the variety and the complexity with which she engaged with the topics to be really engaging and interesting. I finally picked up her debut novel this year (The Vagrants) and liked it’s unconventional style and subject matter.

I heard a lot of hype around her most recent novel, The Book of Goose, so that is probably top of my up next list, alongside her other short story collection Gold Boy, Emerald Girl.

I’ve read: A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, The Vagrants

Up next: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, The Book of Goose, Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life

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Kazuo Ishiguro

The first Kazuo Ishiguro book I read was Never Let Me Go, which absolutely wrecked me and put me on an instant mission to read more of his works. I read The Remains of the Day next, which I liked so much as well, though for very different reasons.

One thing that strikes me about Ishiguro is his ability to occupy the mind of very different characters. I find his works very immersive in this way. Strong narrative tone is something I really appreciate in a novel and I think Ishiguro is one of the best at it.

With Ishiguro, I feel like his craft is very strong and so any story he writes will impress and engage me. Even Klara and the Sun, which I didn’t like as much as the other two novels of his I read, was still excellently written.

Up next for me is When We Were Orphans, I own this one so I need to read it soon. I’ve heard very good reviews of A Pale View of Hills so that is also top of my priority list. I also need to watch the film adaptation of The Remains of the Day, which I hear is excellent.

I’ve read: Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day, Klara and the Sun

Up next: When We Were Orphans, A Pale View of Hills, An Artist of the Floating World

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Joan Didion

Joan Didion is the newest edition to this list. I admit I didn’t read any of her novels until she passed away in 2021. Even though I knew who she was, and I had seen pieces of her writing floating around, it took her passing to prompt me to finally read her books, which is a little sad.

Didion I think has one of the most recognisable and unique writing styles I’ve ever encountered. I absolutely adore her introspective style, and how she imbues her writing with humour, sadness, beauty and pain. She is a writer whose constantly thought-provoking and allows you to really pore over her words. I also just really like her personality, style and character - the documentary about her, ‘The Centre Cannot Hold’, is an absolute must watch I think.

I also really like writing about places, and Didion is probably the master of this. Her essays about New York and California are some of my favourite pieces of place writing ever. She’s someone whose so economical with her writing, her style so rich and simple at the same time, she’s always called inimitable and I think that is rightfully ordained. This is one of my favourite quotes ever:

“Some time later there was a song in the jukeboxes on the Upper East Side that went “but where is the schoolgirl who used to be me,” and if it was late enough at night I used to wonder that. I know now that almost everyone wonders something like that, sooner or later and no matter what he or she is doing, but one of the mixed blessings of being twenty and twenty-one and even twenty-three is the conviction that nothing like this, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, has ever happened to anyone before”

So next, I really want to read her fiction work since I haven’t got to that yet. Play As It Lays seems the obvious choice, given it’s the most celebrated of her fictional novels. I also want to get to The Year of Magical Thinking, which I’ve been putting off due to it’s subject matter - but given it’s deemed her magnum opus, I know I need to pick it up.

I’ve read: Slouching Toward Bethlehem, The White Album

Up next: Play As it Lays, The Year of Magical Thinking, Let Me Tell You What I Mean

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Daphne du Maurier

Finally, I think one of the most surprising editions to this list is Daphne du Maurier. The reason being, that I think a lot of people agree du Maurier has some hits and some flops. I’ve read most of the hits, but I’ve just decided I really want to read the flops too!

I love Daphne du Maurier’s novels. Rebecca is a masterpiece to me - no notes and I had the best time reading it. Jamaica Inn, also one of her better known works was super suspenseful and engaging to me. I remember reading it like it was a contemporary mystery novel, smashing through it on the beach even though it’s a classic just because I found it so fun, surprising and suspenseful.

But it was when I read The House on the Strand I knew I needed to read everything. That book is not as well loved and celebrated.. and yet… I had SO much fun with it. Her writing is just infectious to me. I feel about her like I do with mu favourite contemporary authors - I’ll read her shopping lists if I must just give me more!

Up next it Frenchman’s Creek for me, it’s the one I’ve heard the most about and I’ve heard it’s reminiscent of Rebecca, and I cannot get enough of that novel. I think I’d like to try The Parasites next of her lesser known works, the plot sounds really fun.

I’ve read: Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, The House on the Strand

Up next: Frenchman’s Creek, My Cousin Rachel, The Parasites

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When I will finish all these authors works - I cannot say. I’m not really in a rush with them, especially given only one is a living author putting new works out. I usually try to read at least one book from these authors a year, to really let me savour it. However, lately I’ve been trying to let myself indulge in books I know I’ll love rather than ‘putting them off’ for the perfect time, so I may pick up some of these quicker than I anticipated.

The order in which I pick the books up may change to - one thing about me, my classics reading order is very much determined by which I find at the thrift shop first, so if I see any of these authors works, I’ll definitely pick them up, and maybe that will change which books I get to first.

If you have authors that you want to read the entire backlog of, let me know! I definitely have more, for me there is quite a few I would say are on the cusp and if I like one more of their books, they’ll go in the list.

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