Need recommendations - Authors staring with T or U

[Nonny]

One of the book challenges I've set for myself was an A-Z author challenge, where I'd read (at least) 26 books by authors whose last names started with each letter of the alphabet.   I've worked my way all through the alphabet, except for O, T, and U.   I've got an O author on hold at the library, but I'm feeling incredibly burned out at the moment and I'm looking for suggestions for the T and U authors and books they've written.

Not Amy Tan, because I've read stuff by her before, and part of this challenge it read new authors.

Nothing set during WW2 either, just because it feels like everything I've been reading lately has been depressing and I can't handle another WW2 novel right now. 

I like mysteries, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, literary fiction, non-fiction, basically everything except chick-lit.

[ufcasey]

Have you read Sherry Thomas's elemental trilogy?

I haven't read any U authors, but I have these on my to-read list:


The Devil's Highway: A True Story by
Urrea, Luis Alberto

Mila 18 by
Uris, Leon

Beautiful Lies (Ridley Jones #1)
by Under, Lisa

[charlatti]

I read Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursu. I gave it three stars and have zero memory of it, so at least it wasn't painful?

For T, what about Anne Tyler? I read The Accidental Tourist for a grad school class and enjoyed it. If you like dogs, Nick Trout has a couple of books about a small town vet that are fluffy but enjoyable. Jonathan Tropper? I liked a couple of his.

Calvin Trillin -- About Alice (memoir) and Tepper Isn't Going Out (fiction). Quirky old guy books.

[Deleted]

T.H. White wrote the Once and Future King

Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden

Sun Tzu wrote Art of War

John Kennedy Toole wrote A Confederacy of Dunces

[aurora]

Tolkien!

Beyond that I'm to sleepy to think hard on this but will come back tomorrow if I have any brainstorms.

[Nonny]

Jul 12, 2016 21:48:50 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Have you read Sherry Thomas's elemental trilogy?

I haven't read any U authors, but I have these on my to-read list:


The Devil's Highway: A True Story by
Urrea, Luis Alberto

Mila 18 by
Uris, Leon

Beautiful Lies (Ridley Jones #1)
by Under, Lisa

I have not read that trilogy, and it looks interesting, but I'm going to hold off on reading it for now. I have a friend who just finished a novel dealing with elemental magic, and if I test read I don't want to bet swayed by having another similar story in my head to compare it to.  I added the others to my GR though (but I'm getting blocked on downloading Beautiful Lies at the moment because my library is doing maintenance). 

Jul 12, 2016 22:08:54 GMT -5 charlatti said:

I read Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursu. I gave it three stars and have zero memory of it, so at least it wasn't painful?

For T, what about Anne Tyler? I read The Accidental Tourist for a grad school class and enjoyed it. If you like dogs, Nick Trout has a couple of books about a small town vet that are fluffy but enjoyable. Jonathan Tropper? I liked a couple of his.

Calvin Trillin -- About Alice (memoir) and Tepper Isn't Going Out (fiction). Quirky old guy books.

Are they sweet dog books?  Books with dogs always seem to be tearjerkers even if the rest of the story isn't necessarily sad.  Tepper Isn't Going Out looks fun - I put a hold on this, but I have to wait for a real book to make it to my library.

Jul 12, 2016 22:14:30 GMT -5 @astrid said:

T.H. White wrote the Once and Future King

Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden

Sun Tzu wrote Art of War

John Kennedy Toole wrote A Confederacy of Dunces

LOL!  My non-reader husband is trying to read Walden right now.  It's going... slowly.

Jul 12, 2016 23:39:48 GMT -5 aurora said:

Tolkien!

Beyond that I'm to sleepy to think hard on this but will come back tomorrow if I have any brainstorms.

No!  To the corner.

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[monkeyfeet]

Jul 12, 2016 21:48:50 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Have you read Sherry Thomas's elemental trilogy?

I haven't read any U authors, but I have these on my to-read list:


The Devil's Highway: A True Story by
Urrea, Luis Alberto

Mila 18 by
Uris, Leon

Beautiful Lies (Ridley Jones #1)
by Under, Lisa

Mila 18 was really good, but it's WWII.

Have you read Laini Taylor - Daughters of Smoke and Bone
These is My Words by Nancy Turner.  I really liked it, but haven't read any more in the series.
Also, Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

I only have Uris for U!

 

[monkeyfeet]

The Finest Hours by Michael Tougias.  Haven't read it yet, but came recommended here or on TN!

[charlatti]

Nonny The Nick Trout books make me teary because, as you said, dog books always make me cry. They aren't sad but they definitely have a little Lifetime-movie vibe going.

[doxies]

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

I also agree with the Daughters of Smoke and Bone suggestion.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

That's all I could find in my list. That's a fun challenge - I should try it next year (but I could see myself getting desperate and cheating that I could use first name or last name!)

[GilliC]

The only U author I've read is Loung Ung. She wrote a memoir of the Khmer Rouge takeover in Cambodia when she was a child. It's called First They Killed My Father. Definitely not light reading. But it's fascinating and poignant, so I would definitely recommend it for the historical background.

U's on my to-read list include:
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

For T, you know you want to read something by Chuck Tingle! Haha!

[ThirdandLong]

Mark Twain?

Sabaa Tahir wrote An Ember in the Ashes, which won some Goodreads awards

Goodreads - last name U

[Nonny]

Thanks all! I've got a bunch of great recs added to my GR list now.

doxies, this has been a fun challenge, and it's led me to a lot of new authors. The hardest letter was X, and technically my X author, Qiu Xiaolong, is a Q, because Qiu is his family name. But I'm counting it because that's how Goodreads categorized him (even if it's wrong) and finding other Chinese authors with an X last name at my library was difficult. Also, John Irving for my I author totally derailed my 50 books for the year goal... stupid Cider House Rules...

ThirdandLong, I've read a bunch of Twain over the years. T didn't seem like it would be hard, but I ruled some authors out just because I'd already read them, or I thought they would be too long. Someday I'll read Tolstoy, but not for this challenge.

monkeyfeet, that Smoke and Bone series looks really good.

GilliC, is that the guy who wrote Pounded in the Butt by my Own Butt? LOL!

[ThirdandLong]

Jul 13, 2016 11:39:01 GMT -5 Nonny said:

*snip*

monkeyfeet , that Smoke and Bone series looks really good.

I agree with monkeyfeet, , it is excellent!

[aurora]

Because I'm a nerd, I went back through my spray spreadsheets for T and U authors and found only

Tardif, Cheryl - definitely do not recommend The River
Taylor, Laini - Daughter of Smoke and Bone was OK but not fabulous
Tolkien, JRR - my favorite books ever, despite being sent to the corner!
Tolstoy, Leo - I actually liked War and Peace but less so Anna Karenina

And that's it - just 4 authors in 5 years of reading!

[MrsAxilla]

The Art of the Deal, by Donald Trump. I hear it's the BEST! Lol.

[sassypants]

Eats, Shoots, Leaves is by Donna Truss. Being a grammar geek, I loved it.
Adriana Trigiani's books are great. Big Stone Gap is the most familiar of her books since it was a movie last year.
I don't have any U recommendations unless "Unknown" counts as an author. ;-)

[leeba25]

I loved most of Jonathan Tropper's books (This is where I leave you, Plan B, etc.) My favorite of his was Everything Changes.

I have nothing on goodreads with a U!

[kelliebeans104]

Jul 13, 2016 14:23:43 GMT -5 leeba25 said:

I loved most of Jonathan Tropper's books (This is where I leave you, Plan B, etc.) My favorite of his was Everything Changes.

I have nothing on goodreads with a U!

I second Jonathan Tropper's books.  I loved This is Where I Leave You and the movie is also really good too.  

I also have no U authors on my goodreads.  

[mrspez07]

I really like Lisa Unger, especially Beautiful Lies

[sweetrhythms]

T:
Jonathan Tropper--I second what others said--really enjoyed him.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Blankets by Craig Thompson (awesome and I'm not usually a fan of graphic novels)
Tolstoy
Tolkien
Adriana Trigiani

The only U I have is:
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger. I gave it 4 stars but I don't really remember much of it now.

[litskispeciality]

This is a tough one, I have no U on goodreads. Is there an autobiography, or biography of someone with a last name U you could use?

[revjen]

Updike?