Top Ten Tuesday: New-To-Me Authors Discovered in 2025
For Top Ten Tuesday this week I’ve been refreshing my memory about the authors I read last year for the first time. There were 19 of them, but only some of them interested me enough to want to read more of their work.
Here are my 10 most interesting discoveries.
I’ve included links to the books I’ve reviewed so far.
1. Chloe Hooper
The Arsonist by the Australian journalist/author Chloe Hooper was the only non-fiction book I read in 2025. It’s a riveting exploration of the Black Saturday bushfires, one of the most devastating wildfires in Australian history, and questions whether whether the man held responsible, truly did commit the crime.
2. Benjamin Wood
British author Benjamin Wood has written five novels but I’d not heard of him until the novella Seascraper was selected for the 2025 BookerPrize longlist. It’s a gem of a novel about a yearning for a different way of life.
3. Rebecca F Kuang
I’d heard of Kuang before her novel Yellowface was published in 2023 though I’d heard she mostly wrote fantasy novels which is a genre that doesn’t hold much appeal for me. I only read Yellowface because I found a copy in a Little Free Library. Now I’m interested in going back to an earlier novel which was a New York Times best seller — Babel.
4. Rhidian Brook
It’s taken me far too long to get to read Welsh author Rhidian Brook. After reading The Aftermath, a novel about animosity and reconciliation in post-war Germany, I definitely want to explore more of his other novels. The good news is that I do have one novel already in my TBR — The Testament of Taliesin Jones which I’m going to earmark for Wales Reading Month 2026
5. Rhys Davies
Another Welsh author that slipped through the net is Rhys Davies which is embarrassing given he was so prolific — he wrote over 100 stories, 20 novels, and an autobiography. I read Selected Stories during Wales Reading Month’25 and fell in love with the way he depicted working class life in the valleys of South wales.
6. Taylor Jenkins Reid
I’m a latecomer to this author. I ended up reading two novels by her last year — The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Carrie Soto is Back — both highly entertaining. There are four more novels by her for me to explore including her latest Atmosphere, published in 2025.
7. Rachael Mead
Another Australian author made it onto my “read more by” list on the strength of Application of Pressure which follows the trauma-filled lives of two paramedics in Melbourne. I see she has a more recent book which is a reimagining of the life of Nel Law, the first Australian woman to set foot on Antarctica. I don’t know anything about this woman but I’m intrigued to find her described as a ground-breaking artist whose work flourished amid the ice caps.
8. E. F Benson
Bought on a whim from a charity shop, Mapp and Lucia by E. F Benson was far more entertaining than I anticipated. It’s a wonderfully comic tale about two women who each want to be the Queen Bee of their town. After I finished it I learned that this is actually the fourth title in a series written between 1920 and 1930. Plenty more to explore clearly.
All the authors I’ve listed above are writers whose work I definitely want to delve into more deeply. I’m less sure about the final two on my list because they are debut authors. You can never tell whether they’ll be able to pull of a second novel equal in quality. I’m interested enough however to keep an eye open for what they do next. I might have to wait a long time though since there is no indication as yet that either author has a new book due for publication shortly.
9. Ferdia Lennon
I struggled to get into Glorious Exploits and wasn’t sure I’d finish it in time for the book club discussion, but I ended up loving this imaginative tale of theatrical endeavour set in ancient Sicily.
10. Priscilla Morris
Morris based her novel Black Butterflies on the experience of some of her family members during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s. It’s a deeply moving account of how people become innocent victims of political power games.
Lory
It’s good to know you ended up enjoying Glorious Exploits. I’ve been on the fence about that one as the response seems mixed, though it sounds like such a great premise. Mapp and Lucia I remember binge reading years ago, just great fun. I can still never hear the Moonlight Sonata without thinking of Lucia.
BookerTalk
And I think of her whenever the topic of Elizabeth’s speech at Tilsbury crops up
villabijou
Regarding the Mapp & Lucia series, I don’t think it is important to read them in order as they do work as stand alone novels. I usually pull one off the shelf if I want a light and amusing read, something in these days seems to be needed more often. If you can find the TV series made with Prunella Scales as Miss Mapp do give that a watch. It stays close to the books.
BookerTalk
Thanks for that insight. I think I’ll look at the next one in the series rather than go back to the beginning. I’ve just found the series is available on YouTube and Amazon prime – surprisingly high price considering how old the series is
Calmgrove
Despite the fantasy elements in Kuang’s Babel (which you may baulk at) my abiding impressions are of its savage portrayal of historic British colonialism allied to racism and capitalism, all of which still have relevance today. I enjoyed the Rhidian Brooke title – we have the film adaptation recorded to watch sometime – and also have his debut novel ready for this year’s Reading Wales.
Marcie McCauley
One of my reading goals last year was to try to read more books by an author I enjoy right then (or more books on a topic of interest) instead of constantly saying “eventually”, and it went really well, but I would like to make it a habit. It’s a great way of keeping the stack fresh. One of my mini-binges last year was Guadalupe Nettel, but she hasn’t written all that much yet, so it was a quick binge. heheh (Not rec’ing her to you, just sayin’.)
wadholloway
They’re all new to me too, including the Australians. I won’t do memes but Top Ten Tues throws up some interesting results.
BookerTalk
I do it sporadically – some topics leave me cold.
TravellinPenguin
The Arsonist was a good book. I went to the Hobart launch of this book. Then Chloe came back for another event and I asked her if she really thought if the man with the disability started it because I have doubts but she said she is sure he did. She is a good author.
BookerTalk
Ah I wondered that because the ending of the book didn’t make it clear
Lisa Hill
How good to see two Aussies there!
Thanks for the reminder about Wales Reading Month: I’m keen to see what you think of The Testament of Taliesin Jones because I thought The Aftermath was *excellent* !
BookerTalk
I’ll do a “coming soon” post about Reading Wales in the next few days, Just trying to decide whether to do a group read
hopewellslibraryoflife
Good post! Seascaper was soooo good! I usually love Talor Jenkins Read {I still haven’t read the SEven Husbands] but just couldn’t get Atmosphere to go. I look forward to the next one.
BookerTalk
You’re the second person I’ve come across recently that wasn’t wowed by Atmosphere. I think I’ll go for Daisy and the Sixth next
hopewellslibraryoflife
I loved Daisy Jones–I listened to it, which made the documentary aspect seem even more real.
Carol
I enjoy the well written Priscilla Morris book!
BookerTalk
There are images that I can’t get out of my head…..
villabijou
I really love the E F Benson Mapp and Lucia series and have always looked out for other titles by him. Paying Guests is one other I have read and had chuckles over.
BookerTalk
Thanks for the suggestion. I’m not sure about starting the series at the beginning – do you think that’s important?
WordsAndPeace
so happy you discovered Kuang. Yes do read Babel, so much better even than Yellowface, so rich!
My post: https://wordsandpeace.com/2026/01/27/top-ten-2025-bookish-discoveries/
BookerTalk
Some people I met last week were raving about Babel