Torey Hayden: She is a teacher of special needs kids who has held a wide variety of positions and writes about her experiences. She has written a Ton of books that both Gerard and I have read a long time ago. Some of them are quite funny but also very sad when you realize these are real kids she is writing about (for the most part). Beautiful Child, One Child, Twilight Children, Murphy's Boy and Someone Else's Kids are our favorites.
Jodi Picoult: Gerard was first to find her books. The first one we read was "The Pact" about teen love/ suicide. She writes contemporary fiction about some hot topics and usually from different characters view points, but not always. Gerard's favorite of hers is "Nineteen Minutes" about a school shooting and bullying. I think my favorite one of hers is "Perfect Match" about a prosecuting attorney taking matters into her own hands when she finds out someone molester her little boy.
Nicholas Sparks: We both like his books because although they are somewhat predictable, he always has good stories. The first book of his I ever read was "A Walk To Remember" but I've read many more since. He writes about romance and keeps his books clean, not smutty. He's had several made into movies that I'm aware of: Dear John, The Last Song, The Notebook.
Jeanette Oke: For Christian historical fiction about the old west we both like Jeanette Oke. Her books are wholesome with a strong Christian message. My favorite of hers is Return To Harmony. Great author for young girls.
John Grisham: He usually writes legal thrillers that keep our interest and attention. I guess they appeal to me because I work for a law firm and always relate with the lawyers in the books. He has a way of making us think about issues and his characters are usually well developed. The first book I read by him was The Street Lawyer which dealt with the homeless. I loved it and read many of his since.
We both read many different authors, but both enjoy all these. Oh, and since we read The Hunger Games and both agreed it is an awesome book, Suzanne Collins may become one of our favorite authors too. We both plan on reading more of her books.
