Earlier this week, sassymonkey posted a blog in the Books section of BlogHer: “Who is on your auto-buy list?” I had such a good time thinking about it and looking up some of her readers’ favorites (which you can find here) that I thought I’d ask you the same question.
First, an explanation, also from sassymonkey. An “auto-buy” is an author whose books you’ve read and loved. You may have read a version that was borrowed or checked out from the library, but you were so taken with it that you had to own it. Auto-buy often overlaps with “auto-read” books, but the sense of urgency is different.
For example, when Madeline L’Engle was alive, I bought everything she wrote without even reading the book jacket first. She was most prolific back when we had to actually go into bookstores to see what was new. Nothing delighted me more than to find a brand new L’Engle title – or a new version of an old one.
Lesbian author May Sarton, who died in 1995, was also on my list. I discovered Sarton after I came out, so had a lot of catching up to do. And some her books weren’t easy to find. But the way she could turn a phrase makes reading her one of the great pleasures of life – and something I do frequently.
The other authors on my auto-buy list are, fortunately, still alive and writing. J.K. Rowling, who tops StuntDouble’s list, is the perfect example of auto-buy for me. I borrowed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and ended up buying another copy for the friend who loaned it to me because I couldn’t bear to part with it.
My only other auto-buy – also shared with Stunt – is Strangers in Paradise author/creator Terry Moore. His current medium is the graphic novel, but he will write a prose novel or two eventually. I might as well order them now.
Dorothy Snarker and Stunt Double share a must-buy: David Sedaris. Ms. Snarker adds Amy Sedaris as well. I do love the Sedaris siblings, although they fall into my auto-read category. Some I buy, some I don’t. But they always make me laugh.
I would be remiss not to mention one person who should be on everyone’s auto-buy list. She has only one published book – and it hasn’t come out yet. Her name is Malinda Lo. Yes, this is a plug for an AfterEllen.com writer, but only because she’s good. I can’t wait to read Ash, and I’m not even getting a kickback for mentioning it.
But enough about us. Do you have an auto-buy list? What authors do you love so much that you have to own everything they write? Has your list changed over the years?
