March's FEATURED AUTHOR: What Sarah reads!

Can you believe how fast this week is flying by? I can't, but I'm not going to complain (too much), because it's Wednesday, and that means March's Featured Author is visiting. And today, Sarah shares with us what she likes to read...

I'm never without a book. I have them in every single room of my house (except the kitchen, because I don't spend any time in there) and in my car. My iPhone has a kindle app, and I've downloaded dozens of novels. On my nightstand, and stacked on the end table next to my favorite spot on our squashy green couch, are a dozen bound galleys of books that haven't been released yet. Just looking at them fills me with joy. Am I addicted to reading? Absolutely; I'll happily admit it.

So... what do I like to read? It all depends on what I'm writing.

My genre is commercial women's fiction - think Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin - and even though I devour those books when I'm not writing my own, I have to be careful about not reading too many when I'm in the middle of constructing a book. I worry that those authors' strong, distinctive voices might get lodged in my head and crowd out my own voice. If I'm doing revisions, or just starting the writing process, it's not a problem, but when I'm in the no-man's-land of the middle of the book, it might be. I don't want to take that chance. So, I treat myself to women's fiction novels during nine or ten months out of the year, and during the other two or three, I gobble up different genres.

My favorites are thrillers. I adore books with quick, seamless plots, because they teach me about plotting techniques I can try out in my own books. Harlan Coben writes a terrific series that's filled with tension and humor, and I've loved every word he has written. Karin Slaughter is another intelligent, gifted writer whose novels are so riveting I swear she has her publisher use Superglue on the pages - you can't put them down.

I think the best book I read in the last year was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. She also wrote the blockbuster novel Seabiscuit. And here's something funny - she and I graduated from the same high school class. We weren't friends in high school because our paths didn't cross, but she is now one of my closest friends. I'd urge you all to read her books!

The genre I haven't yet plunged into? I don't read many biographies. But that is going to change, because lately I'm feeling their allure.

Thanks so much for having me here today, and please find me on facebook or visit my website at www.sarahpekkanen.com so we can continue chatting about books!

I'd love it.

I don't read many biographies either. And when I do, I pick them up mostly for the really-long-dead, like John Adams, or Thomas Jefferson. *grin* But thank you, Sarah, for bringing up new-to-me authors... Out of all the ones listed, I've only read Jennifer Weiner (& you, of course). Guess it's time for a bookstore run...

What about y'all? Do you share a must-read author (or two) with Sarah?