Have you ever read a book by an author and then immediately needed to source the rest of their books in order to binge read them? Some of our favourite bookstagrammers can relate to this. Here’s a look at why certain authors had them hooked from the start, and the books they keep returning to.

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@frenchflaps_and_deckleedges

Name of the author whose works you’ve binge read: Ruskin Bond

Number of works you’ve read by the author: 10

What drew you to the author and his/her works: I’d always known of Ruskin Bond. Excerpts from his books were interspersed in a lot of my English books while growing up, but I was never drawn to him. It was my search for good nature writing that led me to his books. His nonfiction works, such as his essays on the hills of Mussoorie and its people, his life, boarding school days and the idea of a pristine time in our hills, were all very refreshing for me. There is a certain nostalgia to Bond, I can feel it in my bones without being born anywhere near the life he describes.

Favourite read by the author: Landour Days. It compiles bits and pieces from the author’s diary over the years and paints a gorgeous picture of Landour.

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@read.dream.repeat

Name of the author whose works you’ve binge read: Italo Calvino

Number of works you’ve read by the author: 2

What drew you to the author and his/her works: I got to know about Italo Calvino’s If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller, a translated work originally written in 1979, through a Books On Toast podcast (‘Strange And Unusual Books – Part 1’). And I cannot recommend it enough. It’s a ‘playful postmodernist puzzle’ indeed, just as the blurb promises. Among the many reasons why I fell in love with this particular book, the first is that the protagonist is a reader which made his life, emotions and thoughts feel ever so relatable to me. Secondly, the narrative style is unconventional and unique to the point of being almost lyrical. And finally, the most important reason is the underlying humour in the story.

I immediately went on to read Calvino’s short story collection Distance Of The Moon, which I didn’t even know I had on my shelf! These four short yet powerful stories, written in the 1960s, are inventive and insightful. I’m so hooked that I’m mere inches away from reading Under The Jaguar Sun and Collection Of Sand by him.

Favourite read by the author: If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller

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03

@fortheloveoffictionalworlds

Name of the author whose works you’ve binge read: Karen Rose 

Number of works you’ve read by the author: 23 (That’s actually the total number of books she has written.) 

What drew you to the author and his/her works: I honestly don’t remember why I picked up Karen Rose’s books or even which book I’d picked up first. But I do remember ordering paperback copies when I had not even passed the halfway mark of the book I was reading. I ended up reading almost 20 of her titles over the next month. Rose’s books fall under the romantic suspense genre. While the romance between the protagonists, usually vulnerable and traumatised, is quite a wonderful addition to the plot, it is the actual suspense that holds the readers’ interest. The villains portrayed in the books are some of the most depraved fictional characters, thus making the victory of good over evil sweeter.

The protagonists are amazing – the females are bad-ass with intriguing backgrounds and the males are drool-worthy! And that’s exactly why I still re-read them every once in a while, never feeling as if I am reading a book for the second time.

Favourite read by the author: I Can See You

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04

@brownboywithabook

Name of the author whose works you’ve binge read: Meena Kandasamy

Number of works you’ve read by the author: 4

What drew you to the author and his/her works: I discovered Meena Kandasamy’s works purely by chance while browsing in a bookstore. Once I started reading When I Hit You: Or, The Portrait Of The Author As A Young Wife, it froze me with fear, shook me to my core, and forced me to confront reality. Kandasamy’s writing combines grace, pain and a fighting spirit and takes the reader on a journey through the pages.

I was impressed by her style and the use of experimentation in her poetry collection, Ms. Militancy, which I read soon after finishing her novel. The collection was innovative, inventive and brimming with aggression in order to reclaim marginalised voices.

Favourite read by the author: When I Hit You belongs on my shortest list of favourite books. It is a painfully courageous exploration of the anatomy of abuse that’s bound to leave you stunned with its revelations.

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@whimsybookworm

Name of the author whose works you’ve binge read: Haruki Murakami. 

Number of works you’ve read by the author: 8

What drew you to the author and his/her works: I was originally drawn to Haruki Murakami because several people in my life kept recommending his books to me and wouldn’t stop raving about him. Most of these people were ones whose bookish opinions I trusted immensely. But I was a little apprehensive going in, and worried about him not living up to his hype. What if I didn’t like his work? Of course, nothing of the sort happened. It was love at first page, and there was no looking back. His writing is a thing of exquisite beauty, and I’d happily read his grocery lists if I could. The man is brilliant. 

Favourite read by the author: Kafka On The Shore is my favourite, but Norwegian Wood, my first-ever Murakami, comes a close second and is a very special book to me.

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@runawaywithme98

Name of the author whose works you’ve binge read: Khaled Hosseini

Number of works you’ve read by the author: 4

What drew you to the author and his/her works: When I read my first Khaled Hosseini novel, I was blown apart by the way he portrays every character and the horrifying realities they are faced with.

The Kite Runner was the first fiction book I ever read, and I remember reading 100 pages non-stop as I approached the end. The book introduces you to a different world altogether. What I find comforting in his work is the way in which he shatters his readers completely, gives them hope as they read, shatters them again, and ends the book in a way that makes you reminisce. 

Favourite read by the author: A Thousand Splendid Suns. It is my favourite book of all time and I highly recommend it to everyone.

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07

@vapoursofthoughts

Name of the author whose works you’ve binge read: Isabel Allende 

Number of works you’ve read by the author: 7

What drew you to the author and his/her works: Isabel Allende has the rare ability to weave magical realism, adventurous female characters and the political history of South American countries together in every book. 

She does not intellectualise the story or the lives of her characters nor are there any quotable quotes from her works in general. But what she does best is carve out unforgettable characters. Her stories are complex, but her narratives allow them to flow effortlessly. Her characters are real and flawed, and you can see them grow through the book, making you feel as though you have known them all your life.

Favourite read by the author: The House Of The Spirits

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